Chapter 6

The rest of the afternoon passed. I did makeup for two other auditionees and one of them kept flirting with me by asking if I "like drummers." and I said, "No. I like chaos." That's why I like Thorne hehehe. Gusto ko talaga mga hard-to-get e.

After wrapping up, I tried to sneak out of the Org Hall unnoticed, like a ninja na walang budget. Tapos na rin ang role ko dito, approved naman na rin ako. Luckily, saaming tatlo na make up artist, ako ang napili nila.

Siyempre, ako pa ba?! talent ko na yan e.

I was halfway to freedom when someone called, "Hey!"

I turned. Of course, it was him.

"Uhm... ako po ba 'yon?" I asked, pretending I didn't recognize his voice from my dreams.

He grinned. "Yup. Thanks for the help kanina." Sabay abot niya sa'kin ng isang sobre.

Uy, may bayad agad?! Akala ko bang practice lang 'yun? Pero syempre, kinuha ko rin. Sayang din 'to, pandagdag allowance na rin.

Pagkabukas ko ng sobre, napakurap ako. 10,000?! Wait lang—ten thousand?! S***a, ang laki nito ah! Allowance ko na 'to for two months! As in buong dalawang buwan na hindi ko kailangang magluto ng Lucky Me at tuyo.

Mayaman talaga ang loko!

"Thanks," I said, trying to act chill while holding my bag like a shield. "Nag-abala kapa. Hindi naman na need ng bayad." kunwari choosy.

"Atsaka you did great. Yung kanta mo ang galing, nakakalaglag panty.. ay ano ng hiningi, nakakawalan ng hiningi sa sobrang galing!" Another kahihiyan na dagdag ko pa.

To my horror, he laughed... nanaman. Gusto ko na talaga ipa-ban yung tawa niya kasi sobrang nakakamatay na.

"I insist, deserve mo naman yan. And also thank you. I think," he paused for a second. "You're Liana, right?"

I mentioned my name kanina pero limot niya agad. "Liora," I corrected, heart thumping like a drumline.

"Right.. Liora," he repeated, rolling my name like it was something expensive.

I swear, if he says my name one more time, I might legally change it to 'Mrs. Liora Nyssa Silva.' Sobrang bagay!

"Galing ng work mo," he added. "Maybe you can do our styling for the next event. Bayad, of course."

I blinked. "Wait... seryoso po?"

He nodded. "You got I*******m? Let's connect."

Do I have I*******m? DO I HAVE I*******M?

I have I*******m, T*****r, TikTok, and a private P*******t board dedicated to your face!

But I calmly said, "Sure po! Just search @glamliora. Walang space. All glam, no shame."

Tangina paano ko nagagawang kumalma sa lalaking to?! Gusto ko nang mangisay!

He laughed again, then gave me a salute. As if I was a soldier in the war of .....feelings!

"See you around, Glammy Girl," he said before walking off with that slow-motion hair flip like he was in a shampoo commercial.

I stood there, stunned. Glammy Girl? Baduy pero sige pagtiyagaan nalang.

Then Lana and Bambi appeared out of nowhere like vultures sensing chismis.

"WHAT. WAS. THAT?" Bambi shrieked.

"Did he just—was that an offer? A job? Or a proposal? Kasi parang may spark," Lana said, already drafting a tweet in her head.

"Guys," I whispered, in full disbelief.

"He said my name! Nanlambot ako mga 'te para akong hinubaran!"

They both screamed.

I screamed.

A janitor near the stairs screamed in confusion.

The next day, I woke up with a migraine, three missed calls from Bambi and one new I*******m notification. May sideline din kasi ako kagabi sa isang pageant, kaya puyat ang Lola niyo. Ganito talaga kayod kalabaw. Need ko kasi makabuo ng 50k for my tuition f*e. Buti nalang binayaran ako kahapon ni Thorne, pandagdag gastos din.

Hindi sapat na umaasa lang ako kay mama at sa scholarship ko since kalahati lang talaga ang natatanggap ko and allowance naman kay mama. Hindi na ako nanghihingi dahil gastador din ako. Kaya maganda talagang sideline tong pagmemake up dahil nag-iinvest din ako sa mga gamit.

I opened my phone and then—

@thornesilva started following you.

AY PAKSHET?!

I screamed into my pillow like a banshee being chased by unpaid bills.

"Liora, anong problema diyan?!" sigaw ni Mama mula sa kusina.

"Wala po! Nauntog lang po ako!" I shouted back. Nauntog with feelings!

Ay teka tignan ko muna kung legit, baka poser naman sayang ang tili ko.

I rolled over and stared at my phone, fingers trembling. Scrolling through Thorne's I*******m.

18 posts | 26.2K followers | 5 following

Ang konti ng following niya, ah!

His profile picture looked like something out of a magazine—messy hair, soft smile, guitar in hand.

I clicked.

His feed was full of warm tones and moody lighting. A mirror selfie at the studio, a candid shot laughing with his band, coffee, lyrics, and sunsets.

Even his bio was aesthetic:

"i make noise. some call it music."

"Should I follow back?" I asked my ceiling fan like it was my therapist.

It blinked three times. That's a yes, right?

Click.

Followed.

Syempre assumera ako kahit alam kong kinuha niya lang I* ko for a service hahahaa echosera!

I got up, washed my face and stared at myself in the mirror.

"You are Liora Nyssa Cortez. Eighteen. Smart. PRETTY. Makeup goddess. Pakak!" sabay pose.

My reflection didn't answer, but she looked like she agreed.