I don’t know what Jackie was thinking as we exited the parking lot of Collins Corporations, but I was certain she was excited. I could tell by the way she gripped the steering wheel and how she shifted her sexy butt every now and then.

Dean Gamboa, on the other hand, was uncomfortable. He was sitting so still, like one of Georgie’s bulky bags.

I’m telling you, Jackie girl, this is one exciting night!

“So,” Jackie finally broke the awkward silence with her cheery voice. It was a wonder how she was confident to talk to her boss now when weeks before she was scared of the man and then days before she hated him. It might be the fact that they shared a secret--his secret. “Who do you think attacked your car’s tire?”

Oh-oh, here we go. Jackie, I think it’s safer if you don’t talk about the crime you committed! Your mouth might just slip, girl! Just enjoy this moment! I’m sure you already succeeded with your plan. I am pretty certain Brian saw you with your boss. That’s what you were planning, right? So please, don’t talk about what you did to Beatle, my friend who now hates my sexy bumpers!

It took a long moment for Dean Gamboa to answer with a shrug. “I have no idea.”

I heard Jackie snort. Dean Gamboa turned his head to look at her, his expression curious.

Jackie girl, watch your mouth. What the hell is wrong with you?

“What do you mean by that?” her boss asked.

Okay, here we go. Just shut up, Jackie.

“Nothing,” my girl answered, stopping me just as the lights turned red. She took the free time to look at her boss. “You have no idea that a lot of people would love to do that to you, right?”

Hey! Shut it! Now you’re telling him everyone hates his guts? Come on, this is not the time for that!

Dean Gamboa’s face didn’t change. Instead, he shrugged. “I don’t really care.”

“You don’t care that a lot of people in the office hate you? One of us might just be the one who broke your car, you know.”

The lights turned green and Jackie turned her attention back on the road. We were on our way to Dannie’s school. “Did you?” Dean Gamboa asked.

This is what I was talking about, Jackie. This is it. You better be a good liar. Pull out your dramatic hurtful act!

“What?!” she asked, probably thinking she should pull out one of her famous acts. “Of course not! Why would I do that?”

When Jackie was lying, I could tell. Her hands would start to sweat and her feet would start to get jittery. And at that moment, those things were happening. Good thing I was the only one who could sense it.

See what your stupid mouth did? Now, just shut up.

“Where are we going? I thought you’re taking me home?” her boss asked, looking out the windshield.

“We’re picking up my friends. It’s my job to pick them up whenever I have Toto with me.”

Dean’s brows furrowed to a frown. “You didn’t mention we will be having company.”

“Well, it slipped my mind. They won’t mind, don’t worry.”

“I could have just taken the taxi,” he said with a faint sigh.

“Why didn’t you?”

“Because you almost begged me to let you take me home,” he answered.

Jackie was speechless. She was thinking how she should counter his statement and I could tell by the way she tapped her forefingers against the steering wheel.

But she had none. I knew it because she suddenly changed the subject by saying, “Well, anyway, since you will be riding with two more girls, let me just give you a heads up. Dannie, the one we are picking up first, is a preschool teacher and she’s the religious type. She’s silent so you don’t have to really mind. Don’t be awkward with the silence.”

Dean Gamboa must be thinking along the lines of, ‘This can get more awkward?’, but whatever he was thinking, he didn’t put them into words for he kept his lips in a solid line.

“And then, we will be picking up George. She’s an ambulance rescuer. And honestly, I don’t know what she’ll do when she sees you. But don’t worry, she usually does the right thing.”

Okay, I am enjoying your boss’ reaction, Jackie!

Really, I could feel the man was ready to open my door and jump out. He never expected to be riding with Jackie’s friends. And he sure never imagined he’d be inside me, an old, beaten Volkswagen. If his car didn’t break down on him--thanks to Jackie, for that--he would be out on his own, doing his usual activities.

 *****

Dannie was already standing outside Kumon when we rounded the curve leading to the school. She was not the type who would wear her impatience or frustration on her face, but after knowing her for years, I knew where to look for the signs. And by the way she was standing with one foot forward, clad in her simple preschool teacher uniform, and the way she was holding her bag in front of her with both hands, I could tell that she had been waiting for Jackie for a long time. The usual posh cars outside the school were no longer around, indicating that the children had long been picked up by their nannies or parents. And Dannie was the only one left standing outside.

“Excuse me,” Jackie uttered as she leaned over Dean Gamboa to roll down my window. Her poor boss leaned as deep as he could into my passenger seat.

You could have just asked him to open the window, crazy girl.

“Hey! I’m so sorry, Dannie!” Jackie cried out the moment she managed to open the window, still leaning over her boss’ lap.

It was only when Dannie’s gaze transferred from her to the man sitting on my passenger seat did Jackie immediately straightened on her seat, murmuring, “Sorry,” and looked back at Dannie who was still at a loss outside. “Dannie, get in.” Dannie opened the backseat and sat right behind Dean who was more uncomfortable now than he was a few minutes ago. “Meet my boss, Dean Gamboa. Sir, this is Dannie,” Jackie said nonchalantly as she put me on gear and drove away.

For the first time in my mileage years, I experienced the most horrifying awkward situation. Yes, the boys had a lot of guys hitching a ride with them, one of them Troy, and I had never experienced this deafening silence before. It was different from the kind of silence I would often experience with Dannie. It was a silence that had a lot of unexplainable aura, one that almost made me want to turn on my radio.

Jackie cleared her throat, glancing at the rearview mirror. When she couldn’t get a good look at Dannie, she reached out and adjusted it and met her friend’s questioning glare. She gave Dannie a wink, silently saying, ‘Just go with it.” And then she threw Dean a glance before she returned her attention back on the road. Her boss’ eyes never left the road. Clearing her throat, Jackie explained the situation to Dannie. “Sir Dean’s car broke down and I offered him a ride since he lives near us.”

“Oh, okay,” Dannie uttered, not really knowing what else to say at this very awkward situation.

“How did you know I live in Mountain View anyway?” asked her boss.

Gotcha! Now, explain that one, Jackie girl! How did you know anyway? Ohhhh…I’m loving this.

“Doesn’t everybody know?” she asked. “I heard it from someone in the office, I guess.”

Dean turned his head and gave her a long look before he finally gave a nod. Jackie’s eyes never left the road and I was guessing she was thinking of another excuse to give him if he asked more questions. Lucky he didn’t because I was not sure how far Jackie’s imagination could go in the current situation we were in.

“How did your car break down?” Dannie asked.

Oh, innocent Dannie. You don’t want to ask that one. Wrong question. Wrong!

When Jackie didn’t answer, because she was pretending to focus on turning me to the left to go to the Philippine Red Cross headquarters, and because the answer was directed toward Dean anyway, he answered, “Someone stabbed one of the rear tires with a knife.”

“Why would anyone do such a stupid thing?” Dannie asked.

Everyone was almost thrown forward when Jackie accidentally stepped on my brake.

Easy, girl. Don’t be too obvious.

“Sorry, sorry,” she cried in alarm, regaining her composure.

“Someone who hates me that much?” Dean answered, his tone lighter than it was a few seconds ago. He had a faint grin on his face as he said it.

Jackie was shocked to hear him use that tone. Well, I was too. Who would have thought he found the situation funny?

“Do you intend to do something about it? I mean, I’m sure there are surveillance cameras around the parking lot, right?” Dannie asked.

Jackie accidentally stepped on my brake once again.

“What’s wrong?” Dean asked her.

“Uh, nothing. I’m sorry,” she hastily answered, gripping the steering wheel tightly. She threw Dannie a hard look through the rearview mirror.

Dannie’s eyes widened in horror and her jaw dropped in shock when she finally realized what Jackie’s gaze meant.

They had been friends for quite a long time and it only took them one look to know what the other was trying to say. And at that moment, Dannie immediately knew what her friend did. And she was horrified. Who wouldn’t? I was pretty sure I was when I witnessed it myself!

“The surveillance cameras weren’t for the past two days. The guard said they were doing some maintenance check,” Dean Gamboa answered Dannie’s question.

“I see,” Dannie said without further questions. Dannie was a loyal friend, so it was given that she would never say a word. One thing was for sure though. Jackie would have a great deal of sermon later tonight.

But you are one lucky girl, Jackie. Who would have thought there were actual cameras around that godforsaken parking lot? One, lucky, girl. Lucky, lucky Jackie.

By the time George climbed in with her brows fused together, it was certain that my girl Jackie would not only get that sermon from Dannie alone.

Unlike Dannie, Georgie seemed to have an idea of Jackie’s plan. Maybe she told Georgie earlier when she came by for lunch.

For lack of a better word, I could say that Dean Gamboa acted quite socially appropriate. He didn’t spend his time on his phone--not even for a second--like most people caught in an awkward situation would. He just sat there and answered the questions Dannie or George threw him.

“You’re in a band, right?” George asked. Everyone knew, except Dean Gamboa, that she did it to taunt Jackie. And it worked because Jackie was gripping my steering wheel again with so much force that if it were connected to my gas tank, flammable liquid would already be oozing through her delicate fingers by now.

Dean threw Jackie a look and she immediately said, “I didn’t tell them, I swear!” she lied. “They saw your photos on Troy Brady’s blog, right girls?”

Dannie and Georgie exchanged looks and then they unwillingly nodded.

“See? And you weren’t exactly doing your disguise perfectly. I was able to recognize you in an instant, remember? And I only doubted it because you are my boss and knowing how you are in the office, it was almost impossible for me to believe. Dannie and George are not familiar of you and when they saw you tonight, they just remembered.”

Her lie was too believable, what with the plausible explanation, that Dean Gamboa only sighed and nodded his head.

“But don’t worry, sir. They don’t know anyone in the office. And they won’t talk, right girls?” she asked, gritting her teeth and glaring at her friends through the rearview mirror.

“Yeah,” they answered dryly, looking out their windows.

“I guess it’s time you tell me the way to your house, sir,” Jackie said when we finally entered the subdivision.

Ha! As if you don’t know! But you’re clever, Jackie.

Dean Gamboa told her the turns she obviously already knew and after a few minutes, we reached his house. Ah, so this was where he lived. The last time Jackie went here, she was riding Tata with Troy. Now I could say that I finally had my chance to get a glimpse of the devil’s home. And it was not as what I had expected. I was picturing something with burning torches, black and pointed roof, leafless trees, and uneven pathway that led to double doors with devil knockers. Or maybe that imagination only came out from what I heard of Jackie about the guy.

“Thank you for the ride,” Dean Gamboa said as he opened the door.

“No problem, sir.”

“Thanks,” he said once again, addressing Dannie and George at the backseat.

“Yeah, no problem,” they uttered.

He stepped out and closed the door. The window was still open and he leaned down to look at the boys. “By the way,” he said, “we have a gig tomorrow. I hope to see you there.”

Really, if I had a mouth, it would have already landed down the concrete ground because I was shocked as hell. And so were the boys. They just looked at Dean Gamboa for a long time, their expressions ranging from shocked, to puzzled, and to suspicious. Dannie was the one looking puzzled. Georgie, of course, was suspicious of the whole thing as she always was. And Jackie was shocked as hell as I was.

Did Dean Gamboa just ask them to come watch him with the band?