Erina's Curse (FILIPINO)

Chapter 1

"Water break!"

Finally! I felt like my insides are going to burst at maisusuka ko na lahat ng laman loob ko sa sobrang pagod. We've been practicing for weeks, 12 hours a day, to perfect the moves for our second mini album's choreography. It hasn't been long since our debut but fans are already demanding for more. Well, I wouldn't dare complain because for the first time in my life, I felt like I have worth, na may kaya pala akong gawin na magdudulot ng saya sa ibang tao. 

And I'm really happy with what I do, I enjoy performing. Whenever I'm in the stage and I see the look of happiness in the audience faces, nakakatuwa lang na may mga taong nakaka-appreciate sayo. Our fans are very supportive and they really make every performance worth the energy and effort. It's also overwhelming to know that we inspire them and continue to battle life's arduous journey. Ang nakaka-stress lang talaga ay yung sandamakmak na practice. I know that practice makes perfect but sometimes I wanted to ask for rest and sleep because I do believe that aside from mastery, a performance is best when the performer is well-rested. 

Sa tatlong taon ko sa H&H Entertainment, parang hindi parin ako nasasanay sa sobrang daming ginagawa. Hindi na bago and mga injuries sa mga members. I recently had an ankle injury during our dance video choreography for YouTube. It's not fully healed yet and I still feel uncomfortable performing. But what can I do? They pay me to perform and not to sit on hospital beds. Others might think that being a performer is just a walk in the park but they are completely and irrevocably wrong. 

"Ina! Ang bagal kumilos, lumalamon na si Raqi sa common room! Anong flavor sayo?" 

That was Kesha, our unnie and main vocal, talking about the macaroons they've ordered for the staff. Post celebration parin for the high ranking charts of our previously released music. Bilib din ako sa mga babaeng to lalo na kay Raqi kasi ang lalakas nila kumain kahit na alam nilang may mine-maintain kaming weight. Raqi is very petite. She'd always urge us to eat outside or order food because she's matakaw as hell. Kung sabagay, Raqi is our lead dancer so she probably lose more fat than she gains because of continuous workout and practice. 

Alam na alam din kasi niyang hindi naming siya kayang tanggihan kapag namimilit na siya. Her blue eyes hypnotizes you to do her bidding. Napaka-amo din kasi ng mukha niya lalo na kapag ngumingiti. She's also very particular with her hair. She changes them every now and then na para bang nagpapalit lang siya ng panty, but for now, she has full bangs on and her previously long brunette hair was cut above her shoulders and was dyed black. 

"What do you call a three humped camel?" 

Eto nanaman si Sassy sa mga cornying joke nya. Sometimes, I forget that she's an Idol because of how loud she laughs. Kapag tumatawa siya ng malakas, her brown eyes turn a couple shades darker. Sassy's face is the most baby faced out of us five because unlike Raqi who's a half Canadian, Sassy is both born and raised here. 

As the visual of the group, siya rin yung pinaka-girly saamin. Her long curly blond hair is always decorated with flowers and clips wherever we go. She's also the smallest at only 5'5 kaya palagi siyang may suot na heels kahit sa pactice para daw masanay ang paa niya. Kaya galit na galit yan sa heels kasi murdered daw lagi ang paa niya. After practice tuloy, evertime na walang managers, hinahagis niya kung saan saan yung mga sapatos. Parang tanga, naghahagis lang ng Gucci. 

Tawa parin nang tawa si Sassy habang nag-iisip ng isasagot ang staff sa walang kwenta niyang tanong. We can only laugh like that when the bosses are not around because they have strict rules that when you fail to follow, you'd face consequences. One of those rules is to always be modest. Mahinhin. Bawal magkamali. Kapag naririnig kong tumawa si Sassy, nakakalimutan kong maging Idol, parang nagiging normal ako ulit.

"A pregnant camel?" sagot ko dahil nabasa ko na ang joke na yun sa internet. Siraulo din to eh, anong akala nya, sya lang ang marunong mag-i********:? 

"Epal ka ghorl?" 

Nagtawanan nalang kami ng mga members and staff kasi mukhang nalugi sa perya si Sassy. Nakasimangot sya at kung maka-pout akala mo may pahabaan ng nguso contest at desperado na siyang manalo dahil may utang sya sa 5/6 at wala syang pambili ng milktea.

"Teka, ba't parang hindi ko gets?"

Introducing MS. LEINA. SUNG. Yung sa sobrang slow nya, baka nag debut na yung bunso sa lima kong anak at tatlo na ang apo ko, hindi pa rin niya gets yung joke. She blabbers hundreds of words per minute when she raps pero pag sa biruan daig niya pa sa loading yung 10 year old na laptop. 

But don't fret, in stage, she's a blue-eyed monster rapper. At 5'8 and strong aura, she's a totally different person when she perform. Kapag naka-braid na ang mabang brunette hair niya, the rapper Leina is already on the house. Super contradicting ng position niya with her looks. She's half-Scottish and she sports that bubbly and warm persona kapag kami-kami lang. To make her look badass, she wears boyish outfits and heavy dark makeup. 

"Itanong mo sa buwan. Oh eto macaroons, dagdagan mo sugar mo mukhang lowbat ka na gaga". 

Kesha got no chill, she's always been prank and firm. That is why she is the ate of this group, not just because of her age but because when she talks, everyone listens. Kapag tinignan ka na ng hazel eyes nya at tinaasan ka na ng blond niyang kilay, umayos ka na, she's that scary and bossy. She's always been serious and strict especially with our training and food intake kaya palagi silang nagtatalo ni Raqi. She has been training the longest out of us five because she's been with H&H for almost 6 years. Leina, Raqi and Sassy joined her after a year and I was the last recruit to be included in GreyArea. 

I was just 15 when Sir Leo discovered me. I was performing in a singing contest held in a mall back then. Malaki ang premyo at desperado na ako dahil kailangan ko ng pera para sa projects ko sa school. Obviously, my parents failed to provide me financial support because they were busy feeding their new family. Okay lang, nasanay na rin ako at nagising sa katotohanan na kailangan kong magsikap para sa sarili ko. Kasi walang ibang gagawa noon kundi ako lang.

Hindi ako nanalo sa contest dahil kasama pala sa criteria ang suot o costume pati narin and audience voting. I do not own any fancy clothes so I resorted to wearing my uniform. I do not have any friends too so malamang sa malamang ay wala akong nakuhang boto. 

I did not win but I caught Sir Leo's attention. He gave me his calling card and told me that I have potential and with a little grooming, I would be perfect for the entertainment industry. I remembered that I was actually offended with how he emphasized that I need grooming but now, I realized what he meant. Mukha kasi akong galang bata noon na parang palaging hinahabol ng suklay. May bangs pa ako at mahilig sa mahaba. 

Mahabang t-shirt.

Mahabang palda.

Mahabang medyas. 

"Ina! Kanina pa kita kinakausap hello alam ko mukha kang alien pero nasa earth ka pa ba ha," dada nang dada si Raqi habang winawagayway ang dalawang kamay nya sa harap ko. 

"Practice na ba?" tanong ko. Napahaba na kasi yung supposedly water break lang namin. Ang sarap ng macaroons, eh.

"Obvious ba?" hinila na niya ako para sumayaw nanaman ng walang humpay. 

I smiled while looking in the mirror in front of us. We're in the dance studio kaya puro salamin ang kwarto. Nagtutulakan si Raqi at Leina habang kinukurot naman sila ni Kesha. This is actually one of the few things I love about practice, yung nagbibiruan parin kami even though we're all tired. 

"Ang hindi umayos magkakajowa ng mayaman tapos hindi magugustuhan ng magulang at aalukin ng pera para iwan ang anak nila!" galit na si Kesha.

"Hala siya. Akala ko sasayaw tayo, hindi naman ako aware na script-reading pala ito ng bagong drama" pangungulit pa ni Raqi pero umayos narin dahil mukha nang manununtok si Kesha.

We were practicing for an hour already when Sir Hades, one of the big bosses entered the room. I've been afraid of him since day 1, he's serious and always straight to business. 

"You'll perform on Friday and Saturday. Rest for now. Don't you dare screw this up. Eat less, you all look like pigs".

Another day, another performance, but this time it will be for a small screen award show. I'll probably meet some of my actor friends there and that was enough to hyped me up and ignore our Boss's rude remarks.

"Yes sir", we sternly answered. Sir Hades is a bald middle-aged man. His big stomach is sticking up with his tightly fitted shirt. 

"Erina, one of the managers pointed out that you were not active on your social media accounts. Are you that lazy? Work! Post pictures so your follower count goes up", he's always like this and even when I can taste anger in my lips, I chose to just nod. 

I'm not lazy, I just don't like the Erina that they want me to be. Sweet, naive, cute. I want to be me. I want to be a person, not a doll.

To be treated as someone who has feelings and opinions is all I've ever wanted, little did I know that that person who will make me feel that way is sitting with the audience, watching me with hawk eyes as I perform.