The obstacle course would probably be the most highlighted among the challenges since a lot of interesting things had happened during its run. May mga umiyak, nagkaroon ng minor injuries, mga muntik nang mag-away, at mga nasugod sa medical tent.

Honestly, mas kinabahan pa akong maging "highlight" kapag in-air na 'to kaysa sa mismong nangyari sa akin kanina pero at least, hindi lang ako mag-isa.

"Okay ka na ba talaga?" tanong ni Arin pagkatapos naming mag-dinner.

Tumango naman ako. "Promise. Nabigla lang talaga siguro 'yung katawan ko kanina."

Nakapagpahinga na rin naman ako buong maghapon kaya na-recover na rin ang energy. Medyo nalungkot lang ako dahil bumaba ang ranking namin at mainly ay dahil sa akin. Before the obstacle course, the first to fifth ranks were: green, orange, pink, yellow, and purple. Then it became: green, purple, gold, pink, and orange.

We moved one rank below and only the green team managed to defend their place at the top. May mga nawala at napalitan din dahil ang laki ng points na nakuha sa challenge na 'to. I was quite worried for the next one dahil may chance na matanggal kami sa top five if physical abilities na naman ang labanan. Kaya sana ay mental capabilities naman ang magamit sa susunod na challenge para magkaroon naman ako kahit papaano ng ambag.

"Himala, 'di nag-lecture si Zion ngayon kahit bumaba tayo sa ranking," komento ni Roi habang nagpapahinga sa couch. "Ready na akong mapagalitan, eh."

"Aba, subukan niya lang. May nahimatay na nga, eh," dagdag naman ni Arin.

Napalingon kami sa pinto nang bumukas 'yon. "Speaking of," said Roi.

Zion stopped short, confused as to why we were all staring at him. "What?"

The aroma of the coffee he was holding immediately filled the cabin. Bigla tuloy akong nainggit pero hindi ako pwedeng mag-kape dahil baka hindi ako makatulog.

"Wow, magpupuyat ka?" Arin remarked. "Hindi ka pa ba napagod today?"

"The ideas in my head are begging to be written," he said while sitting on the couch. "Baka mawala na sa ulo ko kung hindi ko isusulat."

Roi gasped. "Napakasipag naman masyado. Sana all dinadalaw ng ideas!"

"Huy, grabe, ilang chapters na nasusulat mo?" tanong ni Arin.

He glanced at her with a smug face, much to her annoyance. "Mas marami kaysa sa 'yo panigurado." His gaze then shifted to me. "At sa 'yo rin."

"Alam mo, Zion, sana nag-shut up ka na lang."

I frowned, too, mildly offended. "Excuse me?"

Tawang-tawa naman si Roi habang kami ni Arin ay nainis sa unprovoked remarks niya. Kanina lang, parang ibang tao siya dahil worried sa condition ko, pero ngayon balik na naman siya sa pagiging competitive.

Nakakainis kasi feeling ko nalamangan na naman niya ako dahil hindi ako puwedeng mapagod o magpuyat ngayong gabi kaya hindi ako makakapagsulat. Last time I checked, he was already at chapter 17 while I was stuck at chapter 12. Si Arin naman, nasa chapter 7 pa lang yata kaya na-provoke din siya.

It was quite amusing and at the same time terrifying to see how he could easily manipulate Arin into accompanying him for a late-night writing session. As expected from a sly man like him.

Mabilis naman akong pumunta sa kuwarto para hindi na ako madamay. After all, I knew I'd be swayed, too, if I weren't careful enough.

***

I woke up feeling refreshed the next day. Mabuti na lang at nakatulog ako nang maayos kaya medyo maaga akong nagising. On the contrary, Arin was still asleep, which was quite surprising since she would always exercise early in the morning.

Mukhang napuyat siya sa pagsusulat kagabi.

Lumabas ako at naabutan ko si Roi na ready nang mag-jogging. He gasped in surprise when he saw me walking out of our room instead of Arin. "Wow, ang aga magising, ah! Tara na, jogging ka na rin."

I grimaced at him. "Kaka-recover ko pa nga lang, papatayin mo na agad ako."

He laughed in return. "Joke lang naman! Kakain ka ba?"

"Yup."

Sabay na kaming lumabas mula sa cabin at nagsimula na siyang tumakbo paikot sa playground at obstacle course. Grabe, hindi ko talaga gets kung saan sila humuhugot ng lakas para tumakbo kahit kagigising lang nila. I could never do that.

Dumiretso ako sa camp store para bumili ng breakfast at magkape pero nagulat ako nang bigla akong sinabayan nina France at Cherry kahit medyo hindi ko pa sila nakakausap.

"Hi, Elix," Cherry greeted. "Okay ka na ba?"

I nodded and forced a smile. "Yup."

"Nagulat kami kahapon kasi karga ka na ni Zion tapos first time naming makita 'yung gano'ng expression sa mukha niya," dagdag ni France.

They both giggled. "Parang scene lang sa story."

"Ah..."

I knew where this was going...and I seriously wanted to run away. Buti sana kung sina Arin lang ang nang-aasar, at least I could retaliate. Pero dahil hindi ko naman sila close ay tanging awkward smile lang ang nabigay ko sa kanila.

Fortunately, nakarating na kami sa camp store kaya agad na akong pumila habang nakipag-usap pa sila sa ibang writers. Bumili lang ako ng sampung pirasong pandesal at kape para sa cabin na ako mag-breakfast.

"Hintayin mo na ako."

Halos mapasigaw ako nang narinig ko ang boses ni Zion sa likuran ko. Ni hindi ko nga naramdaman na may tao pala ro'n. Ang nakakainis pa, he had that smug face as if he just won against me just because I got surprised.

"Gising na si Arin?" tanong ko at tumango naman siya.

"Nagpapakuha ng kape. Mukhang hindi maganda ang gising."

"Paano pinuyat mo," I retorted and he only chuckled in return.

It was a normal interaction between us, but I could feel the curious gazes behind our backs. I had become conscious of how they were perceiving us, especially after what I heard earlier, and it felt uncomfortable.

Iniisip ko pa lang kung paano 'yon i-e-edit ng producers at editors 'yung pagkahimatay ko kahapon ay na-s-stress na ako. I knew how readers—and Filipinos in general—love shipping people even from their simplest interactions. Lalo pa kung galing sa reality shows dahil almost authentic and raw emotions ang nakikita nila ro'n. Aaminin ko, gano'n din naman ako sa fictional characters and even sa ibang tao pero ang ayaw ko lang ay 'yong sa akin 'yon mangyayari. I'd rather have no screentime or be a background character than be a person that viewers and readers would focus on.

"Tara na," he said after buying the food we needed.

Tahimik lang kaming naglakad pabalik habang dala-dala namin ang apat na kape at dalawang balot ng tinapay. Pagdating namin sa cabin ay nandoon na si Arin sa porch at pabalik na rin si Roi.

"Grabe, nauna kang nagising sa akin today," bungad ni Arin sa akin.

Nilapag ko ang kape niya sa table. "Anong oras ka ba natulog?"

She glared at Zion. "Ewan, 2 a.m. na yata 'yon. Epal kasi ni Zion, ayaw pa matulog."

"Puwede ka naman kasing maunang matulog," he replied.

"'Di pwede! 'Di kaya ng pride ko!"

"Nakailang chapters ka naman?" tanong ko.

Bigla namang lumiwanag ang mukha ni Arin. "Chapter 12 na ako! Nagbunga naman kahit papaano ang pagpupuyat."

Saktong lumabas si Roi sa cabin after niya mag-shower. "Grabe, nakalimang chapters ka kagabi?! Sipag naman masyado!"

She gave him a haughty smile. "Ako pa ba?"

Natahimik ako nang marinig ko 'yon. She had already caught up with me in just a single night. Kung nakapagsulat siya ng five chapters sa isang upuan, paano pa kaya si Zion?

I glanced at him and his gaze met mine. Worse, he had that amused grin on his face as if he were already expecting me to check his reaction.

"I'm already at chapter 21, if you're that curious," he murmured.

I almost grimaced at that. I couldn't believe he was already nine chapters ahead of me. Kahit 'yong outlined chapters ko ay nalagpasan na niya. We started competing on story-writing on a whim, but I was starting to get serious about it. Especially since I didn't want to lose to him. At all.

My gaze shifted back to him when I heard him chuckle. "I could clearly see how that clever brain of yours work."

Oh, how I dislike that sarcastic tone of his. It was both incredible and annoying that he knew how to push someone's button so easily.

My shoulders stiffened when he suddenly inched closer. "Good luck catching up to me," he whispered.

If his goal was to get me flustered, then he succeeded. Hindi tuloy ako nakapag-isip nang maayos na ibabato sa kanya at ang tanging nasabi ko lang ay, "sana mapaso 'yang bibig mo ka sa kape mo."

Ang nakakainis pa, mas lumawak pa ang ngiti niya dahil sa napakawalang-kwenta kong reply at lalo lang akong na-frustrate.

I swear, wala akong gagawin sa mga susunod na gabi kung hindi ang magsulat. I wanted to wipe that annoying smirk off his face and triumph over him.

***