Part 18

Flashback

Hating gabi na noong matapos ang lahat ng performances. Music remained blaring from the giant speakers on the stage as crowds  piled-up at the exit.

Hindi ako makaalis. The traffic was so bad going out of the events grounds and I couldn't book any car service because they'd rather  choose not to get stuck.

Hindi ako mapalagay habang nakatingin sa phone screen. Should I message the family driver? Napailing ako sa naisip. No way. I'd rather stay here until morning than for people at home to know where I've  been going.

Nagliwanag ang phone ko nang makatanggap ng text.

Sancho SC:
Pauwi ka na?

Along with his earlier messages.

Sancho SC:
Wag ka na pumunta pag may klase ka.

Sancho SC:
Wag matigas ulo.

Sancho gave me his number several months ago. Madalas kaming mag-usap. But mostly, I use his number for band related stuff like activities I can post.

Euls Cardona
Waiting for taxi.
You had a great performance.
Go rest now.

Hindi maalis ang ngiti ko habang nakatitig sa phone screen. I still can't believe I can talk to him like this. I mean he's basically like a friend  now, but whenever I see him perform, I'm back to being a full-blown  fan.

Sancho SC:
Saan ka banda?

I was about to type my reply nang mapansin ko ang mga babae sa  paligid ko. They were all looking behind me all giggly while  whispering and nudging each other.

"Dali, magpa-picture ka."

I faced the direction of the commotion. Eyes wide, I watched Sancho walking around the area, alone. People who recognized him from the Saint Claire's performance earlier approached him. Some asked to take pictures with him. He had this curt smile, nodding at their compliments while roaming his eyes around, searching for someone.

I was about to wave my hand for him to see me nang mabangga ako ng dalawang babaeng nagmamadaling lumapit sa kanya. Nalaglag ang  phone na hawak ko sa damuhan kasabay ng pagliwanag nito nang  muling makatanggap ng message mula kay Sancho.

Sancho SC:
I'm at the exit

I bent down to pick my phone up. When I raised my head, I caught Sancho staring at me in the midst of the people surrounding him. His  curt smile turned to a grin, followed by a wave of his hand.

"Eula."

Sancho approached me, shoving both hands inside the pockets of his jeans.

"Sabay na tayo umuwi."

Nanlaki ang mga mata ko at napatingin sa paligid, sa bulungan ng mga taong nakarinig. What is he doing? There could be fans here who might misinterpret him!

"Are they dating?"

"May girlfriend ba siya?"

Sancho placed an arm over my shoulder despite me staring daggers at him. "Sinasadya mo?" bulong ko nang magsimula kaming maglakad palayo sa mga tao.

Sancho only chuckled while people's gazes followed us.

"You will lose fans if you keep playing like this," I reminded him.

He tilted his head closer to my face while his arm remained on my shoulders.

"Who says I'm playing?"

I gave her a side eye which only made him grin wider.

We arrived at the parking lot which was a wide empty field at the back  of the venue. There were still hundreds of cars occupying most spots  and everyone was waiting for the traffic to fade. Huminto kami sa tapat ng isang pamilyar na itim na sasakyan.

"Nasaan sila?" tukoy ko sa mga ka-banda niya.

"Sa van. We're using Rosco's car."

"Van?" I didn't know they have an official service car. Akala ko nagsisiksikan pa rin sila sa sasakyan ni Rosco. Kaya lagi silang maaga  sa mga gigs because Rosco hates being late.

Sancho chuckled. "May kailangan kang malaman."

Humarap ako sa kanya habang natayo sa labas ng sasakyan, naghihintay ng sasabihin ni Sancho.

"Not here," he chuckled, saka niya binuksan ang pinto ng passenger's seat para sa'kin.

Umupo ako sa passenger's seat. Half of me was internally screaming because Sancho was going to drive beside me while the other half remained chill about it because Sancho's basically a friend when he's  not performing.

"This isn't kidnapping, is it?"

He smirked. "Gusto mo ba?"

"Hmm... very fan fiction material."

Lalo siyang humalakhak. Hindi ko mapigilang mapatitig sa kanyang mukha habang nagmamaneho paalis sa ma-traffic na venue. Lately, he seemed to be more carefree.

Habang stuck kami sa traffic, panay ang check ko sa camera ng mga kinunan kong videos at pictures ng kanilang performance. Mula sa rearview mirror, napansin kong nakasimangot si Sancho.

"Katabi mo ako pero nakatitig ka sa mga pictures ko sa screen."

"Sssh..." I silenced him. "They're for the fans. You do realize that the unofficial Saint Claire Instagram account has now fifty thousand followers, right? And I kept receiving notification since your  performance tonight. Hopefully we reached one hundred thousand followers soon!"

"Eula?"

My gaze remained on the camera screen. "Yep?"

"Let's go somewhere."

Lumingon ako sa kanya. "Seriously, are you kidnapping me?"

Humalakhak siya. "Yeah, yeah. You're worth millions."

I rolled my eyes at his sarcasm. "But now that I realized it, I'm  probably the luckiest Saint Claire fan. Here you are, the lead guitarist, driving beside me."

I faced the driver's seat with a wide smile but Sancho's face remained serious.

"You're not just a fan," he muttered.

"Of course!" bungisngis ko. "I'm your number one fan."

Napailing siya sabay ngiti habang nagmamaneho.

After a good forty five minutes of traffic, tumigil ako sa pag-aayos ng files mula sa camera at sumilip sa labas ng sasakyan. Unfamiliar skyscrapers lined the pitch black sky and the drive had gotten a lot smoother. Are we in Makati? Pasay? We're definitely outside Quezon City.

We reached what seemed to be a business district. Kahit lampas hating  gabi na, may ilang mga tao paring nagkalat sa mga parks and wide walkable streets.

Unti-unting bumagal ang sasakyan hanggang sa huminto ito sa tapat ng isang matayog na building. Sancho rolled down the car window. Lumingon ako sa kanya, nagtataka.

"Ano'ng meron?"

"We signed up under a label. 'Yan ang building nila."

I stared back at him, eyes wide. "S-Seriously?" Muli akong sumilip sa labas, to one of the towering buildings in front of us. I clasped my  mouth with my hand.

"Sancho... that's a large record label."

"Kaya hindi mo na kami kailangang hanapan ng mga gigs. We'll also have a manager soon. Makaka-attend ka na nang hindi inaalala kung  may mag-aasikaso ba sa'min o may makikinig ba sa performance  namin."

"You made it..." I said, my voice low like a whisper. "You and the band..."

Sa loob ng madilim na sasakyan, tinitigan niya ako. "I made it with  you."

Napangiti ako sa kanyang sinabi. Kahit alam kong paraan lang ito ng pagpapasalamat niya, my heart couldn't help but swell up in sheer happiness.

"We're starting from scratch," he told me. "We want to make our own music. It might take years for our songs to be recognized pero ito ang napagkasunduan ng buong banda. We will make our own songs, our  own compositions."

"They will all be hits!" I exclaimed. "I just knew it!"

Sunod-sunod ang mga ideas na pumasok sa isip ko. Dahil sa excitement hindi ko lama kung ano ang uunahing sabihin sa kanya. "You should have a fandom name! You know? The name that you will call your  fans."

Sancho, who was not familiar with how fan culture works, scrunched  his eyebrows.

"Saints!" I finally said. "Since you're the band Saint Claire, Saints is a great name to call your fans. Although, I doubt if all of them will be as good as saints."

I giggled, recalling the comment section of some of my posts calling members as hot, daddy, or commenting things like step on me or strum my body.

I placed my arm against the open window and rested my chin against them while marveling at the building in front of us. "Wow..." I whispered.

"So from now on you're going to perform for bigger crowds and on bigger stage. Maybe I'll get to see you on TV one day and have interviews like celebrities."

My smile faded a little. "Don't forget me if you become too famous."  My voice sounded raw and shaky so I covered up my statement with a laugh.

"Eula..."

"Yeah?"

Humarap ako kay Sancho na kanina pa ako pinagmamasdan. Ngumiti siya at napailing na tila may hindi maamin sa'kin. "Once we released  our first album and we'll get to perform the songs for the first time to a crowd, you'll be there, right?"

I nodded, smiling wide. "Of course. I'm your number one fan."

But I broke that promise.

***