Aurora Borealis

Chapter 31 - Haze and Dawn

>> • LAUREN • <<

"And now, we're right here at the Main Hall to exclusively give you a coverage of the ongoing Astra's 32nd Arts Festival! Gaya ng makikita nating lahat, kakatapos lamang ng opening ceremonies.."

"I see. So they're making a live coverage para hindi maging crowded sa loob ng Main Hall." saad ni West na nasa tabi ko at nakikinood sa broadcast na nasa phone ko. He's sitting on an armchair with the backrest of the chair facing him.

"Wag kang malikot, West. Natatanggal yung earphones ko." wika ko sa kaniya. We're currently sharing on earphones since he doesn't have his phone with him, or he's just too lazy to get it in his bag.

Walang gan'ong klase ngayon dahil ilan sa mga teachers ang nagfa-facilitate ng program. Mayroong mga nakatayo lamang sa pintuan ng Main Hall at nagkukwentuhan, ang iba nama'y naka-assign bilang hurado kapag natapos na ang mga contest.

"Hey, hey, wait!" atubiling bulalas ni West na animo'y may nakita siyang kakaiba sa screen. "I-playback mo ng ten seconds."

Nagtataka naman, tumalima na lamang ako. Nang naka-playback na ang video ay biglaan niya itong ipinause at ini-zoom ang screen.

"Look closer. It's Baldo, right?" tanong niya. Inaninag ko naman ang imahe na pinapakita ng pixelated na screen dulot ng sobrang pagkaka-zoom. My eyes narrowed into slits, trying to visualize if he's really that guy, then all of a sudden it widened due to realization.

He's one of the participants, completely fixated in front of his canvas. There's not a moment that he paused to look at his work, it's as if he's fully aware of what he's doing and is going along with his concentration. It's my first time seeing that side of him, being passionate about what he's doing. For a second, I thought he's a completely different person.

If he's only showing that expression of his more often, a lot of girls will be swarming over him. Upon seeing him, my curiosity is now piqued with what could be the 'theme' that he's working on, given that there's no particular topic given to them.

Hindi pa ipinapakita ang mga gawa nila dahil para na rin siguro i-sorpresa ang mga nanonood ng live broadcast.

"Oo nga, 'no? Napansin mo pa 'yon?" tanong ko kay West.

"Don't underestimate me." saad nito at ngumisi.

"I really didn't think that he'll join." ibinalik ko na sa pagkaka-play ang video.

"Same. After all that big talk about not joining, it looks ironic. Oh, hey! There's Robin in front of him." turo ni West sa screen.

He's right, there's Robin, wearing a huge smirk on his face while working. Even if I'm given a million tries, I would've never guessed what's running on his mind at that moment.

Maraming estudyante ang nagco-comment sa live tungkol sa pagpapakita ng kabuuan ng mga participants, ngunit tila ba ayaw pagbigyan ng media ang hiling nila at nagpatuloy lamang ang mga ito sa pag-shoot kay Robin sa iba't-ibang anggulo.

"I wonder who'll win that competition. I heard that some students from the College Department has also shown interest in competing at the Arts Festival." kaswal na wika ni West sa kaniyang sarili.

"After the festival, it's expected that we'll upload some of the sneak-peeks on the process that our aspiring artists are constantly building.." saad pa ng student reporter. "But, before the awaited showcasing of the finished artworks, we'll proceed at the Broadcasting Room wherein they're about to present the shortfilms that our beloved students submitted as their entries at the said category."