S U A D E L A

EPILOGUE (Part 1)

I nearly pushed the student in front of me in my eagerness to pass the ID scanner quickly at the entrance of the Shuei University Annex building.

"Where are you? Nagsisimula na." Sil asked when I answered his call.

"Paakyat na," lakad-takbo akong nagtungo sa hagdanan.

Nasa fifth floor pa ang pakay ko. Pero mas mabilis kung maghahagdan ako kaysa maghintay pa ng elevator.

"Hurry up. They don't even finish the song, dude. They're so picky."

I clicked my tongue. That's to be expected. After all, it is the Knight Rhythm we're talking about—Shuei University's formidable dance troupe.

"I'm almost there. Three minutes tops."

"Okay." Iyon lang at binaba na ni Sil ang tawag. Habang ako naman ay nasa third floor pa lang.

Freaking stairs!

Who the heck decided to hold the audition in Osmeña hall when the Quirino hall is just on the first floor?!

Apparently, the reason why I was running late now is because I was held back by a professor. The result for the student assistant position I applied for last week came out earlier. Professor Millare, the professor I will work for, summoned me to his office for a briefing. Tumagal lang ng tumagal dahil makwento ang propesor. Kung hindi ko pa sinabi na mag-a-audition ako sa school dance troupe ay hindi ako nito pakakawalan.

After almost two minutes, I successfully climbed the fifth floor. I haven't even auditioned but I'm already out of breath and sweaty!

Oh crap!

I quickly scanned the floor and realized that I was unfamiliar with the interior of the Annex building since all of my classes are in the main building. As expected at SU, there are many rooms along the wide, long corridor. I know all too well that these rooms are soundproof. In fact, all the rooms at SU are. The silence is deafening.

Kailangan kong umabot sa audition kung hindi mababalewala ang lahat ng pinaghirapan ko. I can't afford to hear from my old man the line, "See? I told you."

Never.

I started dialing Sil's number while walking to the left wing. He was not answering. Either he was too engrossed watching or it was already his turn to audition.

At the fifth ring, I saw someone in an oversized hoodie standing in front of the annonuncement board. I canceled the call and headed to the person.

"Excuse me?"

From staring at a poster, the person looked at me, frowning.

I was slightly taken aback.

The girl took off her headset, removing her hoodie in the process.

Hypnotic.

That's the first word I thought as I fully saw her face. Her beauty seemed to draw anyone the more they looked at her. She appeared like one of those AI-generated characters online. Too perfect. Very unreal.

"A-ahm," I cleared my throat. "Saan dito yung Osmeña hall?"

Kumunot-noo ito, "Hindi ko alam." At ibinalik ulit ang tingin sa poster.

Her answer was cold and unfriendly. It sounded like a pre-recorded response that she had mastered for a long time.

I checked on what she was looking at.

It's the announcement poster of Knight Rhythm for the audition of new members.

I wondered if she was into dancing, but instead of asking her, I turned my back, stepped away, and started dialing Sil's number again.