Fight or Flight

Chapter 19: New Item

"Hey" Sean nudged me. "That's a nice surprise?" He said smiling at me.

I am still stunned. Staring at Adie as she and the two other guest speakers share their agenda to the auditorium.

"Bakit hindi niya sinabi sa'yo?" He asked.

"We're not allowed to know who the guests were, remember? And I told you, we've been busy, we haven't really had the time to talk properly." I answered.

"Nakita mo ba ung gc? Everyone, sila Avery, sila Hannah, nagulat rin that Adie is a guest speaker. Tignan mo chats nila." He added and laughed.

"I'll check later." I answered breathlessly.

Adie is breathtaking. She's so professional and smart. She talks smart. I love how her suit fits her and how the color black suits her. Her hair is neatly flowing on her shoulders to her chest. Her in this business outfit is immaculate.

"She's looking for you, no?" Sean said.

"What?" I replied, finally looking at him.

"I think she's searching for you in the crowd. Kanina pa siya lowkey hindi mapakali eh. Nakasimangot pa nga oh" He nodded towards Adie. "Why did she use Olivia? Akala ko uncomfortable siya don sa name na yon?"

"Your guess is as good as mine. Hindi ko rin alam bakit." I answered.

I couldn't really pay attention to their discussion. It has been an hour pero walang pumasok sa isip ko.

 I decided to take a look around and saw that there's so many people. Most of them have their phones out, recording. 

"Wow." I breathed out.

"Makinig ka, you have to ask a question later." Sean whispered.

"Just for everyone's information, the organizers have accepted 10 students from the audience to ask one question to the speakers. The students can choose which speaker they would like to ask." The emcee announced. "Can we ask the first 5 students who enlisted to please make their way at the front to the middle of the auditorium where the mic stand is located."

Five students made their way quickly.

"Good morning miss, please state your name, your course, and which speaker would you like to ask a question to." The emcee stated.

"Good morning. I am Anna Dela Cruz and I'm doing pre-med. My question is for Mr. Aoko Asahise." She announced to the mic.

"And your question is..?" The emcee cued.

I am glad that the students have asked really important and wise questions to the speakers.

I couldn't help but watch Adie in awe when a student asked her about her skills and learning process so far since she is just a freshman but has already been recognized by her university.

Another student asked her about the lifestyle and culture shock she went through, and Adie explained that she was indeed Filipino, but she actually grew up in Germany. She then moved back to the Philippines for high school, then left for New York for College.

As for the other speakers, their questions linked with their professions as they are near graduate candidates. Both of them almost in their senior years.

This segment went on for 30 minutes, an approximate 5-6 minutes per student.

"May we call on the next 5 students, please?" The emcee asked once the first five students finished.

I looked at Adie to catch her reaction.

She didn't see me standing up and walk towards the line of students.

I couldn't help but study her for the past 1 hour and 30 minutes. I can say she's been very reserved and polite. Her body language is a bit tense the whole time. She must be tired and bored. 

I stood second in line.

"Hi, my name is Claudia and I'm studying entrep. My question is for Ms. Paula."

I got a bit nervous and looked up to Adie. She is still sitting, laying back, with a neutral expression on her face. Her legs crossed and her hands resting on her lap. She has not moved from that position for awhile.

I guess she still has not seen me yet.

I wonder what her reaction would be when she sees me.

She now then looked down to her lap. I assess she's not listening to the discussion anymore. She looks so amazing and pretty.

"Thank you Ms. Paula and Ms. Claudia. That was another informative discussion again. Let's move on to our next student, please." The emcee said.

"Good morning." I spoke to the mic. 

Only looking at Adie, I caught her whole reaction and I've never been so excited and nervous this way before. 

She snapped her head up so quickly, locking eyes with me. She smiled at me so widely, I couldn't help but smile back and get distracted by her.

The whole auditorium filled with gasps and cheers. A lot of 'oh my god!' and 'hala!' and 'what the fu**' could be heard around. 

Adie laughed at the reaction of the crowd, leaving me confused.

The two other speakers also had smiles on their faces and shocked reactions.

The cheering went on for a while that the emcee had to calm everyone down. "Can we please ask everyone to settle down." The emcee announced but also had a side comment of his own. "Although parang na-fall ako don sa ngiti na yon ah." He joked.

Adie was still smiling looking at me. "My name is Joe. I'm an architecture student. My question is for Ms. Guerrero." I smiled at Adie.

"Good morning, Joey." She spoke to her hand mic.

and again, everyone reacted when she spoke.