"We're good," Cyrus announced as soon as they wrapped up their fourth song.
My forehead slightly creased. Is that it? Just four songs, really? Isn't that too scanty for a lineup? I'm nowhere near a concert connoisseur, but I think it should be more than that for this event to be considered as a concert, right?
I can't fully wrap my head around that thought. But because the doors of possibility that I could be wrong are still unlatched, I decided to disregard my uninformed opinion on the subject matter.
The four of them left their positions and went down from the stage. Jillian and Cyrus headed straight to the other side as their bags were there. Jillian immediately handed Cyrus a face towel and a tumbler, which he gladly accepted after saying something. Probably, a thank you. But instead of using the cloth to wipe his face, he quietly dabbed it against his wife's face that had been drenched in sweat. She smiled and said something that made him chuckle.
"Calli, galaw galaw naman. Baka mahipan ka ng hangin."
I flinched when I heard someone whisper those words in my ear. I took a step back and turned my head to see him. Of course, it's my annoying neighbor.
"What?" I asked, confused and a little irked.
"Kanina ka pa nakatitig sa malayo. Ano ba'ng pinagmamasdan mo?" he curiously asked and followed the trail of my preceding state of abstraction. When he saw his friends, his forehead slightly creased.
"Nothing," I quickly dismissed, looking elsewhere. "What time will this be over?" I asked, changing the topic.
Bigla siyang natawa. "Grabe ka naman. Hindi pa nga nag-uumpisa, gusto mo na matapos agad? Kalmahan mo lang, Calli."
"I'm just asking. It seems like you guys will just play four songs, anyway. You should be done in less than half an hour, right?"
He laughed again. "Sino'ng nagsabi na apat lang?"
"No one. But you only practiced four songs, so I came up with that assumption."
"First of all, it's a rehearsal, not a practice. Practice is when musicians or singers learn the songs. Ginagawa dapat 'yun individually—which we already did before we came here. Rehearsal is when the band members meet—already knowing the songs, and they run through them together. That's what we did earlier," he softly explained. He ended his elucidation with a pleasant smile.
"Oh." I nodded my head. "Thank you for explaining," I sincerely answered. And no, I didn't utter those words just for the sake of being polite. I'm honestly grateful that he explained it to me. At least this time, I didn't hear him call me an uncultured swine again.
"You're welcome," he replied, revivifying the ghost of his smile. "Trivia pala kahit hindi ka naman interested. Share ko pa rin." He laughed and carried on. "Pet peeve din ni Cyrus 'yung mga musicians na hindi nagpa-practice bago magpunta sa rehearsal. Ayaw na ayaw niya 'yung ginagawang practice area ang stage. He expects everyone to have studied and memorized each song before meeting as a band. Na-experience ko na firsthand ang masabon niya dati. Never ko na inulit." He chuckled.
I mentally nodded my head. It only makes sense that he has certain expectations of them. He's not being unreasonable by requiring them to study the songs they're about to play. If anything, that's just the bare minimum. If they committed to be in the band, they should do their part.
"Also . . . to answer your question, no, hindi kaya ng less than an hour dahil hindi lang four songs ang gagawin namin. 'Yun lang ang na-rundown dahil may kasunod pa na magre-rehearse," he supplied.
"Oh . . ." I replied, a little crestfallen. I really thought I could go home to Sav earlier. Well, that plan just went down the drain. "What time will Kayla and Benj be here?" I asked, changing the topic again.
