Pelikula

4

"Dalle tignan mo 'tong shot ko, look!" A girl from her class, also participating in the campus-based journalism.

Dalle? It sounds like doll. It's cute.

Sofija recognized the girl to be Princess, Dahlia's- or Dalle as everyone calls her, friend.

The called girl with a DSLR camera larger than her two little hands hurried to look what her friend was trying to show her. As she walked to Princess, Dahlia mindlessly dropped some of her stuff that she immediately picked back up... but she misses her pen.

Sofija saw an opportunity to talk to the girl that has been the apple of her eye for about a year now and so she did the next logical thing: grab it.

Anxiety washed over her. Is Sofija allowed to call the other by their nickname?

Wouldn't that be weird? But wouldn't calling her by her real name more awkward? Everyone gets to call her Dalle!

And although she hesitated for a moment, she still went her way to befriend Dahlia.

"Dalle," she called, "nakaligtaan mo ata yung ballpen mo." Sofija shyly walked to the ball of sunshine and stretched her hand.

Dahlia, who was then preoccupied of what Princess was showing her, gazed her way and Dahlia's smile transformed into the thing that she throws to people outside her life.

She smiles. Polite, pretty, and untrue.

That's how you know she's putting up her wall. That she's closed off to anything and is not interested in whatever you have to say because you don't exist in her realm.

That thing.

Dahlia raised her head, and then back to the camera, "You pronounced it wrong! It's 'dal' like madaldal with a wide 'a' not 'd-uh-l'. And thank you for my pen!"

Dahlia, never really letting go of her friend's camera. Her posture still the same, seated, back slouching, head faced on what is in another persons hand.

"Also if you can't pronounce 'Dalle', I think Dahlia would be easier." Dalle with the wide 'a' laughed and says to her friend, "Doll. Para naman akong manyika." And looked back once more. And smiled.

Again with her smile.

Sofija took it the other way. What else was there to do? Pretend that she was not just completely shut off by her 8th grade crush?

She joined photojournalism partially because she was gifted a camera and was making use of it. The other whole reason was Dahlia is a proud photojournalist. And She's mentioned a lot of times that she breathes photography and her ultimate dream was to capture all the beauty the world could offer.

Sofija wanted to be closer to Dahlia. But instead of the upfront approach, Sofi chose the stalker route.

The category was "love". How timely for a young highschool girl seeing love in the shape of her classmate.

She can't just capture a picture of Dahlia, though. Because for the love of God, she's as coward as she can be. So she resorts to other subject. Love is not restricted only to humans, anyway.

Sofija placed first in photojournalism. Dahlia was 2 ranks behind her, 3rd place.

She felt awful.

If only she hadn't joined, Dahlia would be in top 2. If Dahlia was in top 2, then she'd get the chance to represent their school. Everyone was praising Sofija for winning first despite having older students in that category. And Dahlia, too. She was a genius in elementary.

She forfeited her place in journalism. She still ranked first in column writing and editorial cartooning. Teachers we're hailing her as the newfound strength of their team.

Unfortunately, Sofija refused to join the following year.

In ninth grade, Dahlia was in a relationship with a boy named Ericson for the first quarter of the year.

Ericson, the boy from lower section. He has made quite the scene when he was still courting Dahlia. He would serenade her in their classroom, he would shout her out during school programs, he walks home with her.

They became official after a month of pursuing and broke up right before their first quarterly examination.

After him was a guy from 11th grade. Dwayne. They did the same thing. Except Dwayne was a little less obvious. They became official during Valentine's day.

Again, they didn't last long.

In tenth grade, Dahlia had a boyfriend that she was taking a little seriously. And rumours has it that unlike her previous relationship, the guy broke up with her.

"Do you plan on staying in SAHS for your senior year? You can enroll in Tuguegarao, you know. So you can get an heads-up how's college life." Sofija's mother said on the phone.

Sofija is currently washing the dishes while her Lola is watching FPJ's Ang Probinsiyano. She wants to join her grandma but she's having private conversation with her parents so she's distanced herself a little.

"Gusto ko po muna dito, Ma. Baka maging busy din ako pag college, 'di na ako masiyadong makauwi."

"Don't you want to study in Manila na lang? In UST para di ka na mahirapan when you apply for college?"

A long pause before Sofija spoke. Tuguegarao was already too much, Manila? Her mother was shoving independence down her throat. If she can, she wants to study in the local private College just so she can stay with her grandmother.

Sofija can't say this to her mother yet but in time. She will soon get the courage to say that she have no interest in studying outside of region 2.

"Ma, pagdating po kasi ng araw di ko na po masiyado makikita si Lola. Just this 2 years po, let me stay in Santa Ana. I'll transfer na lang po in private school." Sofija holding back what she really wanted to say.

"Your college university, decide where you want to enroll ha."

"We'll see when we get there po. Baka nga po maging repeater pa ako. I don't want to take STEM, Ma." She laughed nervously at the joke she just made. Hoping her mother would let her take HUMSS instead.

"Hay naku. Ayusin mo pagaaral mo diyan, Pia, ha? Daddy and I are working really hard so we can afford to send you to nice schools. Okay Daddy say bye-bye to Pia." Her mother gave the phone to her dad who's likely in his computer, working overtime again.

"Bye-bye Pia! Dada loves you." She heard her father say.

"Bye Dada, bye Mama."