Sunset of Times

Kabanata 19

"Come on, Steph! Mahuhuli tayo!"

Sinarado ko ang pinto ng kotse after I wore my backpack. I rolled my eyes and gave Cassandrielle a smile. Kahit sinabi niyang bilisan ko ay hindi ako tumakbo. I just walked towards their direction like I'm on a red carpet at pinaghintay silang apat.

They made a face palm when they realized that I'm slowing my moves. I heard Tita Maine's laugh on my back. Siya kasi ang nagsundo saamin sa bahay dahil nga sa nag sleep over si Sid at Mika hindi ba? And then we made a stop on Cassy and Zeya's house to pick them up too.

"Pa ekstra talaga iyang si Stephanie eh noh? Feeling special?!" Bulaslas ni Sid, sinadya niyang iparinig saakin

"Oo, Special... Special child!" Malakas na tawa ni Mika

I rolled my eyes again and stopped infront of them. Dala dala na nila ang instrumento nila. It's hard to bring mine, pero buti na lang ay dati na akong nagpagawa ng lalagyan ng drum ko incase dadalhin siya sa kung saan saan. We just need someone with strong arms to bring down my instrument dahil nasa likod pa iyon ng pick-up ni Tita Maine.

Nakasabit ang gitara ni Cassy sa likod niya. As well as Sidney's electric guitar on her back. Ang piano naman ni Zeya ay naroon rin sa likod ng pick-up. We all know the rules and regulations of the contest. We came prepared, we came ready at everything.

Malaki ang studio. It's an open studio rather. Dalawang hakbang paitaas ang stage dahil siguro para hindi mahirapan mag buhat ng mga instruments namin.

Malawak ang espasyo, may mga tao na rin. Actually, marami rami ang mga tao. There's a small long rectangular table in the middle, infront of the stage. Tingin ko ay para sa mga judges iyon...

"Oh my goodness... I'm nervous...." Bulong ni Cassy

Napamasdan ako sa buong lugar. Unlike Cassy, I don't feel nervous. To be honest, I feel sad rather. Because the people here have time to watch our performance despite being a totally strangers to them pero ang sarili kong kadugo ay wala rito para suportahan ako.

Mika's mother is here, sobrang busy niya pero narito siya para sa anak niya. Ang kapatid naman ni Zeya ay paparating na dito kasama ang Auntie nila. Sidney's Mother will soon be here. I know that dahil nasa phone niya ngayon si Sid, telling her Mom about where she is.

"Hindi ba dadating ang Mommy mo?" Tanong ko kay Cassy. Nilingon niya ako at nakangiti na umiling.

"She have an emergency meeting. Kaya yung bodyguard namin ang narito.... She will watch our performance on the video that our guard will film." Ngiti niya

Tumango ako at tumingin na lang muli sa harap. Cassy seems fine about it. Sobrang busy rin kasi ng magulang niya. I admire her for not taking it too deep... She immediately understands her parents lack of time for her. Hindi siya nalulungkot at ayos lang sakanya. Maybe... Ngumingiti kasi siya eh.. maybe it's fake?

"That's okay. Wala rin naman yung akin." Natatawang sabi ko sakanya. Hopefully she will feel at ease dahil parehas kaming walang sumusuporta saamin.

"Steph..." She sighed... Giving me a sorry look that made laugh.

"Oh come on! Don't pity me! Mabuti na nga iyon kaisa mag away kami ni Daddy. It's a bad luck!" Sabi ko

Umiwas na ako ng tingin at umaaktong busy. Just checking my phone and fakely capturing some pictures. The contest will start in a few minutes. Umalis na sa harap namin si Tita Maine at pumunta sa kung saan ang mga audiences. Pinahanda na kaming mga contestants habang ang audiences ay pumwesto na. Some were obviously supporters of the other contestants. Kung hindi kaibigan na may pa banner pa ng sinusuportahan nila, may mga parents naman... Lucky people.