si petra at ang kesong kahel and other stories

Friday night reminded me of the last time I laughed that hard.

It was over a year ago.

I came in at the office early, followed shortly by Mommy Len and Petra. And after doing the usual morning routine (washroom visit to fix ourselves up, then off to the pantry for some coffee and water refill), we settled in, turned our computers on and huddled at the center isle and made small talk.

Oh, and from hereon just imagine that things are in slow mo. Just so I can fit my rather lengthy commentaries to the actual duration of the event.

Mommy Len brought out a small, orange-colored bar from her bag and handed it to Petra. She was babbling about something but I was more focused on Petra. As if I know that something good's about to happen. And by good, I mean hilarious. One that's bound to go down in history.

Remember, slow mo.

Her finger sifted through the ends of the plastic wrapper, eventually opening up one part of the bar.

She raised to take a whiff of it, her eyes closed while doing so. Satisfied, she lowered it a bit, and before any of us could react, Petra took a bite off the bar.

Of course this happened in a minute's time, she must have gotten high from the scent that she missed out Mommy Len saying that it was a freaking soap.

"What the... Bakit mo kinagat?!" I asked as I was pulling myself together after falling from my seat from laughing so hard. Mommy Len was in an endless fit of giggles as well.

"Hindi ko alam eh. Kala ko keso." She stood dumbfounded and took out the chunk of soap from between her teeth. And by a magical twist of fate, it was at that exact moment when the love of her life (read: unrequited object of infatuation) came in and saw the commotion.

"Pocha, keso. Kulay orange?" He blurted out, joining in on the taunting.

The rest of the team was updated by my animated re-telling of the story. And almost everyone requested for repeats throughout the day. Of course, we sought Petra's permission prior to the "amusement show".

A few minutes after the incident, I found Petra in the pantry standing by the water dispenser, drinking.

And I just had to ask her, "Bakit walang bula?"

*******

Let me tell you something about Petra.

Hmmm... Turns out I really don't have much to tell. LOL.

Oh, she's the girl who thinks Vogue means "malabo" in the local language.

She wears velvet blouses one size smaller than her. In summer. It makes her look like a Sto. Nino.

And one time during a meeting, the Regional Analyst asked for her forecast numbers. Petra said some digits. Followed by, "Right guys?". The Regional Analyst threw a fit. We were laughing our asses off. Quietly, of course.

God, she's adorable.

Petra has resigned from the company and is now bound to Singapore. Her Friendster shout out reads: "There's a light at the end of the tunnel".

For her sake, hopefully it's not a freight train.