A Metal's Clang

YSABELL'S POV

I spread the black stuff on my reddish cheekbone. I'm not sure if it's eyeliner or just some sort of dirt they picked up outside.

I settle my back on the soft sofa where I'm sitting right now. I take a glance at myself in the mirror full of sparkling lightbulbs. "I'm indeed a pretty beggar," I murmur to myself as a smile plastered on my dirty lips.

"Indeed." I hear a familiar voice dahilan para mapalingon ako sa pinanggagalingan ng boses. Napasimangot ako nang makita ang mukha nilang dalawa.

"You guys look foolish, don't you think?" I sarcastically say as I stand up and stride towards them.

Clay is wearing nothing except for his blue and black swimming trunks that exposed his six-pack abs. Magulo rin ang buhok niya at marahil ay katatanggal lang ng swimming cap niya. Ang maputla niyang balat ay basa pa senyales na katatapos lang ng training niya. His eyes, his dark eyes fits with his messy jet-black hair.

"Hey, quit fantasizing me." ipinitik niya ang kaniyang daliri sa aking harapan.

I roll my eyes at him "You wish," saad ko gamit ang nandidiring tono.

I alter my gaze to Ylise at pababa sa kaniyang kamay dahil may hawak siyang puting plastic bag.

"What did you buy?" I ask while crossing my arms. I'm hoping for teriyaki, pero puwede na rin ang sushi.

"Binilhan kita ng goto," she responds while smiling. I think I blink for almost ten times before I finally got what she just said.

"Goto?" I fake a smile habang pinandidilatan siya ng mata. I nod repeatedly. "Really, Ylise? Goto? Nice, that's so aesthetic." I almost spit my words at her with loathe.

"You're very much welcome, babe," she utters while handling me the plastic. She's grinning like as if she won in a competition. Well, speaking of- "How was it?" I ask while shifting my attention to the plastic bag she's holding. I take a peek on what's inside of it. Goto nga, putragis may calamansi pa.

"You mean the goto? Oh, it's good, you should try-" she zipped her mouth nang tumingin ako sa kaniya ng nakabusangot ang mukha saka inilipat ang aking mga mata kay Clay na ngayo'y nagpipigil na ng tawa.

"Saang gotohan ba kayo bumili? Balikan mo nga 'yung utak neto," I annoyingly say dahilan para mapabulalas siya ng tawa.

"What?" she asks in a high pitch tone, acting like she's not aware of anything.

"I mean, about the contest, you moron," I exclaim.

"Why are you even asking, anyway?" she mocks while making me look stupid right now. "It's always what you expected," she even adds in a matter-of-fact tone.

That's true. Why did I even ask? The answer is obvious. She always wins. She's not going in a competition bringing home an egg, she's always taking the bacon with her.

"Whatever," sagot ko dahil wala naman nang dahilan pa para makipagtalo sa kaniya. She's a geek. Pambato siya ng university sa lahat ng Quiz Bee since junior high. We're in the second semester of being seniors right now at siya pa rin ang inilalaban sa mga paligsahan kung saan talino ang puhunan.

I swing my back from them to see myself in the mirror. "How do I look?" Tanong ko at hinintay ang mga sagot nila. I fix my curly brown hair and lick my lips then I realize that they put something black on it a while ago kaya mabilis ko itong itinigil.

"Mukha kang... pulubi?" patanong na sagot ni Clay kaya muli akong humarap sa kanila.

"Well, I should be looking like one," I respond while rolling my eyes at them.

Since my junior high days, I've been in the Theater Club and we already had the chance to perform in different parts of the world like Canada and Australia. Well, a lot to mention. Our clubs are not just for fun, our university is taking this matter to the highest level possible.

"But you look dazzling," Ylise utters while beaming at me.

I'm wearing a brown dress onto the top of my toes that looks dirty through the help of the paint we got from the Art Club. A brown belt is circling my waist to keep my shape visible, and the sleeve on my left shoulder was purposely torn out. A combination of brown and black makeup was all over my face and on my body that looks like a dirt. I'm not wearing any boots or cap at hinayaan ko lang na nakalugay ang mahabang buhok ko.

We're conducting a play dahil ang director ng university ay kababalik lang ng bansa galing Italy for some school matters. He's finally back to the Philippines after almost 3 months and here we are, wasting our time by giving him a show and pretending that we missed him.

Nobody did. Wala lang kaming choice.

We ended up agreeing to perform Miss Saigon to get this shit done.

"I would appreciate that if you got me a teriyaki instead of a porridge," saad ko at tiningnan ko siya nang masama. I hand her back the soup that she bought me na ngayo'y nagsisimula ng lumamig.

"You should appreciate small things Ysabell," sabat ni Clay, he's clearly mimicking the director's authoritative voice because his chin is facing upward like the old man usually does.

I stare down at his swimming trunks. Umarte akong nag-iisip habang pinanliliit ang aking mga mata sa kaniyang bakat. "Like your dick?" I ask in bewilderment.

Mabilis niya itong tinakpan ng dalawa niyang mga kamay. "No, not this- Hey! It's not small!" he insists while blushing pero tinawanan lang namin siya ni Ylise.

Napailing ako nang muli siyang magsalita. "Kasinlaki 'to ng cobra," he bravely exclaims while pointing at his gut. I almost utter the words 'dude, no one gives a shit', but Ylise replied before I could deliver a single word.

"He's right, Ysabell," she looks at me then turns her gaze to Clay. "A new hatched baby cobra," she adds then she laughs at her own joke. Malay ko ba kung gaano kalaki 'yung bagong panganak na ahas. She frowns at me when she noticed that I didn't support her joke. I give her a I-know-nothing-about-cobra look, but she just rolls her eyes.

Actually, Ylise is not the usual kind of geek that you will see in every school. Mga nerd na kadalasang may makakapal na lente ng salamin at may bitbit na mga libro. No. She was never and will never be like that. Right now, she's wearing a see-through floral dress that reveals her pinkish knees and her white sandals. She usually wears jackets but the venue of the contest where she went was on a hillside so she was advised to wear a comfy outfit. She's also wearing a circle gold framed reading glasses that fit with her untidy brown bun. She's always like this when it comes to her hair, she looks like she woke up late in the morning and doesn't have enough time to wrap up her hair neatly, but nevertheless, she looks hot with that hair. For me, it's effortlessly beautiful.

It's one of the reasons why I never left this university despite of its exorbitant tuition fee. We can do whatever we want. Wear anything we want.

But not everyone possesses this privilege. Only us.

"Are you guys challenging me?" a silly grin is starting to form on Clay's lips. Inilibot niya ang kaniyang mga mata sa buong dressing room at mas lalong lumaki ang ngisi niya nang mapansing kaming tatlo lang ang tao rito. "Why don't we do something exciting to change your mindset about this thing," he teasingly says while pointing at his gut. He squints his eyes at hindi ko na napigilan pa ang sarili kong bumunghalit ng tawa.

"W-why are you laughing?" he asks, puzzled.

"Wala ni isa sa atin ang kumakain ng kikiam," saad ko habang tumatawa dahilan para bumusangot ang mukha niya.

Ylise's voice caught up my attention. "Here comes the witch," she utters through her breath, but her voice is loud enough for anyone in this tiny room to hear what she just said.

"I heard you," Gia utters while walking towards us. Lumapit siya kay Clay at mabilis itong humalik sa pisngi niya. She's wearing a witch outfit because they chose The Wicked for their play and obviously, she's the wicked witch. Ang kulay brown at kulot niyang buhok ay ini-spray-an para maging berde. Hindi rin kita ang mga freckles niya sa paligid ng kaniyang ilong dahil sa kapal ng makeup niya.

"Go get a room," sabay naming saad ni Ylise na ikinatawa nilang dalawa.

"Maybe later, after we won." she raises her eyebrows at me while grinning and putting stress at the word 'we'. She's pertaining about the contest. Our university has three Theater Club, two for the juniors and seniors, and one for college students.

Apparently, both of our club were tasked to perform and to make it more interesting for the audiences, they turned it into a contest.

Before I could even speak, I felt Ylise's grip on my shoulder. "As if she will let that happen," sagot niya gamit ang nababagot na tono. She stares at me habang hinihintay ako na sang-ayunan ang sinabi niya.

"Of course, I'll make sure we'll win." I give Gia a triumphant smile and she answers me with a chuckle. How annoying.

"Quit dreaming, young girl," bulalas niya kasabay ng pagkapit niya sa braso ni Clay. I can never imagine that wet trunk touching my body. Gross.

"You did a great job," pang-uuto ni Clay sa kaniya na mabilis naman niyang ikinangisi.

I want to tell her that her boyfriend didn't watch her play and instead, he bitched here in the backstage, but I restrain myself.

"So how's the feeling of being a witch?" I ask while forcing my smile not to come out. She looks awful with that outfit on green-colored face and body. Is she a witch or an ampalaya? Hindi ko napigilang mapabungisngis sa naisip ko.

Ylise replies, "Oh wait, is she wearing a costume? I thought it's her OOTD," she blurts out while acting naïve.

"Whatever." Gia rolls her eyes at Ylise that's now giggling. She turns her gaze to me. "Good luck beggar. I love you." she means it.

I give her a smile. "Thank you, witch," I mock at hindi ko na napigilan pa ang aking tawa.

"Magsama nga kayo mga punyeta," sagot niya dahilan para muli akong matawa.

I couldn't count how many times I've already laughed since I became friends with them.

Hinila siya ni Clay papalapit sa kaniyang katawan at nakita kong biglang namula ang mukha niya. No need for further explanations on what happened between those trunks and that black witch dress.

Natigil ako sa pagtawa nang may biglang kumalabit sa likod ko. Humarap ako sa kaniya habang nakangiti.

"Standby ka na sa likod Ysabell," Agnes mumbles in a low and simple tone. It seems like she's shy on us even though we are with her in there. Always.

She's wearing a sky blue crop top na pilit niyang hinihila pababa sa pusod niya. She partnered it with a faded ripped jeans. Bumagay ito sa straight niyang buhok na hanggang balikat ang haba. Some strands of her hair are highlighted with color green.

"She forced you to wear that, didn't she?" I ask while raising one brow at her.

Agnes seems shocked by my abrupt question. Umiling siya, pero kabaligtaran ang sinasabi ng kaniyang mga mata. "No, ahm, actually, I-" she didn't finish her alibi because I quickly walk past her. Naglakad ako papunta sa bag ko at kinuha ang manipis na leather jacket mula sa loob nito. Lumapit ako pabalik kay Agnes at isinuot ito sa balikat niya.

"You really don't have to wear things that gives you discomfort," I mumble in a concern tone. Agnes forces a smile at me habang inaayos ang jacket na isinuot ko sa kaniya.

"Yeah, thanks," mahinang saad niya at saka na niya ako nilagpasan. She's probably going to the audio-visual room since she's the one who's responsible for any computer stuff. She really excels in there.

"Mmm," I hummed while nodding as a response even if she already vanished from my sight. I let out a sigh to loosen up my feelings.

I walk to the stairs that will lead me to thousands of people.

I'm already confident about this thing. I've done it a million times already that the cheers and shouts of the audiences have no effect to my ears anymore. I just want this to end at nang makapagpahinga na ako.

I step on the X sign on the floor and the red curtains are almost touching my muddy face. I take a deep breath as the curtains starts to rise and I hear the cheers of the students that surrounds the circled auditorium. Nakabibingi ang mga sigawan nila na animo'y ngayon lang nila ako nakita. Everyone in the stadium is cheering my name the moment they saw me with this dress. A combination of Ohh's and Woah's surrounds the wide and dark auditorium.

I walk straight to the mic with a standee that's in the middle of the stage as the emcee is busy introducing my name. Ang aking talampakan ay nanginginig dahil sa lamig ng sahig. I'm playing the role of Éponine Thénardier in Miss Saigon and I'm about to sing a single song to end this plasticity.

My sigh from the mic stops everyone from shouting. Namataan ko sa baba ng stage ang isang mahabang mesa kung saan nakaupo ang matabang director kasama ang iilang staff ng school. His smile gives creep the hell out of me.

I alter my gaze to my right side. I saw Leighton wearing a black tuxedo with his fixed black hair with a red ribbon on his neck. He's holding a violin on his hand. He also has his own spotlight since the violin is the only instrument that we're using in this performance to make it more classic, and he's the one playing it. The light is flashing his white, soft, and bunny-like cheeks and his pointed nose gives shadow to the left side of his face. He's not wearing his eyeglasses right now, I bet he's wearing contact lenses.

Ngumiti ako sa kaniya bilang hudyat na magsisimula na akong kumanta. He just nods and positions his violin under his chin. I look forward. I straighten my body to maintain my posture and take a step back from the microphone nang biglang tumulo ang tubig sa aking mukha na mula sa itaas.

I close my eyes and feel the water coming from the fly system as it embraces my entire dirty body. I can feel that the makeup is starting to blend with the water that will just make my performance more stunning. As I hear the violin plays, I begin with the act. I lower my chin so that the water will look like tears. They instructed me not to cry because it might ruin my voice. So we're faking it.

My eyes are still closed. How I love this silence. It calms me. It gives me peace, but since I can still hear Leighton's violin playing, I don't feel alone. I know someone is with me. In here.

In the rain the pavement shines like silver

All the lights are misty in the river

In the darkness, the trees are full of starlight

And all I see is him and me forever and forevermore

Suddenly, I could hear no one.

I couldn't hear any shouts or cheers that usually take place at this moment. Unti-unti ring naglaho ang tunog ng violin sa aking pandinig.

I feel alone.

Panic surrounds me.

I immediately open my eyes and lift my chin up. Tears are starting to fall down on my cheeks. I can't control my emotions. I turn my gaze to Leighton and for the first time, nginitian niya ako dahilan para kumalma ang aking pakiramdam. I smile back at him and face forward. No one's reacting about my sudden jolt, maybe they thought that it was all part of the act since Leighton didn't stop playing his violin.

But it was not.

I almost broke down like I always do.

I take a deep breath and keeps in pace with the instrument. Again, I close my eyes. Dark and eerie silence surrounds me. I keep telling myself that I'm not alone. That there are hundreds of people here who are watching me, and will surely be disappointed if I stumble.

Right.

You're not alone Ysabell.

Kaya ko 'to.

On my own

Pretending he's beside me

All alone

I walk with him till morning

Without him

I feel his arms around me

And when I lose my way I close my eyes

And he has found me

After I utter the last lyric, I open my eyes. I can't shut them anymore dahil pakiramdam ko'y sasabog na ang nararamdaman ko. I give the audience a mourning smile to put more emotions on the song. I hear 'Aww's' that made my feeling soothe.

Again, I'm not alone.

The song finished in almost five minutes and I am now soaked in water with the faded makeup in my face. I bow and I suddenly hear the crowd starts cheering, they are shouting my name. Isa-isa silang nagsitayuan sa kani-kanilang mga upuan habang binibigyan ako nang malalakas na mga palakpakan. Some of them are still yelling at the top of their lungs.

I glance at Leighton and give him a half smile, but he just nods. Gusto kong matawa sa reaksyon niya pero nandito pa rin ako stage kaya pinigilan ko ang aking sarili. I know he's immersed by my performance. He's always like this, pretending not to care about anyone. But I still am shocked by his sudden beam a minute ago.

It took about a minute until the cheers of the audiences subsided. Muli silang naupo sa kanilang mga upuan dahil hindi pa tapos program. Danielle, one of my friends who is excellent in ballet, will still perform as the last and closing act. Nanatiling nakaupo si Leighton dahil siya rin ang naka-assign na tumugtog para sa performance ni Danielle.

I take a deep sigh while beaming and I give them my last bow. One of the staffs holds my hand and escorts me down the stage. He hands me a towel and I use it to dry myself from the artificial rain we created.

As I walk past the table where the director is sitting, he stands up and gives me a handshake. "Good job. You're really a gifted student." he grins while staring at my chest. Pervert.

Hindi ko siya sinagot dahil pakiramdam ko'y nakabara sa aking lalamunan ang gusto kong sabihin. His smile really makes me shiver, and I don't know why it does so.

Binigyan ko na lang ng pilit na ngiti ang director at nagmadali na akong umalis doon.

I should be on the backstage by now since the awarding of the winners will be announced next, but I want to watch Danielle's performance. She even told me that if I didn't watch her dance, she won't talk to me ever again. Para namang makikita niya ako sa ganito kadilim na auditorium.

I finally found a seat at the corner down part of the auditorium. I'm about to sit when someone grabs my hand.

I glance at him.

Noah.

"H-hi," he greets in a husky tone. It's dark in here but I can clearly see his chiseled jawline and his brown eyes that reflects the light from the stage. May hawak siyang camera, of course, he never leave this behind.

"Hmm?" I hummed in a soft voice while looking at him, preventing the smile that's slowly plastering on my lips.

"I'm g-gonna s-show you s-something," he says in his usual stuttering voice. I want to laugh, but I think it'll offend him kaya ngumiti na lang ako sa kaniya.

However, I'm still confused by the fact that he only stutters when he's talking to me.

"'Kay." I tried to sit, but his hand stops me.

"N-not i-in here," bulong niya.

I let him grab me by my left hand. We stride through the audiences while mumbling apologies as we pass through them. Most of them recognized me and asked to take a photo so it took us almost five minutes before we finally arrived where he is taking me.

We ended up in the middle part of the auditorium where miraculously no one is currently sitting. Kumunot ang noo ko dahil doon at tiningnan ko siya habang naghihintay ng paliwanag.

Noah snorts. "It's e-exclusive for t-the p-photography club." lalong kumunot ang aking noo dahil sa sinabi niya. Iginaya ko ang aking ulo at naghintay ng susunod niyang sasabihin.

"W-what? So w-we can t-take w-wonderful pictures!" he insists and he almost choked out of his words.

"Okay, okay." I raise both of my hands, surrendering to his poor alibi kahit pa alam kong nagdadahilan lang siya.

He tried to help me sit but I shove his hand away. "I know how to." I playfully roll my eyes dahilan para mapahagikgik kaming dalawa.

The moment I sit down, they've already cleaned the stage and blew it dry to prevent Danielle from tripping when she dances. That's when I realized that I'm still soaked in muddy water and I have no idea how terrible I look right now. I'm expecting the worst.

"Hey, y-you okay?" Noah snaps nang mapansin niyang tulala ako.

"Yeah, I just feel like I look like an idiot," I answer while holding my forehead.

"W-why is t-that s-so?" his voice is full of confusion.

"Didn't you notice? I almost freaked out on the stage a minute ago," saad ko saka bumuntong hininga. I couldn't look at his eyes because I don't want him to read them.

"But you d-didn't. T-that only means one t-thing, you are so s-so so professional, M-miss F-ferrel." his smile results a thud in my chest. I feel like my face is burning so I hastily turn my gaze to the other side, trying to distract myself from his smile by wiping my hair dry using the white towel na ngayo'y puno na ng itim na mga mantsa.

"L-let me help." he's about to touch my hand but I shove it away from him. I think I'm going to be insane the moment our skin touch each other. I won't let that happen.

"I can do it, on my own," I mimic the lyrics of the song that I performed and that made him smile.

"P-pretending he's b-beside you?" he sings pero pumiyok siya kaya bigla akong napabulalas ng tawa.

"Ahem." a voice stops us from daydreaming. We glance at our back and saw Miss Valdrez, our Philosophy professor. Her lips are pursing each other habang nakakrus ang mga braso niya.

We give her an awkward smile and focus our gaze on the stage. Imagine flirting in the front of an old maiden.

There, I see Danielle coming out of the stage. She's wearing a blue tulle dress onto her knees. It does exactly look like mine except for the color and the length of the skirt. Also, she looks stunning in that dress while me, I look like a duck wearing a rag.

Karamihan sa mga nanonood ay napasinghap nang makita nila ang suot ni Danielle because when it comes to ballet, that kind of dress would make anyone fall while dancing. But Danielle, she's so good to be underestimated. Even if she doesn't start dancing yet, I already heard the director clapping his fat hands. I roll my eyes for her because I know that she couldn't do it in front of the director.

The music starts to play as Leighton strikes his violin. Nagsimula nang sumayaw si Danielle, and I saw how graceful her moves are. She's like a leaf flying freely from the wind. Anyone who will watch her right now would definitely love her.

I glance at Noah. He's concentrating on taking a photo. I suddenly remember that he wanted to show me something.

I'm about to tap him on his shoulder when we hear a clung of a falling metal.

I immediately shift my gaze on where the sound came from.

It's near the stage.

Agad akong tumayo at sumunod naman si Noah. "W-what's happening?!" he asks more to himself and his voice is enormous.

Wala akong ibang makita kung hindi ang ulo ng mga estudyante nasa harapan namin dahil maging sila'y napatayo na rin sa biglaang pagbagsak ng isang metal sa kung saan.

I'm sick worried about Danielle, because something might have happened to her and I can feel it. My gut feel it.

I'm about to shuffle myself with the flurried students, but Noah grabs my hand. He said nothing but his eyes are saying, 'Trust me.'

So I did.

We run in a different path. The hallway that's exclusively just for us. Only for the gifted students. We circled around while holding each other's hands, struggling and desperate to get there as soon as possible.

In just about 30 seconds, we finally arrived at the door that lead us to the backstage.

Nadatnan naming nagkakagulo ang mga staff ng school at lahat sila'y tumatakbo patungo sa iisang direksyon kaya sinundan namin sila.

As I and Noah reached the stage, my eyes immediately look for Danielle. Where the fuck is she?!

Then, I saw her. She's lying down on the floor. Her face is wincing and I know that she's in pain right now. Nakahawak siya nang mahigpit sa kaniyang kaliwang binti. Obviously speaking, she tripped from dancing.

But that's not the reason why the staffs are panicking.

I alter my gaze to the person where every staffs are heading. At first, it gave me difficulty in analyzing who the hell is in there that made everyone disregard Danielle's injury.

And then I saw him.

The Director.

Holding his neck, he's struggling to death.

Based on the spots on his hands and face, and the bubbles that's starting to come out from his mouth,

I can say that,

He was poisoned.