Lena and the others are now back from the successful parade.
It went well largely because of Lena’s presence.

The townsfolk were buzzing at the sight of their adopted
visitor. Everyone was mesmerized by her beauty.

However, not everyone was extremely happy about it. Janna was
seething with both anger and envy. As the rest of the girls
went up to Lena’s room, she chose to go straight to her
bedroom to change.

Lena, Tinay and Liz excitedly entered Lena's bedroom. Lena was
so exhausted. The moment she entered the room,
she entrusted her tired body to the softness of
the bed. She closed her eyes to recall the scenes that
happened earlier in the afternoon.

Tinay and Liz were still happily chatting about Janna’s foul
mood.

TINAY
Ganyan ba talaga yan lagi?

LIZ
Alam mo, Tinay, hindi naman ganyan
yan noon! Ngayon ko nga lang
nakitang ganyan ka-possesive yan.

TINAY
Ang sabihin mo, ngayon lang
lumalabas ang tunay na kulay niyan.
Ikaw, alam kong mabait ka, pero yan,
ewan...

LIZ
Nagkakilala lang naman kami niyan
dahil sa dalawang boys. Pero,
mabait din naman yan, basta huwag
lang pakialaman ang kanya.

TINAY
Siya nga...

Door opens, Dona Consuelo enters.

DONA CONSUELO
O girls, dapat magbihis na kayo.
Madami na ang tao sa baba.

LIZ
Ganon po ba? Sige po, magr-eretouch
lang po kami, Lola.

DONA CONSUELO
Sige, Liz. O, Lena, okay ka lang?

LENA
Ay opo, Lola. Nag-iipon lang po
ako ng lakas.

DONA CONSUELO
Ganon ba? O sige, ha. I’ll be
expecting you girls sa baba in half
an hour, okay?

TINAY
Opo, senyora.

DONA CONSUELO
Pakisabi na rin kay Janna na bumaba
na rin.

LIZ
Yes po, Lola.

Dona Consuelo exits.

LENA
Kailangan na nating magbihis!

TINAY
Excited na kong makita ka sa damit
na binili ni Liz sa iyo.

LENA
Oo nga, excited na rin ako.

LIZ
Lena, for sure bagay na bagay
sa iyo yun. Magbihis ka na, at
aayusin natin yang hair-do mo.

LENA
Sige, plinantsa mo na kanina yun
Tinay, di ba?

TINAY
Ay opo, Ms. Cinderella. Napagod ang inyong abang
lingkod sa kakaplantsa nun kanina, ha?

LENA
Salamat Tinay!

TINAY
Nandito lang yun nakasabit
sa closet mo!

Tinay exits towards the walk-in closet.

All of a sudden a loud, shrill, scream was heard, from Tinay.

TINAY
AAaaaaaaahhhhhhh!!!

Lena and Liz looked at each other.

Enzo and Paco from the other room, rushed to Lena’s room.

ENZO
Anong nangyari?

PACO
Si Tinay ba yun?

LENA
Tinay, napaano ka?

Tinay turns around, revealing what frightened her. On
Lena’s white cocktail dress was a big, burn mark on the bodice.

LIZ
Oh my God!

TINAY
Nasunog ang damit mo Lena!

LENA
Anong nangyari Tinay? Di ba
plinantsa mo yan kanina?

TINAY
Oo, pero wala pa to kanina! Promise,
Lena. Plinantsa ko lang ng sandali
tong damit mo, tapos hinang ko lang
dito.

LENA
Tinay! I’m sure hindi ikaw ang may
gawa niyan.

Tinay starts to cry.

ENZO
Ibig mong sabihin may nagsadyang
nagsunog niyan?

As if on cue, Dona Consuelo, as well as Janna, came in.

JANNA
What’s the big commotion about?

DONA CONSUELO
Anong meron, ba’t may sumigaw?

LIZ
Si Tinay po, natagpuan niyang may
sunog yung gown ni Lena na
plinantsa niya.

JANNA
(sarcastically)
Oh my, what a disaster!

Everyone turns around to look suspiciously at Janna.

ENZO
Please tell me you didn’t have
anything to do with this!

JANNA
Ha?! Ako na naman? Ba’t ba
palaging pag may gulo dito, ako na
lang ang pinaghihinalaan niyo?

PACO
Janna, kasi naman po, 90% of the time, you are the culprit. Pero, I really think you’ve gone too far
this time.

DONA CONSUELO
Janna, totoo bang may kinalaman ka
sa pagkasunog ng damit ni Lena?

JANNA
No way! IT's such a cheap dress!
I wouldn’t even dare touch
it, ngayon susunugin ko pa? You
must be kidding me!

ENZO
You were here by yourself all
afternoon, you have plenty of time
to do it.

JANNA
ka Enzo! I have nothing to do
with it. Ba’t niyo pinapasa sa
akin ang responsibility? Hindi niyo
man lang naisip na baka naiwan
niyang si Tinay na naka-on ang
plantsa! Yan pa, ang tanga-tanga pa
naman niyan minsan!

ENZO
Janna, stop it.

Tinay sobs more heavily.

JANNA
Aminin mo na kasi, Tinay. Huwag
mong ipasa sa iba ang kasalanan mo!

LENA
Alam naming walang kasalanan si Tinay!

JANNA
Well, it must be very convenient for you
Lena na mang-bintang sa akin.
Hindi kaya ikaw ang may gawa niyan?

LENA
Bakit ko naman gagawin yun?

JANNA
Para pagmukhain akong masama... sa
lahat! Kina Lola! At kay Enzo!
Ever since naman, you’re scamming
everyone around here!

ENZO
Janna stop it! You can’t make up
stories like that about Lena.

JANNA
Wait! Sinong gumagawa ng kwento?
Sino ba sa atin ang mabilis mangbintang?!

DONA CONSUELO
Tama na iyan. Wala na tayong
magagawa, sira na ang damit na iyan.

JANNA
I still think si Tinay ang may
kasalanan. Hindi kaya sinadya mong
sirain ang damit ni Lena, Tinay? Di
ba yan ang ginawa mo kanina, ha, Tinay?

Tinay doesn’t answer. Instead, she rushes out of the room,
sobbing profusely.

PACO
Janna, napaka-sama talaga ng utak mo.

JANNA
Lena, alam kong napakahirap para sa
iyo na paniwalaan ako. Pero di mo
ba nakikita yang si Tinay, kung
paano siya maka-tingin sa iyo? She
has always been jealous of you!
Hindi kaya ginawa niya yun kasi
nagseselos siya sa atensiyong
nakukuha mo? Noong isaw araw nakita
ko siyang sinukat niya ang damit na
iyan! Huling huli ko siya! Ginawa
niya yun kasi alam niya na ako ang
pagbibintangan niyo!

LENA
Hindi! Hindi ganyan si Tinay!

JANNA
You should really get to know your
friends more...

LIZ
Janna, look at yourself. I'm your good friend too.
Now, I just find
it hard to believe you anymore.

JANNA
Liz! Pati ba ikaw? Ano ba naman
ang mapapala ko kung sinunog ko
iyong damit niya? That dress is
ugly to begin with. Look, she has turned you against me.

ENZO
Janna, tama na. You’ve done enough.

Enzo drags Janna out of the room.

ENZO
Stop this nonsense, now!

JANNA
The problem with you, Enzo. You no
longer trust me!

ENZO
Finally, you got that right!

JANNA
Thanks! Buti naman nalaman ko na
kung saan ako lulugar sa iyo!

Janna exits. Enzo returns to the room, thinking deeply. Dona Consuelo and Liz are still consoling Lena.

LENA
Okay lang po iyan, Lola. May damit
pa naman ako diyan.

DONA CONSUELO
Halika ka Lena, may ipapakita ako
sa iyo.

Dona Consuelo pulls Lena along. They exit.

ENZO
(still lost in his thoughts)
I can’t believe she did that!

LIZ
I try to understand her sometimes,
pero ganyan talaga pag nag-seselos
yang si Janna?

PACO
She went over the line talaga this
time. Janna is crazy! Pare, she’s
nuts!

ENZO
Hindi ako makakapaniwala na
magagawa niya ulit to.

PACO
Ulit? Anong ulit, nagawa na niya to
before?

LIZ
Si Janna?

ENZO
Guys, I’m not talking about Janna.

LIZ
Not Janna?! Eh, di sino?

PACO
Si Tinay?!

ENZO
I think, this time, Janna got her
story right.
.
.
INT. OLD COUPLE’S BEDROOM - CONTINUOUS
.
.
Dona Consuelo meanwhile brought Lena to her bedroom. It was
the first time Lena has entered the couple's bedroom.

Dona Consuelo asked Lena to sit on the bed. She then opened
her huge built-in closet . Inside, was a large collection of
dresses. They were a bit too old for Lena’s taste but the
vastness of it amazed her. Dona Consuelo perused her
collection, then she pulled out a intricately beaded dress
from the 1960’s. The lines of the dress were simple but the
beadwork was exquisite. IT was made of black silk, knee
length, and very chic and elegant --- almost reminiscent of
Audrey Hepburn’s black dress in Breakfast at Tiffany’s...only
more glittery.

DONA CONSUELO
I think, bagay sa iyo to Lena!

LENA
Oh my God! Ang ganda po nito, Lola Consuelo!

DONA CONSUELO
Di ba, perfect?

Lena moves closer to her. She watched herself at the mirror,
clutching the dress in front of her.

LENA
Opo! Mas maganda pa po ito kesa dun
sa nasunog kong damit.

DONA CONSUELO
Alam mo kung ano ang mas gaganda
diyan, Lena?

LENA
Ano po?

DONA CONSUELO
Eto...

With that, Dona Consuelo, opens up several drawers of the
big closet. Inside each of the drawer was a glittering array
of every kind of expensive jewelry known to man. Lena’s eyes widened. It was
the biggest singular collection of jewelry Lena has seen in
her life. There were diamond necklaces, sapphire rings,
emerald earings --- just a few of what Lena could easily
distinguish! But, there were lots, lots more!

There’s nothing like expensive jewelry that could easily
awaken a thief’s heart! Lena felt her heart skip a beat and started to race.
Automatically,by sheer instinct, Lena took mental pictures of the
bedroom, the closet, possible escape routes...

Lena had to cast the thought aside as Dona Consuelo pulled
out a pearl necklace. She handed it to Lena. Lena was
amazed at how heavy it was. She was pretty sure it was
the genuine article. In fact, Lena was sure every one of them were real.

DONA CONSUELO
Isuot mo yan Lena. Bigay sa akin
ng nanay ko iyan.

LENA
Lola...nakakahiya po sa inyo...

DONA CONSUELO
Lena, tingnan mo, bagay na bagay sa
iyo! Bagay din siya sa damit mo, oh.

LENA
Oo nga po, Lola.

DONA CONSUELO
Sige na, magbihis ka na. Sa palagay
mo ba, hahayaan kitang matalo ng
Jannang yan?

LENA
Lola naman!

DONA CONSUELO
Basta, ngayong gabi...kailangan
ikaw ang pinaka-maganda!

Lena hugs Dona Consuelo.

CUT TO:

INT. LENA’S BEDROOM - CONTINUOUS

Enzo, Paco and Liz await Lena’s return.

PACO
Paano kang nakakasiguro na si Tinay
nga ang may gawa nun?

ENZO
She has done that several times
before, pare. When we were kids,
she used to steal our toys...tapos,
sinisira niya.

LIZ
Don’t you think it’s unfair judging
her for what she did as a kid?

ENZO
When she was younger she had lots
of problems kasi...

PACO
Talaga?

ENZO
She used to steal a lot of things,
even yung mga gamit ng neighbors
namin. Tapos, if confronted, she
blames it on others. Later on, she
started destroying the things she pilfered too.

PACO
Sounds like may O.D.D. o kaya
Conduct Disorder siya pare.

LIZ
Anong ODD?

ENZO
Oppositional defiant disorder,
Lizzie. Madami kasing negativity
yang batang yan. Maliit pa lang
kasi siya, na-witness niya yung
pag-iwan sa kanila ng tatay niya.
She even went into a period of
depression once before. Naapektuhan pa nga ang
schooling niya.

LIZ
Oh my God! How sure are you it’s her?

PACO
Lizzie, it really fits the pattern of behavior ng
ODD, honey!

ENZO
But please, for Tinay’s sake, sana
sa atin na lang to. Huwag na nating
sabihin sana ito kay Lena. The worse thing
to do right now is to confront her.

PACO
I need to talk to her...

LIZ
Sama ako sa iyo...

PACO
Be, ako na. You find, Janna. She
might be feeling a
bit...destructive....

LIZ
I guess I owe her an apology too.

ENZO
I’ll come with you, Liz.

With that the three left the room.

A few seconds later, Lena entered the room with renewed
vigor. She was expecting people to be there, especially
Enzo. To her dismay, she was all alone again.
.
.
.
EXT. MANSION GARDENS - CONTINUOUS
.
.
The large garden was beautifully decorated. It was almost
full packed with the most influential people in the region.
In a corner, a tall man of 22, dressed to the hilt with a
black suit. His face was shadowed...He was surveying the
place. He had a small cellphone on one hand, and with that
he conspicuously was taking pictures --- of the guests and
the venue. For professional thieves, it’s called
reconnaissance work.

On one side, the governors of Iloilo, Cebu and Negros
Occidental were busy chatting with Don Ignacio.

CEBU GOVERNOR
What a nice party, Don Ignacio!

DON IGNACIO
Salamat naman at nakarating kayo
dito, Governor!

NEGROS GOVERNOR
Salamat sa imbitasyon, Don Ignacio.

DON IGNACIO
Kinagagalak kong makarating kayo.
Kamusta na si Kumareng Isay?

NEGROS GOVERNOR
Nandoon sa loob, kasama ni Mareng
Nancy!

DON IGNACIO
Ganun ba? Kamusta naman ang Iloilo,
Gov?

ILOILO GOVERNOR
Okay naman po. Booming pa din naman.
Salamat pala sa tulong mo at ng mga
foundations mo.

NEGROS GOVERNOR
Gayun din ang Negros Occidental,
Don Ignacio. We owe a lot of our
success dahil na rin sa tulong ng
Alvarez Group.

CEBU GOVERNOR
Let’s drink to that!

The four men toasted their wine-filled glasses.

NEGROS GOVERNOR
Don Ignacio, iba talaga pag kayo
nagpa-party. IT's pefect.

DON IGNACIO
Espesyal kasi ito, kasi parang
debut na rin to ng aming apong babae.

ILOILO GOVERNOR
Hindi ko alam na meron pala kayong apong
babae.

DON IGNACIO
Meron na ngayon, ngayon lang namin
siya natagpuan. Ipapakilala namin
siya sa lahat, mamayang konti.

CEBU GOVERNOR
Speaking of pakikilala, gusto ko
hong ipakilala sa inyo ang isang
malaking investor ng aming bayan.

DON IGNACIO
Sino siya? Kilala ko ba siya?

CEBU GOVERNOR
Actually, medyo bata pa, anak daw siya ng mga
kilalang Toribio ng Quezon Province.
Sa Amerika nag-aral ang bata. Very
promising ang investment portfolio
niya.

DON IGNACIO
Talaga? Ano namang negosyo ang
naisip niya para sa Cebu?

ILOILO GOVERNOR
Yep, I think I know him too.
Pumunta siya minsan sa amin, nagsurvey
ng mga sites.

CEBU GOVERNOR
Sandali lang, tatawagin ko siya.
Hayaan ko na lang siyang magexplain
sa inyo ng business niya.
I’m sure you’ll be impressed.
Excuse me...babalik ako kaagad.

Cebu Governor exits.

DON IGNACIO
You know, iho. I let my sons
handle business nowadays. Puro
charity causes na lang ang ginagawa
ko these days.

ILOILO GOVERNOR
I’m pretty sure mai-impress kayo sa
confidence niya. He is very, very good.

NEGROS GOVERNOR
I can’t wait to meet him.

ILOILO GOVERNOR
He’s sort of a celebrity too.
Remember niyo yung General Go na
nalunod yung yate?

NEGROS GOVERNOR
Ah oo, naalala ko iyon. It was the
General’s birthday party.

ILOILO GOVERNOR
He was there on business with the
General. Siya lang ang natirang
survivor ng barkong iyon.

NEGROS GOVERNOR
Oh, it was him?! Was he that close
kay General Go?

ILOILO GOVERNOR
Apparently, he was hatching a
multi-million dollar deal with
General Go nang mangyari ang trahedya.

DON IGNACIO
Talaga? Malaki siguro ang tiwala ng
General sa kanya kung ganoon.
Knowing General Go, isa yun sa
pinaka-maingat na tao sa business
world. Hindi yun naglalabas ng
pera hanggat hindi ka niya kakilala.

NEGROS GOVERNOR
Ano ang nature ng business niya with the General?

ILOILO GOVERNOR
Madami siyang business, eh. Pero
ang alam ko alahas yata ...at saka
gold or diamonds din. Yun ata yung
pakay niya with the general.

Cebu Governor, returns with the guy in the dark suit.
It was no other than PIPO.

CEBU GOVERNOR
Don Ignacio, Governor Perez, this
is Eliseo Toribio.

DON IGNACIO
Welcome to San Nicholas, Mr. Toribio.

PIPO
Maraming salamat po, Don Ignacio.
Kinagagalak ko pong makilala kayo.