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Chapter 2

After somewhat one hour of searching for the queue of people lining up for the art club audition, I made my way towards the end of the line. I was holding a clear book which contains my artworks, either painted by hand or illustrated digitally and printed out.

I heaved a sigh of relief. Thank goodness, we're finally here.

"Pila. Babatukan kita kapag nagbago pa isip mo."

Patricia wouldn't let go of my arm while we were looking for this goddamn registration, as if I would run away from her. Si Iggy ay sumusunod lang sa amin, hinihingal na. Nilibot namin ang limang palapag ng admin building para hanapin ang multimedia room. Turns out, nasa sixth floor pa pala. Hindi man lang nila naisip na magtanong. I won't do that, though. I would rather get hit by a truck than ask a stranger for directions.

I sighed again. I haven't really made a final decision yet whether I'd join the club or not, but these two always decide for me like they're my parents. "Pat, sabi ko naman sa 'yo hindi pa ako si-"

"Shh!" She shut me out by putting her index finger against my lips. "Huwag ka nang urong-sulong diyan. Kanina pa natin hinahanap 'tong multimedia room na 'to. Maawa ka naman sa 'min!"

"Alright, fine. Kung iyan ang ikatatamik niyo," I mumbled, giving up now.

Kahit kailan talaga ay hindi ako nakakatakas sa babaeng 'to. The moment she found out that the university had an art club, she insisted me everyday to join. Patricia, being the type who loves to boss around, always make sure that things go the way she thinks they should. She's more pushy than Iggy, and me, being the most submissive among the three, could not say 'no' to her. Though sometimes, she could get impulsive, but I was not the one to point it out to her.

Imagine. The shy and awkward Sean with the fiery and assertive Pat and the playful Iggy. Our trio is always together most of the time, but I occassionally ditch them to save myself from embarrassment. I was not as loud and chaotic as them... though chaotic was actually an understatement.

Even though they were sensible people, their playful personalities would usually stand out. They would act foolishly without hesitation, which makes me want to pretend I didn't know them in the first place. But I couldn't live without Iggy and Pat. Since the first day of junior high school, the three of us had been friends. Not to sound dramatic, but they were my only company since then. I'm an indecisive person and I can't go on my own all the time.

"Una na kami. Huwag kang aalis diyan ah!" pagbabanta niya at pinanlakihan pa ako ng mata. Uh-huh, she thinks she can threaten me with that look.

"Good luck, 'tol! Kaya mo 'yan! Puntahan ko muna bebe ko," Iggy said with a smug.

"Huh? Wala kang bebe, ilusyonado," asik naman ni Pat. Wala talagang araw na hindi sila nag-aasaran.

"Sige, ikaw na lang," banat ni Iggy at inakbayan si Pat. He's such a dork, really.

I saw how Pat's face screwed into a grimace, looking disgusted. She immediately removed Iggy's arm from her shoulder. "Yuck! Layuan mo nga ako!"

Napailing na lang ako. These two.

They finally left me and went back to our classroom. Namalayan ko na lang na paikli na nang paikli ang pila at papalapit na ako sa unahan. Narinig ko pa ang usapan ng babae sa unahan ko at ng isang lalaking kagagaling lang sa registration table.