Season 1 Chapter 3 - Adriana

Myerkules Oktobre 3, 2018 (12:12 AM)

She was lying in bed, her eyes fixated on her laptop screen as she watched her favorite K-drama. She still couldn't get her mind off of what she saw awhile ago. It was definitely Hans, the girl could be anyone, but the fact that he didn't chat her until a while ago only raised suspicions. A chat popped up from Brendan.

Adriana: hey, what time did u guys leave?

Adriana: he didn't chat me

BJ: slr

BJ: sorry idk, after you left i went to the comp shop

Another chat popped up.

Hans: grabfood¹. i'm outside the door

She quickly got up and went to the living room and opened the window, seeing Hans outside while holding a plastic bag of fastfood. She opened the door, and Hans smiled cockily as he held the fastfood up high.

"Grabfood for Adriana." He said jokingly.

"What are you doing here?" She asked, not amused.

"You weren't answering my chats."

She rolled her eyes. "Come in before someone sees you."

Hans entered as she locked the door. They went to the kitchen; she didn't even utter a single word even if he brought her favorite fastfood. She sat the countertop, while Hans just sighed beside her waiting for the interrogation.

"I can explain." He started. "Brendan was playing with my phone and he drained the battery, and I forgot my charger. We were in an intense game and-"

"I saw you in a jeep." She interrupted, he looked down and pursed his lips. "You went home early."

"I got subbed at half-time, and there was nothing to do and I was the only newbie at the bench, but some of the benched seniors knew a place we could eat and I tagged along while the game was still in play." He continued explaining. "We really didn't come back because we drank a few beers and we really lost track of time because there's a karaoke. I really could get scolded for this and-"

She remembered what Sarah said to chill, but she couldn't help. Oh no, here it comes. The word vomit.

She crossed her arms. "And the girl you were sitting next to?"

"Adriana." Hans looked at her in disbelief. "It was a senior's girlfriend. What do you want me to do? Ignore her when she talks to me?"

Don't get aggressive, remember what Sarah said.

"Okay, I understand." She said simply.

Hans leaned his head to her shoulder, his hand slowly making to hers. Their fingers touched and she find hers holding his hand. God, Adriana you're so fragile...

"I also saw a text from your phone..." She remembered. "... calling you panget."

"Huh?" He shrugged. "I don't have a message like that."

She was completely unconvinced.

"Can I see your-" She looked at him and the moment their eyes met, he kissed her making her pause.

She smiled instantly the moment their lips parted. "You know I'm still mad at you."

"Madly in love, yes." He said, leaning his head again as their hands intertwined again.

Sabado Oktobre 6, 2018 (1:30 PM)

They were expecting more to join them, but turns out it was just the five of them. Cass looked at each of them as they ate the biscuits and the canton²Adriana cooked. It was hot, and she was already itching to have Adriana turn their aircon on instead of bearing the aged fan that seemed to only give off hot air.

"Can we turn the aircon on before we start, please?" Cass asked. "I'm literally getting steamed."

"Sure." Adriana said reluctantly, knowing her mother doesn't want their electricity bill go up.

"Okay, so I know it's a bit early for this and to be honest, this contest is more like a junior and senior's thing." Cass started. "But we can pull it off! We just need to look popular so that when we ask them to join us, they'll know it's the cool girls asking and it'll be an honor for them. Do you guys have any suggestions?"

"Wait." Sam said. "So, you're saying that for now it's literally just the five of us against the dance troupe and all the other squads in Manila?"

"Yes, because people really don't want to get involved at first." Cass explained, Sam's not buying it. "As soon as we start getting popular, they'll be interested when we ask."

"No, that'll make us look desperate." Sam said. "We're probably the biggest losers here in campus, and the last thing we want is to look desperate."

"Excuse me." Cass stood up, hands on her hips. "FYI, I'm not a loser."

"Aren't you the one who got kicked out from the dance troupe?" Sam asked.

"Oh... my... God!" Cass gasped. "Who told you that?!"

Lyka sank to her seat. "Ambot...³"

"Doesn't matter, Cass. But look at us." Sam said, then looking at each of them. "We have Inday⁴ Lyka, surfer girl Sarah, ala-eh⁵ Adriana, and you who's still hasn't get over from the dance troupe."

"I can't believe it." Cass said. "And how about you? You consider yourself a loser now?"

"Hello? I don't drink, I don't smoke, I don't wear any of those short skirts or tank tops boys crave, and people would always ask me where I came from Mindanao⁶ even though I was born in Cavite⁷." Sam said. "So, yes Cass. I'm a loser."

"Wow, you sound so mature." Lyka said in awe.

"Salamat⁹." Sam said.

Cass seemed to be taken aback, but just sat down. "Okay, so do you have any proposals now?

"Yes. Are any of you part of an org?" Sam asked them.

Cass shook her head.

Lyka raised her hand.

"Regional orgs won't count." Sam remarked, getting Lyka to lower down. "Anybody else?"

"I joined the Paranormal Society." Sarah raised her hand, Sam seemed to be dissatisfied from her answer.

"And you?" She looked at Adriana.

"Nothing, sorry." Adriana replied. "But my boyfriend joined the football club."

"Okay, so here's my proposal." Sam started. "We make them come to us. Who exactly? Seniors and juniors. Where do you find the hottest and most popular seniors and juniors? They're in an org. How do you get them interested to you?"

Nobody answered.

"You flirt with them."

"Seriously?" Cass asked. "So, like... we hook up? What about you?"

"Me? Hooking up? With this?" Sam pointed at her hijab. "Besides, I've already contributed enough by bringing this proposal."

Sam looked at Adriana. "Adriana, your boyfriend's part of an org, right? What year is he?"

"First year."

"Freshies are often bullied in orgs." Sam scoffed. "Dump him."

"What?"

"Woah, I think it's too much for Adriana to break up so we can just hook up with seniors and juniors to be popular." Cass said.

"Relax, it's just a suggestion. If she loves him then good for them. I do believe she's the prettiest here and she can pull it off, but I'm not forcing anyone." Sam complemented; the girls were speechless. "Well?"

She looked at each of them, amused at their silence. "I think we're heading somewhere."

Linggo Oktobre 8, 2018 (11:07 AM)

She surveyed the glass cabinet, eyeing a particular gold necklace that was far away from her wallet's grasp. Hans looked at her, still fixated at the jewelry, as he took a sip of his slushy. Every time they went to the mall, she'd always drop by to the jewelry shop and look at the same gold necklace.

"Do you... wanna buy that?" He asked, knowing she's not fond of jewelry.

"I wish I could, but it won't be for me though." She replied as they continued strolling around the mall. "I want it for mom."

"Ah, her birthday's this month, right? You want gift her one, right?"

"Yeah, but it'll actually be more than a birthday gift." She said. "She used to have the same necklace, one my father gave, but she had to lend it to the pawnshop last year, and she didn't get it back."

"Oh, that's sad." He remarked. "You wanna eat somewhere?"

"Sure."

They went to Jollibee as always, Adriana's favorite fastfood chain, and found a seat outside. Hans went to take their order while she stayed, opening her phone and finding an Instagram and chat notif.

Banana Party followed you.

Cassidy Ramirez added you to the group chat.

Cassidy: hello fellow bananas

Lyka: Yaaaaassssss!!!

Sarah: elo

Samira changed the group chat name to The Losers

Cassidy: wtf sam change it back

Samira: nope

Samira: hello @Adriana Villar don't you just seenzone us

Adriana smiled, taking a selfie and sending it to the group.

Cassidy: are u ok? u look sad

Samira: don't tell me you broke up with hans?

Adriana: no i didn't. we're actually at trinoma rn

Cassidy: sam i think it's not nice asking that

Samira: like i said, it's just a suggestion. she's old enough to make decisions by herself

"Hey, you look busy." Hans returned with their orders, then taking out his phone. "Y'know what, last night I had a dream."

"What is it?" She asked, biting on her fried chicken.

"You were in a concert, and one of the band members kissed you." He replied, busy with his phone. "Then I woke up, hearing a karaoke from the opposite unit. God, their voices were terrible. No wonder I got a nightmare."

"And you want me to move there with noisy neighbors." She laughed. "Weird, my friends told me to dump you."

Hans looked at her. "Wow."

"What? You once told me that I was the prettiest, loveliest-"

"Funniest, and coolest girl I've ever met." Hans continued. "But I told you to make friends, not join a sorority or a cult or something."

"Whatever babe." She said laughingly, then noticing someone approaching from afar. "Oh, shit."

"What?"

"It's my mom!" She panicked. "Get out of here!"

"But my spaghetti!"

"OUT!"

Hans quickly took his bag and ran to the c.r. Adriana then pulled all the food to her side of the table and acted normally. Her mother quickly spotted her and approached her along with her colleague from the hospital.

"Oh, Adriana!" She called, Adriana acted surprised. "How was church? Are all of these yours?"

"Yes, prayed for grades haha." She replied awkwardly. "I'm... uh... stress eating."

"You should eat vegetables more often rather than that." Her mother remarked, then introducing her colleague. "By the way, this is Rafael."

"Hi." She said sheepishly.

"C'mon, Rafael. Talk to my daughter." Her mother said, sitting beside her. "Are you gonna finish that? I'm starving."

"Um... no bother." She said, as her mother started eating Hans' food.

"Your mother is... a wonderful lady." Rafael said with a smile, and she swore she could see her mother smile even more.

"Okay, I hope this won't shock you but we're actually dating." Her mother admitted, barely shocking her as it was already obvious. "It's been fifteen years, and I'm pretty sure Deo would let me remarry."

"Yeah, sure, dad won't haunt us tonight." She joked as her mom finishes the spaghetti and the softdrink, leaving the burger.

"Can we take the burger? We have a long shift tonight, I might overtime." Her mother asked.

"Sure."

"Thanks." Her mother said, standing up. "Oh, and can you tell Evelyn if she plans to have a sleepover again, they can come to our house. Tell her it's been a while since I last saw you hanging out with them."

"Okay, sure..." She said. Liar, liar, liar. "Bye, ingat!"

A few minutes after her mom left, Hans went back and looked at his now empty plate.

"My spaghetti..."

Martes Oktobre 10, 2018 (11:07 AM)

"I have a new proposal that'll get us some members." Cass said, neatly setting aside the meat of her adobo¹⁰ and only eating the liver. "At least one of us has to join the big orgs here and recruit some of them."

"What are you even doing?" Sam raised a brow, pointing at her plate.

"I'm sorting them because liver has lower calories than meat." She replied, taking a bite. "Hashtag Healthy Living."

"You do know that there's adobong atay¹⁰ available, which is cheaper?" Sam asked. "Nice budgeting, Einstein."

Cass was dumbfounded. "As I was saying, one of us has to join the big orgs here."

"Stop calling it big orgs, it sounds like big orgasms." Lyka said laughingly, taking the meat from Cass' plate.

"Oh my God! Is it Pick-On-Cass-Tuesday?" Cass asked, a bit annoyed. "So, here are the best orgs-"

Lyka chuckled a bit.

"The theatre club, the pep squad, the volleyball club, the singers, the orchestra, and we have a few bands scattered around campus." Cass listed out. "I've listed the bands as the last because they'll be our last resort."

"Why though?" Sarah asked curiously.

"Because... most band guys are fuckboys." Cass answered, then suddenly a smile flashed on her face. "I said most, because not all, especially him."

Cass pointed at the tall guy wearing a black polo shirt ordering at the counter. His slick hair and rectangular glasses were all too familiar to Sarah and Adriana. Remembering the day they answered the thesis questionnaires, she remembered that it was the guy Eric pointed out.

"Ooh lala, Javier is so hot." Lyka said dreamily. "Too bad he's graduating next year."

"Yes, he is." Cass agreed, getting giddy. "We went to the same highschool, and he's my crush ever since. I think he still remembers me."

From a distance, Adriana spotted Eric meeting Javier. Their eyes suddenly met and Eric smiled and waved, earning gasps from Cass and Lyka.

"OMG, how did you know Eric? He doesn't even study here!" Cass asked.

"Um... a bit?" Adriana replied, she could feel Sarah nudging her. "Sorry, we just had a small talk when I answered his thesis questionnaires."

Cass and Lyka then held hands and screamed giddily at each other.

"I hate it when they do that." Sam rolled her eyes. "I lose an eardrum."

"Are you aware that they're bandmates?" Cass asked her. "They're like competing for the regionals now, and they're so popular."

"They competed last year in Cebu, and seeing them now is like seeing Kean Cipriano in campus." Lyka added.

"OMG, Eric saw us and I think he's heading this way!" Cass said, panicking. "Act normal, girls!"

Adriana gulped as it was obviously she who Eric was heading to. Eric approached her, smiling as he took out a pen and placed it on her table.

"Sorry, I took your pen after you answered my thesis." Eric said. "These your friends?"

"Um... yes." She answered meekly, seeing Cass and Lyka containing their squeals while Sam and Sarah just sighed.

"Cool." He smiled. "Anyways, as an apology for accidentally taking your pen and my gratitude for answering my thesis and liking our band's page, I'm inviting you to my twin's despedida¹¹ party this coming Friday night."

"Wow, that's great... really." She said, looking at Cass who's mouthing her to say yes. "I might mistake your twin for you."

"You won't because I'm the cuter one." He deadpanned. "Also, my friend Javier wants to see one of you girls."

Cass almost melted in her seat while Sarah just massaged her temples. Feeling the pressure getting over her, she spoke. "Okay, we'll go."

"That's great, I'll PM you my address... just add me on Facebook." He said, then winking. "I think you know my name already."

"Sure, I'll send it later." She said, knowing how Eric just checkmated her on Facebook. "See you on Friday."

Eric smirked and went back to Javier. Cass looked at her, smiling widely. "OMG, you little slut."

"That was easier than I expected." Lyka remarked. "We're going to a partyyy!"

"Javier wants to see me, I can feel it." Cass said dreamily. "I can't wait for Friday! I heard that Eric lives in a high-end subdivision and his house is huge we can like dance there and we'll be partying like animals like in those teenage shows! I'm gonna tell Javier that he's my biggest crush since highschool and I really feel like I'm going to lose my virgi-"

"Stop." Sam interjected.

"I-"

"Sssh." Sam hushed, putting her index finger on top of her lips. "Can you hear that?"

"Hear wha-"

"Quiet, it's getting louder." Sam said, watching in amusement as the girls, especially Cass, try to figure out what was happening. "It's the sound of Cass not talking. Mmm, I have classes so bye, just chat me."

Sam stood up and sassily walked away.

---

1. GrabFood is an online food delivery service kinda like UberEats

2. Pancit Canton is a packed stir fried noodles that is a common food in the Philippines often eaten during the afternoon.3. Ambot - Cebuano word for I don't know. Lyka is from Cebu.

4. Inday - a word used for a girl originating from Visayas region.

5. Ala-eh - a common expression in Batangas

6. Mindanao is the second largest island groups. This is where Islam is the dominant religion.

7. Cavite is a province that borders the NCR.

8. Salamat is the Filipino word for Thank you.

9. Salamat - Filipino for Thank you.

10. Adobo is a pork dish marinated in vineger and soy sauce. Can have other variations.11. Despedida is a farewell party often to someone going abroad.