MY FIRST LOVE | DonKiss

Chapter 8: Rookie

"Ahhhh pagod na pagod na ako!"  I said as I talked to Kuya Dino on the phone.

"Paris, puede ba? You only work 5 days a week. We always make sure that you have your weekends for yourself.  Bawal OA."

May point.  I should not complain.  Actually, mema lang naman yung pagod na pagod na ako.  It's only Tuesday and I'm on my way to tape the feature on the UE team.  Their court side reporter is co-hosting this one with me.  The unit kasi especially liked how we featured Thirdy's story with Martie, their court side reporter.  Now, they asked that this be done in all schools, as we feature one player.

"Hindi ka naman mahihirapan sa schedule mo on Friday.  Puede ka ngang 9:00 gumising.  Sa Rockwell lang din nakatira yung court side reporter ng La Salle."

Oh, so neighbors pa pala kami ni Iris?  That's good.  I mean, wala akong pakialam talaga. Pero a few more hours of sleep instead of driving early to make it to a 9:00 am taping somewhere is something I'd like to avoid.  Buti na lang, Rockwell din naman pala to.  Hindi na ako mahihirapan.

"Actually, Paris, same din pala kayo ng condo.  Sa Manansala lang din sya.  Sa lobby na lang daw kayo magmimeet." Kuya said.

How inconvenient.  Why do I have to go downstairs when I could simply go to her unit directly?  We live in the same building anyway.

"Kuya, tanungin mo na lang kung saan yung unit.  Doon na lang ako didirecho.  Parang tanga naman kung bababa pa ako tapos same floor pala kami nyan ng condo." I said. 

I heard him talk to the UAAP staff he was talking to.

"Paris," he continued.  "Data privacy issue raw kasi.  Hindi sila allowed to disclose such information, so on the day itself, you all meet at the lobby, tapos bahala na si Lian."

I rolled my eyes in disbelief. "O sige na. Bababa na ako on Friday at 9 to meet everyone at the lobby."

As if di ko malalaman where she lives by Friday.

I shook my head as I kept my phone and stepped out of my car.  It's another long day here in UE.  Hopefully, we get to tape good takes.

***

"Iris!" Jovanne said.  "Hindi ka ba sasama sa amin na magdinner? Mag-aaral din kami after dinner sa Starbucks for our test tomorrow."

I zipped my bag as I stood up and checked my watch.  It's 5:40 in the afternoon. Coach Aldin Ayo said that team practice begins at 6 and ends at 9 in the evening on Mondays through Fridays, except Wednesdays. That was going to be the schedule of the team until the season begins next weekend. They're ditching Wednesdays because there are UAAP games scheduled on Wednesdays.

"Sorry, girls," I said addressing Jovanne, Candice, and our new friend Jessica. Jessica had missed the first week of class because she was out of the country. Luckily, she sat on the vacant seat beside mine on our first class on Monday. Since then, she became part of our group, and I'm glad she did. We shared the same love for doing well in school. She was also close to her family. "I can't go with you. Team practice ng 6 eh. Neither can I join you for the study session. Coach Aldin just extended team practices to until 9 in the evening."

"Yikes! Paano yung Nat Sci test natin bukas, Iris? Have you studied for it? First class pa naman!" Loraine asked.

Truth be told, in the last two weeks, I would only sleep 5-6 hours each day because I always spent my nights reading. Puede na yatang hindi ako mag-aral. Pero syempre, studying for an exam was part of the promises I intended to keep before my parents left.

"Aral na lang siguro ako for 2-3 hours tonight. Wala eh, pinili ko to." I said, walking out of the room with them.

We talked for a bit about our English Comm homework and when we reached the lobby, I waved my goodbye.