Finding My Safe Space

Chapter 2

Inis akong naglakad palayo sa pwestong 'yon. Crispin Yeshua is really a moment destroyer! And seryoso ba siya sa sinasabi niyang magpeperform siya?

Whoa! Is that a joke? I recalled na nabanggit ni mom na nasabi sa kanya ni Tita Ninang that Crispin has been pursuing music while they're abroad. Pero hindi ko alam kung anong nangyari. Obviously, ayaw ko namang makibalita sa kanya. After everything that happened, I don't think I'd have time to stick my nose to other people's business.

And now, I'm really badtrip! Because I want to cool my head ay pumunta muna ako sa tapat ng Science building to search for drinks, buti nalang ay maraming mabibilhan dahil foundation week.

Ben and Ben started performing at habang nakikinig at umiinom ay parang nabawasan ang init ng ulo ko. I like their songs, it's calming and I always love the lyrics, it's always tagos kasi.

"Oh.." I almost cursed no'ng bigla akong matapunan ng tubig. Buti nalang the guy beside me was fast para mailayo ako.

"Halaaaa. Sorry po." The girl said at tila takot na takot pa.

I was about to say something but when I realized who's the guy beside me ay natahimik nalang ako at ngumiti nalang do'n sa muntik makatapon sa akin.

"Be careful next time." he said to the girl before facing me.

Hindi ko naman mapigilan ang tuwa ko. Come on, it's Priam! One of my crushes!

"Hi. Sorry for that," he smiled and I again realized that he's really cute.

"It's okay, Priam. Thank you nga pala." I said while smiling. But oh no! Did I just say his name? Paano kung mag-ask siya kung paano ko siya nakilala?

His eyes widened a bit. "Uh, you're Ry!" Medyo gulat niyang sabi. "I just know some people who know you." He added, tumango naman ako.

I suddenly want to feel kilig 'cause my crush knows me, even though I know na malaki naman talaga 'yong chance na kilala niya ako.

"OMG! Si CYD nga!" My brows furrowed no'ng biglang umingay 'yong mga tao sa gilid namin.

Sino na bang nagpeperform? And who's that CYD ba? Kanina ko pa naririnig eh.

The music played at agad ko ring napagtanto na rap music 'yon dahil sa beat.

I'm so tiny kaya hindi ko na sinikap pang tumingkayad para tingnan kung sino ang nagpeperform dahil alam kong wala naman akong mapapala.

I took a sip of the milk tea I bought but I almost spit it because of what I heard.

Damn. The crowd turned wilder, samantalang ako ay naestatwa nalang sa kinatatayuan ko.

That freaking voice. It's fucking familiar.

Don't tell me...

He's that CYD? And he's a what...a RAPPER?

My eyes widened because of a realization.

CYD. Does it stands for Crispin Yeshua Diaz?

"He's Cyd." I murmured upon realizing it.

"Omg! We're so lucky! Kararating lang daw niya no'ng isang araw tapos ito 'yong first performance niya here in the Philippines! Tapos dito pa sa school!" Someone from the crowd said.

"And he's not with his usual getup! Look at that face and curly hair! He's so hot!" Another person added.

I sighed. It's definitely him.

So he's popular now? Judging how people cheer for him, he must be something big.

Something inside me throbbed as I let myself hear his performance. It's true that he's good, I couldn't blame people for stanning him.

Alam ko naman kahit noon pa na may talent siya, but I never thought he would really pursue music because he always seem to hate it. Dati. Especially when we were in elementary.

***

"You did great." Our music teacher told him. Katatapos lang ng class namin and she's just giving us feedbacks.

As for me, I'm already good with piano, all I need to work on is my timing. Just a little bit and I'm all done. While he's doing good naman in guitar, minsan ay nagdadrums din siya.

"There will be a competition next week, ayaw mo bang sumali?" our teacher asked. Crispin just shook his head.

"I'm not interested," he answered and he's always like that. But I know he has a good voice dahil ilang beses ko na rin siyang narinig na kumanta.

"Can I play the drums now? So we can go home." he asked at agad namang tumango 'yong teacher namin.

Pumwesto na agad siya doon sa gitna at nagsimula na, wearing his usual unbothered expression.

What he's showing to us is like he's just playing instruments because he needs to, dahil sayang naman ang binabayad ng parents namin para sa classes na 'to. However, whenever he play, I could really see that it feels different and that it seems like he's also enjoying music deep inside. I just couldn't ponder what's holding him back.

***

But look at him now. What a turn of events?

Umupo ako sa may hagdan ng Science building habang hawak-hawak ang phone ko. I just finished searching facts about his carrier and I was surprised.

He started his music career a year ago but he was already able to capture people's attention on his first album and he even trended in social media just 6 months ago, that's why he's known as the rising rap star 'CYD'. Just three months ago, he announced the he would be returning to the Philippines to pursue his music career. People were so thrilled and there were lots of big music companies who wanted to take him, and he really chose a hella big and popular one.

I sighed. Good for him.