D'Beasts Series #4: Ceasing the Rivalry

IKA-LABING DALAWA

“It should be colorful, and magdagdag pa tayo ng iba pang mga designs. I think green, orange, and yellow will work well together.”

Sumang-ayon ako sa suggestion ni Janine habang pinagmamasdan namin ang kabuuan ng nagawa nilang booth na nakahanay sa ilan pang mga booth ng ibang sections. Hindi pa tapos ang halos lahat at kailangan pa ng ilang finishing touches pero buo na ito at nasunod naman ang nagawa naming layout last week. Kaming mga naka-assign sa mismong mga dishes ay wala pa gaanong ginagawa sa ngayon kung hindi ang tumulong sa pakauti-kaunting pagpipinta ng mga kulay sa aming backdrop. Sa mismong araw at oras ng event kami naka-assign kaya siguradong mas mahihirapan kami.

“Ilang araw na lang bago ang sports fest, kailangan na natin ma-settle lahat ng mga budget na ilalabas natin para sa mga ingredients.”

I’m trying so hard to focus on the details and the discussion we’re having, even though I still can’t stop thinking about what happened last night when I punched Wesley at Caza Bistro. Not to be violent, but it feels satisfying to hit someone in the face after they behaved like an idiot. Hell, that was the first punch I gave to someone this year. He’s lucky.

“Seven? Are you still there?”

I blinked twice as I saw Mika’s hands waving in my face. Napatulala pala ako nang hindi ko namamalayan. Damn, Seven, focus on what’s important right now! We can’t screw this up; your grades will be at risk.

“S-Sorry, I was thinking about the ingredients we need. Just finalizing it in my head,” I lied. “Ano nga ulit iyon?”

“I was asking for the lists. Nadala mo ba? I’m sure natapos mo na iyon.”

I immediately nodded. “Yes, it’s in my bag. I’ll get it.”

After almost two hours of doing every detail in our booth, we finally decided to take a break and eat our lunch since it’s already half past one. Iyon nga lang, bigla naman kaming ipinatawag pabalik ng classroom para sa announcement daw ng prof namin. It’s really bad timing because I’m starving and all of my friends are waiting for me at the caféteria.

Na-late pa ulit ng another ten minutes bago kami tuluyang pinalabas para sa lunch break. According to what our professor said, all the students from different academies will have access to our school premises during the sports festival. So we have to work with our groups really well. Hindi kami puwedeng mapahiya sa ibang schools. It’s a pressure for us, but if we’ll look to the bright side, mas maraming students, mas maraming kita. Mas madali rin naming mababawi ang puhunan.

“Mabuti naman at pinakawalan na kayo ng professor niyo,” pang-aasar ni Ford nang huli akong maupo sa table namin dala ang isang tray ng pagkain.

“Marami na kaming ginagawa kaya baka sa susunod ay hindi na rin ako makasabay during lunch breaks.”

“Same here. Sobrang hirap i-train ng mga juniors, mukhang mapapahiya pa yata ako kay Coach Lim kaya baka mag-overtime kami sa susunod dahil malapit na ang laban.”

Matapos lang talaga ang sports fest ay siguradong makakahinga na kami ng maluwag. As far as I know, this will be the last school event to be held before we move on to our last year in college. Last semester na ito, we should work hard and give extra effort so there won’t be any problems that may delay our moving up.

“Mabalik tayo, anong nangyari kagabi? I can’t believe we went home without knowing what really happened or what the commotion was all about,” Bry hissed while shaking his head and slicing his piece of cake as his desert.

Akala ko ay hindi na nila matatandaan pa iyon. I thought they were drunk enough to forget the scene I caused last night. It was a bit embarrassing. Sino ba naman ang may gustong dalhin palabas ng mga bouncers?