#NewClassicILIB

Chapter 17
Car

New Classic successfully ended the European leg of their world tour after two months of going on tour in Europe―nonstop. All fifteen stops of their tour were all sold out―combining the 7 shows they did around Europe and the Asian leg of their tour. At the same time, they also won new awards as a band―making history.

There were a lot of international and local articles about their successful world tour. Filipino journalists branded them as the pride of OPM. The rise of their popularity couldn't be stopped. Top Star Records also took that opportunity to push them even more and do promotions, so they were really constantly attracting a lot of fans.

Even during their tour overseas, we were still kept busy. Their fanclubs from the other countries were coordinating with us because of the fan projects. As the official admins of First Class, we acted as the middle man between the international fanclubs and the management of New Classic. Though it was a lot of work, we had fun communicating with them as we all support one group. We have something in common.

As soon as New Classic was back in the country, they did a press con to announce the encore concert of their tour here in Manila―which would mark as the end of New Classic's first world tour, Utopian World.

The sudden announcement of their encore concert led me into juggling my student duties and my responsibilities in the fandom. It caught me off guard. We were only given two weeks to prepare for the fan project. But as the head organizer, it made sense why my mother was still busy after getting back in the country from the tour with New Classic.

Gusto ko na tuloy matapos lahat ng mga kailangan kong gawin na requirements sa school bago ang encore concert. Ayokong matambakan ng mga gawain lalo na't may ibang responsibilidad pa ako. I wanted to enjoy the concert without worrying about my academics.

That was why I took the courage to meet up with Blair again. We were randomly assigned as partners for the case digest that we needed to present together. Noong una nga ay natatakot pa akong lumapit sa kanya para magpakilala. However, I realized that she wasn't really like what people judged her to be. She was somehow approachable. Kaya nga lang, kahit na alam kong ganoon, hindi pa rin ako mapakali kapag nilalapitan siya. I guessed it's because she's close to Ida―she's her best friend.

"What the hell are you talking about?"

I didn't expect that I would witness this kind of scene as I arrived where Blair and I decided to meet up.

"You and Gael! Alam ko na! Huwag na kayong magmaang-maangan. May nakakita sa inyo." Darlene was fuming mad as she accused Blair. "You two made a scene at the hallway, pagkatapos ay nagtago pa kayo sa bakanteng room, 'di ba?"

Natigilan ako sa paglapit sa kanilang dalawa dahil ayokong makisama sa gulo. They were getting a lot of attention from other students. Madami ang tumitigil para lamang panooring silang dalawa.

Blair casually crossed her arms. "There's nothing going on between me and Gael."

I had a hunch on what they were arguing about. Blair made a scene the other day in a coffee shop with Darlene, so Gael approached Blair because of it. I was there at the scene when it happened. And from what I heard, Darlene and Gael already broke up. Kaso nga lang, ang nadinig ko sa iba ay si Darlene ang nakipagbreak kay Gael kaya hindi ko maintindihan kung bakit galit na galit ngayon si Darlene kay Blair.

But since I didn't really know anything, so might as well not comment on it.

"Can you please stop being innocent?" Darlene was still on it. "Siguro kaya mo ako binuhusan ng frappe ay dahil may namamagitan na sa inyo ni Gael at hindi mo na matiis ang galit mo sa akin. Kaya ka niya siguro kinampihan no'n! And then, he just suddenly broke up with me without even telling me the reason why. Ayon naman pala ay nang dahil sa 'yo. Pinagpalit niya ako sa 'yo!"

I saw Blair's eyes shot wide open. We were both surprised to hear that it was Gael who broke up with Darlene. Hindi naman kasi iyon ang umiikot na balita.

"I can't believe it!" Darlene exclaimed in anger for Gael and Blair. "A man with principles cheated!"

Blair stood up, like she couldn't listen to more nonsense and baseless accusations. Our eyes met for a second before she directed her stare on Darlene.

"Gael didn't cheat," Blair stated without batting an eye. "Kahit walang namamagitan sa amin at kahit nag-iinit lagi ang dugo ko sa kanya, gusto kong sabihin sa 'yo that he's not a cheater. Don't just believe any rumors, Darlene. Minsan ay napagmumukha kang tanga ng mga sabi-sabi."

Seeing how Blair handled Darlene without losing her cool, I got chills. I was sure that I couldn't be as strong-minded as her.

Nagulat ako nang makitang nakalapit na pala sa akin si Blair.

"Let's go somewhere else, Zendaya," she quickly told me and walked past me.

I didn't dilly-dally and immediately followed her. She led me to a quieter place―with almost no students around in the area. When we sat down, it seemed like she had a lot of thoughts going around her head. I didn't want to pry, but I also wanted to get rid of the awkwardness and the silence in our atmosphere.

"Uhm..." I hesitated a bit. "I don't want to sound like a tsismosa, but it was the second time I saw you had a row with Darlene."

I saw her head turned to me from the side of my eye, while I remained staring at my hands.

"The frappe incident," I said. "Na-tweet din 'yon sa fun account ng school natin."

There was an account made for issues and rumors at our school. Madalas ay may mga memes din doon. Though I was there at the scene, kung wala man ako roon ay paniguradong malalaman ko pa rin ang nangyari dahil sa post nila na 'yon. Honestly, it was an offensive account, but some students still enjoyed its contents.

"I have my own reasons," she simply said.

It felt like there was a lump stuck in my throat, when I felt how cold her voice sounded. I wanted to slap myself to stop from prying in and sticking my nose to where it doesn't belong.

"I know," sabi ko na lang. "Honestly, at first, I was scared to approach you noong nalaman kong magpartner tayo. But when you smiled at me, naisip kong hindi ka naman pala nakakatakot."

I wanted to―at least―cheer her up by saying those words. Kung nakakausap siguro siya ng mga nagsasabi ng masama tungkol sa kanya, I was sure that they would change their judgement of her.

"Do I look like a monster to you or what?"

Nanlaki ang aking mga mata at napalingon na ngayon sa kanya. She was wearing a playful smirk like she was mocking me.

"No! No! No!" I shook my head aggressively. "You're pretty, Blair. Sa katunayan nga ay maraming nagkakagusto sa 'yo."

"Okay na 'yong sabihin mong maganda ako. Huwag mo nang dagdagan ng joke," she said, chuckling a bit.

I didn't praise her just because I wanted to get on her good side; I did it because it's the truth. She's really a beauty, and boys like her.

"Because it's true!" I told her, trying to justify what I said. "I heard guys talking about you, but they just don't have the guts to approach you."

"Then, they're cowards..." She cocked her head on one side. "I hate coward boys."

Nodding my head, I smiled as I agreed with her. Tama nga siya. Mga duwag ang mga 'yon.

"Anyway, should we talk about our case digest?" she flawlessly shifted our topic.

Muli lamang akong tumango. We both became serious as we tackled our case digest and fairly distributed the parts that we needed to do, before we went on our separate ways.

While planning for the fan project with Dawn and Aya, I also focused doing my school works. Blair's also known for being smart, while I was just an average student. I didn't want to pull her down, so I worked hard with our presentation.

"I like these ideas, Zendaya," Mr. Joel told me, after he read our proposed fan project.

Like the last time, we would also include a banner project for the encore part of the concert. However, aside from the banner, we included the plan to use cardboards to give a simple message to New Classic during their performance for Elements. Dawn already did a layout on how the seated sections would look like if the cardboard fan project was executed successfully. And then, we would also collect small cut outs of heart confetti from fans, which would be submitted to the management. Instead of using normal confetti, they would release those instead. That would be done during the encore, along with the banner fan project.

"Do you still have funds for these?" he asked me.

Smiling, I nodded. "We saved a lot for these po."

Aside from having funds, we were also considered as patrons of our supplier, so they'd be giving us discounts in exchange for promotion on our fanbase account. Of course, we agreed to it. Pero kahit naman hindi kami bigyan ng discount ay magpapasalamat pa rin kami sa kanila sa aming account. Ginawa na namin 'yon dati.

"Okay, thank you so much for coming here today, Zendaya," pasasalamat sa akin ni Mr. Joel matapos ang aming maikling meeting.

"Wala pong problema," sabi ko na lang habang inaayos ang aking gamit.

Hindi pa ako natatapos sa pagliligpit nang biglang bumukas ang pintuan. I was startled when I saw the members coming inside of the office. Binilisan ko ang pagkilos lalo na't papalapit agad sa akin si Sic.

"Zendie!" he enthusiastically called my name out.

Mabuti na lang at bago siya tuluyang makalapit sa akin ay hinila ni Isaiah ang hood ng kanyang hoodie kaya hindi siya nakaabante nang tuluyan. Sic was lightly strangled because of it. He coughed and turned his heel to playfully punch Isaiah. With his playful eyes, Isaiah just laughed hoarsely.

"What's that, Zendaya?" Jirro asked me.

"Is that the proposal for the fan project?" Ike followed up a question.

Nanlaki ang aking mga mata nang mahulaan niya. Mabuti na lang at bago sila tuluyang makalapit ay naitago ko na ang mga papel sa loob ng aking bag. Isinukbit ko pa iyon agad sa aking balikat, natatakot na baka kuhanin nila 'yon sa akin.

"Uh..." I was lost for words as I didn't have any excuse to deny it.

We were planning to keep it a secret from the guys. Though I was sure that they were already expecting that there would be a fan project. Kaya nga lang ay gusto ko pa ring itago sa kanila na mayroon nga.

"Guys, don't pressure, Zendaya." Isaiah was the one who saved me from being on the hot seat.

"We're not pressuring her. We're just asking," Ike reasoned out.

"Oo nga!" sabi ni Sic habang inaayos ang kanyang hoodie. "And we already know that there's going to be a fan project..."

Sic trailed on his words when he looked at Isaiah like he just made a mistake. He immediately pursed his lips and hid behind Ike. Siguro ay naisip niyang hindi na dapat siya sumagot,

"What Sic meant is we already expected that you're preparing a fan project for our concert," Ike told me with a smile. "Hindi ba't lagi ninyo namang ginagawa 'yon? Even on our stop overseas, they also did fan projects."

Nahihiya naman akong hilaw na ngumiti. Like what I had thought of, they already knew about the fan project.

"Uh, gusto kasi naming surprise sana... Alam ninyo na pala," sabi ko naman.

"It's okay, Zendaya," Jirro encouraged me. "Hindi naman namin alam kung ano ang gagawin ninyo. The only thing we know is that you guys are planning a fan project."

"Jirro's right!" Sic nodded, finally coming out behind Ike.

Napangiti na lamang ako at saka wala sa sariling nilingon si Isaiah. He was already looking at me when I turned to him. His lips slightly curved upwards, forming a small smile. I just smiled back and averted my gaze away from him.

Kasabay ko silang bumaba sa lobby dahil pauwi na rin sila galing sa kanilang rehearsal ngayong araw. Some of the employees at Top Star Records, though they could see them almost everyday, they still stopped to watch the guys.

There were two cars waiting at the driveway of the company. I knew they were already earning a lot, but when I saw the expensive and luxurious cars in front, I couldn't stop myself from staring in awe.

"Are you going home already, Zendaya?" Isaiah asked me, while Ike and Jirro went to the white Lexus sedan. "We can take you home."

"Oo nga, Zendie. Saan ka ba nakatira?" sabi ni Sic.

My eyes widened. It was a huge opportunity to be taken home by them, but I had to pass.

Umiling ako at nahihiyang ngumiti. "Huwag na..." pagtanggi ko. "My brother will be here in a few minutes. He's going to pick me up."

And aside from that reason, I didn't want to be seen with them. It might create an issue. I didn't want to be the cause of any issue.

"Okay, then..." Isaiah just nodded his head, smiled and said,"Take care."

Pagkatapos ng mabilis na pagpapaalam nang dalawa sa akin ay tumungo na sila sa Mustang na nasa likod ng Lexus. Isaiah entered the driver's seat, while Sic occupied the shotgun seat. Isang busina ang ginawa ni Isaiah at agad na umarangkada ang Lexus, kung saang si Ike ang nagmamaneho at sumunod agad ang itim na Mustang.

It was such a sight to see. It was like watching a scene in Meteor Garden in person.

Hindi rin nagtagal ay dumating na si Kuya Zedrick para sunduin ako. Pagkauwi sa bahay ay agad akong nagsimula sa pag-aaral, pagkatapos kong sabihin kina Dawn at Aya ang feedback ni Mr. Joel sa aming proposed fan project. Tomorrow morning, I'd forward the files for the banners to be printed to our supplier. Sa kanila na rin namin ipapagawa ang cardboards dahil wala na kaming oras ni Dawn para gawin 'yon.

"Blair!"

Natigil kami sa pag-uusap ni Blair nang mayroong tumawag sa kanya. We just finished our presentation for the case digest that we did, and she was giving me some words of advice, when Ida Mallari came running towards us.

"I was texting and calling you for several times! Why aren't you answering nor replying?" bungad sa kanya ni Ida nang makalapit.

Hindi naman ako makagalaw kaagad dahil nabigla ako sa presensya ni Ida sa aking harapan. Bahagya pang nanlaki ang aking mga mata.

"My phone's inside my bag. Naka-silent 'yon. Saka nag-uusap kami ni Zendaya," Blair explained to her best friend as she turned to me.

Napatingin din tuloy sa akin si Ida na mukhang ngayon lang napansin ang aking presensya. It looked like she couldn't remember me from our short interaction at the library before. Pero siguro ay masyado nang matagal 'yon para maalala niya pa.

"Oh... You have a new friend?" Ida raised her brows as she looked at me.

"She's my partner in the recent case digest that we did and... yeah, I guess she's also my friend."

Knowing that Blair considered me as her friend, I felt touched.

"Hello, Zendaya! I'm Ida Mallari! Nice meeting you!" I was taken aback, when Ida suddenly introduced herself to me with enthusiasm.

"H-Hello," I stuttered as I greeted her back and shook her hand.

Ida giggled. "Thank you for being a friend to Blair," she told me. "People think that she's rude and peevish that's why they are very hesitant to talk to her but she's not, right?"

"U-Uhm, mabait siya," sabi ko habang tumatango-tango. "She's actually more thoughtful than I thought."

Ida's smile got wider. Nilingon niya ngayon si Blair. "Oh my gosh, Blair! I'm so proud of you."

A smile unconsciously escaped my lips, when I saw how genuinely proud Ida was. She even pulled Blair for a hug. Medyo nahiya tuloy ako na nandito pa ako. It felt like they had their own world that I couldn't touch.

"Uh, mauuna na ako. May klase pa ako sa kabilang building," nag-aalangang paalam ko sa kanila.

Ida turned to me right away. "Oh sure! Call Blair if you want to hang out with us, okay?"

Feeling shy, I just smiled. "Sige, uhm, una na ako."

I couldn't get over that moment. I admired Ida for being so considerate to me. She also welcomed me warmly as her friend because Blair treated me as one.

It felt like I successfully made one step closer into Isaiah's world for being acquainted to his sister. But I knew that I shouldn't take another step closer. I should never forget that there was still this line that I couldn't cross. As a fan, I have to respect his personal life. I didn't want him to think like I was trying to get closer to him―not as a fan―through his sister.

"Papalabas na ako ng gate. Nasaan ka banda, Dawn?" I asked Dawn through the phone.

Dawn and I decided to meet. She'd spend the night in our house because we both didn't have classes the next day. Many fans signed the form to make cut out heart confetti for the fan project, but we needed more, so we would also make some at home. Pagkatapos ay nangako si Kuya Zedrick na sasamahan kami para kuhanin ang mga banners at cardboards sa supplier. Mayroon din kaming kakausapin na restaurant malapit sa arena para sa food support namin para sa New Classic at sa mga staffs nila. We would cram tomorrow for the encore concert.

"Nasa may McDo ako. Nagugutom ako, e. Dito na lang tayo magkita," sagot sa akin ni Dawn.

"Okay, okay. Hintayin mo ako riyan," sabi ko sa kanya at saka binaba ang aking cellphone.

Natigil ako sa paglalakad nang makita ko si Blair. She crossed the road and quickly went inside a familiar car. Napakunot ang aking noo, inaalala kung bakit pamilyar sa akin ang sasakyan.

As soon as Blair got inside, the car maneuvered to the main road. My lips parted when I saw that it was a black Mustang.

"Isaiah's..." I didn't continue what I was going to say.

The Mustang looked exactly the same as the car Isaiah drove the other day when I went to Top Star Records. Thoughts about Isaiah and Blair swirled around my head, but I decided to toss everything in flame, wanting to stop myself from jumping into conclusion and feeling the foreign pang of pain inside my chest.

It could be Ida... Maybe Isaiah picked up Ida and Blair. Yes... That should be it.

I convinced myself, trying to make everything alright for me.