KAHIDLAW

•C2 - "Diksyonaryo"

Days passed by after the contest, and I could still feel the hatred I had for that jerk. The fact that he had the nerves to say that in front of my face! I sighed. "Di ko nalang 'yun kakausapin. Sino ba s'ya?"

"Hoy, kinakausap mo na naman yang sarili mo." I turned around, to see Phoebe, looking at me with such a strange face.

"Eh, pano ba kasi? Ang pangit ng ugali ni Sebastian, tapos sinasabi mo pang nasa kanya na lahat."

"Give him a chance, maybe ganon lang talaga s'ya at first. Hay nako, Maxshie."

Lunchtime approached, and while I was having lunch with my friends in the room, I once again, heard a voice, unfamiliar, this time, calling my name.

"Hello po! Andito po ba si Maxine Blanco?"

"Dito po. Bakit po?"

"Hi po! I'm Phia Torres, the editor-in-chief of our newspaper, The Light. Hinahanap ka ng trainer n'yo sa Feature Writing. Start na daw ng intensive training n'yo."

"Ah...ganun ba?" I stood there, not knowing what to say or do. I regained my composure and grabbed my backpack, which contained the things I needed for Feature Writing.  Phia gave me my excuse letter, and I left it at the teacher's table.

Phia then guided me to the building where the intensive training would occur. I looked up at the building, and there was Phoebe, who was waving at me from the third floor. "Third floor, tapos second room po yung Feature. Goodluck!" 

I went up the stairs and headed to the said room. I went in the room, and it suddenly got quiet. "Kasama din pala yung ibang categories dito."

I sat next to Phoebe, who seemed excited about the training, as usual. I could always see her passion for Feature Writing, so this wasn't a new thing for me. We were given fact sheets to make an article for.

As the sound of my pen writing on the paper got replaced by heavy footsteps, I couldn't help but look at the door... And there stood the infamous Sebastian.

"Andito na naman 'sya."  I focused on my paper instead of him. He's not worth my time anyway.

The first two days of the intensive training was absolute hell. With Sebastian almost always correcting and criticizing what I write instead of focusing on his own work, it surely made my blood boil.

Another day passes by, and the only good thing that was on my mind is that this was the last day of the intensive training, before the actual DSPC. 

I sat down on my seat, as usual, and we were given our last topics. When the fact sheets were distributed, I analyzed it pretty quickly. One word, got my attention though, mostly because I didn't know what it meant. "Kahidlaw? Nu'yon?"

"Kahidlaw, deep longing or yearning desire for someone or something. Gets mo na?"  Sebastian, with a smug look on his face, explained.

"Okay, show off."

"You should go look it up at a dictionary."

"Shunga, Wala naman sa dictionary 'yan, eh."

Finally, I made him feel like a fool. He froze, looking embarrassed. Instead of talking back, he sat there quietly and continued writing.

"Pfft, magyayabang ka pa ah."

The day ended on a pretty good note, probably because I managed to humble that four-eyed jerk. The trainors and Phia, the editor-in-chief, conducted a meeting for tomorrow, which was the day of the DSPC.

I went home, not being able to do my gig because of how exhausted I was. I laid down in my bed. Just feeling the fabric of my sheets touch my skin comforted me already.

4:30am.

As the sound of my traumatizing alarm woke me up, I immediately remembered that this was the day I'd compete. For once, I felt like I really needed to win, probably because the last time I got attention for it, it felt so good.

I showered, the cold water making me shiver. I got dressed with the polo shirt that we were given. "The Light, Feature Writer."  This was stamped on the shirt, and this made me feel more of a journalist.

I put my shoes on, and commuted, as usual. By the time I got to the school, almost all of the participants were already there, waiting. Some in the corridors, some at the gate. I sat down at a nearby bench as I waited for Phoebe and Phia.

I looked down at the grass, and closed my eyes for a while, resting my head on my backpack.

I heard footsteps, and it was approaching me. I looked up, and saw Phoebe and Phia.

"Ang lungkot mo nanaman d'yan. Oa!" Phoebe said, with a laugh. I rolled my eyes jokingly.

After a while of waiting, the jeep we were going to ride on finally arrived. There were two jeepneys, one for the Filipino individual and groups; Ang Ilaw, and one for the English individual and groups; The Light, which is where we will go in.

The people at the school lessened as they went in the jeep. We also did the same.

One thing was missing though. "Ah...right." The jerk wasn't there. "Bakit kaya... Siguro nahiya na s'ya ipakita mukha n'ya dahil dun sa Diksyonaryo na'yun." While thinking of it, I suddenly bursted laughing. But I snapped back to reality eventually when I caught a glimpse of the people looking at me.

8:30am.

We finally arrived at the school in Pampanga where we would compete. All of us got dropped off at the gate. While Phoebe, Phia, and I were roaming around, we saw a crowd surrounding someone.

"Hm? Sino 'yun?" I asked, trying to get a peek of who the person might be. After some time...

"HALA, JAEDEN BAUTISTA??"

"Sino 'yun?"

"Crush ng bayan 'yun! Pero balita ko, may jowa na daw s'ya na lalaki."

"Wawa naman yung mga nagkakacrush sa kanya na babae."

While laughing, Jaeden decided to approach us. Looking at him, he was indeed handsome, but still, definitely not my type. In such a small time, we already made another friend.

We then arrived at the gym for the registration, and after, we sat down.

Suddenly... I felt someone poke my shoulder from the back. I turned around to see...

Sebastian. With a smile, he said;

"Good luck sa'yo, Maxmax." There's something about it that... Made me feel a way, that I can't really explain. But I still hated him despite that. I just ignored him.

"Ano ba 'to?? Ayaw ko sa kanya. Ayaw ko sa kanya. Ayaw ko sa kanya." I kept repeating that in my head. After all, I hated him...right?