Season 1 Chapter 2 - Adriana

Linggo Setyembre 30, 2018 (10:45 AM)

Adriana woke up to the usual voice of her mother shouting all the way from the kitchen, complaining how it's almost noon and she's still lying on bed. She just groaned in response, still feeling sleepy from binge watching her favorite K-dramas until sunrise. She opened her phone just in time to hear her mother's warcry again.

"Adrianaaaa! Anong oras naaaaaaa?!¹"

"Alright, I'm getting up." She shouted back, still lying on her bed as she opened her phone, and like her daily ritual after waking up she opened Hans' Facebook.

Hans Alcantara active.

No good morning messages, no sweet chats, no nothing. She grimaced as she typed.

Adriana: good morning <3

Still receiving no reply, she decided to video call him. One, two, three rings and he finally answered, only for her to see a different face staring at her.

"Hey, what's up?" Brendan greeted, sitting on Hans' gaming chair.

"Brendan? What are you doing there?" She asked. "Where's Hans?"

"Oh, Hans... well." Brendan spun the chair, revealing Hans still sleeping on his bed. Bottles of Smirnoffs were cluttered on the floor. He then zoomed to Hans' face, mouth wide open. "Sleeping beauty."

"Drinking? Again?" She couldn't believe it. "He told me he's going to sleep early."

"You probably said the same thing and watched K-dramas all night." He deadpanned, watching her smile a little. "See? I got you."

"Okay, okay, fine." She laughed, then getting serious. "Brendan, I need you to be completely honest with me this time."

Brendan bit his lip, knowing that they did mingle with some girls at the bar. "Sure, I promise."

Adriana took a deep breath and closed her eyes. "Is Hans still in contact with Evelyn?"

His eyes grew wide for a moment before he stood up and walked out of the room. He lied down the sofa, making sure he's quite enough. "Why would you ask that?"

"It's because I think I saw him liking Evelyn's Instagram post a few days ago." She answered.

"You think?"

"No, I mean, I really saw his username pop up."

Brendan sighed. "Listen, Hans is my bro and you're my bro too so..."

He paused.

"So... what?"

"They still follow each other, okay?" He admitted, getting a nod from her. "But, there still could be a chance that it was an accidental like. It happens to me sometimes, and I always unlike it immediately if it was an accident."

"I see." She muttered, bothered at the fact that they still follow each other while Evelyn blocked her to oblivion.

"I think you should talk to him about this... Evelyn thingy." He suggested. "Why don't you go here and clear things up with him?"

"I can't because I have a quiz tomorrow and I still haven't slept that much." She declined. "But I'll talk to him eventually, promise. Do you think I should like... move there now?"

Brendan raised a brow. "What do you mean?"

"I think Hans is getting fed up because I still haven't introduced him to my mom and he wants me to move in with him after that since his sister's leaving the condo soon."

Brendan paused for a bit. "Like... live in?"

She nodded. "Yeah."

Brendan nodded and attempted to say something but found no words.

"What?"

"Ah, nothing... just shocked that your mom still doesn't know." He laughed a bit. "Well, it'll take time and I'm sure he's trying to understand, but I promise you this: He may be my bro for life, but if he did something stupid, I'll let you know ASAP."

She smiled. "Thanks, Brendan."

"You're-"

The video chat suddenly paused and attempted to reconnect. She got a text message after, making her regret forgetting to renew her data subscription.

Natapos na ang EasyPLAN subscription mo, Ka-TM. Mag-subscribe ulit para laging EASY ang all-in saya!²

"Maaaaaaa!" She shouted.

"Ano?!³" Her mother shouted back.

"Palooooad!⁴"

Martes Oktobre 2, 2018 (8:45 AM)

They walked at the campus, holding their hands like how every couple they come across does and she could feel that Hans is indeed in a good mood. They came across Amanda with the awkward braces, almost making her free her hand but she held his tightly.

"So, how's your quiz?" Hans asked.

"I think I got line of 9." She replied confidently. "Eugene's a great teacher, he even tasked me to lead the morning prayer... in French."

"Cool." He remarked. "By the way, I signed up for the football club and I might not get home early."

"Football? You mean the one with the helmets and all?"

"No, that's American Football, this is Football."

Adriana squinted her eyes.

"Soccer.⁵" Hans said simply.

"Oh." She said. "That's fine. I can wait for you."

"Meeting might end at night so I suggest you go home early after your last class." He suggested. She was about to say something, but Hans added. "Say, why won't you join a club? There are tons in here."

"I don't really know what to join, but I'll check if I have time." She said, then noticing Sarah waving at her. "Hey, it's Sarah."

Sarah approached them, holding a pile of papers that looked like their quizzes. "Hey, is this your boyfriend now?"

"The one and only." Adriana replied, then lightly kissing him. "Are those our quizzes?"

"Yes, and bad news girl." Sarah nodded as she handed her her quiz showing a 74 in red.

"What?! How'd I get 74?"

"Your accent marks are the other way around." Sarah pointed out, getting Adriana to facepalm.

"This is gonna hurt my scholarship." She moaned.

"Babe, relax. It's your first quiz, I'm sure you'll do better next time." Hans assured, planting a kiss on her cheek as they stopped near his building. "Well, off I go now. I love you!"

"I love you! See you tomorrow!" Kissing her boyfriend, she waved goodbye as he entered his building.

They continued walking, finding ways to pass time. All around, they could see groups of students jogging, practicing their scripts, inspecting some plants, and all the other things their courses required them to do. It was org week after all, where org members would go around recruiting freshmen and showing off their org's specialties. A lot of orgs tried to recruit them, but Sarah just declined them all with Adriana following even if some interest her.

"So, he's not driving you home tonight?" Sarah asked.

Adriana shook her head. "No, he got a meeting with the football team."

"Football? Like the ones we see in the movies where they wear helmets and all?"

"Soccer." Adriana said simply.

"Oh."

"Hello!" A girl greeted from behind.

Turning around, they could see two girls all smiles and holding a bunch of flyers.

"Hi there." Sarah greeted.

"My name's Cassidy Ramirez, but you can call me Cass." The slightly plump girl with the pigtails introduced. "I was a theatre arts student, but like years ago but I'm now a tourism student."

Oh shit, she's probably classmates with Evelyn, Adriana thought.

"And I'm Lyka Antonio." The slimmer one with long hair introduced. "Tourism student, also."

"No worries, we're not seniors doing thesis work." Cass said. "So, what are your names? Course?

"I'm Sarah, and this is Adriana." Sarah introduced. "From Euro-Languages."

"We can tell that you're freshmen too because of how clean your IDs are." Cass pointed jokingly. "Anyways, we're inviting you to join our squad."

"Is that like... one of those clubs here?" Adriana asked curiously. "A sorority or something?"

"No, absolutely not." Cass said. "So, there's this ongoing competition of the biggest universities here in NCR⁵called the Squad Wars."

"Never heard of it." Sarah commented.

"Well, I understand 'cos you're from the province and all." Cass said, earning weird looks from Sarah and Adriana. "But the Squad Wars is basically an Instagram contest where you'll create an account and post all of your gala with the barkadas⁷, and the one with the most engagements will win a russ bus!"

"I'm sorry, but is this russ bus a Manileño⁸ thing?" Adriana asked.

"No, it's a Norwegian thing where teens rent a bus and go partying everywhere before their finals start." Cass explained. "Here, it's a new contest with a yearly winner and as per chika, only the dance troupe made an account. We aim to have the biggest squad here, and I can guarantee you we'll have fun!"

"So, are you in or are you really, really in?" Lyka asked giddily.

Adriana and Sarah looked at each other while the other two closed their eyes and crossed their fingers. Sarah nudged her to talk as she's already done the talking lately.

"Ehm... I don't think we can." Adriana said. "I don't even think our schedules meet."

Cass sighed. "Ariana..."

"Adriana." She corrected.

"Adriana, making friends is one of the most important factors you need to consider in college. We're literally stuck here for four or more years, and having a squad will make sure you enjoy your teenage life at the fullest." Cass convinced. "Being in a squad just doesn't mean you'll party or drink all week long; it's about forming a sisterhood that you'll always look back once we graduate. We'll be amigas forever."

"Like a sorority." Lyka commented.

"Yes, like a soro... wait, no!" Cass lightly whacked her. "So, is it a yes or yaaaaass?"

"Ummm..." Adriana mumbled, though she did want to have new friends other then Sarah. She looked at her, busy with her phone. "I'll join if Sarah joins."

"Nope." She replied, popping the p.

Cass sighed, then looking at Adriana. "Are you really sure?"

"Hey, look! It's Sam!"

A girl wearing a black dress and dark red hijab approached Lyka and gave her a cheek to cheek kiss.

"Samira Abdula, but you can call me Sam." She introduced, smiling a queer smile. She was pretty, especially with her round glass, but Cass looked at her from head to toe. "Lyka informed me of your squad."

"Uhm... how'd you two know each other?" Cass asked awkwardly.

"We rode camels together back in Saudi, isn't that right, habibi?" Sam replied coolly, getting Lyka to laugh out loud.

"No, she's kidding." Lyka said. "We were seatmates during the admission test."

"And... you're okay with joining us?" Cass looked at her, her eyebrows raised. "I mean, no offense but... are you even allowed to like drink, and have... you know? Have fun especially with boys since you're... Muslim and all? A large part of the squad wars is us having fun."

There was a brief silence before Sam could reply, as if she's in complete disbelief. "No, drinking alcohol and looking at boys will turn me into a camel."

Lyka laughed out loud again before talking. "So, that makes three of us but we can't have a meeting on Saturday at my dorm since it's too cramp."

"Hmmm... can't be at my place since it'll be my mom's mahjong night." Cass said, finally deciding that Sam will join. "Is it okay for your Muslim parents to be there?"

"No, they'll stone you." Sam crossed her arms. "I'll have to go now because I have some handouts to print. Just chat me on Facebook, bye bye."

Cass waited for a few minutes for Sam to go far away. She looked at Lyka, biting her lip.

"She's definitely not going to be in our squad." Cass declared.

"Why not?" Lyka frowned. "She's cool."

"Yeah, I agree. We should let her in." Sarah agreed.

"Wait, now you're in?"

"If Sam's joining then I'm joining too." Sarah replied, looking at Adriana. "Adriana?"

Looking at her new found friends, she smiled a little. "Count me in."

Martes Oktobre 2, 2018 (4:39 PM)

She sat on the bleachers, watching Hans meet with the rest of the football team wearing the Bayern Munich football shirt his parents bought from abroad. Sarah was beside her, yawning and seemed to be bored and completely uninterested with football along with Brendan who just played a serious game of Mobile Legends in Hans' phone. The sun was already setting and the club just started huddling with the newbies. She looked at her phone when a Facebook notif rang.

Eric Elordi sent you a friend request.

"Looks like someone's interested." Sarah said, noticing the friend request.

"I just answered his thesis questionnaires and now he's interested." Adriana sighed, deleting the friend request. "Speaking of getting interested..."

She nudged Sarah, then giggly pointing at Brendan. Sarah laughed a bit, then shaking her head.

"Not my type, sorry." She said.

"Hey!" Hans called as he approached them. "We're just going to start the match at 5. Aren't you going home?"

"No, I can wait for you." She said, knowing that Hans sched after his classes will involve a football training.

"Adriana, we'll finish late and your mom might be looking for you." He reasoned. "Okay, I'll make it up. We'll plan a staycation just for the two of us next week."

"Okay..." She agreed. "Just chat me if you got home, okay?"

"Okay." He said, walking backwards with a smile as he cupped his hands on his mouth. "I love you!"

"I love you too!" She shouted back as he returned to the game. "C'mon Sarah-"

"Wait, can you play this while I'm gone?" Brendan said, handing her Hans' phone. "I just need to pee."

"Alright." Adriana said, she did play Mobile Legends⁹ once and it was a disaster. "Oh, no. I just got killed."

"Whatever, just hold it while I'm gone." He said before going down the bleachers to the bathroom.

"So, you wanna go for some coffee? I know a place." Sarah asked.

"It's getting late, maybe next time." Adriana said, then a text message popped up from Hans' phone.

Unknown number: hoy panget¹⁰! i heard you joined the football club?

The two looked at each other, a bit shocked from the message. The referee blew the whistle and the match started. Brendan returned, taking the phone back and resuming the game. They then walked away from the field, pondering about the message.

"Y'know what..." Adriana started. "Maybe we should get coffee."

Martes Oktobre 2, 2018 (5:40 PM)

"Panget?" Adriana asked, sipping her iced frappe. "Who would call him that?"

"Maybe a friend or someone?" Sarah replied, stirring her iced coffee. "You do know that boys tend to call each other things."

"I do, but... it sounds so off." She remarked.

"Girl, chill." Sarah said. "Probably the best way to settle this is you talk to him, okay? Don't go all around crazy asking him things, just chill and ask who the hell called him ugly when he's the handsomest guy you've ever met."

Adriana laughed a bit. "Okay, no one should call my Hans ugly."

"See? Don't act aggressive." Sarah smiled, then looking at her phone. "Oh God, I should get going. My dormmate locked herself from outside again."

"Okay, ingat!¹¹" She said as Sarah stood up. "See you tomorrow!"

"Ingat ka 'rin!¹¹" Sarah said, leaving the café.

Still, she was getting nervous from the text message. It didn't come from a friend, she knows that, it sounded like an endearment, and most of all it almost sounded like-

As she looked at the window, she could see the traffic piling up. Inside one of the jeeps, she could see a long-haired girl talking to someone in a bright red shirt. Before the jeep started rolling, she swore she could make out the print at the back. FC Bayern Munchen.

---

1. "Anong oras na?" - literally "What time is it." My mom would usually shout this when I'm still on my bed and it's almost noon.

2. TM's (mobile communication provider) message when your consumable mobile data has expired.

3. "Ano?" - "What?"

4. "Paload" - imperative, asking for mobile load.

5. Football is often called soccer in the Philippines due to American influence.

6. National Capital Region. Quezon City is the largest city

7. Barkada is your close group of friends

8. Manileño/Manileña - someone from Manila or the NCR as a whole.

9. Mobile Legends is a well known game in the country.

10. Panget - Ugly

11. Ingat/Ingat ka 'rin - literally "Take care" with the second one meaning "Take care too"