Ang Cheerleader Ng Buhay Ko [boyxboy]

Chapter 6

K E N T

"Gonna play some music, okay lang ba?" I asked Kevan.

He's been busy doing some graphic designs on Photoshop and I got tired of doodling random stuff in my sketchbook. He showed me the poster he's been working on earlier – man, it was awesome! Ang galing talaga ni Kevan when it comes to graphic design.

I fished the bluetooth speakers from my bag and carefully laid them on the bench. I have a go-to playlist kaya ito na lang ipapatugtog ko. I instantly knew the song sa instrumental pa lang sa intro ng kanta.

"Geez, I love this song," I smiled on that thought.

Kevan smiled when he heard the song, pamilyar din sa kanya ang kanta. So far, wala naman siyang complaints with my taste of music. In fact, we have lots of favorite songs and bands in common. Though most of the time, I just prefer wearing my headset. It felt like being inside a bubble, parang may sarili akong mundo. But lately, trip ko lang i-share kay Kevan the songs I've been listening to.

Cue Chasing Cars by Snow Patrol 🎶

"We'll do it all, everything, on our own..."

We're at the amphitheater at the far side of the school. Friday ngayon and dalawa lang ang class namin kaya hangout lang muna kami while waiting for our last class. Only a few people usually come here at this time of the day, that's why kaming dalawa lang ni Kevan ang naka upo sa may bandang taas, while nasa babang part naman ng amphitheater ang iba naming classmates. I really like it here.

Kent Mathieu B. Villegas here, by the way. I've just turned 20 a few months ago. I'm 5 feet 11 inches tall, and I can say I have a toned-athletic body dahil sa basketball and pag wowork-out ko sa bahay.

My middle initial B stands for Beaumont. My mom is a French-national who fell head over heels for my dad when he was an exchange student in France. Nung grumaduate na sa college si dad, he immediately went back to France to pursue their love story — and voila! — ako na yung product ng love nila. So that makes me half french, half filipino. Obviously.

When mom and dad got married, they stayed for a couple of years in France, but dad had to go back to the Philippines because of the exporting business he inherited from my Lolo. Mom and I decided to stay in France para tapusin ko muna ang junior high while dad did all the paperworks for me and my mom to finally move here. Only child lang ako; a little spoiled, pero hindi ako brat.

I spent the first 12 years of my life in France that's why I'm fluent in French. English is my second language and I learned a little German since we used to live somewhere near the border of France and Germany. Natuto naman akong mag tagalog because of my cousins and of course my best friend, Jansen. 8 years na'ko dito sa Philippines, pero hindi parin ako ganun ka galing managalog. At the very least, medyo na neutralize ko na ang accent ko pag nagsasalita ng english o tagalog. I managed to neutralize my thick french accent.

At first nahirapan talaga ako mag adjust, particularly sa climate, culture, language, food, and more. Nagulat din ako sa traffic. But I eventually got used to everything. I got acquainted with many people kaya mabilis ako natuto ng mga bagay-bagay. Although there are a lot of things I miss about France, marami naring bagay dito si Pilipinas ang napamahal sa'kin, especially the food. French cuisine is undeniably superb, but for me, the Philippines has the best food in this side of the planet.

When I entered college, I chose BSIT dahil na rin sa hilig ko sa mga gadgets and computers. My dad graduated with flying colors in this university that only added more pressure on my shoulders to meet or even exceed my dad's expectations. So far, I think I'm doing great when it comes to my academics and even in extra-curricular activities. I've been an active member of different clubs and part of the basketball varsity team since high school.