["PLAY THE KING" IS ACT TWO OF THE "PLAY" SERIES. PLEASE READ "PLAY THE QUEEN" FIRST.]
It's been four months since Priam Torres, the once unpopular president of the Elysian University Student Council, assumed office. Thanks to his chief-of-staff Cas...
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FABIENNE
NAGSISIMULA PA lang ang araw ko, sirang-sira na agad. Sayang, maganda pa naman ang gising ko. Dealing with Priscilla and her promotional stunts was already a chore. Imagine kung may isa pang magbibigay ng stress at sakit ng ulo sa 'kin. Take a guess who.
It's Alaric Esteban.
Today, Colin and I were supposed to be guests in a local television's morning show. Dahil kami ang lead actors ng Romeo and Juliet, kami rin ang mukha nito. Our promotional efforts wouldn't end in campus press interviews. Kailangan din naming mag-reach out sa iba't ibang channels para mas lumawak ang reach namin at makakuha kami ng mas maraming audience. My interview with the local press before was a part of it. But we had to do more.
Priscilla's presence was a given. Siya ang publicity manager kaya trabaho niyang i-supervise kami sa engagement na 'to. In a way, she was our talent manager. But Alaric? I had no freaking idea why he was inside the van that was waiting for us on campus. Parang pagmamay-ari pa nga niya ang sasakyan dahil solo niya ang middle row at nakakrus pa ang kaniyang mga binti.
"May problema ba, Fab?" tanong ni Colin nang bigla akong huminto pagtapak ko sa loob ng van. "May nakalimutan ka ba o gustong balikan?"
"No, I'm fine." Umiling ako bago tumuloy sa loob. Sa seat sa may likuran ni Alaric ako umupo. Given everything that I had learned about him, ayaw ko siyang makatabi. Wala siyang nakahahawang skin disease o kahit anong sakit, pero mas mabuti nang dumistansya ako sa kanya. Maybe if there was no vacant seat, masisikmura ko pang makatabi siya.
Siyempre, umupo sa tabi ko si Colin. Pareho naming suot ang aming school uniform na may kasama pang official lanyard. Strict instruction sa 'min na ganito ang attire para ma-promote din ang university namin. Sunod na pumasok si Priscilla na siyang nagsara ng pinto ng van. Napaka-gentleman ni Alaric. He could have shut the door close, pero mas pinili niyang mag-chill sa kaniyang kinauupuan.
"Fabby, Colin, have you met Alaric Esteban?" Priscilla motioned to the guy in the row before us. "He's the chairperson of the CBA student council."
"I haven't had the pleasure," sagot ni Colin sabay iling ng ulo.
"I've met him before." I looked at him through the rearview mirror. His blond hair, his annoying smirk. Umangat ang mga mata niya at nagtagpo ang tingin namin sa salamin. "During the team building for college student-leaders. I'm sure he remembers because we had a fun game of spin the bottle."
Where he asked me to kiss him on the lips! Biglang nanindig ang mga balahibo ko. I rubbed my arms with my palms to fight off the goosebumps. That's so gross! Back then, I was thankful to Castiel for stepping in and saving me from that disgusting situation. Pero ngayo'y nangingilabot na rin ako kapag magkasama sa iisang sentence ang pangalan niya at ang phrase na thank you. If I were to thank him now, baka mabara sa lalamunan ko ang salitang 'yon.
