LORENZO ELRIC GARCHITORENA

AND SO, the day of the apocalypse came! Days really passed by so quick; I didn't expect this to happen in a jiffy like a thief in the night.

Pagkaligo, I did again my usual routine (na madalas ay hindi naman nasusunod everyday). I applied some facial crap solutions and other creams to my forever-horrible face. Ang mom ko na ang nagsabi na dapat ay magmukha akong presentable kapag ipalalabas sa TV, like what the heck! Hindi naman ako pupunta roon para magpasikat. I ain't even qualified for the standards of a matinee idol.

Hindi ko rin naman pinangarap na maging artista, so what's the sense of doing these ceremonies? With or without these tigidig-dums, magmumukha pa rin akong patatas kapag ipalalabas ang mukha ko sa TV.

Mamayang afternoon pa ang start ng competition proper, pero kailangan daw na by 10 AM ay nasa venue na dapat kami. Maaga ang pasok ko ngayong Friday, pero hindi na lang ako pumasok sa first subject para i-prepare ang sarili namin mentally and physically. Iyon nga lang, I'm still exhausted magmula pa nga kahapon. And I want this total hell to end right now. 

Jyrah even offered to be my chauffeur papunta sa venue using her car but I tried to insist dahil nakakahiya naman sa kaniya; I can handle everything all by myself. But still, she insisted further dahil along the way naman ang gate ng subdivision papunta sa USF, so she could pick me up there.

Even I looked like a total mess--my hair looks like a strong hurricane stormed out and left terrible casualties on it--hinayaan ko na lang ang sarili ko. May higher probability naman na matatalo kami kaya bakit pa kailangang pumorma?

"Good luck, Lorenzo! Mag-iingat ka." Ate Gigi cheered me up pa nga bago lumabas ng bahay habang busy siya sa may kitchen. Karga-karga niya rin si Mr. Ginger na suot din ang white basketball jersey na binili ko sa para sa kaniya sa pet shop nina Doc Angel. As usual, our cat wears his grumpy face. 

"Thank you po," I answered back with a budgeted smile before leaving the house. Well, bahala na ang mangyayari sa akin mamaya.

Wearing my blue hooded jacket above my school uniform, naghintay ako sa shed sa may gate ng subdivision nang biglang pumarada ang isang familiar na kotse sa harapan ko. Automatically ring bumukas ang isang bintana ng kotse and Jyrah waved at me with a smile on her face.

"Good day, Lorenzo!" she greeted me pagkaupo sa tabi niya. I just awkwardly smiled at her at saka itinagilid ang sarili ko sa bintana. Confidence is really written onto her face na para bang sinasabi niyang mananalo kami sa competition na ito. Well, I'm just nervous in case I'll break her winning streak today.

"Excited ka na ba?" she asked while holding up the steer as her car traverses the Lazatin Boulevard, under the flyover going to Bacolor.

"I'm more than anxious, actually," I said while huffing. Hindi ko rin alam ang magiging outcome ng lahat ng pinag-practice-an namin. Welp, the world is round, as they say.

But I was in the state of shock when her hand touched my shoulder. But my body registered that I felt something electrifying with that simple touch of hers. Para bang nagising ako roon!

"Sus! Kaya iyan. Para saan pa ang ilang weeks na training natin, 'di ba?" She then gave me a motivating smile--a smile that changed my perspective towards her unlike before.

A defeaning silence lingers as we hit the road until Jyrah opened the speaker of her car that is connected to her phone. At nagsimula siyang magpatugtog ng medley ng K-Pop songs. I'm never been a fan of those upbeat songs with lyrics in Hangul together with their flashy visuals, pero hinayaan ko na lang si Jyrah na mukhang nakiki-sing-along pa while tapping her fingers sa may manibela.

Para tuloy may carpool karaoke rito sa loob as she continues to sing songs in an alien language. But honestly speaking, na-realize kong may maganda siyang singing voice.

No, no, no! Please don't get mesmerized!

I threw up glances on her while she is singing, pero mabilis naman akong umiiwas habang yakap-yakap ang backpack ko.

"Ano ka ba, Lorenzo! Sing with me!" pangungulit pa niya sa akin habang tinatapik pa ang balikat ko. I was about to talk but there are no words coming out from my mouth. Wala talagang traces ng nervousness ang babaeng ito at mukhang chill lang talaga siya. Is this called grace under pressure?

Tamang chill lang bago namin harapin ang giyerang naghihintay sa amin mamaya.

We were already along the metropolitan cathedral of San Fernando city proper when the music interrupted dahil mayroon palang tumatawag through Jyrah's phone that is connected to the car's speaker. And it's no other than our teacher coach, Ma'am Aguas.

Jyrah turned on the call and started to initiate the conversation while driving.

"Hello, Ma'am. Good morning!" she greeted in her usual cheerful voice.

"Jyrah, Lorenzo, nasaan na pala kayo?" Ma'am Aguas asked from the other line.

"Nasa city proper na po kami ng San Fernando. We're almost there na po,"

"Oh, okay. Basta, mag-iingat kayo, ha. Ingatan mo rin si Lorenzo. Good luck sa inyo!"

"Yes, Ma'am! Ako nang bahala sa alaga ko. He's in good hands right now. Hindi ko siya iiwan," sagot muli ni Jyrah while we passed by along Consunji St.

My face turns red as a tomato sa mga sinabing iyon ni Jyrah. What on Earth she is saying? And it really makes my body malfunction. Kaya napailing na lang ako at napatingin sa bintana. At saka ko pinilit na burahin ang lahat ng mga sinabi niya sa utak ko.

Napatingin ulit si Jyrah sa akin but I can't help but to divert myself on my attention to her. Ikapapahamak ko lang ang gagawin kong ito! I would meet my doom!

Shoot! What is really happening, Lorenzo?

---

Nakarating kami sa USF na mga bandang 9:30 AM. And good thing, we're early unlike what we expect.

Pagka-park ng kotse sa school parking lot, bumungad na sa amin ang naglalakihang buildings ng university. May nakita rin kaming truck na may tatak ng channel na magbo-broadcast ng competition ngayon. Probably, ang mga laman noon ay equipments and other stuff na gagamitin for filming.

Sa lagay na ito, it's like we're going through a big labyrinth papunta sa auditorium dahil sa lawak ng school na ito (doon daw gaganapin ang competition at doon na rin kami magkikita nina Ma'am Aguas).

I expect University of San Fernando to be larger than Verte. But I didn't expect this university to be that BIG. Based on my calculations (this may subject to inaccuracy), the size of our school is only 30% of this university. I can't help myself but to roam my eyes sa laki rin ng buildings ng school na ito.

"Nasa entrance na ng auditorium sina Ma'am Aguas. Let's go!" pagyayaya ni Jyrah sa akin. But the question is, makakarating kaya kami roon without getting lost?

"Don't worry, alam ko naman ang lugar na ito. Been here many times na." Phew! Good thing that this walking encyclopedia also works as walking GPS device. Few times pa lang akong nakakapunta sa school na ito and I haven't explored the entire campus.

Dere-deretso lang kaming naglalakad sa isa sa corridor nang hindi nagtatanong sa mga passerby na student na nadaraanan namin. The corridor is quite creepy, though. Dahil siguro medyo makaluma na ang architectural designs ng building.

May mga nakakasabay na rin kami from other schools, and that's how my internal tension re-emerges once more. Well, this is it! We are in end game.

At pagdating namin sa area na may mga table na nasa ilalim ng mga shed, lumiko na kami papasok sa gymnasium na katabi lang nito. And the signs were already leading us to our destination. May mga nakapaskil na ring mga tarpaulin for the competition. May second level din ang gymnasium ng USF at pag-akyat namin, bumungad na ang aming teacher coach na si Ma'am Aguas together with Sir Mutuc. They both smiled at us.

So, let the game begins...

-30-