Don't tell me she's here?

She is but I can't see her right now. How can she be here though? Nakita niya ba yung post sa page ng organization namin? Baka naman may isang contestant na sinusuportahan niya kaya nandito siya ngayon. 

Or is she following me?

Me : Don't tell me you're stalking my whereabouts right now?

Ang assumera ko naman kung ganoon. I told myself to focus on the auditions first since yun ang pinunta ko dito, tinatawag din kasi ako ni Ate Seulgi dahil kung saan-saan ako nakatingin.

"Sorry." I said and looked at the stage. Nakita ko ang lalaking nahihiyang naglalakad papunta sa gitna.

Naguluhan pa ito kung saan tatayo, sinabihan siya ni Ate Chaeyeon na sa may 'X' pumunta. Dahil siguro sa kaba ay medyo nahihirapan ito ngumiti, baka hindi niya inaasahang una siyang sasayaw.

Binasa ko muli ang listahan at labing-lima lang pala ang nakapasa sa initial screening at interviews, strict din kasi ang heads ng organization kapag nagpapasok ng bagong members. They want committed, dedicated dancers that has a commendable background in the field.

Earlier before torture, I mean before I danced, we had a meeting and decided not to comment on their performance right away, sabi kasi ni Ate Lisa na baka magmukhang Pilipinas Got Talent ang dapat audition lang, nabatukan tuloy siya ng presidente namin.

Tinanong ko din kanina sa kanila kung bakit kailangan open house ang event ngayon, sinabi na lang ni Ate Seulgi na kailangan daw ulit ng exposure ng organization dahil malapit na ang Streetdance Competition this year sa UAAP at makakatulong daw ito para sa engagement ng AUDEX.

Tumango na lamang ako at tumingin sa unang sasayaw. Muntik ko na makalimutan na kasama nga pala ako this year sa line-up, naisip ko din na posible talagang magkita kami o makita ko ang laro niya, baka din naman mas makita ko siya ng malapitan sa mga ganoong pagkakataon.

We're even at the same place right now, for Pete's sake.

"Ten linagay niyang name." maikling tugon ni Ate Seulgi, I removed the thoughts running through my head and nodded at her.

"Sana ten out of ten din ang sayaw." singit ni Ate Lisa at tumawa ng mahina, hindi pa din nawawala ang mga pasimpleng biro niya.

He introduced himself to the us and to the crowd, hindi naman nagpatalo sa sigawan ang mga nanonood, I think he's very popular and I can see that he's quite handsome too. Familiar din ang pangalan niya sa akin, I think I saw his dance covers online.

Ate Seulgi gave him a signal that she'll start the music, agad naman pumwesto ang lalaki at tumungo. I'm guessing they picked EDM tracks or R&B hit songs and I was right.

Drop top Porsche, Rollie on my wrist,

Diamonds up and down my chain.

Cardi B, straight stuntin’, can’t tell me nothin’

Bossed up, now I changed the game.

Everyone was cheering and singing along, they had their respective phones up and recording the performance. I was jamming and tapping my pen to the beat while looking at his moves, it was very sharp and clean, he surprised me.

He was shy earlier then moved like a professional.

Hindi naman na bago sa akin ang mga ganitong klase ng pagpapakilala, yung mahiyain sa simula tapos biglang magaling pala talaga, or maybe that's his personality in reality.

His moves calmed down and it got smoother, he's interacting with us and the crowd. Nakita kong napangiti naman ang iba kong kasama sa lamesa, we're all enjoying his stage presence.

As the first rap verse was about to end, I saw a tall figure from my peripheral vision. The lights were dim at the studio maliban sa mismong stage dahil nakatapat ang liwanag dito, I can only see the silhouette of her body. I can distinguish who the figure is from her facial features.

I can see her mouthing the lyrics while maintaining an eye contact with me. I was stealing glances at her as well and saw two other girls beside her, one was very familiar. To be honest, I regret looking at her direction.. Yes, I do.

Don’t we look good together?

There’s a reason why they watch all night long.

I know we’ll turn heads forever,

So tonight I’m gonna show you off.

Nag-focus na muli ako sa harap, I saw a smirk formed on her lips before I stopped our eye contact earlier. She's too flirty to handle, we just met like can she calm down? But why am I even bothered.

My heartbeat is too fast. 

I settled myself by drinking water, I decided to just write some random scribbles on the paper. Nagsulat din ako ng thoughts ko about the performance in the auditionee's paper.

He is great.

"What a comment." I whispered to myself, binitawan ko ang panulat.

I didn't noticed that he was halfway through the song, malapit na din ito matapos dahil sinabi ni Ate Seulgi na hanggang chorus lang ang time niya.

Pasimple akong tumingin kay Aeri na nag-eenjoy sa performance, for sure ay pag-uusapan namin mamaya ang mga kasali. She'll might tell me her usual line.

"Madami pala gwapo sa campus?!"

"Gi, you're older than them."

"Stupid! I just said they're gwapo, wala naman akong intensyon to ano.. you know what I mean!"

"Very defensive."

"Who wouldn't?"

That conversation of Aeri and I was last year nung nagkaroon ng election for the AUSG or simply our Student Government. Karamihan kasi sa mga tumakbo ay mga lalaki in their freshman year at nagulat si Aeri doon, she even voted for them without knowing their platforms.

Well, that's just Aeri being goofy.

I came back to my senses after recalling some amusing moments with my bestfriend. I heard loud claps behind and beside me, tapos na pala ang unang nag-audition at hindi ko ito napansin.

Nasunod ang pinag-usapan namin na walang magbibigay ng mga puna kaya naging mabilis ang audition process. I was waiting for Lee Chaeryeong to be revealed, I am expecting a lot from her since her older sister is a part of the organization.

It was her time to dance in the stage, Ate Lisa was the one who gave her a signal and a smile, siguro ay pareho lamang kami ng iniisip. I was amazed at her choice of song, it contains hard beats of reggaeton.

All my ladies

Wind to the left, sway to the right

Drop it down low and take it back high

I don't need introduction

Follow my simple instruction

I exclaimed in amazement when I saw her doing sharp movements. Lumalakas ang mga hiyaw if she's moving very sensually to the beat, plus having an eye contact with the spectators and with us. She has charisma, she attracts attention on stage and I love that.

Well, some say I'm bossy 'cause I am the boss,

Buy anything, I don't care what it cost.

Stacked like casino, Armani, Moschino.

If you're The Supreme then I'm Diana Ross.

She did not fail us. Maganda binigay niyang performance, for me it's an honor to see it live. Kahit si Ate Seulgi at Ate Lisa ay napatayo habang pumapalakpak, She might get in because she fits our concept. Lee siblings never disappoints, I guess.

Auditions went well. Hindi din talaga maiiwasan ang pagkakaroon ng mali habang nasayaw dahil sa kaba, we made sure to calm them down before they start again earlier. I understand their dilemma since I came from that position once.

Results will be out in three days since they will still evaluate all of their performances, siguro ay magnonotify na lang sila through their emails or announce it publicly in our page for their exposure.

Dahil tapos na ay umalis na din ang mga nanonood. Ang ibang volunteer from our organization upang tumulong mag-asikaso sa studio ay nagpamigay ng mga flyers, mukhang hinanda ito ng mga admins.

Ang iba ay hindi pa muna umalis dahil nagpapicture pa kina Ate Lisa, karamihan ay hindi nakasunod sa picture dahil dumating ang kaniyang girlfriend, ngayon ko lang napansin na si Ate Jennie pala ito ng Adamson Pep Squad. I definitely did not expect that but I know Ate Lisa, she can easily make everyone fall for her charms.

Dancer things.

Sa akin naman lumapit ang iba na ikinagulat ko. I can't really ignore or decline their requests because maybe they waited too long for an opportunity to talk with me kaya ngumiti sa bawat kuha nila at kinausap ang mga ito.

After that, I went to Aeri who's standing and looking at me with her stern eyes, her left arm on her waist, siguro ay kanina pa nito gustong umalis. I checked the time and it was already 3:07 PM.

"Bored?" I said, she just chuckled. 

I gave her a confused look, "Nothing, ang awkward lang ng ngiti mo kanina sa kanila." she stated and smiled.

"Biglaan kasi tsaka kilala mo ako, I'm not used to taking pictures." 

"But smiling should be easy, Minjeong." she said, still laughing, umiling na lang ako.

Paalis na sana kami until a group of friends went to our direction, they basically blocked our way so we stayed in our position. They asked for a picture kasama kaming dalawa ni Aeri and my bestfriend immediately complied.

Inayos ko na ang ngiti ko at nakipag-usap sa kanila, they said they were very happy to see me and my dancing earlier, I thanked them for visiting the studio and told them to be safe on their way home. Kinausap din nila si Aeri at nagpaalam na sila sa amin.

Aeri was clinging onto me while walking towards our president. Magpapaalam na kami na aalis, she was still talking to the auditionees about the results. She looked behind and smiled at us.

"Oh, ilang beses ko na kayong nakikitang magkasama." komento niya, tumawa lamang si Aeri.

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