BPH UNTOLD: BACKSTAGE SECRETS

《SECRET # 14: I'M NAUGHTY AND I'M NICE》

"NANDIRITO KAMI, ANG BARKADA MONG TUNAY AAWIT SA IYO
SA LUNGKOT AT LIGAYA, HIRAP AT GINHAWA..."

Andoy was laughing so hard, but Dae-Dae was trying his best to hush his friends.

"Huy guys tama na hinay-hinay lang! Si Aling Nora baka magalit---"

"...KAMI'Y KASAMA MOOOOO!!!!"

Ruru finished the song with one, loud prolonged note. Andoy was still laughing gleefully while clapping his hands. Dae-Dae joined in and together, they gave their friend a standing ovation.

"Thank you, thank you!" Ruru said, taking two low bows.

A flying onion suddenly hit him on the side of his head. The three boys looked around and saw a fuming Aling Nora. She was holding a laddle on one hand, pointing it threateningly at them.

"Isang imik nyo pa, bubuhusan ko na talaga kayo ng kumukulong mantika! At ikaw!" She said, glaring at Ruru, "Bingi ka bang bata ka ha? Hindi mo ba naririnig ang sarili mo? Wag kanang kumanta! Baka lahat ng bagyo, maisipang pumunta sa Pinas! Uwi! Magsiuwi na kayo!"

"Pasensya na po," Dae-Dae said quietly. "Tara na mga p're."

The boys had to part ways when they reached the highway. Andoy and Dae-Dae were next door neighbors while Ruru lived several blocks away from them. He waved happily at them, smiling from ear to ear.

"Bukas ulit! Bye-bye!"

His face fell the moment they turned away. Aling Nora's statement hit him even if it was only meant to be a joke like what his friends told him. Ha! Easy for them to say. They were talented. They were good dancers and excellent singers. Is there really a place for him in the band that they were going to form someday?

Ruru dragged his feet towards home. Each step became heavier as he neared the rusty gates. Life was already hard for an ordinary, unskilled kid like him. But it was harder if you had a musically-acclaimed father who expected so much from you.

"Ayan! Puro kasi laro ang inaatupag mo kaya di ka pa rin natututo!" His father, Professor Castillo, barked the moment he saw him at the door. "Ano? Pang-ilang beses na nating inaral yung piyesa na yun di mo pa rin makuha! Tugtugin mo nga, ngayon na! Dapat perpekto na yan!"

Ruru obliged to his father's words, making his way quietly towards the antique piano bench. His father stood so closely behind him that he could smell the alcohol from his breath. He closed his eyes and started to play. He knew this piece by heart, what could go wrong?

"Bingi ka bang bata ka ha? Hindi mo ba naririnig ang sarili mo? Wag kanang kumanta!"

Out of nowhere, he heard Aling Nora's voice in his head. That was enough for Ruru to become distracted and lose his concentration. He messed up the notes so badly that his father smacked the piano keys harshly, making a loud, deafening noise.

"Wala kang kwenta! Bakit nung nabubuhay yung Kuya Harp mo nakukuha naman niya agad? Ha?! San ka ba nagmanang bata ka ha? Sana...sana ikaw nalang yung namatay!"

His father pulled Ruru brutally by his curls and banged his son's head repeatedly on the piano keys.

"O ayan! Baka ngayon pumasok na sa kokote mo yung piyesa! Wala ka talagang kwenta!"

Surprisingly, the young Ruru did not feel any physical pain at all even if blood was already starting to drip from his forehead, staining the white piano keys. His father's words cut at him more than any of these superficial tortures.