#NewClassicILIB
Chapter 18
Someday
All the lucky twenty-five First Classes, who got into the limited meet and greet, had lined up orderly at the backstage while waiting for New Classic. Since Dawn and I went in earlier to distribute the banners and cardboards at the seats inside the arena, Mr. Joel allowed us to join the meet and greet.
Like before, we were given VIP-Seated tickets once again. Halos parehas na puwesto rin ang ibinigay sa amin.
Not long after we were settled at the backstage, Ida Mallari entered with her best friend, Blair. Dinig kong medyo naexcite ang mga kasama namin sa backstage dahil sa paglabas ni Ida. She's well-known as Isaiah's younger sister.
I knew it was rude, but I couldn't stop myself from looking at Blair, after what I witnessed the other day. I was grateful that I got busy because of the preparations for the concert. I let myself submerged in other things, in order not to drown in unwanted and unexplainable feelings. But since I saw her again, all troubling thoughts barged into my mind without any permission.
Once again, I felt that light prick of pain inside my chest. However, I schooled my expression, when Blair finally laid her eyes on me. I was careful not to let my true emotions show.
"Fan ka pala ng New Classic!" Blair told me, as soon as she got near me.
I nodded timidly and said, "Ikaw rin pala fan nila? Hindi ko naisip that you're a fan of New Classic. Hindi halata sa 'yo."
She looked slightly troubled when I said that. It only heightened my agitation, thinking that my suspicion might be true.
"Oh! Uhm, actually nandito lang ako dahil kay Ida," she explained herself right away. "Alam mo naman, 'di ba? Kapatid niya si Isaiah. There's an extra ticket from her brother kaya ako ang sinama niya."
I remained smiling, though my mood had already turned sour. "You're very lucky dahil best friend mo ang kapatid ni Isaiah. He's my bias in New Classic." I tried to sound okay, while exchanging conversation with her. "Have you already seen them? Galing kayo roon sa loob, 'di ba?"
She cautiously nodded. "Kumakain sila kanina noong dumating kami rito."
Trying my best not to show what I truly felt, I smiled wider that it almost hurt my jaw. "Ang guwapo nilang apat, 'di ba? Lalo na si Isaiah!" I acted like a hardcore fan, who's crazy about Isaiah. "Ano palang kinain nila? Nagpadala kaming fans ng foods para sa kanila. Did you see them eat it?"
"Uh, hindi ko napansin ang pagkain nila. Pero, oo, guwapo silang apat," nag-aalangan niyang pagsagot sa akin.
It was crazy that we were both hiding what we truly feel. But I pitied her more. I was just a fan at the sidelines, supporting Isaiah and the band, while she could be someone very important to him. She had to hide what she feels for him because Isaiah's a public figure.
"Blair, lalabas na raw sila Kuya."
Nalipat naman ang tingin ko kay Ida na lumapit na rin sa amin. Medyo nagkagulo pa ang mga nasa pila at abala sila sa pagpipicture kay Ida.
"Ida!" Some of the fans were calling her out.
"Ida, si Zendaya. Naaalala mo ba siya?" sabi naman ni Blair sa kanya at muli akong tinuro.
Ida smiled at me. "Of course! How could I ever forget a friend of my best friend?" she said, then gave me all of her attention. "I never thought that you're a fan of New Classic."
"Uhm, hindi lang siguro talaga halata, but I love them very much," I told her.
"I hope you'll love them more and continue to support them," she said, before she looked over the other fans in the line. "And also, to all of you, sana hindi kayo magsawang suportahan ang New Classic. The boys surely treasure all of you at sana'y ganoon din kayo sa kanila."
Everyone gave their promises to Ida. Some of the fans even took a picture with her, until one of the staffs arrived.
"Guys, line-up properly please."
Agad naman kaming napaayos sa pila. Lumayo na rin sa amin sina Ida at Blair. They were the first one who got closer to New Classic. Hindi ko na masyadong itinuon pa ang pansin ko roon. I just waited for my turn, which ended quickly. Pagkatapos no'n ay dumiretso na kami ni Dawn sa loob ng arena. Nagsisimula na rin silang magpapasok dahil pagkatapos ng maikling meet and greet sa backstage ay magsisimula na ang concert.
Habang hindi pa nagsisimula ay lumapit si mommy sa aming puwesto. She looked so tired already. Ang sabi niya kanina sa akin ay may mga last minute changes sa setlist ng concert kaya hindi sila magkanda-ugaga.
"What is it, mom?" I asked her.
"I won't attend the after party for the staffs earlier, kaya sabay na tayong umuwi, okay?" sabi niya sa akin. "I just want to rest after the concert."
"Okay po," sabi ko at medyo nakaramdam ng awa para sa ina.
We didn't talk much because a staff called for her attention right away. Muli siyang bumalik sa backstage kasama 'yon.
Before the concert starts, the fans chose to sing Moments while waiting. All lightsticks were also turned on already. I brought my phone out to record the heartwarming scene. It was nice to hear the fans singing. New Classic would be so proud to see this. Every fan knew the lyrics to their song!
Habang vinivideohan ang buong arena ay nahagip ko ng tingin sina Blair at Ida. Medyo malapit na ngayon ang family section sa banda namin. Blair was casually chatting with Ida.
Pilit ko namang iniwas ang tingin ko at hindi na masyadong binigyan ng pansin ang kanyang presensya. Saktong pagkatapos naman nang pagkanta namin ay namatay na ang ilaw at nagsimula na ang mahabang reminders ng management ng arena―na siyang hudyat na malapit na ang paglabas ng banda.
Right after the announcement, the first VCR flashed on the screen. Everyone went wild and screamed. The VCR showed clips of New Classic from their Utopian World tour. There were clips from the backstage and also travel clips of them, visiting the landmarks of the cities and countries where they made a stop.
"It was very pleasing." Sic's solo interview suddenly popped out. The screams got louder as we got an individual close-up shot. "Performing not just for our fans in the Philippines, but also outside the country is so overwhelming. I think 'thank you' isn't enough to express my gratitude."
The next one to flash on the screen was Ike.
"Exciting, thrilling, memorable..." Ike said continuously. "Every moment that I had spent during our tour is very memorable. I had learned a lot of things. I was able to travel to my goal destinations before. It was a memory worth remembering. I'd definitely treasure it all."
After Ike, Jirro came next.
"I'm very, very, very thankful to our fans―First Class. Not just in the Philippines, but also outside of the country. In Europe, where we got an unexpected amount of love and support, je vous remercie... Grazie... Dank je..." He smiled. "I even heard that our fans in the US want us to include them in the tour, but unfortunately, we weren't able to. Maybe on our second world tour, if God will allow us to, we will definitely include US in our list."
And of course, the last one, Isaiah.
Among all the members, Isaiah had the loudest screams from the fans. Well, it was always a thing that in a band, the vocalist usually gets more fans than the other members. Though it was unfair to the other members because they all had something special in them.
"It was very fulfilling." Isaiah started with a wide smile on his face. "To be honest, our only goal was to make music that our fellow countrymen would love. We want to make the best OPM in our country. We didn't expect that our music would reach to the different parts of the world. Who wouldn't feel complete with that, right? We received and are still receiving overflowing of blessings. Hindi ko alam kung paano pero gustong-gusto ko kayong pasalamatan isa-isa. Maraming, maraming salamat. Your sincere hearts to support us touched my heart deeply."
The lights went out, as soon as the VCR ended. Suddenly, a spotlight was directed to Sic as he played his drums, then it was transferred to Jirro, who's also playing his bass guitar, before Ike did his solo as well. The last person the spotlight beamed on was Isaiah. I thought he was going to play the piano, but he was surprisingly playing tricks on his acoustic guitar.
Once their solo parts had ended, namatay ulit ang lahat ng ilaw. Nang bumukas ito matapos ang ilang segundo, nakaayos na silang apat sa stage.
It's a brand new day
But the reason for my smile remains the same
It became my favorite
Like a fool, I keep whispering your name
The setlist was different from their other stops during the Utopian World tour. During their first stop, which was here in Manila, the first song they sang was Repaint. But tonight, they're playing You Make Me to open the show.
Your eyes brought sunshine to my life
Your voice is like that warm summer breeze
And your lips made me fall down on my knees
Eh-eh-eh...
You make my heart go―
"Dudu duru dudu... Dudu duru dudu."
Isaiah pointed the microphone towards the audience during that part, so we all sang to the catchiest part of the song.
You make me go crazy
You make me fall, baby, baby
You make me
We cheered after the first chorus. Isaiah smiled broadly. It was obvious that he was feeling good. He was in a very good condition, and I think I know the reason why. Though I had the urge to look at Blair, I prevented myself from doing so.
"Focus on the concert, Zendaya..." I whispered to myself. I was confident that no one would hear it because everyone was hyped up to the performance.
The concert went on flawlessly. Top Star Records used the opportunity to promote their newly debuted artist, who made a guest appearance to perform one song, while New Classic was changing their clothes and the stage set was also being redesigned.
New Classic sang all of the songs in their released albums and also did covers of famous songs―but with a different arrangement and rendition. I didn't want to discredit the original artists of the songs, but New Classic gave a different flavor to the song, which I liked more.
"The second to the last song is a song that Isaiah just finished composing," Jirro said as they entered the encore part of the concert.
"The new song, along with the other tracks and new renditions of songs that we sang during the whole tour, will be the included in the New Classic: Utopian World Tour Live Album. It will be released nationwide next week," Sic added.
"One hundred random copies of the live album will be signed by all members, so make sure to grab a copy. You may be one of the lucky hundred people who'll be able to get the signed albums," Ike said.
"And now, this new song that I wrote is about a guy who always wants to be close with the woman he loves." I caught Isaiah gave a quick glance to the family section, then faced the center audience again. "I hope you all will like it. This is Someday."
As expected, I used to think that Isaiah was the type of guy who would write a song for the girl he loves―and I was right.
Every day I spent with you is something I cherish
Every night that I'm with you is something I want to last
Every time I see your face, it makes me smile
Every second is something worthwhile
Everyone started to raise their banners as part of the fan project, but I just couldn't move. I struggled to keep my emotions intact and pretended that I didn't notice Isaiah stealing glances on Blair, though it was too obvious.
And then it crossed my mind
(I want this to last)
I want to be with you
'Til the end of time
Realizing what the song was about, I bit my lower lip. The pain I was feeling inside my chest was becoming too intense.
Someday, you'll become mine
Someday, you'll be my bride
Someday, you'll be the first one I see when I opened my eyes
Someday, you'll be my wife
Someday, if you'd give me a chance to be with you
For the rest of your life
Seeing the earnest look that Isaiah gave to Blair while singing the chorus, it brought a different kind of pain, which made me open my eyes and see what I truly feel. I was beginning to understand what the throbbing pain inside my heart was for.
And since I couldn't help it anymore, I braved myself to look at Blair's reaction. She was wearing a huge smile on her face―and it was the brightest smile I had ever seen from her.
"I love you..." Isaiah sincerely whispered to the microphone, after the song ended.
The fans, who thought that it was for us, screamed like there was no tomorrow. I was the only fan who kept her mouth shut.
Honestly, something about it made me happy because Isaiah found someone who could make him happy―and could make him write a song about forever. As a fan, I had to support him―even when it comes to having a relationship. However, it also felt unbearably painful, as I became a delusional fan who completely fell in love with her idol.
It sucked because I knew the boundaries of being a fan and I kept reminding myself to keep my feet off the invisible line between us, but I still did. I crossed the line and fell down the trap.
I fell in love to someone I shouldn't have feelings for.