This is yet to be edited.
Nairobi and I sat side by side in the auditorium as the program started. There would be different kinds of performances from the grade school department to the high school department. After the last performers leave the stage, the Nutri Jingle contest will start. The contestants will draw lots on who would go first several minutes before the contest starts.
The group contestants were supposed to sit together in the auditorium because the awarding ceremony would follow immediately after the Nutri Jingle contest. So Nairobi forced me to save the seat beside me for Cairo. She really wasn’t going to let it go. She was going to push me until she found out who I liked.
Well, it’s gonna take a while. Even I don’t know who I like.
Students were just starting to fill the seats. Most of them just had lunch. Because of the delay the seniors caused, the schedule got messed up. Instead of having a regular lunchtime, people had less time to eat. As you would have guessed, Nairobi wasn’t happy about that.
“That quiz bee really worked up an appetite,” she told me as she continued to munch on her fries.
“I’m just glad it’s finally over,” I said after taking a sip of my white chocolate mocha. “I mean, it was fun,” I quickly added.
“But it’s not something you’ll miss anytime soon,” she said with a smile before another fry disappeared into her mouth.
I nodded before finishing my drink. I practically had to drag Nairobi with me to the coffee shop. Normally, she would come with me willingly. It was only ten minutes away, after all. But on days like this when her lunchtime’s been delayed, she gets really hungry.
“I sure hope no one causes any more delays. I think most of our classmates are either not around or exhausted from the contests they joined. Maybe we could convince Sunny to cancel rehearsals today. Then,” she looked at me with hopeful eyes. “Maybe… we could… possibly…”
“Swing by Salazars’ Bookstore,” I said monotonously, faking irritation.
“Well, I thought you’d never ask,” she winked at me. I rolled my eyes at her.
“I’m just gonna throw this,” I told her, gesturing to my cup, before I stood up and left the auditorium.
The closest trash bin was outside the auditorium, across the hall. Teachers are always complaining how when there are events in the auditorium, there’s always junk left on the floor or on the seats. Maybe, just maybe, if they placed a few trash bins inside the auditorium, there wouldn’t be a problem. Personally, I’ve never left cups or wrappers or bags inside the auditorium. I just didn’t mind the walk. But I would understand how some people wouldn’t want to leave their seats. If you leave before the program, you could lose your seat, unless you have someone to save it for you. If you leave during the program, you just might miss something great. And usually, by the time the program ends, you would’ve already placed your empty cup, wrapper, or bag somewhere and it’s easy to forget about it.
Our school has an event for almost every month. Next month will be National Language Month. Then in September, we’ll be having our school intramurals. After that, it’s our Halloween Party. Then the last event for this year will be the Christmas Party. Our school year is always full of events. This school year has just started, but a lot of things have already happened. For me, that is. And I guess for Nairobi, Sunny, and Cairo as well. I hope that when summer vacation comes, I could look back on this school year and remember it as happy. And I wish that the same would go for my friends. They deserve to be happy, all three of them.
Students were coming in both from the entrance doors and the exit doors. So I bumped into a few people on my way out. Guess who was one of the people I bumped into?
“Oh, I’m sorry,” Fifer said with a smile immediately after we bumped into each other.
“Don’t worry about it,” I was able to respond.
She nodded and proceeded to find a seat with her friends.
I haven’t seen her in a while. In a long while, actually. I’ve wondered what happened to her and Cai. It was apparent to a lot of people that they were friends. It was apparent to even more people that they were more than friends. But neither of them seems to be upset about their current situation. I don’t think they’re avoiding each other. But they obviously aren’t spending as much time together now as they used to.
After throwing away my cup, I managed to squeeze my way back into the auditorium. Wow. When did all these people get here? Wasn’t I glad I had a seat saved for me.
I wonder if Cai’s already in his seat. Did he and Fifer cross paths? She’ll be performing later on. I remember when Sunny and Cai weren’t able to return to our song practice because Fifer and her friends invited them to watch their dance rehearsal. I remember how I felt about that. But I was able to shake off the feeling before I got to my seat.
Cai was already there. He smiled at me as I approached. I smiled back before sitting down. Seemed like I came back just in time because the program started as soon as I got settled in.
Nairobi and I chatted away as the performances started and ended. Cairo kept himself busy with his phone. At first it kind of irked me, like it always has. But then I just let it slip. After all, if Nairobi and I were talking and he was just sitting there, watching little kids semi-sing songs like “It’s A Small World” it would be unfair. But I’m not gonna lie. When I caught a glimpse of his screen and saw that he was playing Hangman on his phone, I wasn’t exactly displeased.
When the emcee announced that next to perform were kids from the third grade, I took the time to check if Cassandra was one of the performers. Kids in cute little animal costumes were marching out from the backstage. After there were already about ten kids on the stage, I was convinced that Cassandra wouldn’t be performing. I was about to strike up conversation with Nai. But then, she came out in her adorable lion costume.
I looked over to where Sunny and his teammates were sitting. We were all in the same row. He was just about five seats away from me. I easily spotted him as he took out a video camera, a proud look on his face.
It made me smile to know that this was making him happy. I’m happy when he’s happy.
The third graders went on to sing and sort of dance to “The Lion Sleeps Tonight.” It was actually really cute. Sure, they probably got the words wrong. And they definitely forget some of the choreography. But it was cute. And yes, I’m aware that my judgment might be biased because she’s Sunny’s sister. But she really was cute. I guess cuteness runs in the family.
After their performance, I clapped loudly. I guess I was the only one who really clapped from our section because Sunny looked my way. He smiled at me and I smiled back at him. We didn’t say anything. Even if we did, we probably wouldn’t have heard what each other said. But you know what was weird? We didn’t need words. Not at that moment. We just understood each other. And I can’t explain how nice it feels when you can understand a person like that.
“Getting on well with his sisters?” Nairobi teased.
“Shut up,” I said after nudging her. She just giggled.
“Oops, sorry,” she said. “I forgot Prince Charming was beside you.”
I almost turned just to check if Cai heard what Nairobi said. But I didn’t want to risk it. What if he did hear? Then I’d be stuck in Awkwardville for the rest of the program. No, thank you. I’d rather convince myself he didn’t hear a thing over his concentration in playing Hangman.
“Dune?” Cai suddenly spoke up.
“Y-yes?” Okay, he heard Nai. He heard Nai!
“I’m gonna go buy some coffee. Do you want any?”
“Oh,” was all I could say.
“Is that… a yes?” he asked, half confused and half amused. I mentally facepalmed myself.
“Um, I’m fine. No, thanks,” I said.
“Do you remember my coffee order, cutie?” Nairobi butted in.
“Caffe latte?” he smiled at her.
“Thanks!” she said with a smile.
“Be back in a bit,” Cai said before getting up and leaving.
He was definitely gone for more than ‘a bit.’ It was already well over twenty minutes when he came back. But when he did, he came back prepared. He gave Nai her caffe latte, which cheered her up from the program which was obviously boring her. She already wanted the program to proceed to the Nutri Jingle contest and then to the awarding ceremony, probably so that we would have enough time to go see Miguel.
“And this is for you,” he handed me a bag of cookies, which reminded me of the half-empty-because-of-Nairobi bag of cookies I gave him before.
“But I—”
“Just in case you changed your mind in the last,” he took a look at the time on his phone screen, “twenty-seven minutes,” he smiled.
“T-thanks,” I replied as I opened the bag and Nairobi’s hand automatically grabbed one.
“Thanks again, cutie,” she raised the cookie towards Cai before she ate it.
He bought himself a half-caf, the same thing he bought from the coffee shop close to our school that day we had song practice. So that’s his coffee order. For some reason, I made a mental note of it.
“Cai,” I heard a female voice from behind. It was a familiar voice. So I turned to look, and I saw Fifer approaching.
“Hi guys,” she greeted me and Nairobi.
“Hey,” Nai responded. I just smiled.
“Zeek, I forgot to get my straw,” she said, seemingly amused at her mistake. “Sorry.”
Did she say Zeek? Is that like a pet name? It’s kind of far from Cairo. But whatever.
“It’s fine, don’t worry,” he said. Then he gave Fifer the extra straw he was holding.
“Thanks,” she said as she took it from him. Then her eyes wandered to my bag of cookies. I was about to offer her some, my parents taught me manners, after all. But she spoke before I could. “Did you like the cookies, Dune?” she smiled at me. “Cai couldn’t decide whether to get the white chocolate mocha cookies or the toffee fudge cookies.”
“Oh,” was my only response. Then I remembered she asked if I liked the cookies. “I haven’t gotten to eating one yet.”
“You should. They’re delicious,” she said with a smile. “They’re actually my favorite.”
“Dune’s favorite coffee flavor is white chocolate mocha. What a striking similarity. Maybe you two have other things in common,” Nairobi chimed in. I couldn’t help but nudge her.
“Fifer, c’mon. We gotta get ready,” one of Fifer’s friends called out.
“Well, I guess I have to go now,” she said to us. “See you later,” she said to Cai.
“She was at the coffee shop when I arrived,” Cai said after Fifer walked away, like he was explaining to me.
“Yeah, you two seem to meet there often,” I thought aloud. When I realized I’d actually said it, I scrambled for an excuse. “I mean, I… I guess you two like each other—I mean, coffee, you two like getting coffee… with each other… over there… or something.”
All of a sudden, I wanted the program to speed up.
It didn’t take long before the juniors took to the stage. “Hate That I Love You” started to play. It reminded me of the time I sang it to Cairo and he sang it back to me. I listened to the song but in my head I was listening to Cairo singing to me. I watched Fifer and her friends dance on the stage… but in my head, I remembered seeing her and Cairo dancing on the same stage.
He looked genuinely happy with her. When I think about the way he smiles whenever he’s with her, there’s this feeling that I try not to acknowledge. But no matter how hard I try, I know the feeling is there. And it’s strong. And it’s something I’m trying to put aside.
After their performance, Cai clapped for them. Nairobi and I clapped, too. But he didn’t clap as much for Fifer as I did for Cassandra, which made me wonder. Sometimes, he seems so sweet towards her. Other times, he’s like that, like there’s nothing special between them. But I guess of all people, I should be the one used to that habit of him by now.
The Nutri Jingle contest started and ended quicker than I thought it would. As much as I wanted to enjoy the performances, I couldn’t. For some reason, I couldn’t enjoy them anymore. So I just wanted the awarding ceremony to proceed. I just wanted to go home, hug my mom, and then hug my bed until Sunday morning.
The emcees announced the winners for the essay-writing and poster-making contests first. Gwenevere won first place in the essay-writing contest. I half expected that. Sunny taught her, after all. Nico won second place, which wasn’t so bad. Then Sunny’s team was announced as the winner of the message relay contest. Nico cheered louder than Sunny and his teammates. It puzzled me for a while. But then I remembered he made a bet with Theo before the game.
“Now, let’s move on to the winners of the quiz bee,” the emcee announced.
“The second runners-up are the juniors,” the second emcee said, then went on to say the group members’ names. The juniors cheered as their peers made their way to the stage to claim their certificates.
We were going to be called on to the stage soon. My mind flashed back to that moment in the quiz bee when we were waiting for the emcees to announce the correct answer and ultimately find out who won the game.
I didn’t look at the seniors’ answer. I didn’t have to. I would find out in a matter of seconds. All I could do was hope.
“And the answers are,” the emcee started. “Alexander Pope…”
“And, William Shakespeare!” the other emcee spoke.
“Looks like both of our contestants have the correct answers,” the first emcee said. I felt my heart sink. I looked at my teammates and I could tell they felt the same.
“We had a good game,” Cai quietly told us, mustering up a smile.
“And that ends our quiz bee, folks,” the first emcee announced. “The seniors have—”
“Wait,” the second emcee spoke up.
“What is it?” we faintly heard the first emcee ask the second.
“Will the contestants raise their boards again?” the second emcee requested.
We raised ours up, thankful that we haven’t erased our answers yet. The seniors slowly raised their board. For some reason, I felt the need to look at their answer. There had to be a reason they were asking us to raise our boards again. Was it their capitalization? Was it their spelling? I was quite confident with our answers. So it must have been them. There was something wrong with their answer.
Before I could scrutinize the seniors’ answer, Nairobi gripped my arm. I turned to her and found her looking like she was about to explode.
“They forgot the ‘e’,” she told me. In any other situation, I wouldn’t have understood. But at that moment, I knew exactly what she meant. I proceeded to look at the seniors’ board and my guess was confirmed.
Their answers were Alexander Pope and William Shakespear.
“We won,” I heard Cai quietly say, as if he was talking to himself and still trying to get a hold of the situation. “W-we won,” he said as he turned to me and Nairobi, a smile slowly growing on his face.
“Well, well, well,” the first emcee accidentally said over the microphone. He cleared his throat before speaking again, “As it turns out, only the sophomores got the correct answers because…” I’m sure the emcee had more to say, but nobody could hear him clearly over the loud cheering from our classmates on the bleachers.
“The sophomores won!” the second emcee finally announced after our classmates sort of quieted down. But they quickly became loud again.
All of a sudden, Nairobi tackled me. I was so unprepared for her that we bumped into Cairo. The three of us almost fell on the floor. Thankfully, Cai was able to get a hold of me. He set me back on my feet. All the while, Nairobi stuck to me like glue.
“We! Won! The game!” she said as she jumped up and down, still hugging me. “Group hug!” she gestured for Cairo to come closer and join in.
Cai came closer with a smile plastered on his face. He put his right arm over my shoulder and his left arm over Nairobi’s. And I was ecstatic. This is what I was talking about. This happiness, we deserved this.
“Earth to Dune!” Nairobi shouted at me as she pulled me up from my chair and out of my thoughts.
“Huh? What?”
“It’s time to get our trophy,” Cai smiled at me.
Nairobi almost ran up to the stage with me in tow. Cai followed us like we were two little girls in a candy store and he was our babysitter. Nonetheless, when we were handed our trophy, we all looked like little kids getting handed the biggest and yummiest piece of candy in the world.
On the stage, Nairobi was standing on my left and Cairo was standing on my right. Nairobi held up our trophy with a proud face. The other winners stayed on the stage long enough for a few snapshots from their friends. Nairobi must have arranged for each of our classmates to take at least a dozen pictures of us while I was reminiscing in my seat, because we were up there for a long time.
Nairobi had her right arm over my shoulder while her left hand held up our trophy. Cairo had his left arm around my waist while he made a “Number One” sign with his right hand. I was the socially awkward penguin in the middle. I was comfortable enough to wrap my left arm around Nairobi’s waist. But I wasn’t about to put my right arm over any part of Cairo. At least, not while twenty people were snapping pictures of us. Instead, I used my right hand to make a “thumbs up” sign.
After an eternity of picture-taking, at least for the socially awkward penguin in the middle, we were able to get back to our seats. When we got there, people all around were congratulating us. And we tried our best to thank each and every one of them.
“We did it. We actually did it,” Nai said as she put the trophy on her lap. “I’m gonna ask our classmates to Bluetooth our pictures to my phone,” she said. “Here, you guys watch over the shiny guy while I’m gone,” she placed the trophy between me and Cai, then winked at me before leaving.