At The End Of The String (Insomniacs Series 2)

11

First Place
Keira Monteza...

Halos hindi maalis ang tingin ko sa gold medal na nakasuot na ngayon sa'kin. Hindi rin matigil sa pag-ulit sa utak ko ang pag-anunsyo ng pangalan ko kanina bilang panalo. This means that I'll be moving to Palarong Pambasa soon!

And for the last picture taking, I held the medal and proudly smiled at the camera. Kulang na lang ay umawra pa 'ko at ibida pa lalo ang medal na suot ko para lang maipakita kung gaano ako ka-proud at kasaya ngayon. Pagkatapos ay dali-dali akong tumakbo paakyat sa pwesto nina Joaquin at Agatha.

"Ang galing-galing mo! Pasipa nga sa isang Keira Monteza!" Abot ni Aggy sa aking pisngi. She squeezed my face like I'm her damn stuffy and rained it with lots of kisses like a proud sister.
Sunod akong humarap kay Joaquin at nakipag-fist bump sa kanya.

Wala na rin akong nagawa nang bigla niyang hilahin ang kamao ko upang mapalapit sa kanya at binigyan ako ng isang halik sa pisngi. Nanlaki ang mga mata ko nang tignan ko siya ulit. Luminga ako sa paligid upang tignan kung may nakakita ba ng ginawa niya ngunit lahat ay abala sa pagsi-celebrate, kahit si Aggy.

"Para saan 'yon?!" Hampas ko sa kanyang braso na tinawanan niya lang. Agad din akong lumayo sa kanya dahil baka saan niya na 'ko halikan sunod. "Congrats, love," he teased, ruffling my hair.

"Ulol." Hawi ko sa kanyang kamay sabay irap, inaayos na ang buhok ko ulit.

"That's how you say thank you?"

"Ito thank you, oh!" I raised my middle finger and finally turned my back at him. Agad kong hinila si Agatha paalis doon para samahan na ako magpalit. I need to immediately freaking distract myself from that! I won't let that things get into me!

☕

Dahil maaga natapos ang tournament, niyaya ko si Joaquin papuntang Dash Racing Circuit. At dahil nanalo akong first place ay ginanahan akong tulungan siyang mag-training para sa papalapit naman niyang karera sa susunod. I wanted to return the favor. Nauna na ring umuwi si Agatha para hindi siya gabihin sa byahe kaya dalawa na lang kami ni Joaquin ang naiwan ulit.

Being a crew chief, I need to know the attitude of the driver I am with behind the steering wheel. That's what Kuya Kenzo told me the last time we talked about my job. "And a car racer should be passionate and fearless, Keira. So as the crew chief. It what motivates the driver to overcome new obstacles and that what makes the crew chief helps her racer win..."

Helps her racer win. Paulit-ulit iyon sa aking isipan noong naging crew chief ako ni Kuya. No matter how much I hate my racer, I need to help him win. It's what I also signed up for. I don't need to worry because I know Joaquin already has a heart of a racer. He's passionate and fearless. The only thing we need to have is trust.

He let me watch him drive. I told him to finished five laps and he did. Only... "Galit na galit ka mag maneho at kulang na lang tumilapon kayo ng sasakyan mo. Just be smooth in driving. Jerky movements on the steering wheel and treating the brakes and accelerator like on and off switches are not the way to go. Also, learn the track. You should know when to speed up and slow down."

Paliwanag ko sa kanya nang makabalik na siya sa'kin. He's a damn monster on the road that always make the crowd go wild whenever he finishes a lap but I can't deny that sometimes, he's a little too out of control. "Your driving is terrible." There, I finally got to say it in his face. I've been longing to do that. "Do you want me to show you how its done?" paghahamon ko.