I woke up suddenly when my phone started ringing. When I checked it, it was just Luna—my best friend.
"What's your plan? We've been waiting for you here for a while now. We've already been here for an hour!" she said, sounding a bit irritated.
"Huh?! Wait, don't hang up…" I replied as I quickly scrolled to my calendar app.
When I checked the calendar on my phone, I almost smacked my head with it!
How could I forget the once-in-a-lifetime vacation of my life?! Oh my gosh!
"Oh my! You're right! I'm so sorry, I slept too well. I thought our trip was next week," I said in a panic as I quickly got up and pulled my suitcase out of the cabinet.
"Oh my goodness, Alex! You're always like this! We're going to miss our flight!" she said.
"Give me 30 minutes. I promise I'll be there. I'm going to pack real quick! Let's just meet there," I said as I ended the call.
I needed to hurry because they might actually leave me behind!
I booked a Grab so I could get to the airport faster. Luna might pull my hair if I'm any later!
After a few minutes, I finally arrived at the airport. They welcomed me, and even though they were annoyed that I was late, we couldn't help but laugh and get excited because, at last, we were going to Siargao! Yes! All expenses are paid by the company where Luna and I work!
All of us from the Creative Design Department were going. Yes, creative design is our niche. I also love drawing and painting.
Our boss, Sir Jess, was with us too. He's the manager of our department. Luna is Sir Jess's assistant, while Gil, Kenneth, Ryan, and I are the "minions" of the department—in short, we're the ones who create the designs related to the company's sales.
"Boss, I'm really sorry. Good thing Luna called me," I said, still a little out of breath.
"Yes, I was actually the one who told her to call you. She didn't even want to bring you," the boss joked.
"Boss, you really know a lot," I said playfully. "Come on, let's check in already. They might not let us in later," Gil said, excited to get to Siargao.
You might be wondering how we ended up here.
Well, the investor approved the proposal we presented. As a reward, because the investor liked our designs so much, the CEO himself gave us an all-expenses-paid trip to Siargao, with pocket money included! We'll be gone for one whole week, so we're definitely going to make the most of it!
After a few hours, we finally arrived in Surigao Del Norte. The trip was quite long—the flight from Manila to Surigao took more than two hours.
"My butt is so sore from sitting for so long. I feel like I'm going to get jet lag from that flight," Ryan said while rubbing the back of his neck.
"It's fine, that will go away once we get there. I'm really excited! I'm going to take a lot of selfies and post them right away! Our CCTV neighbors are going to be so jealous again," Luna said, and we all burst out laughing.
We were all so happy and excited that we quickly rode a tricycle going to Surigao City Port.
"The trip to Siargao is really something else. It feels like a life-risking journey," Kenneth said.
"As for me, I'm just really excited. Imagine—we don't have to spend anything unless the pocket money they gave us runs out," Ryan replied.
"With the amount they gave us, do you think we could really spend it all that fast?" Gil said while scrolling through his phone—most likely chatting with his wife.
"You're so busy with your phone. You have already asked permission from your wife anyway, she won't get mad," Kenneth teased, and we all laughed.
I glanced at Gil and noticed how serious he looked. It seemed like he and his wife had argued again. She's really the jealous type. Well, to be fair, she has a reason to be. Gil is quite handsome, and he might even get promoted before the rest of us because he's really good at what he does. Even though he can be a bit strict, he's actually kind. He always helps us when we don't know how to start the projects given to us.
"You know, Gil, maybe you should just rest your phone and enjoy the trip," I told him, while he continued scrolling seriously.
"Enjoy now, cry later?" Ryan joked.
"Hey, leave Gil alone. You guys are single, that's why you can't relate," I said while rolling my eyes at them.
"Oops! Not me—I'm a lady!" Kenneth added, and we all laughed again.
"We're here, ma'am, sir," the tricycle driver said.
"He said, We're here. Let's get down," Ryan said as we all hurriedly got off.
After we paid, someone immediately approached us. We still had to ride a boat going to Dapa Port.
"Oh, another ride—but this time it's a RoRo," Sir Jess said from behind us.
We all turned around automatically. We almost forgot he was with us.
"Sir Jess, you're there! Come on, let's board already before it gets late," I said as I pulled him along.
"Sir, how many minutes to Dapa Port?" I asked the man collecting payments.
"About 1 hour and 30 minutes," he replied, and immediately handed me my ticket.
We even had to line up to buy tickets since we would be riding the RoRo (it's a small ship or ferry) to get there.
The good thing was that, for this vacation, our big boss had already reserved a hotel for us, so we didn't have to worry about where we would stay.
After almost 30 minutes of traveling, we were already in the middle of the sea.
Suddenly, I smelled something like grapes. I was surprised when I realized someone was vaping inside the ship!
I looked at the man who was vaping as if he thought he was so handsome—although, to be fair, he really was handsome and well-built.
I walked up to him to tell him that vaping wasn't allowed inside the ship.
"Sir, vaping is not allowed here," I said while pointing at the No Smoking sign.
"It's only not allowed inside. I'm outside," he replied, then simply walked away and changed his spot.
What the heck was that? Really? He just walked out?
Are all elite people really like that?
Wait… why am I even assuming he's elite? For all I know, he might just be a con artist.
We were already waiting for the ship to dock, and I was starting to feel exhausted from the long trip.
"If I had known the trip would take this long, I should have just brought my car and we could have taken the RORO ferry instead. Apparently that was possible…" Kenneth said, sounding impatient and clearly tired.
After we finally got off the RORO ferry, we rode a tricycle going to Nay Palad Hideaway, the beach resort hotel that the big boss had booked for us.
"Ma'am, where are you going?" the tricycle driver asked.
"Ahh, kuya, to Nay Palad Hideaway please," I told him.
"Alright ma'am, please hop in," the driver said, and we immediately got on.
After a few minutes of riding, I couldn't help but ask how much farther it was because I was already very hungry.
"Kuya, are we still far?" I asked curiously.
"It's about a 30-minute ride, ma'am, but we're almost there," the driver replied while focusing on driving.
"Wow, I'm really getting hungry. I wonder if the place boss booked for us is nice?" Ryan said while looking around. Even from here, we could already see many people walking around the streets wearing bikinis.
There were also a lot of foreigners around. Honestly, even though their skin had sunburn marks, their stomachs didn't have a single stretch mark.
"Ryan, your eyes are popping out again. Behave!" Kenneth said as he lightly smacked Ryan on the leg.
"No, I'm just looking around to see if we're already close. What if we pass the place and end up walking again?" he said with an annoying grin.
"Ma'am, sir, we're here," the driver said.
"Woaah! Finally! Thank you!" Gil shouted.
We all burst into laughter because he had been silent the whole time and only spoke again just now.
"Thank you, kuya," I said as I handed him the payment.
We walked into the resort lobby, and the staff immediately assisted us.
"Hi ma'am, sir! Welcome to Nay Palad Hideaway! Do you have a reservation?" the receptionist said very politely.
"Yes, miss. It's under the name Adrian Luces," I replied with a smile.
"Yes! He booked the Coral Villa. It's good for seven people. It has two master bedrooms and two extra rooms in the attic with two bathrooms," she said, then asked a male staff member to escort us.
We were amazed because our big boss was incredibly generous. Our eyes widened when we saw the villa he had booked for us.
"Oh my God! It's so beautiful! Wow, the bed looks so cozy! I'll take the attic—let's give the master bedrooms to the girls," Kenneth said as he ran upstairs to the attic of the villa.
The place was truly beautiful—so relaxing and breathtaking. From here, we could already see the sea. It almost felt like the ocean was calling me. I closed my eyes, feeling the breeze and breathing in the scent of the sea.
"Alex, you can take one of the master bedrooms. Us boys will stay in the attic," Gil said while helping me with my things.
"Thanks, Gil. Go ahead and rest. Let's just order our food here," I said. After that, Gil went upstairs to their room.
It was already around 7 PM when we finally had dinner because we had all fallen asleep earlier. Ryan was the first one to wake up, and it was already evening when we ordered food.
"Wow, even the food is delicious…" Ryan said while closing his eyes as if savoring every bite.
"True! Sir Adrian is really generous! This is amazing!" Kenneth said, and we all laughed.
"Let's go night swimming, guys! The sea is calling us!" I shouted as Luna and I showed off our bikinis.
The boys immediately changed their clothes, including Sir Jess, who was a bit busy with phone calls—which was normal since he was our department boss.
"Sir Jess, you can deal with that later. We're here to enjoy," Luna said as she pulled Sir Jess closer to the sea.
"You guys really love dragging people around. By the way, tomorrow when you wake up, let's do a quick huddle. Boss Adrian called—we have a new project," Sir Jess said.
"Okay, sir! But for now, let's swim. It feels so good to swim in the sea at night, sir. Come on!" Ryan said. Then he and the others lifted Sir Jess and threw him into the water.
"You guys are really crazy!" Sir Jess said, clearly annoyed by what those troublemakers did.
I stayed by the shore, sitting on the sand, watching them as they happily splashed around and swam in the sea.
In the more than five years that we've all been working in Sir Adrian's company, this was the first time I had seen them enjoy themselves like this. At work we're usually stressed, but somehow we don't feel it that much because we all get along well—especially when it comes to the designs we work on.
Just like Sir Jess said, we have another new project. We don't know what the project is yet, but we're expecting that we'll be able to handle it.
Luna—why do I say she's my best friend? Well, we applied for the job together and we were both hired. Luckily for her, she became Sir Jess's assistant, but she's still part of the team. I'm happy for her because this is one of the dreams she always wanted—to be where she is now.
Gil, on the other hand, is like the senior among us. He's very serious, but he's nice. He's helpful and a great problem solver, which really helps lighten the heavy projects we work on.
Ryan is the goofy one who loves teasing people at work, but his designs really stand out. Most of the clients actually look for him because his designs are amazing. A well-known company even offered him a job, but he didn't accept it because he said he's happy working with us. Touching, right?
As for Kenneth, I honestly don't know what he really is—sometimes he acts girly, sometimes very macho. But whichever side of him shows up, Kenneth is excellent at sales talk. Whenever we need to present something, Kenneth is the first one to step up because he delivers his words so well that investors are always impressed.
And then there's Boss Jess. He's probably the type who looks like a bad boy—but he's actually not. Sir Jess just has this strong, intimidating aura, which is why other departments tend to back down around him. He hates it when people belittle our team, especially when he sees us working overtime just to finish what Boss Adrian needs. That's why I really respect this man.
"Hey Alex, what are you doing? Don't tell me you're sunbathing there—there's no sun tonight," Kenneth said while looking up at the sky.
"The water's too cold. I don't feel like swimming anymore. I'll just grab some beer inside—there's a lot in the fridge," I said as I stood up and went back inside the villa to get some curled snacks and cold beer.
Just as I was about to enter the villa, I noticed someone at the villa across from ours. In the distance, I saw a man whose face looked familiar.
My eyes narrowed. It felt like I had seen him before, but I couldn't remember where.
I decided to ignore it since he seemed busy talking on his phone. I just shrugged and went inside to grab some beer and food.