[b]Chapter.o7 [/b] Nang Makita pa lang ni Kyle ang papalapit na si Mrs. Valdez (with outstretched arms), napabuntong-hininga ito. He knew that it’ll gonna be something about the play. Siya kasi ang gaganap sa role ni Tybalt (Juliet's hot-tempered cousin and Romeo's rival ). “Oh.. Buti nahanap ko rin kayong dalawa. Naman, I’ve been looking for you kanina pa. ‘San ba kayo galing? Anyways, let’s continue all the talking in my office,” Mrs. Valdez said. Kyle took a deep breath. Labag sa loob niya ang sumali sa play subalit kailangan niyang gawin ‘to for the sake of his grades at nang ‘di rin siya mapagalitan ng overly-strict parents niya. [...] “Good morning, liitle children. Oh, Malalaki na pala kayo. By the way, is everybody here already?” Mrs. Valdez roamed her eyes all over the room. Tumaas ang isang kilay niya. “Where’s Mr. Santos?” “He went to the restroom, Ma’am,” a 3rd-year student answered. Kumunot ang noo ni Mrs. Valdez. “Grr... may plano yatang tumakas ‘yung batang iyon. Uhm... Mr. de Casto, please go and find Mr. Santos.” “Po? Ako po?” “Yes. Ikaw... Please, Mr. de Castro.” “Yes, Ma’am.” [i] Tsk... di ako tagahanap ng nawawalang aso.[/i] Kyle hurried himself out of the office and looked for Carl. After a few minutes, Kyle went back to Mrs. Valdez’s office... without Carl. “Ma’am, di ko po mahanap e.” “Haaay, hayaan muna natin si Romeo. Shall we begin?” [i]Gosh, si Carl ko si Romeo?[/i] Shane whispered to herself. Narinig iyon ni Kyle at nilingon nitong ang ngumingiting si Shane. Kumunot ang noo ni Kyle and thought. [i]Tsk... ‘Tong babaeng ‘to. Natuto nang kumirengkeng sa Carl na yun. Carl ko ka jan. [/i] Kyle could see Shane in the corner of his eye. Pasulyap-sulyap. Kunwari may nililingon, yun pala he would land his eyes unto Shane. Nakahalata si Shane na para bang may nililingon si Kyle sa likuran nito. Tiningnan niya si Kyle. Nagkasalubong ang mga mata nila at bigla namang umiwas si Kyle. “Okay, little children. Ipinatawag ko kayo to inform you about our first rehearsal this afternoon. We’ll ayokong ma-distract ang pag-aaral niyo so I decided that we’ll be having our rehearsals every after last periods. I hope hindi labag sa kalooban ninya ang mga characters na ibinigay ko sa inyo. And perhaps, each of the characters has significant roles at wag na wag niyong basta-bastahin. This would be challenging for all of us. It would not be difficult because I believe in your guts and talents. All we need here is your cooperation. I know, ilan sa inyo ditto ay hindi pa nakapag-try na umarte, maybe sa klase pero not on stage. Marahil nagtataka kayo kung bakit kayo ang kinuha ko...” Lumingon si Shane kay Kyle. Ganun din si Kyle kay Shane. “... That’s because I have so many reasons. First, I have seen your potentials kapag nagsasagawa ako ng role playing sa mga klase ko. Second, wala na akong ibang option dahil our stars have already graduated at iilan na lang ang members ng Drama club. Third, lumapit sa akin ang mga teachers niyo para humingi ng saklolo so that umangat ang grades niyo. Lastly, wala lang. Trip ko lang.” Everybody laughed. Kahit matanda na si Mrs. Valdez, mabenta pa rin ang mga humors nito. “Here's the list of the characters na gagampanan niyo sa play natin... Please lend me your ears. [spoiler][b]House of Capulet[/b] [b]*Jio Cruz as Capulet[/b] - the patriarch of the house of Capulet. [b]*Camille Angelie Guillar as Lady Capulet[/b]- the matriarch of the house of Capulet. [b]*Sheena Katerin Rodriguez as Juliet[/b]- the daughter of the Capulets, and is the play's female protagonist. [b]*Kyle Miguel de Castro as Tybalt[/b]- cousin of Juliet, and the nephew of Lady Capulet. [b]*Hannah Mancao as The Nurse[/b]- Juliet's personal attendant and confidante. [b]*Enrico Juson, Joseff Martin, Secchi Yee as Peter, Sampson and Gregory[/b]- servants of the Capulet household. [b]*Beatrice Samson as Rosaline[/b]- a niece to Lord Capulet, is an unseen character with whom Romeo is in love before meeting Juliet. [b]House of Montague[/b] [b]*Vaughn Ang as Montague[/b]- the patriarch of the house of Montague. [b]*Czarina Balili as Lady Montague[/b]- the matriarch of the house of Montague. [b]*Carl Antonio Santos as Romeo[/b]- the son of the Montagues, and is the play's male protagonist. [b]*Leonard Frank Locsin as Benvolio[/b]- a cousin, and friend, of Romeo. [b]*Angelo Montero and Kevin Yuugi Chun as Abram and Balthasar[/b]- servants of the Montague household [b]Ruling house of Verona[/b] [b]*Kirk Luzano as Prince Escalus[/b]- the ruling Prince of Verona. [b]*Ernest Carolina as Count Paris[/b]- a kinsman of Escalus who wishes to marry Juliet. [b]*Rhaim Locsin as Mercutio[/b]- another kinsman of Escalus, and a friend of Romeo. [b]Others[/b] [b]*Mark Anthony Auman as Friar Lawrence[/b]- a Franciscan friar, and is Romeo's confidant. [b]*A Chorus[/b] reads a prologue to each of the first two acts. [b]*Marc Leo Celada as Friar John[/b]- sent to deliver Friar Laurence's letter to Romeo. [b]*Daryl Isiderio as the Apothecary[/b]- reluctantly sells Romeo poison.”[/spoiler] Shane have heard it. [i]Ba’t wala si Belle?[/i] She thought. She raised her right hand and asked Mrs. Valdez. “Ma’am, ba’t wala pong role si Belle?” “Oh, I called her last Friday and…” She paused for a while. “…and she said hindi siya makakasali. Kinausap din ako ng mama niya at ganun pa rin, may sakit si Belinda.” [i]But it’s been awhile…[/i] Tinext na naman ni Shane si Belinda. Three days na itong di nag-tetext. Parati ring patay ang phone nito. Tinawagan na niya ito sa bahay nila pero palaging mama ni Belinda ang sumasagot. May sakit daw si Belinda ngunit ayaw namang sabihin ng mama niya. Di na mapakali si Shane. Belinda was always on her side. Kapag may problema siya, nagtityaga si Belinda sa pakikinig. Si Belinda lang ang lubos na pinagkakatiwalaan ni Shane. Shane had many friends pero si Belinda lang yata ang itinuturing niyang pinaka-best. Ang ilan kasi sa mga friends niya ay backbiters at minsan nang sinira ang trust ni Shane. Madali silang magalit lalo na kapag may ginawa si Shane na ayaw nila. Parang gusto nilang kontrolin si Shane. Nagpapagawa sila ng homeworks at projects kay Shane but after that ay umaasta sila na parang walang utang na loob. Shane has always been so good to them pero sila parang puro negative ang outlook nila pagdating sa kanya. But Belinda has never judged Shane. Iba si Belinda sa kanilang lahat. And that time, gusto ni Shane na siya naman ang maging heroine ni Belinda kung may problema man ito. She decided na pumunta sa bahay nina Belinda. She asked Mrs. Valdez na kung pwede ay di muna siya sasali sa orientation-slash-first reahearsal nila para sa play. Mrs. Valdez nodded in agreement. [….] The bell rang for the dismissal. Kyle, together with his classmate na si Secchi, was on his way to the auditorium. Napansin niya ang nagmamadaling si Shane. She was tying her hair into a ponytail at nagpipindot-pindot sa phone niya. Ano kayang nangyari dun kay Belinda? [….] Half-hour ang naging byahe ni Shane. Nasa harap na siya ng bahay nina Belinda sa isang subdivision. Pinindot niya nag doorbell. After a few seconds lumabas ang mama ni Belinda. She caught her eye. Her mama looked exhausted. She looked sad. She opened the gate and let Shane in. “Good afternoon po, tita. Kumusta po si Belinda?” “She’s terribly sick, Shane.” “I’m so worried about her, tita. I couldn’t wait to see her.” “She’s in her room, natutulog. She talks about you almost every day. I’m sure matutuwa yun pag nalaman niyang pumunta ka dito.” They went upstairs, sa room ni Belinda. As soon as nakita ni Shane ang kalagayan ni Belinda, hindi niya napigilan ang mapaluha. Belinda became thin and looked sooo pale. “Tita, ano po bang klase ang sakit ni Belle? Ba’t siya nagkakaganito?” Lumuluha na rin ang mga mata ng mama ni Belinda. “Ayaw niyang sabihin sa iyo Shane tungkol sa sakit niya. She was afraid to leave you behind. Ayaw niyang malungkot ka at nag-aalala dahil sa kanya. She’s afraid na baka isipin mong iiwan ka rin niya. She loves you, Shane. Ikaw lang daw ang nagtiyaga sa ugali niya. She has leukemia at kamakailan lang namin nalaman na malala na pala ito. Sinabihan ko siya na magpa-chemo therapy but she insisted na hindi na lang dahil gusto niyang mag-aral. Malalagas daw ang buhok niya at ayaw niyang malaman mo iyon. Ayaw ka niyang iwan Shane.” “B-belle…” Shane was sobbing. Hindi niya inakala na ganun na ang sitwasyon ni Belinda. Nung huli silang magkita ay naging masaya pa ang usapan nila. She couldn’t help herself from crying. “Ba’t napaka-unaware ko sa kalagayan mo, Belle? Ba’t napaka-insensitive ko na may sakit ka pala?” “Shh.. Don’t blame yourself, Shane. I and her father decided na dalhin siya sa States samakalawa. Dun kami sa lola niya at the same time, magpapa-chemotherapy na rin.” “Belle, ‘wag ka namang ganyan oh. Pagaling ka na agad. Dapat any minute from now, magaling ka na. Wala ka ng sakit. Manonood tayo ng favorite show natin sa TV. Pupunta tayo ng peryahan at sasakay ng Ferris Wheel. Bukas, pupunta tayo sa mall at bibili sa bookstore nung gusto mong ballpen na color pink. Pagkatapos, kakain tayo ng fish balls sa park. Diba hihiramin mo pa sa akin yung novel na binasa ko last week? Belle…” She was crying hard. Namumula na naman ang ilong niya. Pinatahan siya ng mama ni Belinda. She was crying, too. “Shane, tahan na… Gagaling si Belinda. Keep the faith, okay. Dadalhin muna naming siya sa States at pagkabalik niya dito ay okay na siya. Magagawa niyo na lahat ng pinaplano niyo. Nabanggit nga niya sa’kin na may motto kayo.” “Yes, tita… Walang iwanan. Peksman.” “Hindi niyo iiwan ang isa’t isa, ‘yan ang promise niyo diba?” “Opo. Promise po namin yun sa isa’t isa. That promise is unbreakable.” “Let’s keep the faith, Shane."