When The Night Sky Becomes Lively

XXII

"So how does it feel? 'Yung pagsusuot ng baro't saya."

"Hmm...it's quite liberating. Ibig kong sabihin, maginhawa sa pakiramdam. Kapag kasi nagsusuot ako ng yukata, pakiramdam ko ay limitado ang aking galaw. As of the bakya, I got used to it since I was also wearing wooden slippers sometimes."

"Ano sa tingin mo? Bagay ba sa'kin?" She twirled around, flexing her baro't saya.

"If I said yes, how will you react?" I asked.

"I will be pleased, of course."

"Then I'd rather not say it."

And she shook me like the waves of the ocean. I admit that seeing her wearing baro't saya suits her. But there's no way I would say it out loud.

Matapos ang ilang minuto ay may pumasok na mga babaeng estudyante. Compared to my companion here who is wearing baro't saya, they wore filipinianas, giving an impression of a fair maiden from a rich family. Ngunit ang umagaw ng pansin ko ay si Reiza na nakasuot ng pulang Filipiniana at nakalugay ang kaniyang wavy na buhok. Mayroon din isyang suot na pulang alumpay.

"Wow. Bongga tayo for today's video ah. It suits you."

"Agree. You can be a model if you want to."

"Maraming salamat, but wala akong intensyong maging model," she replied. "Oo nga pala, bakit hindi ka nag-Filipiniana, Alcantara? Pakiramdam ko ay bagay din sa'yo."

She's right. I nodded. For a rich girl like her, wearing a Filipiniana will suit her more. Perhaps it will justify that she's a rich girl.

"Perhaps because I already wore a gown recently." Alcantara giggled awkwardly.

Naramdaman kong biglang pumungay ang mga mata ko. At the same time, unti-unting lumabas sa utak ko ang lahat. Alcantara wearing a white off-shoulder dress, dancing with me in the middle of-

Hold on. Stop this crap! I sighed, subsiding those thoughts away. I should just remain silent even what she wore wasn't a gown. Nagtingin-tingin na lang ako sa mga kaklase namin. Kabisado ko na lahat ng mukha ng mga kaklase ko at dahil d'on ay may napansin akong kakaiba.

Nawawala si Jasmine Delos Reyes.

"Anyway, have you seen Jasmine?" I asked.

"Nasa CR pa yata," Reiza retorted. "She's taking her time na suotin ang black Filipiniana niya."

Black? "May lamay?" Those were the first words came out from my mouth.

"Oh, come on, Steven. Maaaring pinili niya 'yun sapagkat 'yun lamang ang meron siyang Filipiana, tama?" Alcantara replied. She seemed trying to sort things out. Unfortunately, it was awkwardly executed.

Ilang minuto ang lumipas ay umalingawngaw ang tunog ng bakya. I made a sidelong glance at napansin ang taong hinahanap ko. She was wearing a black Filipiniana as Reiza mentioned. But it was more of a dress due to it's length that reached above her knees.

She awkwardly entertained a couple of female classmates before approaching us and poised like a model.

I scanned her from head to toe. I know it was obvious, but it really do suits her. I couldn't imagine her wearing bright colored-clothes. Despite of that, her dress seems more of a modern style than a traditional one.

"Oh my gosh, Jasmine. Was that you? In the first place, was that even a Filipiana?"

"Who said that Filipianas are meant for gowns alone?" Jasmine retorted. What a reasonable response.

"That's illegal!" Reiza chimed in, but she stared at her nonetheless.

Nanatili lang akong tahimik, pinapakinggan ang mga sinasabi ng tatlo. It's true that what she was wearing was unorthodox. There's no way I-