Strings of Memory

Chapter 14

"And the fact that no one clapped after your performance? That's enough evidence." Tumigil siya sandali, tinitigan isa-isa ang mga nasa harapan niya.

"You—on the drums." Itinuro niya si Elliot. "You're playing too fast! May hinahabol ka ba? Mas nauuna ka pa sa vocalist niyo."

"And you." Then he turned to Rive. "The guy who looks like a girl. You're too slow. Pagong ka ba? Your sound is coming in too late! Ang bagal-bagal mo."

Napakunot noo ako. Not because of his comment about Rive's playing, but because of what he said about Rive's looks. I know Rive has a more feminine appearance, but that was just plain rude. I don't like the way he said it.

"The only one who played right was the girl on the guitar. Sigurado ka bang gusto mong tumugtog kasama ang mga 'to? They're not even that good." He then turned to my desk mate.

"And lastly, the vocalist." May panunuya siyang ngumisi. "You're being too loud. Are you even singing? Mukha kang sumisigaw lang." Sabi niya, sabay hikab, as if he was getting bored.

"Akala ko pa naman magaling kayo. Akala ko magaling ka dahil sa confidence na pinakita mo kanina nung nag-volunteer ka. But you're not. You're all mediocre. Especially you." Tinuro niya ang deskmate ko.

Mabilis na napunta ang atensyon ko sa deskmate ko nang makita ko ang reaksyon niya. Kita ko ang pangingintab ng mga mata niya—tears starting to form. The confidence she had earlier? Gone. Replaced by a pained expression that made my chest tighten.

"Where's your bassist?" tanong ng vocalist.

Umiling ang deskmate ko. "W-wala po," sagot niya, gamit ang maliit na boses.

At nang marinig ko ang bahagyang panginginig ng boses niya, hindi ko napigilan ang inis ko sa vocalist. He's being too rude. His assessment of the performance is the same as mine but the way he said things were just too cruel. I thought they want to help aspiring artists? I feel like they are just here to wreck the dreams of those people.

Calling them mediocre when it's obvious that they have potential if you listen to them individually? That's unprofessional. He's being too much, and it's maddening how he's treating them right now.

"How can all of you dream of going pro when you don't even have a bassist?" Napapailing niyang sabi. "What you showed us today was a horrible performance. It was misplaced confidence that brought you here. You should think things through bago kayo mangarap."

The way he's talking, it's as if the whole performance was unwatchable. Which isn't true. Sure, it wasn't great, but it wasn't as bad as he's making it out to be. There were still good parts. If he just gave them actual advice instead of tearing them down, I might've actually respected him. But no. He decided to humiliate them in front of everyone. In front of me. And it pisses me off.

Napakuyom ang kamao ko nang makita kong napayuko ang deskmate ko, pati na rin sila Rive. It's a given since they were just embarrassed in front of so many people, and their dreams where stomped on repeatedly by his comments. I know that his choice of words cut deeper than knives.

And that made me do something I wouldn't normally do.

Naglakad ako papunta sa harapan kung nasaan ang mga kasama ko. Ramdam ko ang tingin ng mga tao sa paligid, pero wala akong pakialam sa kanila. All I want to do right now is prove that fucking vocalist wrong.

Marahan kong hinawakan ang balikat ng deskmate ko, kaya naman napaangat siya ng tingin. Doon ko nakita ang mata niyang puno ng luha.

Sumikip ang dibdib ko, at marahan kong pinahid iyon.

"Don't cry," I said softly. I wiped her tears as gently as possible, afraid that I might hurt her. But then, she cried harder because of what I said, causing my heart to tighten even more.