inconveniences

third person

Sapphire was not able to sleep that well last night. She was only able to get about 2 hours of sleep until her alarm woke her up.

Seeing her current state, it was a miracle she was able to get herself to school. She clearly looked sick — pale lips, red cheeks, barely holding herself up, and quite obviously no energy — while sporting very prominent eye bags when she arrived. This prompted her friends to run up to her in worry.

“Hindi ka nakatulog nang maayos kagabi?” Gianna held her arm as she looked like she was going to collapse at any moment.

Jeanette took Sapphire’s bag from her back and without much energy to fight back, she just let her be.

“Hindi, masyado ata akong pagod kahapon. Parang ‘di ko nga ramdam na nakatulog ako,” she answered as she held onto Gianna’s arm.

They walked to their classroom and waited for classes to start. From what happened yesterday with Madeline to what might happen today, the friends were all worried for Sapphire. They were well aware of Sapphire’s side towards the rumored rivalry. And they knew that her meeting with Madeline today might have also contributed to her lack of proper sleep. But what surprised the friends even further is the fact that she was able to keep her eyes open throughout their first few classes.

Eventually, lunch break came and since they were dismissed earlier than usual, they got a table at the canteen. While waiting in line, they were able to convince Sapphire to go to the clinic after she’s eaten lunch.

Unfortunately, kahit anong pilit ng mga kaibigan ni Sapphire, ang binili lang nito para sa tanghalian niya ay isang coke mismo at skyflakes. She didn’t find anything in their menu today that she wanted to eat. Buti nalang patagong nag-order si Astraea ng soup para sa kanya bago ang last class nila before lunch. Alam naman kasi nila na hindi siya kakain ng marami gawa na may sakit siya. They've been through this before and knew the drill. They were on the passenger seat of a very reckless drive to get a sick Sapphire to follow them and found it out the hard way.

Sa sobrang antok ni Sapphire, nakatulog siya sa balikat ni Cassia. Pinabayaan nalang nila at inalalayan nalang siya ni Cassia para makapagpahinga siya bago dumating ang inorder nila.

In a table nearer to the doors, “Is it just me or does Sapphire look sick?” tanong ni Madeline sa mga kaibigan niya.

Medyo malayo ang table nila sa kanila pero kitang kita kasi si Sapphire sa may pwesto ni Madeline. She still looked pale and seemed to be coming down with a fever. She had two jackets wrapped around her and a fever cooling pad stuck on her forehead. Tumingin naman sila Sabrina at Margaret sa table nila Sapphire.

“Mukha nga,” sagot ni Margaret.

“Paano prac niyo mamaya?” tanong ni Sabrina kay Madeline, who responded with a shrug.

“Sabihin ko nalang na i-cancel namin prac later para makapagpahinga siya,” she replied and walked towards their table without taking her eyes off of Sapphire.

It was abrupt, the way Madeline just stood up to go to Sapphire's table. Sabrina and Margaret don't see this side of her that often. She's never not rethinking or fully assessing the situation before she takes action. And to think this was someone she clearly never made an effort to get to know. They were intrigued by how instant she sprung into action — which, again, rarely happened. Sabrina already had a small smile on her face while Margaret was proud of their "youngest"

“Excuse me?” Madeline said once she reached Sapphire’s table.

The friends looked so surprised by her presence and looked at her confused. The whole school knew of their “rivalry.” Well, it’s hard not to notice when they’re popular for their talents and you see them at almost every school event. They may not have noticed it themselves, but some people in the cafeteria are stealing glances at the interaction that's soon to unfold.

“Hey there! I’m Maine. Madeline Lim. Nice to meet you?” Madeline started as she looked at Gianna while offering her hand.

“Gia Apuli,” she shook her hand.

“Nice to meet you, Gia. And you are?” she offered her hand to Astraea.

“Arie Arceta,” Astraea shook her hand as well.

“Great to have met you, Arie. And hi to you too,” Madeline trailed off as she looked at Cassia, who had the sleeping Sapphire on her left shoulder.

“Cass Vergara,” she also shook Madeline’s hand.

“Glad to know you, Cass. Hi to you too, Jea!” Madeline ended.

“Hi Maine! Not to be rude ah, pero bakit ka nandito?” Jeanette asked.

The rest of Sapphire’s friends found that last bit quite interesting. They’ve never actually met Madeline until now, but somehow, her and Jeanette seemed to be acquainted?

“Oh I was going to ask kung tuloy pa ba practice namin ni Sapphire mamaya kasi mukhang may sakit siya. ‘Di ko lang napansin na tulog pala siya,” Madeline explained as she looks at Sapphire.

The friends now feel conflicted by the way Madeline looked at Sapphire so tenderly. Cassia, the more protective of the bunch, had her walls around Sapphire high up but that little look Madeline had on her friend made her rethink.

“To be honest, Maine, I don’t think ika-cancel niya practice niyo. For sure, ipipilit niya pa rin pumunta,” Jeanette responded.

Madeline already got Jeanette's trust, so she didn't have to think twice in being totally honest with the girl.

“Why?” Madeline asked, worry lining her voice.

Gianna thought really hard before she responded with, “She doesn’t like being a burden to others regardless of what’s going on with her or who the person is,” she said. 

Gianna trusted her gut and her gut was telling her that Madeline’s vibe passes. As much as she believed Sapphire’s story, a part of her believed that it was alright to tell her about this.

Madeline now had her eyebrows together, “I see. Please tell me you at least convinced her to go to the clinic?” she looked at all of them in the eye one-by-one.

Astraea quitely observed from the side. She's usually the one able to pick up on the small little cues that suggests the unauthentic intentions of someone her friends are talking to or whatnot. Despite being on high guard in this interaction — nitpicking every single detail she can — all signs point to genuine.

“Yup, pipilitin pa rin naman namin siya kung ayaw niya,” Gianna said.

“At kung ayaw niya, we’ll drag her there,” Astraea added then sweetly smiled.

“Good to know she’s got friends like you,” Madeline smiled at them and they smiled back at her.

“Oh, before I go, pwede ko bang malaman kung nasaan last class niyo today?”

Cassia had this gut feeling to answer all of Madeline’s questions. At first, logic told her that was dangerous but at the same time, Madeline doesn’t seem to have any ill-intentions when it came to her friend.

“Sa computer lab last class namin,” Cassia responded.

“Ah ok, thank you! I’ll let her rest and let you guys finish your lunch,” she said and was about to leave when she remembered something.

“Oh and Jea?” Jeanette looked at her, “Thanks again for your help,” she said and walked back to their table.

Everyone, except the still sleeping Sapphire, looked at Jeanette.

“‘Help’? What did she need help for?” Astraea asked.

~~~

After she drank her medicine and slept through her next two classes in the clinic, Sapphire was able to attend their computer class and take the quiz.

“That’s it for today, you are dismissed,” their teacher announced.

“Saph, sure ka bang magppractice ka?” tinanong ni Cassia.

“Oo, ok na kaya ako,” she responded as she brought the back of Cassia’s hand to her forehead.

“Hayst parang namang may magagawa tayo,” Jeanette said, dismissively.

“Basta nasa may café lang kami sa tapat ng school, message us when you’re almost done,” sinabi naman ni Astraea.

“Also, kung biglang sumama pakiramdam mo, knock on wood,” kinatok naman ni Gianna ang mesa, “call or message ah?” she reminded her, to which Sapphire nodded.

“Una na kami, Saph. Call or message, ok?” Cassia reminded again before they left the room.

Paglabas naman nila, nakita nila si Madeline na naghihitay malapit sa pintuan. To say they were shocked is an understatement.

“Maine, you’re here?” Jeanette asked, surprised.

“We were dismissed early eh. So, I thought why not pass by here para sabay na kami pumunta sa practice room,” Madeline answered.

They don’t know how this was going to go but, it was confusing them that Madeline seemed to be making an effort. With what they know, they didn’t think she’d be so determined to be close to Sapphire — especially because of what happened and why only now. But, here she was.

“How is she by the way?” she added, concern evident in her voice.

Though they were still quite apprehensive towards her. It would be safe to say that Madeline had gotten back some of their trust on her. It was something Sapphire would for sure be against, but from what they’ve seen, Madeline seems to care about their friend.

“She’s feeling better naman na, but call or message me if something happens,” sabi ni Jeanette.

“Don’t worry, I’ll take care of her,” Madeline assured them with a smile as she looked each of them in the eye.

They all noticed that Madeline was serious about what she said. So they thanked her and left.

A few seconds later, Sapphire came out of the classroom and saw Madeline on her phone. She pretended not to see her and walked straight to their practice room.

“Paano niya nalaman na nandito last class namin?” Sapphire thought.

The sound of the door closing made Madeline look up, only to see Sapphire walking towards their practice room already. She was able to catch up to her.

“Hey Sapphire, I know you don’t like me but we’re working on this together,” Madeline said once she caught up to her.

“I don’t care if you’ll ignore me or get all grumpy and mad because of me before and after each practice, but I just want us to be at least civil during our practices please?” she added.

Huminga ng malalim si Sapphire, “Fine,” she replied which made Madeline smile.

Sapphire only saw it through her peripheral but it was enough to stir something in her. Was she happy that she’s finally seen Madeline smile again because of her? Short answer: yes, yes she was. Long answer? Her long answer is something she isn't ready to face yet.

“Thank you! Don’t worry, if you don’t want to speak to me after all of this is over, I’ll take it a step further and promise not to show myself to you even after we graduate,” Madeline said with a small smile.

Madeline didn’t want that. She HATED that idea. But, seeing and feeling how Sapphire’s mood shifts when she’s around, makes her feel much more hurt than Sapphire totally ignoring her.

Sapphire, on the other hand, didn’t talk to her anymore after that. ‘Cause hearing those words come out of Madeline’s mouth hurt her a lot more than she thought. Dahil kahit sabihin natin na nasaktan siya sa nangyari sa pagitan nilang dalawa, talagang gusto niya pa rin na nasa buhay niya si Madeline.

Their meeting/practice went by a lot smoother than either of them expected. Syempre nagkaroon ng mga mababaw na away dahil mas gusto ng isa ang ginawa niyang choreo. Pero sa dulo, napag-usapan naman nila ng maayos. Sure, they had to meet in the middle, but this did not compromise the quality of their piece. If anything, those small fights they had made their choreography at lot better.

With their meeting ending earlier than expected, they tried to see how it would tie in with the choreography they already learned. Unsurprisingly, maganda ang flow at timing ng nagawa nila.

Nang matapos na nila ang meeting nila, nagpalit na sila ng damit at inaayos nalang nila lahat ng gamit nila pati na rin ang mga ginamit nila sa kwarto.

“Hey, Sapphire,” pagtawag ni Madeline habang papalapit kung nasaan ang gamit nila pareho, tumingin naman sa kanya si Sapphire.

“How long does it take for you to commute home?” tanong niya.

“Mga isang oras? Depende kung anong oras ako umalis ng school,” Sapphire absentmindedly answered because she was preoccupied in fixing her stuff.

“Kapag ganitong oras? Gaano katagal?” tinanong niya ulit.

“Mga one and a half? Maybe 2? It’s still rush hour eh,” she answered.

“So late na pala ikaw makakarating…” Madeline trailed off.

“Do you want to have dinner with me?” Madeline asked so casually.

Sapphire, shocked with the question, stopped what she was doing and slowly looked at Madeline intently. Madeline, unaware of what her question may have implied, continues to fix her things. Does Madeline mean what Sapphire thinks it does?

“What?” she asked.

Sapphire wanted Madeline to clarify what she asked. She did think she was just hearing things because why on earth would you ask that to someone you said was a stranger to you?

“Do you want to have dinner with me?” she repeated, clueless to the unexpected butterflies that awoke in Sapphire.

Earlier, when Madeline went up to their table during lunch, she noticed that Sapphire only had barely touched the “food” she had. That’s if you’d consider a packet of skyflakes and a bottle of coke mismo as lunch. To say she was concerned when she saw that was an understatement. Pero nung nakilala at naka-usap na niya ang mga kaibigan nito, mas naging kampante siya na hindi naman nila pababayaan si Sapphire. Kaya wala nalang siyang sinabi.

That's when the realization hit Madeline, “What I mean is are you going to eat dinner before you go home?” Madeline cleared, looking back at her stuff as she tried to hide her embarrassed face.

“I know you don’t like me and this isn’t an attempt to change that. I’m just worried that you’ll get hungry on the road,” natarantang sinabi ni Madeline.

Madeline asked that without thinking much of it. But, she has just realized how it could’ve easily been misinterpreted. Nagpapasalamat nalang siya sa Diyos na sila lang nasa room at kung narinig yun ng mga kaibigan niya, siguradong ilang buwan din yun ang pang-asar nila.

“Don’t worry, if you’re down to eat, I promise throughout the meal I will keep my mouth shut. Pwede pa nga magkaiba tayo ng table eh,” dagdag niya.

Just then, a set of knocks were heard from the door and in came Sapphire’s friends. Bago pa kasi sila nagpalit, nag-message na si Sapphire sa mga kaibigan niya na tapos na ang meeting nila. Kaya naman, sinundo nalang nila siya.

“Oh hi Maine,” Jeanette greeted. 

It really shows how much more comfortable they are with Madeline now. 

“Hi Jea,” sagot ni Madeline at kumaway.

“Magd-dinner kami, Sapphie. Sama ka?” tanong ni Astraea, looking at them.

Madeline and Sapphire were about a shoulder width apart and this was the first time they saw them so close to each other. It definitely blew their minds, not only because of the distance that separates them but also because none of them are moving away from each other.

“Sige,” sagot naman ni Sapphire.

Madeline quickly felt the aura change in Sapphire. Oh how she truly wished she could make Sapphire as giddy as that. She never really understood why Sapphire was so distant from her but she knew she had to keep it to herself at least until after the competition to prevent any unwanted additional tension between them.

“Ikaw, Maine? Kain ka na rin ng dinner kasama namin?” pag-alok naman ni Cassia.

Madeline looked at Sapphire, searching for an answer. The friends were looking at them — still amazed that none of them seemed to notice how close they were. She looked at Sapphire’s eyes and this was the first time she saw how beautiful they were. She got her answer.

“Ah hindi, nandito na sundo ko. Siguro sa susunod nalang?” Madeline quickly apologized.

“Sabi mo yan ah? Next time sasama ka na, no take backs,” Gianna smiled and Madeline nodded to this.

The friends had talked in the café about it. They had this feeling that somehow, in some way, the tension between Sapphire and Madeline would smoothen itself out. Plus, it seems as though Madeline knows how to handle Sapphire. Regardless of whatever happened between them, it was clear to them that Madeline knows Sapphire.

“Opo Gia, nandoon na ako next time. Mauna na ako sa inyo ah?” sinabi ni Madeline habang kumakaway.

Madeline left the friends in the room and made her way to the parking lot when her Dad, just in time, pulls up to the waiting area.

“Hi Papa!” Madeline said when she opened the door.

“Hey kiddo, kumusta practice mo?” her Dad asked as she opened the door to their car.

She climbed in, “Good naman po. Mabilis nga po kami natapos, finalized and polished,” she boasted as she placed her seatbelt on.

“Ang galing niyo naman, pero syempre anak ko ‘yan eh,” he ruffled his daughter’s hair.

“Ready to go, Maddie?” she nodded.

As they drove out of the campus, the winds outside made themselves known. Madeline opens her car window and the cold air puts the car's airconditioning to shame. She had her head resting on the car door as she looked at the campus at night.

She had her eyes closed while she was taking it all in: the cold air, the rustle of the trees, and...

“Oh? Si Fia ba ‘yun?” her Dad asked.

Mabagal na binuksan ni Madeline ang mga mata niya at lumingon kung saan nakatingin ang tatay niya.

“Fia?” tanong niya.

Kaso sa bagal ng galaw niya, hindi na niya naabutan ang ipinapakita ng tatay niya.

“Sayang, nalagpasan na natin. Dito rin pala siya nag-aaral, ang tagal ko nang hindi nakita ‘yung batang ‘yon,” he smiled as he recalled a memory.

“Sino po ba si Fia?” tanong ni Madeline, nakatingin sa tatay niya.

“Ah, she’s your close friend until we left to go to Cebu,” he explained.

“Then why don’t I remember her?”