inconveniences

third person

The day of their first practice had arrived and it would be safe to say that everyone was feeling a little nervous. 

For Madeline, this would be the first time she was going to formally meet most of the crew. Yes, she does know them by face and last name but that’s literally it. She isn’t really good at remembering names which is another reason why she doesn’t really socialize. She pressures herself too much to have to remember their names once she’s met them.

Once they were dismissed in their last class, Sabrina, Margaret, and Madeline went immediately to the dance room to log and check all the equipment they were going to use for the practice. Margaret was able to book this particular dance room for them every Tuesday and Thursday until the competition date which really saved them the trouble of having to look for a venue.

Slowly, each member of the crew punctually arrived; filling the room with conversations about anything under the sun, really.

This went on for a while until eventually,  their coach was able to start the practice on their scheduled time. The coach then gestured for everyone to move closer to him before he started.

“Hello everyone! So just for formality, I’m Coach Matthew, your choreographer for your upcoming Hip Hop competition,” the coach introduced himself and they clapped in response.

“Nandito na ba ang lahat?” he asked, prompting all of them to look at each other.

Sabrina was checking off the list of names she’s got in her head once she’s seen them in the group. While looking around, she found a quite interesting sight.

Sapphire stole a quick glance at Madeline.

“Yes po Coach,” she replied before she forgets.

The more her brain replayed the moment, the more unsure she was that it actually happened. She believes she just saw Sapphire look at Madeline for a brief second before immediately looking away. Now she wonders if that was her first time glancing at her friend or if Sapphire had done this before.

Her thoughts were quickly shoo-ed away though when their coach told them to warm-up.

Naturally, everyone dispersed, looking for their own space. Afterwhich, he started teaching them the choreography.

Since it was their first practice, it was already expected that progress for it would be slow. Truth be told, the choreography they were learning was definitely a lot more complex and technically difficult to execute. However, the crew knew that it would be an incredible feat to be able to perform such a piece. And to say it was “exhausting” would’ve been an understatement if you asked them.

The team was still adjusting to the pace and difficulty which Coach Matthew had anticipated. But as their practices progressed through the weeks, so did their confidence and execution accuracy.

The prior paragraph did not ring true for Sapphire nor Madeline though. Coach Matthew was able to take note of the possibility that those two seem to have more experience under their belts than the rest.

~~~

Since they progressed faster with every practice session, they had reached the halfway mark. With their current learning pace, they’ve got ample time to polish and truly master the choreography before the competition.

But that didn’t mean they’re exempted in make-up practices. Unfortunately, last week’s typhoon brought about harsh winds and heavy rain that resulted in half the week being suspended. Kaya naman, may extended practice ang crew ngayon dahil doon.

Coach Matthew knew that they were doing borderline ok on time but he wanted to make sure that they had more than enough time to polish. He asked the availability of the team about it first. Then Margaret had to file it in the office, kaya ngayon lang na-implement.

Right now, the team was on a break so their coach was conversing with the people that remained in the room.

“Napansin ko lang na ang synchronized niyo na lahat, nakakahanga kasi ang ganda panoorin,” he complimented them and they smiled back.

“Sumasayaw na ba talaga kayo as a team?” he added.

“Hindi po, Coach. Magkakaiba po kami ng section at ngayon palang po nagkaroon ng ganito — ‘yung between batches po,” Cassia replied.

“At sumasayaw lang po talaga kami ‘pag may mga projects po Coach; kapag kailangan lang as a requirement para sa subjects,” Jeanette added.

“Ah ganon ba? Kayo kayo lang din gumagawa ng choreo niyo?” he asked.

“Sa amin po, opo. Sariling choreo po pero isa lang gumagawa. Mahirap kasi maghanap ng suwak sa music at vibe ng production,” Margaret answered, while the rest nodded their heads in agreement.

“Wow? Talaga? Sino namang gumagawa ng choreo niyo kung ganon?” he asked but that’s not to say he already had people in mind that might have been their choreographers.

The other students from the different sections took turns to answer their coach’s question.

“Si Maine po, Madeline, sa section namin,” sinagot ni Sabrina habang hinahanap kung pabalik na ba ang kaibigan niya.

“At sa section naman po namin, si Saph, si Sapphire po,” sinagot naman ni Astraea at hinahanap din ang kaibigan niya.

“‘yung iba, wala sila dito sa crew na ito?” their coach pointed out.

“May varsity din po kasi sila sa ibang sport kaya ‘yun ang focus nila sa Intrams,” pagpaliwanag ni Sabrina.

“Pero si Madeline at Sapphire, napansin ko nga sila,” 

“What do you guys think about giving Madeline and Sapphire a duet?” nagtinginan naman silang lahat, nakangiti nang malaki, na para bang iisa lang ang nasa isip.

Napansin naman ni Coach Matthew na patapos na ang binigay niyang break kaya naman iniwan niya na sila to review his notes on the next steps. After a while, their break time was over so, the crew went back to learning and polishing over the choreography.

Pagdating ng alas-otso ng gabi, pina-cooldown na sila ni Coach Matthew habang nagbibigay siya ng announcements.

“Marge, kaya mo bang magpa-book ng practice room for next Wednesday? Same time as our practices,” he asked.

Everyone was visibly tense. “Bakit kailangan na may tatlong sunod-sunod na practice?” was the common question they had in mind.

Natawa naman ang coach nila, “Bakit parang kabado kayo?”

“Coach, para saan po ba ‘yung Wednesday?” tinanong ni Gianna.

“Ah, hindi para sa lahat ‘yun. Madeline and Sapphire?” he called and each of them raised their hand to acknowledge him.

Everyone was anticipating what their coach’s next few words were going to be. It was already rare to see both so near each other in a room, but having both their names called out in succession without mentioning their rivalry? Nearing impossible.

“You’ll have a duo sa hook part, is that ok para sa inyo?” tinanong ng coach nila.

Pareho nilang alam na hindi sila pwedeng tumanggi, ang coach na nila ang mismong nagre-request. At kung tumanggi naman sila, anong dahilan ang ibibigay nila?

“Ok lang po,” sinagot nila, ngumiti naman ang coach nila.

“Great. Narinig-rinig ko na isa kayo sa mga gumagawa ng choreo niyo for school related works, tama ba?” tumango naman sila ng sabay.

Na kahit nasa magkabilang dulo silang dalawa, synchronized pa din ang pagsagot nila.

“I want to highlight your choreography making skills too, kaya nage-expect ako na meron kayong mas-suggest sa darating na Wednesday,” he said.

Nagtaas naman ng kamay si Sapphire, “Coach, just to clarify lang, sarili lang po ba namin ang gagawan ng choreo?”

“Kung ang ibig sabihin mo ay choreo niyo lang dalawa ni Sapphire, oo. Wala sa stage ‘yung ibang crew members,” sinagot nito.

Nang marinig ito, napatigil sa pag-aayos ng gamit ang mga crew members. Hindi na nila napigilan na magtinginan habang may malaking mga ngiti, na hindi naman napansin ng dalawang kinakausap ng Coach nila

“So coach, is this a duet or a solo for each of us,” tinanong ni Madeline.

Sapphire hoped for the latter, while Madeline could actually care less. If she had to work with Sapphire, she figured that she just had to be patient and understanding.

“It’s a duet, here’s a listen to the part,” then he played the hook of their music.

The girls listened intently, already trying to craft a choreography in their heads. As quite experienced dancers, their bodies almost immediately move to the beat as they’ve started testing out the moves they made as the song progressed.

This caught the attention of the rest of the crew, watching them in awe. Wala pa kasi sa kanila ang nakakakita kung paano nila ginagawa ang mga choreography na itinuturo nila para sa mga performances.

It was like they were in their own world, they'd blocked every single noise out and focused on the rhythm and the lyrics of the song. Eventually, a sharp cut to the music pulled them back to the present.

“Any more questions?” they both shook their heads, still in sync.

“Alright. Marge, practice for them might take just a session. So for next week lang. Pasabi nalang kung hindi siya pwedeng i-book,” tumango naman si Margaret sa coach nila.

After that, he dismissed all of them.

Nagmamadali namang kinuha ni Sapphire ang kanyang pamalit para maaga na rin siyang maka-uwi. Nagpaalam na nga siya sa mga kaibigan niya sa loob ng CR para tuloy tuloy na siya paglabas.

Medyo mabilis na ang lakad niya ng biglang, “Catacutan,” Madeline’s voice echoed through the empty hallways along with the sound of the rain.

Napatingin naman ang lahat ng nakarinig. Great timing din na palabas ang mga kaibigan nila ng CR nung tinawag ni Madeline si Sapphire kaya nakita nila ang naging interaksyon nila.

This was quite a scandalous interaction to everyone in the team. Hinding hindi pa nila nakikitang nag-interact ang dalawang ito and to think na si Madeline pa ang unang nag-approach was definitely a monumental first.

In Madeline’s defense, she really did want to meet the infamous Sapphire Catacutan since the moment she saw her dance the first time. The thing was, she really didn’t know what to say.

It’s been almost 3 years since then and nobody remembers how they were rumored to be rivals, but they surely act like the trope. Wala rin namang nagc-confirm nor nagd-deny sa kanila. At noong mga panahon na medyo bago pa ‘yung rumor na iyon, tinatanong tanong din ng ibang mga estudyante ang mga kaibigan nila. But they were always so tight-lipped on it. ‘Cause obviously, it wasn’t their story to tell. So, it just stuck.

Tumigil sa paglalakad si Sapphire, huminga ng malalim, at tumingin sa pinanggalingan ng pangalan niya, “Oh?” sinabi niya ng naiirita.

Madeline jogged to get to where she was para sila sila lang din ang makakarinig sa usapan nila. As much as they wanted to listen in the conversation, pinabayaan nalang nila — they figured it’s probably not their place to know.

“What platform do you want us to use to communicate for the hook choreography?” Madeline initiated.

Sapphire took two steps back, “Let me be clear on this. Madeline. Lim.” she taunted, Madeline’s name sounded like poison the way she said it.

“I do not want any form of communication with you on any social media platform,”