Romantic Tides

Chapter 3

Hanggang ngayon, abot langit pa rin ang inis ko sa lalaking iyon! I'll just call him as Hoodie Boy. Argh! Nakakainis ang hayop na yun! That dress was brand new pa naman, a gift from my Tita, na galing pa sa Australia!

I went out of the comfort room cubicle and looked at myself in the reflection. Nag-apply lang ako ng super slight na make up to make myself look good. Tumingin ulit ako sa sarili ko at ngumiti, always remember to think positive, Sol! I thought and smiled.

"Are you ready, Miss? The show will air in 2 minutes." the staff from outside the comfort room said. Mabuti nalang talaga at mabilis akong magpalit ng damit! Agad naman akong lumabas at ngumiti sa staff.

I went inside the house and stood next to Kai. "Are you okay na?" she said as she patted my back. I just gave her a nod and looked at the hosts getting ready. I did my research and the hosts were the match of last season. They also starred in a recent series with veteran actors, ganyan kalakas ang chemistry nila!

"Okay, everyone! We'll start airing in 3..2..1..!" the director instructed and we waited for the signal na pwede na kaming pumasok sa mala confession room nila. Naks, PBB yarn?!

"Welcome to this year's, Romantic Tides! Where 12 people find a match by the end of the week. I am your host, Jessica Rae!" the girl smiled at the camera. "And I am Marky! Contestants, pasok!" pagkasabi ng lalaki, agad naman kaming pumasok sa room. I looked around and was immediately stunned by the room's beauty! Ganda ha! It looked like the houses that you see in Pinterest, you know, yung mga Spanish inspired na house.

Inabutan kaming lahat ng mic, at nanginig na agad ako! "Contestants, please introduce yourselves." Host Marky said and smiled at us. Nag simula naman agad kaming ipakilala ang mga sarili namin. Una muna ang mga babae.

"Hi, I'm Alice, 18!"
"Hi, I'm Harley, 17!"
"Hi, this is Judy, 19!"
"Hi peeps, I'm Violet and I'm 19!"
"Hi everyone, I'm Kaelani, Kai for short! I'm 18."
"Hi po, I'm Solein, just call me Sol or Lein! I'm 18"

Sumunod naman ang mga lalaki. Finally, malalaman ko na ang pangalan ni Hoodie Boy!

"Sup guys, I'm Sebastian, I'm 17!"
"Hello, this is Zach, 18!"
"Wassup! I'm Vince, 19!"
"Hey everyone, I'm Shawn, 20!"
"Hi, I'm Jeremiah, 19"
"Hello everyone, I'm Jacian, just call me Jace, 19."

Ah... Jacian pala ha! Pogi ng pangalan, kaso pangit ng ugali ng lalaki! Haynako, nobody is perfect talaga!

"I'll be explaining the rules of the dating show, okay? You all will stay here in the island and complete different tasks. The one with the most points at the end of the week, wins!" Jessica explained. Shemz, PBB na halong Love Island ang atake? "Let's start the challenge? First one is, with only 10 minutes, you should make a Hawaiian inspired flower necklace. The viewers will then vote kung sino ang may pinaka magandang nagawa" Marky then announced. Hala, wala man lang bang welcome party? Jusko! Sobrang straight to the point naman ng ate ko na yan!

"We have already paired you, so here are the pairs; Alice and Zach, Harley and Sebastian, Violet and Vince, Judy and Shawn, Kaelani and Jeremiah, lastly is Solein and Jacian!" Jessica said and smiled at us. Hala ate ko?? Sa demonyo pa talaga ako na pares??

Kahit nakakahiya, lumapit pa rin ako sakanya. Binigyan lang kami ng materials, pero kami na daw bahala kung saan hahanap ng bulaklak. Agad namang lumabas ang ibang contestants at nagsimula na sa paghahanap.

"Good Lord, bakit ang malas ko today?" Jacian said as he face palmed his self. Luh siya?! "FYI, Mr. Sungit, ako yung minamalas dito, not you! Argh! Let's get this over with." I said as I dragged him out of the house. I looked around the area at wala masyadong magandang bulaklak. They all looked the same color! Ano 'to, twins lahat ng designs namin? No way!

"Halika, dun tayo sa may bandang likod. Bilisan mo! Time is ticking!" saad ko at sumunod naman siya. I spotted some beautiful hibiscus and daisies! Yup, this will do. After plucking some out, agad kaming bumalik sa house para i-assemble ang necklace.

"Pangit mo pumili ng bulaklak, lol." lumingon ako sa nagsalita. Wow ha? Akala mo talaga may natulong siya eh wala naman. "Kung tumulong ka kaya? Pabigat." I rolled my eyes at him and he just scoffed. He scooted closer to be and grabbed the materials, siya nag arrange at ako lang ang nag guide kung ano ang arrangement ng flowers. I looked at the time and may 5 minutes pa. Mabuti nalang at tapos na kami.

"Ah, I see! Solein and Jacian are already done! Nice work!" Host Jessica said and gave us a thumbs up. Agad naman kaming pinalapit sa camera dahil kukunan daw ng picture ang gawa namin. "Ay no, something is wrong.. Jacian, akbayan mo nga si Solein, yan! Ganyan! Then, lean a bit closer... closer ... and perfect! Smile!" the photographer instructed us. Luh? Di naman ako na inform na sasabak agad sa landian? Emerut!

Inalis naman agad ni Jacian ang kamay mula sa pag-akbay sakin. He sat on one of the couches at sumunod agad ako. I was so bored na dahil wala pa si Kai, I had no friends pa here. So, I just decided to talk to Jacian.

"I feel like we started on the wrong foot.. uh, I'm Solein. Just call me Sol or Lein." I said as I offered my hands. He just looked at me, then he shook my hands. "Jacian, just call me Jace." he said and looked outside again. Whew, Awkward! "So uhm, bakit ka sumali dito?" I asked and looked at him from eye to eye. "My friend signed me up without my permission so, here we are." he chuckled and shook his head. Shemz! Same situation, new bff na kita, Jace!

"What?! You know what, funny story because-"

"And Remy and Kai are here! Other contestants, 2 minutes left!" Host Marky said. I looked at Remy and Kai and felt a bit of jealousy. Not in a bad way ha, just jealous that they were already laughing kahit hindi pa sila gaano katagal magka kilala. Tinitigan ko lang sila while they posed for the camera.

"Hm? Go on with your story. I'm interested." lumingon ako ulit kay Jace. "Ah.. w-wala yun. Just forget about it" I said and looked away from him. "Kita ko sa mata mo yung excitement eh, so, just continue what you were about to say." sunod niyang sabi. Wow ha, attentive pala ang lalaking 'to! "Iba tinginan mo with that Jeremiah guy ah, do you like him? Well, he is a famous actor, after all." he suddenly said. Ang feeling ko naman para magselos, jowa yarn?! But he was right, alam ko namang marami pang oras para makalapit kay Jeremiah but.. alam ko sa sarili ko na mahihirapan ako. You see, I'm not like Kai na social butterfly, na palaging may topic na mabubuga. I'm not like her and that's okay! I guess...

"Wala silang chemistry, wag ka na mag overthink." he said and squeezed my hands. Wow ha, first day pa lang may paganito na agad? Paano nalang in the next few days? Sobra din kalandian ng batang 'to!

"Eh? Bagay din naman sila slight. Hays, sino kaya yung tao na I have chemistry with?" I just sighed and looked at them again. "Malay mo, ako." he said as he laughed. Sakto naman na tinawag na kami because time is up na.

Hindi ko pa rin matanggal sa utak ko ang sinabi niya. Hindi ko alam ang nararamdaman ko basta malakas ang pagtibok ng puso ko, is this disgust or something else? Lord, alam mo naman siguro na madali lang ako ma attach, diba?