MY PRETEND BOYFRIEND

Chapter 9

"Sophia! Sophia! Sophia."

Damn!

Her face was slapped so many times to wake her up. Pero before she could snap out of her dizzy state, she saw everyone around her, sobrang nagulat. If you’d ask her when and how she ended up on the ground, wala siyang idea. Kailan siya binuksan ang mata? Hindi din niya alam. But how did she get here? One thing was for sure...

Right now!

"Guys, we’re just playing. No need to be shook like that," sabi ng senior na nag-cause ng problem, chill lang siya, nakatagilid pa. He wasn’t worried at all about the anger in the hearts of the first-years like Sophia.

"Sophia, are you okay?" Fortunately, another senior asked. She helped her sit up, still dazed.

"Umm..."

"Looks like Sophia is really shocked, huh."

"Uh, um—"

Sophia spent most of her life kissing boys, yes, it's normal. Pero the person she was doing that with was not a pretty boy, but an enemy! Even though he didn’t kiss her, his actions left her feeling so dazed.

If that person just kissed her and didn’t use his tongue to push the pepero in her mouth, baka pwede pa niyang itolerate yun.

"Hey, can you hear me?"

Obviously, she could hear him. But she couldn’t answer.

Her mouth was full of pepero. She wanted to spit it out at these assholes.

"Hey, Sophia, are you alright? Everyone, please stop crowding around! Move her to the corner!" One of the seniors ordered, and her body was moved to the corner, habang nag tatawanan yung ibang tao.

Badass! Dickhead! Damn!

Did they think attending this club was the right decision? Mas okay pa siguro kung sa cooking club na lang siya nagjoin! Oh, my God...

"Can anyone find her an inhaler?"

Get a bucket, kasi feel niyang magsusuka siya. Hindi niya alam kung mauuna siyang mag-faint o mag-suka. "Now, spit it out."

Thank the heavens for sending this jerk, David, to help her out of the pepero War. Damn! He held a piece of paper in front of her, and she quickly spit it out.

"Bastard! Why are you teasing me?" With her mouth free, she immediately cursed the person in front of her.

"I'm not teasing you."

"Then why did you put another one in my mouth?"

"The seniors forced me to do that."

"So if they ask you to die, will you do it?"

"I’ll think about it first."

"I'm being sarcastic! Don’t you get it?"

"Is that so? I thought you were serious."

"Quit bullshitting me and get away from me. I can't breathe." He then breathed into her face, so she immediately pushed him away. His tall body finally stood up and walked to the corner of the room to join his friends. Not long after, a senior gave her an inhaler. She sat quietly for a moment, trying to relieve her dizziness, ignoring everyone in the room.

"There are a total of fifteen people here who intend to play the guitar. Whether they want to show off to girls, think it’s cool, or whatever—everyone has their own reason. But for now, I’ll divide the group. Those who know how to play the guitar or have a foundation in it, raise your hand."

A few people raised their hands. If Sophia counted right, seven people.

"So there are eight people who don’t know how to play the guitar, including Sophia."

Needless to say, everyone looked at her while she sat in the corner of the room, inhaler in hand.

"First activity natin today, guys, ay pag-aaral ng basic chords. Sa sulok ng room, may mga guitars para sa lahat. Bilis, kuha na!" After saying that, everyone rushed to grab a guitar like it was on sale.

"Hurry up!"

"Sophia, do you still have the energy?" The same guy who facilitated the game asked her.

"Yes."

"Then hurry up! Is your ass paralyzed?" After saying that, Sophia silently cursed him. She’d get one, okay? Why the rush? Son of a b***h!

Because of those freaking peperos, Sophia looks really bad right now. She wobbled to get the guitar and finally got one. It was the last one in the room, the one everyone avoided. Seryoso?

"Okay, now that everyone has their own guitars, please separate na. Yung mga marunong mag-guitar, go to the seniors at the back. Yung hindi marunong, please sit here." Class divisions na. Sophia sat with seven other juniors, most of them girls. Siya lang yung guapo kasi, the other two guys are ugly. Hindi maganda timing na makilala sila ngayon. I guess she has to wait na lang for the seniors to start teaching, and slowly find a chance to introduce herself. Especially those boys from the Faculty of Medicine who are super cute.

"First of all, I’ll introduce myself. I’m Migs, and this is Kim, the one who always wants to look pretty. Kami yung magtuturo sa inyo kung paano mag-guitar. First, we’ll learn how to hold the guitar." Everyone sat cross-legged, trying to get comfortable with the guitars. Sophia was focused too. Originally, she just wanted to attend one session, then leave. Pero now, parang she wants to learn guitar, para ma-attract ko yung mga girls.

"Sit comfortably. Don’t be tense. Upright lang ng konti. If you sit like that, hindi mo ma-hold properly yung guitar," sabi ni Kim.

"Okay!"

They're both so nice and kind, lucky nga na hindi yung asshole senior yung trainer nila.

"Next, touch the six strings. Try to follow me." Everyone stared at her as her fingers moved. But when Sophia tried… s**t! Ang hirap! She wanted to ask kung guitar ba ito o sword. Yung mga fingers niya kasi malaki, so ang sakit.

"David, are you okay?"

"Uhm… Yeah, I’m okay."

"But David, why are the strings so stiff?" Or baka ganito talaga pag nagsisimula? She looked around, pero everyone else seemed fine. Bakit siya na lang yung nahirapan? Hindi ba siya normal?

"Ah, yeah. Yung guitar mo, super old na. Hindi kasi para sa beginners. Yun lang ang natira."

Why is her luck always this bad? So... kung hindi siya bibili ng bagong guitar, looks like she’ll be stuck with this one. Her motivation to play the guitar for flirting with boys is gone na.

"I’ll try to find a new one for you. But for today, just use that guitar na lang. Medyo mahirap sa beginners kaya... try your best, Sophia!"

Why won't you ask me if I want to fight you instead?

"Is there a brand you recommend? I’ll just buy it myself," she asked Kim, so she doesn’t have to suffer na.

"If you like a clearer sound, you can use Elixir. If you like bass, D’addario."

"What was that? Can you say it again?"

"D’addario."

"Ahh. Okay, okay." Ang bilis niyang makalimot.

"Do you like bass or clear sound?"

"Hmm. Bass sounds good."

"Then buy D’addario."

Enough na! If you say that name again, she swears she’ll throw this guitar on the floor. Hindi niya na kaya!

"Alright, let’s start with the main chords. There are five main chords: C, D, E, G, and A. Let’s start with C." Sophia looked at the chord and tried to press it, but damn! Her fingers are too big. Pag press niya ng chord, parang tinakpan niya na lahat ng strings. She hated herself.

Gwapo siya, pero sobrang laki ng mga kamay niya.

Her heart...

Maybe you're wondering why she keeps saying "My heart"—it’s just something she says every time she feels like her life’s stuck or she feels something strange. Just like now. Her heart... Her bastard heart...

"Sophia, okay pa ba?"

"Yeah. I’ll try again." Her heart...

"Okay, that’s C. Let’s try another chord. Look at Migs’s fingers."

She’s still stuck on C, bakit sila ang bilis? Ito parang practice for a guitar, hindi naman boat rowing competition. Sobrang bilis naman! Pero she didn't say anything. She just kept pressing those stiff strings hard. Pero bigla may isang sumikò na mahinahon at tinanong siya.

"Sophia, gusto mo palit guitar? Maybe it’s better." He’s a really cute guy wearing a medical badge. His name is David, parang angel.

"No. It’s fine. David’s fingers might hurt. A little pain is okay for me." Pero deep inside, she wanted him to ask her one more time. Just say it, and she’ll take his guitar for sure...

"Then take mine." A few seconds later, she heard the sound of the buffalo guitar. He’s one of the ugly guys left in their group.

"No need! My fingers aren’t hurting that much." Since she was little, she’s always been gentle to cute guys. Pero deep down, she wanted him to ask her one more time. Just say it, and she’ll take your guitar...

"Okay, up to you." Totally not what she was expecting.

Bakit wala siyang perseverance? He should be a little more persistent because she swears, she’ll agree if you just ask one more time.

She kept struggling with her guitar strings for like twenty minutes. All her fingers were swollen, every second felt like breaking. But with her cool spirit and determined heart, she kept playing until the senior told them to rest for ten minutes. So, she went straight to the toilet.

When she came back, she saw the other group playing their guitars. They were practicing hard kasi she heard they’re going to form a band for the music festival this year.

"Okay! That’s enough for today. See you at the club tomorrow, 6 PM."

"Yes!"

Finally! Tapos din!