Saavedra Series #1: Until I Found You (Book I)

Kabanata 13

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I TRUDGED THROUGH the door of our classroom, still sore from yesterday's dance practice.

Todo practice ako kahapon kasabay ang mga co-dancers ko dahil hindi lang pala isa ang ipe-perform namin bilang backup dancers. Dalawa iyon, and the second one is a big deal since I'll be playing the masculine role, paired with a popular and legendary Korean soloist that every K-pop fan hailed as 'the queen idol of the idols'!

Imagine the great pressure, right? Lalo na at KCON festival ang magiging event, of course, marami ang pupunta!

Dad, ganito pala ang sitwasyon mo noon. Naiintindihan ko na rin kung bakit ayaw ni Mommy maging international choreographer. I'm literally like my mother. We both hate the spotlight. A big, wider, spotlight.

I know why they chose me for that role. Alam kasi nilang nakaka-gain na ako ng atensyon at usapin na rin sa social media gawa kay Ayrton at sa tatay ko. At dahil sa akin, mas tumutunog na ang EDKick. Pero parang mga chismis lang sa akin sa SU ang nangyayari. The more praise I get, the more hate follows.

Sana lang hindi ako pumalpak. Paniguradong hindi lang sila Maluwi ang manonood. Pati na rin ang buong klase ko—o baka nga pati ang buong senior high ng SU. Once that word gets out that I'll be dancing with one of their favorite idol, the entire students will lose their minds! Lalo na at maraming k-pop fans sa amin.

"Andriette-chan~" Ayrton drawled with that annoying sweet voice stretching out the syllables of my name.

I was walking down the corridor and just finished lunch with, as usual, treating Ayrton his lunch. And now here I was, exhausted again while lugging my books from my locker. Halos nawala ang nakain ko kanina gawa sa pagod. Hindi ko alam kung bakit ako pagod. Baka siguro gawa sa kulang ako sa tulog.

"May banat ako," aniya at ngumisi. Mas lalo akong bumusangot. Ito na naman siya sa walang sawang pangungulit niya.

I glanced at Ayrton who was in his usual grin again while carrying his own books too from his locker and smirked back.

"Sa ulo?" sabi ko.

"Shh! Istorbo naman!"

Napaismid ako.

I bet he'll be at the concert too. Knowing him, there's no way he'd miss it. Mas excited pa nga siya kaysa sa akin. He's also been talking about my performance non-stop since yesterday, especially since he's the only one who knows I'm one of the backup dancers for a few idols at the event. Walang sawa nga siyang kaka-send ng motivational quotes sa 'kin.

"Ito na. Ehem! Araw ka ba?" tanong niya sa akin pero hindi ako nagsalita kaya nagpatuloy ulit siya. "Kasi kasing kinang ng araw ngayon ang napakaganda mong mukha—"

Before I could react, he suddenly split to the side. I stopped dead in my tracks, staring wide-eyed as he grimaced in pain. Saka ko lang napagtanto na nahulog pala ang ballpen ko na nakapatong sa aking libro kanina, at saktong tumama sa kanya at natapakan niya...

Kaya siya napa-split wala sa oras.

"G-Galing ko 'no? Haha! Kaya kong mag-split, Dri! Huh! Hindi 'to kaya ng pinsan ko!" he said, forcing a laugh to cover up his embarrassment. I couldn't help but smirk as I watched him struggle.

Ang tanga talaga.

"Araw ka ba?" I mocked while he awkwardly tried to get back on his feet.

"B-B-Bakit?" he stuttered, still in pain. I crouched down and grinned.

"Kasi kumikinang-kinangina ka."

He gasped.

"Wow! Ang galing-galing mong magmura, pero ang mahalin ako, hindi mo magawa-gawa? Isusumbong kita sa prefect!" he whined dramatically, still attempting to close his legs and stand up properly. Nanatili akong nakangisi.