“Let’s start again! From the top!” utos ni Coach AJ sa amin. We’ve been practicing for an hour right now at hindi pa rin namin ma-perfect ni Jake ang isang piece na kakantahin namin sa program. I hate this! I really want to go home right now! But I can’t – we can’t until we perfect this one song. Imagine, isang kanta na nga lang ang i-prapractice namin at hindi pa namin makuha-kuha ng tama. ‘Yon naunang kanta ay na-practice na namin ng maayos at hindi ko alam kung bakit with this particular song pa kami natagalan.
“1, 2, 3, 4” Coach AJ counted. I sighed and then Jake started singing again his part. We’re going to perform Teenage Dream by Katy Perry.
You think I'm pretty without any make-up on
You think I'm funny when I tell the punch line wrong
I know you get me, so I let my walls come down, down
I joined him on the second verse. The blending of our voice is good but Coach doesn’t seem satisfied. Makikita naman kasi sa mukha nito kung satisfied siya or hindi. We sang together until we reached the chorus...
You make me feel like I'm living a teenage dream
The way you turn me on, I can't sleep
Let's runaway and don't ever look back
Don't ever look back
My heart stops when you look at me
Just one touch, now baby I believe
This is real, so take a chance
And don't ever look back, don't ever look back
“Ok. Stop! Andie, your voice is off. Take 5.” I immediately ran to the backstage. I really can’t take this. Bakit ba ako masyadong affected sa nangyari kanina? Was it because you like how Jake kissed you? No! Ewww. It’s just that, muntik na kaming mahuli kanina ni Coach AJ. I’ll tell you one reason kung bakit ako kinabahan kanina. Coach AJ is my mom’s friend. She has her own school where she teaches voice lessons to those who have the potential to be a singer. Did you all get it? Lagot kaming parehas ni Jake kapag nahuli kami! Gad! Hindi ko na alam ang gagawin ko kay Jake para matigil na siya.
The door creeked open and I saw Jake walked inside. He closed the door and locked it. Not again! Sisigaw talaga ako kapag may ginawa na naman siya sa akin. Lahat na nang pag-iwas, ginawa ko na. Hindi ba siya natatakot na masira ang magandang relationship ng parents namin? Ako kasi, oo. Kinuwento sa akin ni Mom lahat ng pinagdaanan nila noon ni Dad.
“What are you doing here? This is your entire fault!” Sigaw ko dito. I punched his chest many times before he finally held both of my hands to stop me from punching him. I hate him! I hate all the things that he’s been doing to me! I hate that he’s just acting like nothing happened! How can he be so cool while I’m busy thinking of ways to avoid him. Argh!
“Stop, Andie! You’re overreacting!” Oh, right. Marahas kong tinanggal ang mga kamay ko mula sa pagkakahawak niya at lumabas ng backstage. Tapos na ang five minute break na binigay sa amin ni Coach AJ. I really need to pull myself together para matapos na ang practice namin at para makauwi na rin ako.
“Andie, what happened back there?” Usisa ni Coach noon umakyat ulit ako ng stage. Mabilis ko naman siyang sinagot.
“Nothing, Coach. Misunderstanding lang.” Tumango naman siya at inutusan si Jake na umakyat na din ng stage para makapag-start na ulit kami ng practice. We’re singing the acoustic version by the way. Hindi pa man kami nakakapag-start ay biglang bumukas ang pinto ng auditorium. Sabay-sabay kaming napatingin sa pinto at chineck kung sino ‘yong pumasok. A smile crept up my face. So, I guess you know now who it is.
