"That leaves you Ernest. You'll be in charge of the last set of the songs. I've mulled over your suggestions and I have chosen Love at First Sight, by the Brobecks."
Sir Magallanes was going through the choir's a cappela set list. They will practice this, along with their usual repertoire of mass songs every time they meet. Already, Ernest could see that his other classmates and friends were excited, even the newbies who just became the new Sons of Apollo.
Apollonis, named after the Greek god of the sun and music Apollo, was the name of their club. They, along with the the glee clubs from across the schools in the Recollet System, show off their skills in the Annual Musiklaban held in their campus. Apollonis has never won gold since Ernest became a member of the club, though as President, he definitely wants to achieve it in his last year as a student.
"Alright, now that everything's settled, I want you to go in groups and start assigning your roles." Sir Magallanes proclaimed. He raised his hands in the air like he was conducting the last measure in an symphony, and his voice boomed in the room with "Choir. Dismissed."
All the members sang a note in response, something assigned to them on their first day. Since the song they were assigned to was meant to be a quarter, Ernest chose his best friends Klaus and Mason, since he knew he could rely on them. He was debating with the others who the fourth member of their team was when Rene approached Ernest.
"If you need a fourth member, I'd like to give it a shot." Rene replied in earnest.
"You want to give it a try, Nieves?" Ernest asked a bit too keenly.
Rene nodded, and Ernest gave him the sheet music. After a few seconds of figuring it out, Rene started to sing the first few verses of the song. The other three, and some other bystanders looked on as he sang, his voice filling the air with lyrics of pining and early 2010 indie.
"Ernest! He's your fourth member." Sir declared. Mason and Klaus nodded in agreement. Rene handed Ernest back the paper, both looking at each other. It lingered for a moment more than usual before Ernest smiled and told Rene he did a good job. Rene nodded in response and followed Klaus and Mason as they looked for a good place to practice. Ernest stayed behind to get some more sheet music, but really he was hiding his face blushing.
I didn't know Rene was that good at singing. His face was already turning red as he was fumbling with the papers. Emily, Ernest's sister, was looking intently at him. "He's a baritone, no Kuya?" Ernest looked away from her, in the hopes his blushing would subside.
"Yup. Yup, he is. He's a good singer, and I'm glad he's on my team."
Emily turned her brother's face towards her and inspected it. "So. You've chosen Rene? Is that your final answer?"
Ernest pulled her hands away from his face, but he only seemed to blush even more. "No. I haven't chosen Rene, though I have to admit that he's a good singer. He's good at many things."
"Alright, Kuya. I'll take your word for it. Your word that you're already pining for Mr. Nieves."
"What about me?" Rene responded as he entered the room.
"R-Rene. Did you guys find a spot to practice in?"
"We've set up outside the library. Hopefully, the music we make can drown out the noise that's actually in the room." Rene chuckled and Ernest did the same, though more awkwardly.
"This is my sister Emily. She studies at the Academy across the street and she's technically spying on us since she'll be in Musiklaban too." Emily waved and Rene nodded slightly at her and smiled.
"Emily. Do us a favor. Let your brother win this year. It's all he can talk about for the past week."
"Don't worry Kuya Rene, I probably won't need to. You're already around, you can probably win for him." They both let our a huge laugh at the expense of Ernest who's half-seething and half-sighing out of regret. Ernest bid Emily to go home already "or Dad might think you're dating someone again." After, he followed Rene downstairs to the other two, who were already vocalizing. The two joined along and found that they all harmonized naturally. Mason and Klaus were already finding ways to improvise second and third voices against the melody, and it seemed to fit perfectly.
They kept at it until they sang the chorus without looking at their sheet music. In fact, up to that point, everything had been improvised, and they all sounded like it was performance level. Rene's voice, however, stood out from among the rest. Rene took the opportunity to play with the melody and surprisingly, it made the song more exciting than it usually is. Ernest would look at him and admire as he changed the song from an ironic love ballad to a contest-worthy piece in a matter of seconds. By four in the afternoon, they already practiced half the song, and had an idea of how the rest would go.
Mason left the group, saying he had a family gathering to attend to. After saying their farewells, Ernest invited Rene and Klaus to hang out at his house and try his mom's sachertortes. Klaus took the opportunity to try some of Tita Elena's decadent chocolate cakes, and persuaded Rene to join in, even if he lived the other city over. After some prodding, Rene consented.
"You won't regret it Rene. It will be the best dessert you'll ever have. Nothing beats chocolate and cake all in one place." Giddily, Klaus walked faster than the other two, who were still fixing the things in their backpack.
Ernest ventured to conversation with Rene. "So, you're more experienced in singing than we all thought, Rene?"
Rene looked at Ernest with a curious look, before laughing a little. "Ah, that was nothing. Just a little improv, it actually needed more work."
"Don't humble yourself, Nieves. You did well!" Ernest exclaimed.
"Thanks, Ernest."
Their exchanged glances lingered another moment again. Ernest clearly knew he was starting to lose his composure, but he didn't know if Rene felt remotely the same way he did. He had to figure it out, it was infuriating.
"Do you want to practice tomorrow, Rene?" Ernest blurted out.
"Practice?"
"The song, here at school. Figure out the melody, find a good place to show off. Y'know?"
Rene nodded. "Sure. I'll be here first thing in the morning."
Ernest could leap with joy, but he kept placid. "Alright. Thanks, Nieves."
"Will you ever call me Rene, Ernest? You feel so serious with calling me by surname."
Ernest thought about it. He never called anyone not close to him by their first name. It was always last-name basis for acquaintances, as his father had taught him. Was Rene not a friend at this point? Is it too early to call him by first name? He wondered in his head.
Ernest conjured something in his head. "Do you not like it?"
"I don't mind. Nieves sounds like a cool name. Literally. It means snow."
"I know. My mom taught me Spanish as a kid."
"Tita Elena is actually Spanish?"
"See, you learn more about me everyday."
Rene stared at Ernest, before saying: "Call me as you wish, Ernest."
"Then, Nieves it is."
Klaus interrupted them, urging them to hurry up so he could try the cake already.
"Klaus, haven't you had this cake like a thousand times already?"
Klaus shook his head. "Ernest. Ernest. This isn't for me. This is for Renee. He needs to try this dessert. It is a must. A must, I tell you."
Ernest and Rene glanced at each other, stifling their laughter at Klaus' mania for sweets. They hailed a jeepney to get to the Kirchner household, the three of them hitching a ride on the back, holding on for dear life, for sachertorte.
