Break Fresh Ground

7: DENIAL

Sienna Del Gallego wants to send you a friend request.

My mind went blank when I saw it. It's as if I lagged. All I knew was that I accepted her friend request without hesitation, it would have been impolite not to. After, I dove into her account, exploring the content she had shared. Her profile was filled with posts about architecture, memes about the struggles of being an architecture student, and her own artwork. Her hand was talented, and her mind was creative, that much was clear. Her portrait artworks and paintings were stunningly beautiful, as evidenced by the likes and comments on her posts.

Then, a message bubble popped-up.

Sienna: Hi🤗. I already added you on the group chat of Performing Arts Collective.

Scarlett: Hello. I received no notifications about it po.

Sienna: Try checking on your message requests.

Scarlett: Okay po. Just a sec.

I followed her advice and hit the accept button. At first, it was lost in the sea of messages in my message request folder, but I eventually found it. I couldn't help but wonder why people feel the need to send me random messages, even if we don't know each other. They greet me at all hours, send me links to unknown websites, and send me messages that make me feel uneasy. I don't like talking to strangers in any online platforms and ignoring them keep me at peace.

Scarlett: I've accepted it na po.

Sienna: That's good. Doon ako mag-update ng ganap sa organization natin.

Scarlett: Okay po.

As I scrolled through my inbox, I stumbled upon messages from the head honchos of our organization - the president and vice president. My curiosity was piqued as I opened them, eager to see what they had in store for us. To my surprise, they had sent over the school calendar, marked with the dates and events our organization would be participating in.

But the surprise didn't end there. Along with the calendar came a set of rules that we had to abide by or face the consequences of paying up or donating to the organization.

Sienna: Acquaintance party will happen in two weeks' time. As the Vocal Coordinator, you need to call the attention of the members under your supervision. You can cooperate with other coordinators.

Yes, I accepted the position to be the Vocal Coordinator. Ito kasing si Harriett, kung anu-ano ang ipinanood sa ibang members ng org kaya napapayag ako. She made them watch some of my covers na hindi ko naman nilabas sa social media ko. Guess who are the culprits? It's no other than my best friends. Kay gagaling.

Scarlett: I will po.

Sienna: May ginagawa ka ba?

Which I replied na wala akong ginagawa and asked her why. I was about to sleep when I saw her request on my account. Biglang nawala ang antok ko dahil doon. Mas lalo pa akong nagising dahil sa paalala niya na malapit nang mangyari ang program na inaabangan ng mga students.

Sienna: Wala, wala. 😅

I was about to reply when she sent another message.

Sienna: Good night, Scarlett. 😃

Scarlett: Good night.

It's normal to say good night to everyone before going to sleep.

I repeated that line over and over until I fell asleep at kahit sa paggising ko. I don't know why I'm making it a big deal na dapat hindi naman.

Gosh, Scarlett, maybe she's just being polite not to leave your message on seen.