DEFINITELY, IT'S MAGIC

IT HAS become a habit for the group of friends to meet every other Saturday and during school breaks since the boys started college. In the next three weeks, a new academic year is set to begin, marking Aika’s first year in college.

“So, this is it? You’re in college now.” Jason whispered casually to Aika after placing his things inside the van. He was currently loading the rest of their gear from their three-day outing in Batangas. The group had stayed at the rest house owned by their friend Jimmuel’s family.

“Yeah, right! I’m actually excited. I have no idea what it feels like to be in college.” Aika answered indifferently.

“That’s not what I meant.”

“And what exactly did you mean?” She turned to face him, arms crossed and an eyebrow raised.

“Didn’t we have an agreement before? That once you’re in college, you’d finally say yes to me?”

“Well, yes, but—”

“So, are we official?”

“No,” Aika replied. She turned her back on him and started walking away.

He followed and blocked her path. “What do you mean, ‘No’?”

“There are still three weeks left, so I’m not a college student yet.” she defended.

“Oh, come on. It’s practically the same thing, isn’t it?”

“Well—”

Aika wasn’t Jason’s ideal girl. His ideal girl was someone who loved ball sports and endurance sports as much as he did. But Aika wasn’t that type; to him, she seemed like someone who only knew how to play with dolls. She was terrified of balls. She didn’t even watch their friends’ competitions whenever they had a game. She always declined whenever they invited her, and he often wondered why.

She also never joined them whenever they went to a sports gym to play various sports—Volleyball, Basketball, or even Badminton. Aika was unlike her best friend Crissia, or Lizette, who were members of sports clubs during high school.

Then, he remembered the first time he saw Aika.

A SECTION of second-year students in high school was playing volleyball for their PE class. A student served the ball from the service line, and it flew straight toward a girl on the other side of the court. But instead of hitting it, she ducked and avoided the ball entirely.

A player near the fallen ball immediately approached her, tapping her back as if to comfort her. She looked genuinely afraid of the ball.

He smirked at the sight.

The second time he saw her was inside the University Auditorium.

He had just finished training with the Boy’s Volleyball team and was incredibly bored when he decided to watch the auditions for a high school play. He had heard about the audition earlier after reading an announcement posted on a bulletin board in the high school campus.

Honestly, watching a play—especially a drama—wasn’t his idea of a pastime. To him, it was boring and corny.

When he entered the auditorium, the judges at the front near the stage were already deliberating. There were only a few people inside. He sat down in front of a small cluster of students.

Gradually, the names of those who passed were called, from minor characters to the main cast.

The last one called was for the role of the Heroine. “And for the role of Wendy—Ms. Aika Nichole Mendoza,” A woman on stage announced. The girl called immediately stepped out from backstage.

The group of students behind him erupted in cheers. When he glanced back at them, his eyes caught the color of the school badge on a girl’s uniform. They were second-year students.

He turned his gaze back to the stage. When he realized who the girl was, he was shocked. He recognized her instantly. “What?! Her?”

The girl called by the judge was the same girl he had seen recently at the high school volleyball court.

MONTHS later, he was watching the High School Boys’ Badminton training with his friend Jimmuel, but his attention wasn’t there. For months, the girl from the volleyball court had been occupying his mind. Plus, ever since he saw her in the auditorium, he couldn’t stop thinking about her. He shook his head at the thought. To him, it wasn’t right to like a girl who was his complete opposite in terms of interests.

“Dude! Are you even listening?” Jimmuel asked.

“Huh?” He looked at his friend, who was waving a hand in front of his face and snapping his fingers three times.

“I’ve been talking here for a while, and you’re not even listening.”

“I was just thinking about something.” He replied.

“I know—let’s just watch the Pep Squad practice. Want to go to the Dance Studio?” Jimmuel offered. “Let’s watch Gerald make a fool of himself there.” He laughed, mentioning their other friend who’s a member of the said group.

“No thanks. I’ll leave you to it.” Jason bid his friend goodbye, stood up, grabbed his things, and left.

“Hey! Where are you going?” Jimmuel called out, standing up to follow.

“To the College Campus, at the Auditorium.” Jason called back while walking backward. “Go ahead without me. Don’t wait for me at the hangout spot later. I’ll just call our family driver to pick me up there.”

“And what are you going to do at the Audi?” Jimmuel followed him, carrying his own things.

Jason stopped and waited for him to catch up. “Watching rehearsals for the upcoming play.” He said nonchalantly.

Jimmuel burst out laughing. “You mean—the Theater Club rehearsals?”

Jason frowned. “And why not? Is there a problem with that?”

“You? A drama hater watching a play rehearsal? Are you kidding me?” He laughed again.

Jason didn’t bother answering and just walked away.

“Hey, bro! Wait for me!” Jimmuel called out, but Jason ignored him.

A FEW weeks later, the high school play finally took place at the College Auditorium.

Jason had repeatedly tried to convince his friends to watch, but they only laughed at him. Realizing he was getting nowhere, he decided to go on his own.

Suddenly, Rafael, one of his friends, ran after him. “I’ll go with you.” He said, making Jason stop in his tracks.

“Are you sure? You’re not just doing this out of pity, are you?” Jason asked.

“I’ll meet you at the Auditorium’s main lobby an hour before the play starts. But on one condition.”

“What?”

“You’re paying for my ticket.”

Jason smiled. “Sure.”

THUNDEROUS applause filled the auditorium as the full cast came out. In the middle of the minor and major cast members stood the Hero and Heroine. When they bowed, the applause grew louder as balloons fell from the ceiling.

“Now I know who you’ve been visiting here at the Auditorium. It’s because of that Aika Nichole, AKA Wendy.” Rafael told him.

“Yeah, right.” Jason replied, his eyes still fixed on the stage. His gaze was locked on the girl who played the heroine.

“I guess you’ll finally be able to sleep tonight.”

“Maybe...”

“But you know, because of that, maybe you should try to be even better friends with my cousin, Crissia. You should get closer to her.”

“Why?” He finally looked at his friend.

“Because Aika is only her best friend.” Rafael answered.

Jason went silent at the revelation.

“Now what? Are you going to give those flowers to Wendy... I mean, to Aika?”

Jason smiled. He stared at the bouquet of flowers sitting on the seat next to him, which he had intended to give to the young girl.

“You can ask me to give them to her if you’re shy. In case you didn’t know, I have backstage access.” Rafael teased with a smile.

“Thanks, Raf.”

Suddenly, Jason felt a slap on the back of his head, snapping him out of his daydream.

“Let’s go! What are you still doing here? Aika and the others left ages ago.” Gerald said; he was the only one left waiting for him.

AIKA and the others had already left the rest house. During the ride, she was deeply bothered by her conversation with Jason. She knew she wasn’t Jason’s ideal girl. And in her heart, Jason wasn’t her ideal man either. What did she want? No one.

For her, it didn’t matter if a guy was a head-turner or a chick magnet; no one would ever pass her standards. She grew up hating men of all ages. She had lost trust in them since the day her father left them for no reason. She couldn’t even understand how she ended up being friends with their group of guys.

She met Rafael, her best friend's cousin, during her first year of high school and Jason during her second year. It was in their third year when she met the rest of the group. They had proven to her that not all men are the same; they each had their own unique personalities.

AIKA was packing her things into a bag when she saw Rafael’s reflection in the mirror in front of her. He was leaning against the doorway, smiling at her. The stage play, where she played the heroine, had just finished.

“Hi Aika,” Rafael greeted her as she turned to face him. “Congrats. You’re really great at acting. I’m so proud of you.”

“Thanks, Raf.” She replied.

“By the way, someone asked me to give this to you.” He handed her the bouquet of flowers he was holding. “He said you’re such a great actress, and he looks forward to meeting you one of these days. I guess he’s one of your fans now.”

“Oh, thanks.” She accepted the flowers from him.

“Crissia,” he said, turning to his cousin. “I’ll just wait for you outside. Let’s head home together.”

“Okay.” Crissia answered.

With that, he said goodbye to the two of them and headed out.

While the two friends were talking they didn’t realize that someone who had seemingly fallen in love with drama had been watching them for a while.

“Jason!” Crissia exclaimed.

When Aika looked at her friend’s reflection in the mirror, she saw Crissia facing the doorway.

“What are you doing here? You can’t just barge in—”

“I just want to personally congratulate Wendy... I mean, Aika,” She heard the person talking to her friend say.

A moment later, she saw him looking at her through the mirror’s reflection.

“Maybe you’d like to introduce me to your friend?” He turned his gaze back to Crissia.

Aika automatically stood up and faced the two of them.

Crissia smiled and introduced the guy to her. “Jason, this is my best friend Aika. Aika, this is Jason, Raf’s friend.”

“Congratulations, Aika! You know what? You’re such a great actress. I bet you’ll have a big opportunity in front of the camera and become famous one of these days.” Jason praised her, extending his hand toward her.

“Thank you.” She shook his hand. “Are you the... friend of Raf who sent the flowers earlier?” She pointed to a bouquet resting on the dresser.

“Yup,” he said without hesitation. “The most beautiful bouquet, of course,” he joked, noticing the various other flowers piled on the dresser.

She laughed at his remark. “Well... thank you, by the way.”

AIKA and Jason became good friends during high school, and she was surprised when, one day during her fourth year—and while he was already a freshman in college—he expressed his intention to court her.

Jason, the type of guy who used to absolutely hate theatrical plays, never missed a single one of her stage plays back in high school. He truly proved to her that he is willing to enter the world she was part of.

But as for her? She would never enter his world—not ever.