Challengers

05 : Finding Balls

"Uy, bagay," Roi teased as Arin and I got out of our room, wearing the clothes provided by the crew.

Fifteen minutes before the supposed announcement, a staff knocked on our door and gave us a set of clothes. Pinagbihis kami at nakita kong napangiwi si Arin dahil sa kulay ng damit namin. It was pink. Buti na lang at gray ang track pants namin habang sa guys ay black.

"Why pink?!" reklamo niya habang nakatingin sa suot niyang damit.

"Okay na 'to," sabi ko naman. "At least, pastel at hindi neon pink o fuschia."

"Sabagay." Tumingin naman si Arin sa dalawang lalaki at siya naman ang ngumiti nang nakakaloko. "Uy, bagay rin sa inyo."

Agad na kumunot ang noo ng dalawa pero bago pa sila magsagutan ay tumunog ang speakers sa cabin namin.

"Challengers, please proceed to the pavilion," a woman with a sweet voice announced.

Lumabas naman kaming apat at nakita naming color-coded din ang lahat ng teams. Kung tama ang bilang ko, merong fifteen teams ngayon dito.

"Elix!"

Nagulat naman ako nang may tumawag sa akin at paglingon ko ay nakita ko si Lessy, isa sa mga una kong naging kaibigan online.

"Uy, Les," sabay ngiti ko sa kanya.

She was wearing a green shirt and her hair was shorter than her latest photo on her social media accounts. Nasa likuran niya naman ang teammates niya at napaatras ako nang makita ko si Brian, isa sa pinakasikat na writers sa site. His presence was quite intimidating, maybe because of his sturdy physique and expressionless face.

"Challengers, here's your second challenge for this day," the staff announced.

Nasa pavilion siya at pumunta naman kaming lahat sa harapan niya. The atmosphere was still awkward, but it wasn't as bad as before. Maybe we were slowly getting familiar with each other.

"Second challenge, huh? Ilang challenge kaya bawat araw?" one of the writers on my right side wearing a purple shirt muttered. I glanced at her direction, but I didn't recognize her face.

"Hmm, siguro four or five," sagot naman ng teammate niya.

Tiningnan ko naman ang mga ka-team ko at mukhang ini-i-scan din nila lahat ng nandito. Dahil sa ambiance at suot namin, para na talaga kaming nasa isang survival game na variety show.

"Your second challenge is," sabay pakita niya ng bilog na bagay. "Find the Colored Balls!"

She explained the mechanics and it was simpler than the first challenge. We just need to find four balls, the size of an egg, with the same color as our team's shirt. After that, we should arrange the thing inside the balls and write the answer on the big white board in the pavilion.

"The three fastest teams will have an advantage later on and the last three will receive a punishment. Good luck, Challengers! All the best!"

Pagkasabi no'n ng staff ay agad nagtakbuhan ang teams para hanapin ang kanya-kanya nilang bola. Nag-decide naman kaming apat na maghiwa-hiwalay para mas mabilis naming mahanap ang sa amin.

Ayon sa staffs, hanggang sa stone bridge na nasa tabi ng cabin ng PD crew ang boundary kung saan pwedeng makita ang mga bola. Nasa gilid ko naman si Kuya Poy, ang assigned cameraman sa akin, at sinasabayan niya ako sa pagtakbo. After hours of following me, I somehow managed to get used to his presence but it was still quite awkward. Nag-advise din siya kanina na mas magandang sinasabi ko ang mga naiisip ko kaya kahit nahihiya ako ay paminsan-minsan din akong nagsasalitang mag-isa.