The Way It Was - Abridged (Complete)

5

"The band?" I was still so confused. Hindi ko alam kung saan patungo ang usapan na iyon.

Tumango si Roarke. "The band. Are you familiar with their music?"

"Yeah. They have this one hit song that everyone heard and can sing along. I'm not really sure if I like them. They are okay, I guess."

"They broke up."

"Already? Didn't they just release one album?" Why are we talking about a band? Ano ang kinalaman niyon sa sexual orientation niya?

Tumango si Roarke. "They have one successful album. They toured for two years and they were wildly successful. But they shocked the world when they announced that the band had broken up and Noah Deine is going solo."

"Okay..." Hindi ko pa rin alam kung saan patungo ang usapan na ito pero parang may mga gusto pa siyang sabihin. I realized I liked hearing him talk. Kung hahayaan ko lang siya, baka maintindihan ko rin.

"The Sleepwalkers is a four-member band but it's pretty well-known that it was started by Storm and Noah in high school. They are best friends. They wrote the songs together. They are very good and talented individually and phenomenal together. But they are often accused of being nepo babies, though technically, Storm is the only son of a rock royalty. He's the son of Joseph Frederik."

"The Black Knight. My dad and lo–granddad are huge fans of the band."

Tumango si Roarke. "My dad, too. So what I'm really saying is, The Sleepwalkers don't have a vocalist and a frontman. Storm owns the copyright of the band name because his dad really thought of it and had the, let's just say prudence, to ensure his son owned the name. Their hit song, Storm owns the melody and composition but Noah owns the lyrics. I think there's a legal battle going on."

"Are you a fan?"

"Of the music, yes."

"And we're talking about this because...?"

"Storm was in the open mic."

"Oh. You've seen him? You've met him? He gave you his number! He's the dude who gave you his number. Why?"

"He's looking for a new vocalist for the band, I think?"

Nanlaki ang mga mata ko. "Oh, my God!"

Parang nahiya bigla si Roarke. Maging ang ngiti niya ay parang nahihiya. Medyo namula rin ang mukha niya.

"Oh, my God!" bulalas ko. "He wants you?"

"He wants me to audition," paglilinaw ni Roarke.

"You're going to be a rockstar!" My mind was blown. Parang nakalimutan ko ang lahat. He had a very wonderful voice. Very unique and almost ethereal. I could totally see him being a rockstar. He should be a rockstar.

"Slow down. I'm not going to be a rockstar."

"You are! You sounded so good. Why did you think I gave you my number? I find you cute but I need more."

Natawa siya. Medyo awkward and uncomfortable. "So I'm not gay. That's what I'm trying to tell you."

Tumango ako. Inalis ko ang suot kong ball cap. "Yeah, okay."

"And I was–am very interested. I was just so–"

I waved my hand dismissively. "That's not very important right now."

"It's not?"

"You're offered an audition, Roarke! It's a big deal. You shouldn't think about calling me at all. Did you call the dude? When's the audition?"