The Revenge of the Former Fangirl

Part 2.3 : LANCE'S RETURN

LANCE'S POV

"Fred, ano? Okay na ba?" Tanong ko sa personal assistant ko.

"Yes sir. Andun na daw si Ms.Lisa sa taas. Pwede na raw tayong pumasok.

"Ah, o sige. Mauna na ako sa taas. Kunin mo na lang itong mga gamit ko sa loob ng kotse. Make sure walang maiiwang mamahaling gamit jan ha! Mahirap na, baka manakawan pa tayo."

"Ah, sige sir.. Sunod nalang ako." Sagot nya

Sumakay na ko ng elevator from the parking lot. Excited na ako.

Dahil YES, finally! Matutuloy na ang anniversary concert ko. It's been a long time since I last performed onstage.

3, 4 years na yata?

And at last, may chance na mangyari ulit yon...

"Good morning, Agnes.."

Bati ko sa secretary nya

"G-good morning po, Mr. Mercado....A- andyan na po si ma'am sa loob. P-pwede na po kay--" tulala nyang sabi sa kin.

Hanggang ngayon, gwapo pa rin naman kasi ako. Nawala na nga lang yung, freshness ng pagiging teenager pero, I'm just 23 years old. I'm still young pa rin naman. Hindi man ako kasing cute gaya nang dati, I would say maturity led me to be under the hunks' category.

I entered her office and she was there, reading files while seated on her swivel chair.

"Good morning Ms. Liza." Bati ko sa kanya. Sya ang producer ng concert ko. A woman in her mid-40s.

"Oh, Lance! Nice to see you." Gulat pero mukhang masaya naman niyang bati sa kin.

"Actually, there's something we have to talk about nga. Good timing ka."

"H-huh? What do you mean? Mukhang nae-excite ako ah. What is it Miss?" I asked

"I'm not sure..if...This is something for you to be excited about..." Kinakabahan nyang sabi

What? What does she mean? I have a really bad feeling about this...

"A-ano po yun?"

"A... Uhm... It's... It's about your concert..."

"W-what's about my birthday concert?"

"I'm afraid we have to reschedule it..."

"WHAT?!"

"Yes... We have--"

"NO! Hindi pwede! It is supposed to be a BIRTHDAY concert! MY birthday concert." I said angrily

"Pero Lance... This is a difficult problem. Kailangan talagang mag-adjust! A foreign artist, or should we say, BAND is coming this week for a world tour. They scheduled a concert with the same date and venue as yours. I met the board yesterday and I'm afraid that we have all decided to consider them as our first priority--"

"So, ako ngayon ang kailangang mag-adjust?! Because of your stupid colonial mentality and social climbing skills, ako ngayon ang mawawalan?! This is bullcr*p!"

Now I'm furious.

"Calm down, Lance...."

"Calm down?! You're asking me to calm down?! You're telling me na hindi matutuloy ang show ko, na pinahandaan ko nang matagal nang dahil lang sa LEAST PRIORITY nyo ako, now you're asking me to CALM THE HELL DOWN?!"

"Hindi naman sa least priority pero--"

"Ooww!!! So hindi pala LEAST priority.... But, SECOND priority lang over that stupid nonsense band. Well, I'm telling you, Ms. Liza! Kung hindi nyo--"

*bam!*

I was shocked when she hit the table very hard just now.

"Kung hindi namin ano?!" galit at namumula nang sigaw ni Ms. Liza.

"If we don't what huh, Mr. Mercado?! Are you threatening me?! Baka nakakalimutan mo, I'M THE ONLY ONE WHO ACCEPTED YOUR PROPOSAL TO PRODUCE YOUR SHOW? They all bailed you down, Lance. Kung tutuusin, UTANG mo pa nga sa kin itong show mo..."

Tumayo siya.

I was burning with anger,
But I can't say a word...

"What do you think, huh?! You're so arrogant! Hindi ka pa rin nagbabago. Ano'ng akala mo? Ganoong kasikat ka pa gaya nang dati? Do you think you still own the spotlight? Yes, maybe you're still good as an actor. May mga projects ka pa sa pelikula at telebisyon. Pero, as a performer? You no longer have what it takes. You no longer have the same number of supporters who can fill in the whole coliseum. Hindi ka na teen superstar.
Kung ako nga sa 'yo, hindi ko na aaksayahin ang panahon ko sa lame concert na 'to, kasi wala na eh..."
Sabi nya habang naglalakad paikot sa kin.

"You're just a plain actor now ... Just like anyone else..." sabi nya. Then she tapped my back. And I felt she intended do that in a saracastic way.

Umupo uli sya sa swivel chair.

I wanted to yell.

I wanted to punch the wall.

Kung hindi lang siya babae at kung hindi lang malaki ang utang na loob ko sa kanya, I would have done that.

Pero, I can't because I respect her and her feminity.

"So you have no right to oppose me o maging sumbatan ako. Remember how much I did to help you with your career all these years." sabi nya.

Di pa rin ako nasagot.

"So you whether you like it or not, you have to obey me. Well, kung ayaw mo, madali lang nman akong kausap. Edi i-cancel natin yung iyo.Whereas, if you would agree to my condition to reschedule your show, then wala tayong problema... So, simple lang naman ang deal eh. It's all up to you. It's just either you take it, or you leave it."

"Aargh!" Inis kong sambit at hinampas ko yung pader.

After a while of thinking,

"FINE! I'll take it!" I said in a hard tone

Aargh!

"Good! So, madali ka naman palang kausap, eh. Then, it's settled. So ganon padin, next month na ang concert mo. May 30 na nga lang. Good luck!" she said with a victorious smirk.

Tumayo na sya.

"Wait! Pwede ko ba man lang ba malaman kung sinong banda yung sumira sa mga plano ko?" tanong ko sa kanya.

"Uhm, they're called...

'Second Haven'..."

So, yun pala ang pangalan ng mga ungas na manunulot na yun!

"If you want to, you can come over this Tuesday to see them ahead of time... 2 hours later than your contract signing lang naman yung kanila."

Bakit ko naman gugustuhin makita yung mga yun?

"Huh. No thanks. Busy ako eh." sabi ko

"Ah, ganoon ba? Sabagay, baka nga wala ka na rin maupuan sa venue ng contract signing nila sa dami ng dadalo." sabi pa nya na parang nang aasar.

"Sige, wag ka na nga lang mag-abala pumunta. I have to go. May meeting pa 'ko eh. Kay Agnes ka na lang magpaalam if you wish to leave na." sabi nya then she left.

Ano? Grabe, ang OA naman nun. Contract signing lang, mapupuno na agad yung venue?

Gaano ba kasikat yung bandang yon para dayuhin pa ng napakaraming tao?

Tss. Second Haven? Never heard.

Pero, ano bang meron dun sa bandang yun at nagmalaki pa sa kin si Ms. Liza?

Ah! Basta, Humanda sila sa kin.... Patay sa kin yang Second Haven na yan.

Matitikman ng mga lokong yan ang kamandag ng superstar na si Lance Mercado...