Ever So (Saint Claire II)

Part 17

Part 17

Flashback

I grabbed my things and rushed out of the classroom. I excused myself from my classmates heading to the corridor while checking my wristwatch.

I'm gonna be late.

Bigla akong napalingon pabalik sa classroom nang tawagin ng class president. "Where are you going? Hindi ka mag-attend ng next class?" she asked.

I only giggled and waved from the door. "Tell the professor I'm sick!"

I went straight to the dim corridor, skipping steps with glee. Nagpreno ako at dahan-dahang naglakad sa tapat ng mga classroom na patuloy parin ang klase, before resuming to my happy walk.

The campus was nearly empty at this time, with students of night  classes occupying most classrooms bathed in florescent lights. I still  have a subject from six thirty to eight in the evening, but oh well. A few absences won't hurt my grades.

Good thing Kayla wasn't around to nag me today. She got this boyfriend who I belatedly realize was her boyfriend. Paano ba naman? The dude was barely around. And when he does, it was to ask Kayla a favor like today where she had to assist him in a workshop that his club was conducting. No offense to Kayla, but I don't really like the guy. His face reminds me of a rat.

The Grab was already waiting when I arrived at the main gate. The band's gig tonight will be the biggest. It's a university music fest. Although there are other acts, including some famous local bands,  there's an estimate of two thousand attendees. This gig can boost the band further in the local music scene.

It's been a year since I first saw their live performance at The Pod.  Since then, I've attended different gigs of the band in big and small venues. At this moment, they're basically collecting fans.

For one, they finally have a proper drummer who joined the band five months ago. He's a charming guy who balances the seriousness of the vocalist and the sexiness of the guitarist. And there's this new bassist  who joined them just last month. He's currently the youngest of the members and although he barely shows his face under his hoodie during gigs, fans love him.

Inside the taxi, I checked my phone for the notifications from the Instagram and Twitter account I made for Saint Claire. Yes, I made fan accounts for the band and I'm proud to be the first one with the most followers!

Nilabas ko ang camera mula sa backpack na dala ko. I started adjusting the setting to best capture their performance in an open field venue. Gumawa na din ako kaninang umaga ng hashtag for tonight's gig. The only thing left for me to do was to take good pictures and videos to update the fans.

Napangiti ako habang kinakalikot ang camera. I even sold two of my priciest bags to buy a professional camera three months ago. But it was all worth it considering my videos of Saint Claire always gather thousands of views and even go viral on social media. I just knew... they're gonna be super famous one day. And I'll be there cheering for them all the way.

After thirty minutes, I finally reached the event ground. I didn't realize how big the area was. Looks like I will have a hard time taking high-quality pictures and photos of the band. But what's the point of having a gold ticket if I can't be as close to the stage as possible?

Nakikipagsiksikan ako sa gitna ng mga tao para makarating sa harapan. Ang daming tao na pakiramdam ko hindi ako makakahinga nang  maayos once maipit ako sa gitna. But I can't blame them. There's so many acts who will perform tonight and the greatest thing? One of them was Saint Claire.

At mukhang hindi lang ako ang nag-aabang. I could catch their names from several conversations around me while I was strategically making my way to the front.

"Saint Claire? 'Di ba bago lang sila?"

"Recently ko lang din sila pinapakinggan but they're actually pretty good!"

"May mga napanood akong videos ng performances. Grabe ang h-hot!"

Hindi ko napigilan ang ngiti ko. People were finally noticing them. After several elbow jabs and painful nudges while squeezing through people, I finally reached the best possible position near the stage. Siguradong madami akong pasa bukas but who cares? As long as I get to see them perform.

I waited for an hour for their performance. Yes, I know. The others  were pretty good too. I even enjoyed my time while waiting for Saint Claire.

But having emotional connection to artists just feels different. Once you learn who they are, their quirks, their passion, their goals, you will  choose to walk with them on their journey... even though they don't you exist.

Finally, it was Saint Claire's turn. I shouted at the top of my lungs.

"I love you, Saint Claire!!!"

I jumped and screamed. I no longer care if the people around me were giving me side-eyes. Clearly, most of them were not familiar with the band yet and I didn't blame them. The band only used to perform at  parks and small venues. This is their biggest stage so far and it's even televised on a music channel.

They will learn about them.

I prepared my camera to get the best angle out of their performance  while their music filled everyone's ears, rattling the ground. They performed their renditions of classic rock songs and mellow OPM  songs. The crowd was cheering for them, even those who had no idea who they are.

Everyone was charmed by the drummer's solo during the rock songs. They fell in love with the vocalist's deep and clear voice during the mellow songs, and partied along with the strum of electric guitars from Sancho and the bassist who took over the stage, running around,  enjoying themselves.

People were taking pictures and videos of them. The girls in the crowd were all squealing.

"Who are they?"

"They're so good!"

I smiled giddily, my camera pointing to the stage. They're Saint Claire.

I cheered loudly for them, at the same time capturing their best  moments on stage. My lens focused on Sancho's dimpled grin while strumming the guitar.

See? You can make it, Sancho.

My heart skipped a beat when Sancho gaze in my direction. We stared  at each other through the lens. Did he notice me? Did he realize I'm here?

Nagsitilian ang mga babaeng katabi ko. "Oh, my gosh. He noticed us!"

Napangiti ako dahil naiintindihan ko ang pakiramdaman nila. Binaba ko ang camera para titigan siyang mabuti. Sancho was strumming his  guitar and the sound was resonating in my chest, making my heart  pound like crazy.

"Sancho! I freakin' love you!"

Muli siyang napatingin sa'kin. Oh shit. He heard it.

He grinned widely at me, followed by a chuckle. And I was left falling deeper.

I've never seen him this happy. The stage... performing in front of thousands of people... they're the only thing that could bring up that smile.

***

Next update: Monday