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It goes without saying na whoever Wendy Silva likes, Wendy Silva dates. Wag gets, hindi naman daw kasi trophy ang mga babaeng nagugustuhan niya. At hindi rin sila bagay para makuha niya.
Pero hindi mo rin naman p’wedeng i-deny na bagay sila ni Irene Villareal.
Alam na ng buong school na baliw na baliw si Wendy Silva kay Irene Villareal except the latter herself. To say she’s been pursuing Irene for months now is an understatement because she is not just pursuing her, she’s making an effort to get to know her better.
It is a no-brainer fact that Wendy Silva has the whole school wrapped around her little finger. She plays basketball well, she’s one of the smartest students, and have you seen that gorgeous face? So it’s safe to say that almost all students are falling on their knees trying to get her attention.
All but one.
Irene Villareal, the wallflower in Wendy’s school. Yes, Wendy’s school since it looks like she’s the one running it. Pati nga teachers and other administrators parang wino-worship siya eh. But anyway, back to the girl who’s making Wendy Silva’s lovelife tough.
How does one even begin to describe Irene Villareal? Straight A’s, pretty—no, beautiful—face, a long jet black hair, wears a zipped jacket that usually matches with the color of her doe eyes. Wendy had only seen it once but the way she smiles—bashful and shy—grips her heart in a good way. She found herself smiling and every sound became white noise as her eyes were fixed on Irene freaking Villareal.
That same day, Wendy came over to her bestfriend’s house and excitedly stated that she’s falling for a girl. When Seulgi asked who, she shrugged, thus beginning her 4-month streak of trying (and failing) to get close with her crush.
(“Sure ka bang gusto mo na? Baka naman infatuation lang ‘yan tapos mawawala rin next week.”
Wendy shakes her head, “I like her, Seul, and I’m sure kasi kahit subuan niya ko ng isaw or ipagawa niya pa sa akin thesis niya, I’ll do it in a heartbeat.”
That piqued Seulgi’s interest. Wendy? Eating isaw and doing someone else’s school requirement? Definitely not the Wendy she grew up with.
Then she saw how wide her bestfriend is smiling and decided to believe her. This Irene girl must be the most beautiful woman in the world to have her bestfriend acting like a madman.)
Today marks the 4th month of her “making ligaw”. So far, progress is the same as the first day. Minsan nga naiisip niya kung manhid ba si Irene o sadyang ayaw niya lang talaga kay Wendy. Lagi naman siyang ina-assure ni Lisa na lahat ng student sa school, except sa barkada niya, nahulog na sa charms ni Wendy at imposible raw na hindi effective kay Irene ‘yun.
Hindi na dapat niya papakinggan si Lisa pero nag agree naman si Jisoo pati na rin si Seulgi kaya tinuloy lang niya yung letters, flowers, and chocolates. Tulad ng ginagawa niya ngayon.
She’s almost done taping the letter on Irene’s locker when she heard a faint excuse me. Nag side step siya to the right without knowing na nakatayo pala si Irene kaya bago pa niya maiwasan, na-out of balance na agad silang dalawa. Fast reflexes came in and she hooked her left arm on Irene’s waist to keep the girl from falling dahil sa akin lang dapat siya mahuhulog, hindi sa floor.
Oo, parang scene sa movie yung nangyari. Lumipad ang stack of papers na hawak ni Irene dahil napakapit nalang siya sa arms ni Wendy. Ang bida naman sa story na ‘to, mahigpit yung paghawak sa waist ni Irene at naka-tingin lang sa mukha nito. Mala-Kathniel movie lang yung nangyari pero isa lang sakanila yung natuwa sa nangyari.
Isa at ang buong barkada niyang nanonood sa may bleachers ang natuwa. ‘Yung ibang students naman na nakita yung nangyari halo-halo ang emosyon na nararamdaman. May ibang kinikilig dahil loveteam of the year daw. May ibang nalulungkot kasi gusto nilang sila ang makaka-hawak sa biceps ng isang Wendy Silva. May iba ring naiirita kasi sino ba yung babaeng hawak ni Wendy at anong karapatan niyang lapitan ang #1 crush ng bayan?
As expected of Irene’s shyness, she immediately pushed herself off of Wendy’s grasp and began to pick up the scattered papers on the newly waxed floor. Will she ever admit the reason why her cheeks are reddened? Never.
Truth is she’s uncomfortable when the varsity player is within her vicinity. Not because Wendy acts inappropriately but the stares she gets from her co-students. Isa lang naman kasi plano niya for her whole highschool life: stay invisible for 4 years then go to college. Whether she’ll stay invisible in college is a problem for future Irene Villareal.
Kaso nga lang yung stay invisible plan niya biglang nasira when the Wendy Silva approached her on a sunny afternoon. “Hi Irene” lang naman sinabi niya pero the next day, siya na yung topic of the school. She keeps hearing questions like: sino siya? or new student ba yan? whenever she struts down the long hallway.
In conclusion, she doesn’t hate Wendy Silva. She doesn’t even feel anything for Wendy Silva. The blush on her face is a result of having too much attention on her. That’s all there is and she’ll stand by it.
Wendy clears her throat, embarrassed at the ruckus she made. “Sorry, Irene. Hindi ko nakita na andyan ka pala.”
God, ano pa bang kamalasan ang mangyayari kay Wendy ngayon. Una, monthsary ngayon ng non-existent friendship nila ni Irene. Pangalawa, napahiya siya sa buong school. Pangatlo, napahiya rin siya sa taong iniiwasan niyang mapahiya siya kasi sino ba namang gustong mapahiya sa crush nila, ‘di ba? If God’s hearing her pleas, he’ll let her get swallowed whole by the ground below her feet.
“Ano pang tinitignan mo dyan, Wends? ‘Yung prinsesa mo, umalis na.” Lisa playfully shakes her out of her trance. Totoo, wala na si Irene sa harap niya pero ‘yung after effect naman nandito pa rin.
Wendy scowls at her, “shut up, tara na nga! Nagugutom na ko.”
“Pahiya ka lang eh,” she hears Jisoo quietly mocks her.
Hay, Irene Villareal.
“What if bigyan naman ni Wendy ng cookies for a change?”
Binato ni Jisoo si Lisa ng used tissue. “Bobo, gusto niyo bang maging girlfriend ni Wendy si Irene o gusto niyong bigyan ng diabetes yung tao?”
“Gara mo, ang dumi niyang tissue tapos ibabato mo sa mukha ko?” Lisa whines, “suggestion lang naman ah!”
“Tangina ang ingay niyo naman.”
Wendy enters her room with a box of pizza and a bottle of coke when she saw the mess that her friends created in a span of 5 minutes. Seulgi was on her desktop, playing some shooting game she never really cared about. Lisa and Jisoo were sitting on her couch, eating her leftover chips from the night before.
“Si Jisoo kasi eh!”
“Ano naman kung binato kita ng maduming tissue, eh marumi ka rin naman?” Jisoo received a kick on her shin from Lisa, “aray!”
“Alam niyo, pinapunta ko kayo rito para mag patulong kay Irene pero kung gulo lang dadalhin niyo edi thank you nalang.” Wendy saw Seulgi playfully slap the two idiots on the back of the head.
Seulgi, then, grabs a slice of pizza before saying, “haranahin mo nalang kasi ‘di ba para tapos na problema mo.”
“Oo nga!” Lisa’s eyes widen in excitement.
“Harana?”
“Harana, kanta with gitara.” Seulgi shrugged, taking another bite of the pizza.
Wendy blinks, “hindi naman ako magaling kumanta eh.”
“Ulol humble!”
“Pero teka, hindi kaya taken si Villareal kaya hindi ka niya pinapansin?”
Wendy’s eyes immediately shifted from the pizza box to the floor and Seulgi notices.
“Kung taken si Irene, bakit hindi pa natin nakikilala?” Seulgi pats her own back because that seemed to lighten up Wendy’s mood a bit.
“Boyfriends aside, kung haharanahin ko siya dapat sa onti lang tao kasi obvious naman na she’s doesn’t like big crowds.”
“Yup,” Seulgi nods.
“Onting tao? Malabo. Buong school lagi kang hinahanap, sa tingin mo bang may isang area sa school natin na onti lang tao kung nandun ka naman?” Jisoo picks up her phone.
“Edi s—“
Jisoo cuts her off, “bago mo pa sabihin na sa rooftop, may I remind you na pinasara ‘yun kasi ginagawa mong hookup spot.”
Lisa stood up in surprise, “ikaw pala may kasalanan!”
Wendy rolls her eyes at the information. Yes, she uses it as her meet-up spot but she never hooked up with anyone within school grounds. Not only is it unethical, doing it on the rooftop is uncomfortable. It’s closer to the sky which means it’s closer to God. Ayaw naman niyang makita ni God ‘yung kalokohan niya at front row pa.
"Okay, maybe I'll ask Joy to help me out or something." She says, ignoring the accusing looks of her friends. So she dated Joy before, what's the big deal? It's not like they ended on bad terms and it was years ago.
All this planning is frustrating her. Harana is easy but her status in school is making it hard. She wouldn’t want Irene to be uncomfortable with her but it seems like that is inevitable. Ayaw ni Irene sa spotlight, si Wendy yung mismong spotlight.
In the end, they decided to stick with harana and Lisa promised to keep the crowd out for as long as she can handle. Jisoo offered to help but Wendy knows they’ll end up bickering back and forth so she assigned Jisoo to hold the flowers instead.
“Irene, right?”
Joy Vasquez, the popular IT girl in Irene’s school who happens to be one of Wendy Silva's exes, knocked on her desk to get her attention.
“Yes,” she answers quietly.
“Oooh interesting!” Without asking for a permission, Joy slides the chair beside Irene and sat next to her. “Never really noticed you but nice to meet you, Irene.”
Irene took the hand and shook it with grace. As far as she’s concerned, Joy is not the type to mingle with loners like her. She’s like the Regina George of their school but nice. A lot nicer.
“Don’t worry, I don’t plan on distracting you all throughout our lab session.” Joy leans in, expressing interest in whatever’s written in Irene’s cattleya notebook. “So that’s our topic for today, wow you have a really pretty penmanship.” Of course Irene’s only human so she blushed at the compliment.
“Anyway, Wendy Silva sent me. I do hope you know her because this would be embarrassing if you don’t.”
Wendy Silva, who doesn’t know her? Every bulletin board and school gates have her picture plastered in a tarpaulin. She’s the poster child of this school, the golden child. Her achievements were like catnip for school administrators. To put it simply, she knows Wendy beyond her cool facade. Thanks to the numerous letters she’s been receiving for months and the lowkey post-it notes on her desk every morning.
“Yes,” she nods.
“Great! So, there’s this science fair later at the gymnasium and she was wondering if you could check her station later?” Joy flashes her an attractive smile. “I mean she’s smart and all but she can be a butthead when it comes to science experiments. I don’t know why nga she keeps on joining the science fair eh but I guess the more achievements, the better.”
By the time their lab session ended, she arranged herself then walked to the said gymnasium where her, whoever Wendy Silva is to her, is waiting.
One more hour.
That’s all the time she has to prep herself up before she face the girl she’s been liking for so long.
One more hour and Wendy might receive the biggest heartbreak of her life. Or the biggest shock of her life.
“Ready ka na?” Seulgi softly asks, fixing the guitar strap on her shoulder.
Wendy shakes her head, “hindi eh, I feel like I’m going to vomit.”
“Gusto mo to ‘di ba?” Wendy nods, “panindigan mo na.”
“Guys ready na!” Jisoo shouts from across the gymnasium. Lisa gave her an encouraging thumbs up before she went out of the door.
When Irene stepped on the court, Seulgi began strumming her guitar. It is evident that the former did not expect to see this. What her groupmate, Joy, told her was different from what is actually happening. Nothing about this shows a science fair of some sort.
Ilang awit pa ba ang aawitin, O giliw ko?
Ilang ulit pa ba ang uulitin, O giliw ko?
A peach-colored banner rolls down, startling both Wendy and Irene. Written in huge, black letters were "Ang cute mo raw" and Irene shyly chuckled at that.
Apat na buwan na akong nagpapa-cute sa’yo
Di mo man lang napapansin ang bagong T-shirt ko
Wendy playfully shakes her new T-shirt and Irene blushed. Wendy Silva’s singing and it may be directed to her, who knows?
Ilang isaw pa ba ang kakainin, o giliw ko?
Ilang letters pa ba ang susulatin, o giliw ko?
Hindi na alam ni Irene kung anong gagawin niya. To be fair, never pa naman siya naharana and never din naman siya napansin ng isang super sikat na student sa past school niya. Without anything else to do, she walked closer to the stage and smiled at the singer.
The moment was almost perfect. Almost because Lisa ran inside the gymnasium with a distressed look and a number of students rushing in to watch what’s happening. It alarmed Wendy because she knew Irene would slowly blend in the background like she always does and slip out when Wendy’s too busy to notice.
Seulgi stopped playing the guitar, “what now?”
“Keep playing, I’ll go in front of her.”
Wendy grabs the mic from the stand. She walks down the stairs of the stage then walked to where Irene Villareal was standing.
Wag mo lang ipagkait ang hinahanap ko
Sagutin mo lang ako aking sinta’y walang humpay na ligaya
Wendy asks for Irene’s hand to which the latter gave with a shy smile. The sun was no match against the warmth that spread through Wendy’s body when she saw how beautiful Irene is. Tila bang tumigil ang mundo at silang dalawa nalang ang nakikita ni Wendy na gumagalaw.
At asahang iibigin ka, sa tanghali sa gabi at umaga
‘Wag ka sanang magtanong at magduda
The last line is slowly approaching. Some students have gathered around them, giving them a respectful space, but still watching them with different emotions. Yet none of it matters for Wendy.
Dahil ang puso ko’y walang pangamba
Lahat tayo’y mabubuhay na tahimik at buong ligaya
Seulgi strummed the last chord while Wendy squeezed Irene’s left hand.
“Hi,” Wendy’s smile is bright and excited, eyes sparkling from joy.
“Hi,” Irene’s the total opposite. Her smile was timid, her cheeks rivals the color of a tomato, and her hand is slightly shivering.
“Shit—uh sorry, I had a whole speech prepared pero nakalimutan ko. But I remember one line from it and well, nakakahiya man gawin pero it’s better to do it now than prolong the agony.” Iniisip palang ni Wendy ang sasabihin niya, namawis na agad ang kaniyang kamay at noo.
“Wendy?” Irene waves her free hand in front of her face.
“Sorry,” she chuckles.
Taking a deep breath with her eyes closed, she mentally and emotionally prepares herself for the incoming rejection.
“Irene Villareal, can I take you out sometime?”
The crowd around them cheered, some were happy cheers and some consists of “boos” and “ako nalang Wendy.” Lisa shushed those who are screaming negative words. Jisoo runs to give Wendy the bouquet she’s holding onto. Seulgi was drinking from her water jug.
And Wendy? Well, she’s sweating profusely from the tension around them. Irene may reject her because she has a boyfriend or because of the crowd or because she’s not enough for the girl or because…
Irene finally meets her gaze, hopeful and innocent. “Is this real?”
“As real as it gets.” Wendy beams at her.
It took a beat, two beats, three? before she got her answer from the girl. It was the most nerve wracking 3 seconds of her life.
“Wendy Silva,” Irene starts, purposely delaying her answer to make fun of the varsity. “It’s a yes.”
“It’s a yes?” Wendy’s eyes went wide. “IT’S A YES!”
Wendy wasn’t aware of how she was acting but she hugged Irene tightly until Irene can’t feel the waxed floor anymore. The varsity player spun them around, shouting a bunch of yes’s.
Once they finally calmed down, Wendy reaches a hand out to cup Irene’s cheek. Her touch is gentle that melted Irene’s heart into a puddle.
“Salamat, Ligaya ko.”
Totoo pa rin naman ang saying na whoever Wendy Silva likes, Wendy Silva dates pero may slight change lang kasi iisa nalang ang gusto niyang maka-date sa matagal na panahon. Habang buhay kung hahayaan ng tadhana pero sa ngayon, kuntento na siya sa kung ano ang kayang ibigay ni Irene Villareal.
Irene Villareal, the girl who silently knocked all of Wendy Silva’s walls down and charmed her way into her heart.
The best scene from a movie can never equate to the kilig they give.