A Realistic Fiction Story of Carl Calderon
I decided to bring Mr. Calderon a cup of tea after the stressful trial this morning. When I came back with his cup of tea, he was at his desk looking through case files….as usual.
I had just set the teacup down on the desk when suddenly…
“Aubrey?” Mr. Calderon asked.
“Yes, Mr. Calderon?” I perked up and asked for the reply.
“I have found my next case.” He said, getting up from his chair and walking towards the door.
“Oh! Alright, sir.” I replied.
I grabbed my notebook and pencil and followed him to the door. I was a little surprised that we had another case. I mean, we just got back from a trial, but I didn’t mind.
He grabbed the door handle and began to turn it, but he stopped. He let out a small sigh.
“I’m going to have to ask you to stay here. I do not wish to get you involved in this particular case,” he said.
“Oh….umm.yes, sir.” I replied, as he left the room and closed the door behind him.
I sighed and sat down on the couch. I flipped through pages in my notebook and reminiscing about previous cases. I always have my notebook with me so that I can take important notes about each case. You never know when you’re going to need information on a previous case, right? My notebook is kind of full though. I guess it was because of that one day when I snuck into the Records Room at Criminal Affairs and took notes on every case file I could find.
I was getting bored, so I decided to organize the case files on his desk a little bit. I hope he doesn’t mind… After that, I took away the now cold cup of tea.
Mr. Calderon did not seem to be in a good mood at the moment, so I decided to try and act natural. He muttered to himself as he looked through his organizer.
“This case is ludicrous!” I heard him mutter, “There is not a single piece of evidence to be found!”
He slammed his fist on the desk, which made me jump a little. I almost dropped his cup of tea! I set it down gently on his desk and slowly backed away a little. He glanced over at the tea and smiled for a second.
“Thank you, Aubrey.” He replied.
“Your Welcome, Mr. Calderon,” I replied quietly.
He paused for a moment, then glanced at me suspiciously.
“Did you look inside of this case file? Some of the pages are out of order,” he asked.
“N-no, sir. I noticed that it fell and put it back on your desk, but that was it.” I answered.
“This case shall be mine and mine alone. I will not allow you to interfere. Do you understand Aubrey?” He asked.
“I understand, sir…but-” I replied.
He turned around in his chair to face me. I was beginning to think that something was wrong. Maybe I shouldn’t have asked.
“I know you want to help, Aubrey,” he said as he put his hand on my shoulder, “but this case is just something that I will not let you get involved in. I am concerned about your emotional state along with your well-being. I fear that this case may affect you the way I was affected-”
‘’And Aubrey, you are from Pateros, right?”
“Yes sir” I replied.
“Get into my car. And don’t forget to lock my office”
While holding all my papers, I open the door of the backseat and seat there.
“Get into the front seat.” He insists.
“But sir…”
“I am your boss, follow my order..and just call me Atty. Carl or attorney…, Mr. Calderon is too formal, I’m not into that. Now, what are you waiting for? Seat on the front seat”
Even though the new carplane is so expensive, you can still find the things which you can commonly found in a Filipino car like a small statue of a Sto. Nino, a rosary and a green car deodorizer in pine flavor that hangs on the rear-view mirror, and the three dogs with moving heads. The new car is powered by artificial intelligence and it was customized for the personal needs of a lawyer that is why it has its own office.
Mr. Calderon or Atty. Carl danced on the rhythm of the oldies songs of Taylor Swift, One Direction, and The Script. He really likes the songs because his feet are moving while the songs are on the play.
“Sir, the temperature is too low for me, can you adjust the air-conditioning of the car” I made a request.
“Really?” He took off his coat and gave it to me.
“ Sir, how about you” I replied in a very shy manner.
“Nahhh, it’s fine” he replied.
“Thanks, sir.”
“Sir, you are a graduate of University of the Philippines, right?” I asked him curiously.
“Why..”
“I am now taking my pre-law in San Beda attorney and I’m planning to take my law proper in UP” I replied.
“Sir is it hard to be a lawyer.”
“Yes, but it is a really great job since I am helping a lot of people in my work. Since I am also a PAO lawyer, I am also defending the poor Filipino people on my work” I was amazed by what he said.
“Sir you are smart and really love the people, would you run for any government position.”
“Yes. I am really planning about that someday.”
The song Missing You by All Time Low suddenly played on the radio and we sing together like I am not his employee.
“”This ride is a wild one,
Make no mistake,
The day will come when you can’t cover up what you’ve done,
Now don’t lose your fight, kid,
It only takes a little push to pull on through,
With so much left to do”
“Hahaha.” “You also know this song. Maybe, we have a lot of things in common.”
He is very serious at work but in that little moment that we’ve shared together, I feel that he is a different person.
“Sir, the green gate near the water refilling station is my house. Thanks for the ride attorney.”
He gets out of the carplane and opens the door for me.
“Goodbye attorney,” I said it while hiding my smile.
“Goodbye Aubrey.”
I can’t describe the feeling of being with him. He is my boss but I’m very happy together with him. This must be…
“Oh my, I brought the black coat of my boss, and the smell of it is very manly.” I smell it while imagining that he is hugging me.
Ineffable 