The Beautiful Thing (Lucky Girlies #1)

TBT 120

Habang naghihintay ay napagpasyahan namin na magkakaibigan ang tumambay sa office ko. Medyo malayo ang quadrangle sa Student Council Building kaya aabutin talaga ng ilang minuto na lakaran pero walang wala yun sa mga kaibigan ko. 

"Tasha, saglit, yung bata rito nahila ako gusto raw magpa picture sayo," sigaw ni Elle. Lumingon kaming lahat sa kaniya, it's already five in the afternoon but she still has the energy to shout and talk to other people that is not her friends or she's completely comfortable with. Lumipat ang tingin ko kay Threia at tinaasan ko siya ng kilay, "You think?" 

"It's harmless naman, lovie, go for it," she convinced me.

I nodded and tried to put on a warm smile to not scare off the Junior High School student who is now looking at me with admiration in her eyes, "Hi, what is your name?" Sabi ko pagkalapit na pagkalapit sa kaniya. "I'm Sarah po," she replied. I feel the warmth of her soft tone, "Okay, Sarah, are you here also to attend the Night Jamming?" She nodded at me while muttering the softest agreement I heard in my entire life... well, other than my boyfriend. 

"If that's the case, then let's take a picture?" She beamed at me. Si Sarah na mismo ang naglahad ng cellphone niya sa palad ko at ako naman ay iniayos ang tayo para magpantay kaming dalawa dahil sa may katangkaran ako. I was the one holding the phone and she's just standing beside me, literally. 

"One, two, three, smile!" I said and clicked the button to take pictures of us. 

Bukod pa sa mga pag ngiti ay gumamit ako ng signature L posing after ng peace sign. 

Matapos ang mahigit isang minuto ay ibinalik ko na sa kaniya ang cellphone, nagpasalamat naman siya sa akin bago ibinulong ang mga katagang, "Bagay po kayo ni Chance," she giggled and then ran away from us. 

Binalik ko ang tingin ko sa mga kaibigan, "As much as I want to entertain people, let's not drain our energy na ah?" 

"Sige lang, beb, kailangan din natin ng pahinga," pagsang-ayon ni Diez. Tumango si Azi habang nakatuon ang paningin sa screen ng kaniyang gadget. Elle was playing with her hair while nodding at me and Threia gave me a quick wink while shaking her head along the beat of the music she's been listening using her headphones. 

Sumapit ang gabi at gano'n pa rin ang nangyari, nag perform ang Lola Amour at sumunod ang Dilaw, we gave them eight to nine and nine to ten schedule... kaya nga lang ay nauuna na matapos ang Dilaw at hinahayaan na rin namin sila na makapag pahinga back stage. 

"Nag text sa akin si Waltie, hanap daw tayo sa backstage," sabi ni Threia habang hawak-hawak ang cellphone na ipinakita sa amin. I nodded at her, "Sure, daan tayo sa may gilid, I'll inform the others." 

Sumunod naman sila Diez, Azi, at Elle sa amin. Ben's girlfriend was practically bouncing with excitement, Diez had a smile of contentment on her face, and Azi... well, the same old game addict version of her that does not smile unless there's actually something funny. 

The Invisible String welcomed us with warm hugs. Or most likely, Elle hugged her boyfriend, Threia was pulled into Walter's arms, Achi and Diez stood beside each other after they gave each other a friendly kiss, and Azi just rolled her eyes at her fiance who welcomed her with a warm smile. Ako naman ay nagtungo sa pinaka bata ng grupo at tinanggap ang mga braso niyang nakalahad at naghihintay sa akin. 

Like his usual hobby, he buried his face in the crooked of my neck while he made sure his hands were around my body. Anton squeezed me tightly, "You're my good luck charm." 

I laughed at his silliness, "Of course, I am." 

One beat, four beat, ten beat. 

It took us all thirty seconds before a person broke the quiet of our mixed crowd. 

"Good luck out there, guys!" Our sensible Threia cheered the band. She gained thanks from the boys and some of them joked to her, "Sabihin mo na lang kung gusto mo ng pirma ko, Threia," na inikutan lang niya ng mata. 

Sinaway naman ni Elle si Ben. 

Doon nga sa backstage kami namalagi buong performance, nakikinig lang kami habang nakasilip sa kanila na tumutugtog at ginagawa ang makakaya nila para magbigay ng kompleto at masayang performance. The crowd cheered so loud it felt like my eardrums almost gave up. 

It was worth it, though. 

For the second time, I was pulled out by Anton himself who kissed me in front of thousands of Rio students. 

"I love you," he whispered which echoed throughout the quadrangle because of the heavy speakers and a good quality microphone they were using. 

"I love you more," and I kissed him back. 

The night ended with so many tears, joy, and sweat. 

Fruit of labor was evident by how the crowd jammed to the new songs and promised to support the group in every way they could. They were so welcoming, we loved it. Gone was the exhaustion from a long week of examination back then and it was replaced by the overwhelming and energizing motivation of the event. 

The night dawned and I ended up at the place where I truly longed to be.