CHAPTER 4: First Week
1432 Words
The next morning came too quickly.
Aira barely slept.
Her new trainee identification card was sitting on the small table beside her bed, its plastic surface catching the morning light.
AIRA VALDEZ
TRAINEE
She picked it up.
Yesterday, she had been an applicant.
Today, she was officially part of the agency.
It should have felt like a dream.
Instead, she was standing in front of the mirror at five-thirty in the morning, trying to keep herself awake.
Her phone vibrated.
Mika: Nandiyan ka na?
Aira smiled and replied.
Aira: Paalis na.
Another message arrived.
Mika: Bilisan mo. Baka mapagalitan tayo.
Aira grabbed her bag.
She was about to leave when her mother called from the kitchen.
"Aira, kumain ka na?"
"Opo."
"Sigurado?"
"Oo."
"Magdala ka ng pagkain."
"May dala na ako."
"At mag-ingat ka."
Aira smiled.
"Opo, Ma."
She stepped outside.
The sky was still dark.
But for the first time, she wasn't walking toward an audition.
She was walking toward her new life.
---
The agency was already awake when Aira arrived.
The lobby was quiet.
A few trainees were sitting on the floor, stretching.
Others were carrying water bottles and dance bags.
Mika was standing near the elevator.
"Sa wakas."
Aira laughed.
"Ikaw nga ang muntik nang mahuli."
"Pero nandito ako."
"Oo."
Sienna arrived a few minutes later.
"Magandang umaga."
Mika looked at her.
"Ang aga."
"Ikaw rin naman."
"Pinilit lang."
Luna arrived last.
She was wearing a simple black jacket and carrying the same bag she had brought to the audition.
Mika waved.
"Hoy!"
Luna smiled.
"Magandang umaga."
Aira looked at all three girls.
"Handa na?"
Mika sighed.
"Wala tayong choice."
Sienna laughed.
"Meron."
"Ano?"
"Umuwi."
Mika immediately shook her head.
"Hindi pwede."
"Ba't?"
"Gusto kong sumikat."
They all laughed.
The elevator doors opened.
They stepped inside together.
None of them knew that this would become a familiar routine.
For the next several years, they would ride elevators like this.
Half-awake.
Exhausted.
Nervous.
Sometimes happy.
Sometimes crying.
But that first morning, they were still excited.
---
Their first training session began at six.
The instructor from yesterday stood in front of the room.
"Magandang umaga."
"Magandang umaga po."
"Simula ngayon, magiging bahagi na kayo ng regular training."
She looked at the four newcomers.
"May mga bagay kayong kailangang matutunan."
Everyone listened.
"Una, oras."
She pointed toward the clock.
"Kapag alas-sais ang training, ibig sabihin alas-sais dapat nandito na kayo."
A trainee near the back raised her hand.
"Kapag na-late po?"
"May parusa."
The girl lowered her hand.
Mika whispered.
"Patay."
Aira tried not to laugh.
The instructor looked toward them.
"May gusto bang magsabi?"
Mika immediately shook her head.
"Wala po."
"Sigurado?"
"Opo."
The instructor continued.
"Ikalawa, hindi sapat na magaling kayo."
She looked around the room.
"May mas magaling sa inyo."
Nobody spoke.
"At may mas mabilis matuto."
She paused.
"May mas disiplinado."
Another pause.
"At may mas matagal nang nandito."
The four girls looked at one another.
"Ang kailangan ninyong gawin ay matutong sumabay."
She clapped.
"Simulan natin."
---
The first hour was warm-up.
The second was dance.
By the third, Mika was sweating through her shirt.
"Akala ko ba warm-up lang?"
Aira whispered.
"Hindi pa tapos."
"Grabe."
Sienna was struggling to catch her breath.
Luna was still moving.
Mika looked at her.
"Ikaw, hindi ka napapagod?"
Luna shook her head.
"Napapagod."
"Pero bakit parang wala?"
"Sanay lang."
Mika stared at her.
"May lihim ka ba?"
Luna laughed.
"Wala."
"Sigurado?"
"Oo."
The instructor clapped.
"Ulit!"
Mika closed her eyes.
"Patay."
Aira whispered.
"Tayo na."
They returned to their positions.
The music started again.
This time, Aira focused harder.
Mika controlled her movements.
Sienna counted under her breath.
Luna moved like she had already memorized everything.
They weren't perfect.
Far from it.
But they were learning.
---
By lunchtime, the four girls were exhausted.
They sat together in the small cafeteria.
Mika opened her lunchbox.
"May kanin kayo?"
Aira nodded.
"Oo."
"Pwede makihingi?"
"You have food."
"Konti lang."
Sienna laughed.
"Ikaw talaga."
Mika took a small amount of rice from Aira.
"Salamat."
Luna watched them.
"Ang ingay ninyo."
Mika looked at her.
"Ikaw lang tahimik."
"Ganun talaga ako."
"Magbabago ka rin."
"Ba't?"
"Kapag matagal mo na kaming kasama."
Luna smiled.
"Malay mo."
Aira looked at them.
"Parang ang bilis nating naging close."
Sienna nodded.
"Oo nga."
Mika shrugged.
"Eh pare-pareho tayong walang kakilala."
They laughed.
That sentence became their joke.
Whenever they felt out of place, Mika would say it.
Whenever someone asked where they came from, they would say it.
Whenever they felt small inside the huge agency, it reminded them that at least they had each other.
They didn't know how important that would become.
---
The first week wasn't easy.
On the second day, Aira's voice became hoarse.
On the third day, Mika's ankle started hurting.
On the fourth day, Sienna stayed late because she couldn't finish a songwriting exercise.
And Luna—
Luna was always the first to arrive.
Always the last to leave.
Sometimes, she disappeared during breaks.
Sometimes, someone from the management office would call her.
Whenever the girls asked, she always gave the same answer.
"Wala lang."
Aira noticed.
She never asked too much.
Not yet.
---
On Friday afternoon, the instructor posted their schedules for the following week.
The trainees gathered around the bulletin board.
Mika pushed through the crowd.
"Tabi."
Aira followed.
Their names were listed under different classes.
AIRA — VOCAL DEVELOPMENT
MIKA — DANCE DEVELOPMENT
SIENNA — SONGWRITING & PERFORMANCE
Then they found Luna's name.
It wasn't under the regular trainee schedule.
Instead, it was listed separately.
LUNA — ADVANCED PERFORMANCE
Mika stared at it.
"Ha?"
Sienna looked closer.
"Advanced?"
Aira frowned.
"Baguhan pa lang tayo."
Mika looked at Luna.
"Ba't ka nandiyan?"
Luna shook her head.
"Di ko alam."
"Sigurado?"
"Oo."
Mika looked at the schedule again.
"May sarili kang klase."
"Ganun yata."
"Anong ibig sabihin?"
Luna shrugged.
"Siguro nakita nilang kaya ko."
Mika laughed.
"Ang yabang."
Luna smiled.
"Ikaw naman."
Aira laughed.
But she couldn't shake the feeling that something was strange.
The schedule wasn't the only thing that was different.
There was another note beside Luna's name.
Individual Assessment — Management
No room number.
No instructor.
Just the words.
Aira looked at Luna.
"Saan yan?"
Luna glanced at the note.
"Di ko alam."
"Tanungin mo."
"Siguro mamaya."
Mika shrugged.
"Hayaan mo na."
They moved away from the board.
For them, it was just another change in schedule.
Nothing more.
---
That evening, the four girls stayed in the practice room.
They were supposed to leave at eight.
It was already eight-thirty.
Mika was sitting on the floor.
"Uwi na tayo."
Sienna continued writing.
"Sandali."
"Kanina ka pa."
"May tatapusin lang ako."
Aira looked at Luna.
"Ikaw?"
"Magpapraktis pa ako."
"Ngayon?"
Luna nodded.
"Oo."
Mika groaned.
"Grabe kayong lahat."
She stood.
"Uuwi na ako."
"Mauna ka."
"Sigurado?"
"Oo."
Mika looked at the three of them.
"Mag-ingat kayo."
"Ikaw rin."
Mika left.
Sienna eventually followed.
Aira packed her things.
Luna remained in front of the mirror.
"Di ka pa uuwi?"
"May gagawin pa ako."
Aira nodded.
"Sige."
She walked toward the door.
Before she left, she looked back.
Luna was still practicing.
Alone.
The music was low.
Her reflection moved across the mirror.
Aira watched for a moment.
Then she noticed something.
Luna wasn't practicing the routine they had been taught.
She was dancing to something else.
Something more advanced.
Something Aira had never seen before.
Luna stopped suddenly.
She looked toward the mirror.
Then toward the door.
Aira quickly stepped away.
She didn't know why she felt like she had been caught doing something wrong.
She walked out.
---
The hallway was almost empty.
Aira was about to enter the elevator when she heard footsteps behind her.
She turned.
It was the same man.
The one she had seen on their first day.
He was standing outside the management office.
He looked at Aira.
Then at the practice room behind her.
"Ikaw si Aira?"
Aira nodded.
"Opo."
He smiled politely.
"Kaibigan ka ni Luna?"
Aira hesitated.
"Opo."
He nodded.
"Magandang gabi."
"Magandang gabi po."
He walked past her.
Aira watched him disappear down the hallway.
She pressed the elevator button again.
Her mind was already full of questions.
Who was he?
Why did he keep appearing around Luna?
And why did everyone seem to know something about her except them?
The elevator doors opened.
Aira stepped inside.
She pushed the button.
The doors slowly closed.
And behind them, somewhere inside the agency, Luna was still practicing alone.
Completely unaware that someone had begun to notice.
- Writer
