Blog Forty: Cinderella
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Medyo tulala pa ako noong nagpunta ako sa backstage. At dahil tulala slight ang peg ko, hindi ko namalayang nabunggo ko si Cyber. “Sorry, sorry,” dali-daling sabi ko.
Tumango siya. I was still in dazed, so I didn’t notice that he was still around. Kaya noong tinawag niya ako, hindi ko agad siya pinansin.
“Celeste.”
Nilingon ko siya. “Huh? Oh. Cyber. Bakit?” kumukurap kong tanong.
Wait. Did he just call me?
He looked at me for a long time, but he didn’t say anything else. Before I could ask kung anong kailangan niya sa akin, tinawag na ako ni Miss Feliza.
“Celeste! Pumila ka na! Malapit nang mag-start ang show!” she barked.
I nodded and waved goodbye to Cyber. Hindi naman siguro importante ang sasabihin niya kasi kung importante iyon, I don’t think hindi niya agad sasabihin ang kung ano mang sasabihin niya sa akin. Still…
I sighed. Cyber is like that meteor that appears out of nowhere in my sky. And when he does, he always leaves series of questions without answers.
I wrinkled my nose. Ang pogi pa rin niya sagad.
Oh, well. And so what? Aanhin ko ang pogi kung hindi naman magiging kami?
Kidding. Pero pogi talaga siya.
And leche lang dahil baka ma-distract na naman ako.
Erase, erase.
Pumunta na ako sa line kung saan nakapila sina Usagi at Kanna. Lahat ng sophomore students ng Journalism ay rarampa today. Mabuti na lang at hindi ganoon kalaki ang population ng mga Journalism majors sa College of MassComm kaya hindi crowded ang place.
When it was finally my turn, umakyat ako sa stage. I expected to see my brother and cousins first thing when I looked sa audience, but I caught Cirrus’ eyes instead. He wasn’t smiling or anything. Well, he didn’t have any expression at all.
But you know what? Okay lang. I didn’t feel cold or anything. In fact, I felt good that he was there. Feeling ko kasi eh kahit na lait-laitin ako ng kapatid at mga pinsan ko, ayos lang. Basta nandiyan siya. It’s like being grilled on the spot, but you know it’s fine because your friend is there, supporting you.
Ngumiti ako. The crowd probably thought my smile was for them, but it wasn’t. Si Cirrus ang nginingitian ko. And he probably knew it was for him because he gave a tiny smile and nodded once.
Hashtag Friendship.
And I’m happy. Sagad.
Habang naglalakad ako sa stage at rumarampa, dinig na dinig ko ang pangalan kong pang-asar na isinisigaw nina Kuya Cielo. Nag-effort pa talaga silang magpagawa ng tarpaulin. Talk about major embarrassment, pero hindi ko na lang sila pinansin. Alam ko namang tuwang-tuwa silang pagtripan ako at hindi sila naroon para suportahan ako. Naghihintay lang sila ng moment kung kailan ako matatapilok o gagawa ng eksena. Pero sorry sila, hindi ko forte iyon. Hindi ko forte ang matapilok habang rumarampa sa stage. Trono iyon nina Cassiopeia at Chrysanthemum kaya wasted lang ang effort nila sa pagdala pa ng video cam.
When my turn was finished, I calmly exited the stage. And yup, ganoon lang. Ganoon lang ‘yung final exam namin sa Social Arts. Malalaman na lang namin ang grade namin through the school’s website. See? Mas ma-hassle at stressful pa ang pagpe-prepare for the event kaysa sa mismong event. Parang ‘yung mga objective type of tests. Minsan mas madugo pa ang pagre-review at pag-aaral kaysa sa mismong exam.
