Aurora Borealis

Chapter 18 -

>> • WENDY • <<

"And as I said, majority ng mga vloggers ay ginagamit ang kanilang mga content for clout, no matter what. Kahit na apology video pa 'yan o thirty minute nilang paglilitanya tungkol sa mga nangyari sa buhay nila na para bang gusto sila kakomprehensibong ipamalita sa buong mundo na para bang kailangang maging updated ng lahat sa mga ganap sa kanila. This one's an example..."

"Alam ko naman na mali ako, oo na, mali na. Gano'n pala talaga kapag nasa Pilipinas ka ano? Lahat na lang ng ginagawa mo ijajudge ka-"

"Kapag usapang sebo, wala ka nang mairereklamo ngayong nandito na ang solusyon namin para sa 'yo~"

The audio was interrupted by an ad that appeared when the red marker on the video direction hit the small bits of more than ten yellow time stamps in it.

It was then paused by the critique as soon as the ad appeared, "See? I'm sorry for those ignorant little minds that they've been brainwashing with the gimmicks of these dolts."

"This is going to be more than ten minutes of bickering, but I note you that this would be more timeworthy than being fooled by those frauds. As a heads-up, this video wasn't monetized for transparency."

The speaker rolled her eyes as soon as she finished dissing almost all of those vloggers out there.

"To those who are offended, go ahead and do so. I'm just standing for my beliefs. Look! What I just said could be the exact same defense mechanism that your foolish vloggers be using when they got called out, exploiting more of their ignorance and their abaca-hungry heads." dagdag pa niya at lumagok ng tubig matapos ang sunod-sunod na diskusyon.

Another panel popped out of nowhere beside the speaker and it's as if the spirits of my comprehension inhibited due to a sudden loss of control from their operations. The phone wasn't that heavy, but it made my fingers tremble. on its own mobility.

The short clip attached on the video played on her signal.

"As for this case," she said as she pointed out to the panel containing some of my video thumbnails that she attached there. "I don't know if she's being sincere o sadyang balimbing dahil sa halos lahat ng video niya ay domineering din about sa common issues ng society. Aside from ad hominems, we should also watch out for biased and pa-woke na mga content creators, like this one."

But it doesn't stop there. She even showed the fake scandal video of mine that leaked two years ago.

"You'll never know if this is true or not, but that just shows that she's irresponsible as she poorly handled the issues thrown to her. The main source of the video was taken down, but we never got an official statement from her. Instead, an apology video is posted in her channel. So, weighing the circumstances, is it supposed to be true or not? Did she actually confirm or deny it? Which one?"

I can feel my molar teeth grinding exceedingly as I grit it.

Her video was posted three days ago. But I've only seen it as of now since I don't open my social media accounts that much. When I opened it, I am bamboozled into thinking that this is some content where I can meet her in the same line of argument at some point.

She's a clever clickbaiter.

"Oh? Nanonood ka ng vlogs ni Lomi?" halos mapatayo ako sa gulat nang sumabat sa likuran ko si Tiffany.

"A coincidence. She happened to appear on my feed. Some netizens who doesn't have anything to do with their lives but to mesh in with others' business even sent me this. Maybe to trigger me and trick me into doing something that will entertain their purposeless lives." sagot ko.

"Ah, that's the one where she critiqued you. I watched that one." aniya at naupo sa tabi ko, na naman. Ever since she approached me, she never stopped bothering me even if she has an idea that she's being a bother. Noong una'y nagtatanong pa siya kung puwedeng umupo sa tabi ko bago magsimula ang mga klase, ngunit ngayo'y biglaan na lang siyang uupo nang walang pasabi.

"Dito siya nag-aaral, alam mo ba 'yon?" inilabas niya sa kaniyang bag ang Cattleya na napansin kong palagi niyang dala kahit saan siya magpunta,
"Actually, isa siya sa mga kritiko ng DevComm na nag-reject ng entry ko para sa filmfest nila."

I don't like where this conversation is going.

"Since she tried to ruin you, too-"

"Your flimsy provocations won't work." I interrupted her before she could even prove my assumptions correctly, "Having the same target doesn't automatically make us stand on the same side of the fence."

Yes, she's not yet giving up her proposal of us allying together to smear down the reputation of the vicious members of DevComm.

"But those are mere hoax, right?"

Napatingin ako sa kaniya ng nakataas ang kilay, "What do you mean?"

"Those allegations against you." she flipped the next page of her Cattleya and wrote her signature at the back page.

"What makes you believe it isn't?"

"Just a guess." pangungulit niya. "You seem to be an intelligent person. One who's not foolishly driven with deceit and self-intentions."

"What if the rumors are true?" tanong ko pa at sumandal sa upuan ko kasabay ng pagtingala sa kisame.

"Then, you made a mistake. A proof of imperfection." sagot niya. "But that doesn't make you less of a person, at least for me. People tend to measure others with their own guidelines and perception, but then avoids the same measurement when it's being used against them."

"Someone edited it. His reason? I don't know." sagot ko.

"I knew it, I knew it!" she moved nearer to me and jiggled both of my shoulders, "The first side of the story won't always be the real one!"

I see. I hid my phone on my pocket since I already lost interest in watching that video.

"Aren't you going to make a rebutt video to her?" tanong pa niya.

"Why? To summon swarm of prying people like they're flies gathering around in a manure lying beside the road because they're attracted by the scent of it?"

She shook her head as she threw her hands up as forfeition, "No, no. Just to clean your name that they're tainting since they'll claim your silence as an acceptance and confirmation of the issue being legitimate."

I've come this far by learning that I shouldn't always fall on taunts. I never knew before that silence could be this addicting.

"I don't have to explain myself to idiots. That would be like explaining an algebraic expression to a three-year old, it won't come through their heads since they lack comprehension. They'll just do as they please." I replied.