Paige's world almost fell apart when her letter said:
"Ms. Dakota Paige David, we regret to inform you that your travel loan has been declined."
A travel loan was her last hope. Her last chance that can help her rise from her financial crisis. ASAP.
Paige earned a scholarship to study at a university in New York City, USA.
And she needs to migrate in three months.
Not only that, her happily-ever-after also awaits in New York.
Her happy-ever-after is to finally be with Kent, to work in the States and start a better life.
Kent Morales has always been Paige's uptight, long distance boyfriend. He needs everything to be perfect: the total opposite of Paige's clumsy life.
But Kent has started to cut the communication with Paige for almost a month now.
Their story used to be intense with love.
Kent used to visit Paige once a year. Until he started feeling really hurt by the long distance.
Now? Everything is down spiraling.
Paige struggled with self-supporting recently and at the same time, she wanted to fix the gap in her long distance relationship that Kent isn't happy about anymore.
With this loan disapproval, there is officially no other solution that could fix her problems in just three months.
There is nothing that a part-time job could do anymore.
Paige only works as an emergency responder and a part-time wedding pianist just to earn money for her New York dreams.
The only thing that kept her going was the idea of her own wedding with Kent in the U.S.
But that, too, seems out of reach for now.
Paige comes home to her apartment and rants to her best friend.
"Oh diba? Sabi sayo too good to be true pa for now eh." (See? I told you it's too good to be true for now.)
Her best friend just looks at her empathetically and doesn't say anything.
Paige only smiles.
"Hala bakit ganyan ka makatingin? Okay lang yan! Yaan mo na. Someday, pag madami na tayo pera, sasama ka sakin sa bahay namin ni Kent." (Hey. Why the long face? It's okay! Don't worry. Someday, when we earn enough, I'm taking you with me and Kent.)
Paige gives her best friend a rub on the back even if she's the one who needs it more
"Tyaka madami pa tayo gusto i-try dito sa Pinas, diba? Para bago tayo mag New York, ma-try muna natin yung mga nightlife sa BGC! Mapractice practice naman natin makipag english sa mga sheesh shoti perehhh. Diba? Diba? " (Besides, we still have a bucketlist of experiences here in the Philippines before we move to New York. We still haven't tried the night life at BGC! Where we can practice our english skills with people who talks like 'Sheesh...dude'. Right? Right?"
Paige's best friend just stares at her.
And then barks.
Paige's one and only best friend is her dog, Milo, a tiny-legged brown dachshund with a round belly.
Milo just sticks a tongue out as if to mock her.
"Yan ka nanaman ah? Inaasar mo nanaman ako! Takaw takaw mo kasi kaya di tayo nakakaipon eh!" (There you go again, huh? You're bullying me! It's you who eats too much around here that's why we couldn't save enough money!)
Paige teases Milo and then laughs unproblematically.
Paige turns the speakers on and plays the SB19 song "MAPA" on Spotify. It has become her favorite song ever since it was released.
The song reminds Paige to tell her mom not to worry about her. Because someday, Paige promises to be able to give back.
Paige prepares Milo's bowl before they eat their dinner together.
But with everything going on in her mind, Paige doesn't really feel like eating. So she just watches Milo grub on his bowl.
The song "MAPA" continues to play on the background. And Paige suddenly gets an idea.
To distract herself from sad thoughts, Paige sits on her electric piano and studies the song.
It didn't take long for Paige to learn the piano composition for "MAPA".
Paige decides to send the message across to her mom by uploading a song cover on her Twitter account.
After tagging her mom on her post, it's when Paige decides to close her eyes and hopes
And prays
And wishes
That she finds more strategies tomorrow.
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The next day, Paige wakes up to the sound of piano keys shouting in her ears.
She fell asleep on her piano.
Milo barks in surprise.
The sunlight on the window reminds Paige that she's late for work
"HA?!! 7:00 NA?!!! BAKIT DI MO KO GINISING!!!" (What?!! It's already 7:00?!!! Why didn't you wake me up!!!) Paige scrambles her closet for her uniform "MILO NAMAN KASI BAKIT KASI NAGING ASO KA PA EH EDI SANA NAPAGSASABIHAN MO MAN LANG AKO" (Why do you have to be a dog, Milo. I wish you could talk me out of sleep)
Paige doesn't even have the time to look in the mirror because she still had to refill Milo's breakfast and water bowl.
And after that, Paige quickly slips on her sneakers, grabs her bag and just rushes out of the apartment.
She runs as fast as she could to call a taxi.
When Paige finally makes it inside a cab, she rests her head on the back of the seat, cursing under her breath.
The taxi driver is watching something from a mini television on his dashboard.
The taxi driver tries to initiate a conversation with her "Ma'am, artista ka po ba?" (Ma'am, are you a celebrity?)
"Po?" was all Paige could say to such a weird question so early in the morning.
"Ma'am, ikaw nga! Ikaw to oh! Ma'am, nasa balita ka oh!" (Ma'am, it's really you! It's you! Ma'am, you're on the news)
The taxi driver vigorously points on his tv's screen.
Paige yawns at such an absurd compliment but as soon as she glimpses at the driver's screen, her sleepy eyes enlarges.
Her piano cover is on TV!!!
Paige is dumbfounded. She can't find the words to say to the driver who is now looking at her with a happy smile.
Paige finds herself staring in space, wondering if she's hallucinating and couldn't even pay attention to the taxi man saying "Ma'am, pa-autograph naman, ma'am. Ma'am? Okay ka lang, ma'am? Ma'am?"
Finally, the car pulls up in front of Paige's work place.
She pays the taxi driver and tries to snap back to her senses "Kuya, wala lang po 'yan. Wag na po autograph, ha? Wala lang po 'yan. Thank you po!" (Kuya, that's just nothing. So... no autographs. Because that's nothing. Okay? Thank you!)
Before the taxi driver could speak, she's already bolting towards the medical building, preparing to get scolded by her boss.
"David!!!" Her boss's voice echoed in a strong and loud tone, walking briskly towards her.
Paige braces herself for her early morning sermon. And turns around to face the boss, "Sir, sorr--"
"-- Uuuuy... congratulations ha? Di mo naman sinabi mag-aartista ka na pala!" The boss gives her a pat on the shoulder instead.
Paige's mind is full of questions now. And she needs answers. Immediately.
"S-sir" Paige laughs weakly, hiding her confusion "Sino po... sino po nagsabi? Sorry po. Ano po ba.. ano pong nangyayari?" (Who... who said.. Sorry, sir. What.. what's going on?)
"Loka ka. Okay lang kung ipu-pursue mo na yan. Talaga namang artistahin kang bata eh. Basta goodluck sa journey mo ah. Anytime naman matatanggap ka dito. Basta wag ka makakalimot ah?" (Silly girl. It's okay to pursue it! We knew you've always been a celebrity type! Anyway, good luck on your journey. You're always welcome to come back here. Don't forget your roots, though!) Is the boss from hell really speaking to her this way?
Just when Paige could get more confused, a phone call buzzing from her pocket catches her attention.
An unknown number is displayed on her phone screen. She answers it cautiously "Thank you for calling emergency rescue, good morning"
"Hi. Good morning. Is this Ms. Paige David?" A woman on the other line greets her energetically.
"Uh. Yes po. Speaking" Paige tries to hide the anxiety in her voice.
"Hi, Ms. Paige! This is Carmen Dino from the management of SB19. Can you spare us a few minutes of your time?" The voice paused and there's suddenly an awkward silence between us.
SB19? Like, THE SB19? Like, yung boyband? Could everything get any weirder?
"SB19 po? I'm sorry... tama po ba narinig ko, ma'am?" (SB19? I'm sorry... did I hear that correctly?) Paige clears her throat, not sure how to react to the situation.
"Yes, Ms. Paige. We just want to congratulate you for being one of the chosen contestants on our reality game show. We will be sending you an e-mail with all the information shortly. Congratulations!" The woman named Carmen Dino pauses to hear a reaction from Paige.
"Sorry, ma'am. You must be mistaken? I don't re--"
"Ms. Dakota Paige David, correct? Yes. We have viewed your SB19 cover as an entry. And indeed, you are one of the 19 lucky girls to be joining us in New York for the next three weeks and will be aspiring to compete for 1 million pesos! Please expect an email soon. It will have all the information on your flight and other expenditures shouldered by our team. Have a great day!" The woman who seems to be in a hurry, hangs up.
Paige is frozen in place. Only remembering two words from the woman's statement: New York and 1 million pesos.
Those two words was all it took for Paige to think straight, ignoring everything else and ignoring all the follow up questions in her head.
She's signing up.