"Naure, what suits me more? Hair up or hair down?" Emilliano asked while brushing his hair. He lowered his bangs and turned to face me.
I tilted my head to the side. "Hmm... you know, hair down doesn't really suit you. You look like a kid—but who knows? If you ever land a role in a children's movie, maybe it'll work for you." I shrugged.
He smiled at me. "Really? I am still a kid, you know," he pouted. "But seriously, Naure."
I laughed a little at his reaction and looked at him closely. "Hair down makes you look like a puppy. Soft and innocent," I said. "Now let me see you with your hair up."
He turned his back to me and faced the mirror again to fix his hair with the brush. A moment later, he turned back around.
"This one?"
I blinked at him—three times, actually. "Yes! That's the look that really suits you! You don't look soft anymore when your hair is up." I gave him a thumbs up.
He scratched the side of his face—his usual habit whenever he felt confused or annoyed. "Ugh, seems like everything suits me," he grumbled and dropped the hairbrush before sitting beside me.
"LEIAH!"
I was snapped back to reality when Pia suddenly called out. I quickly averted my gaze when I realized I'd been staring at Emilliano for too long.
"You two took forever," I said, pouting, then glanced toward their vehicle. "Wait, is that a kuliglig? What if we fall off that thing?" I asked nervously.
Everyone laughed at my fear, while I just stood there, staring anxiously at the vehicle. No roof, no handles, no backrest—so what if we do fall?
"Well? Are you getting on or not?" Edward asked, clearly annoyed.
"Come on, Leiah. We've got taping to do," Pia said, pointing toward Emilliano.
I accidentally glanced at Emilliano—he was grinning at me. Just by the look in his eyes, I could tell that if Pia and Edward weren't around, he would've teased me already.
"Why is he even here…" I muttered to myself as I headed to the back with my things. Edward helped me up since he was at the rear, and Pia grabbed my luggage and placed it near the front. I climbed aboard and took the front seat where my bag was.
Emilliano was seated across from me, still grinning, while I held tightly onto the seat in front of me. "If I fall off this thing, I'm blaming all of you," I said with my eyes shut, trembling slightly.
I heard Emilliano laugh, so I looked at him—and he immediately fell silent again.
The kuliglig started moving, and I held on even tighter. I clenched my eyes shut as the vehicle picked up speed. It felt like a jeepney ride—but thankfully, the driver wasn't going too fast. If he had, I might've smacked someone.
I ducked my head down as we passed through a grassy, open road. It was cold, and the wind tossed my hair around. With no roof, every gust hit our faces directly. I didn't even know if I liked this experience or not.
Then suddenly, someone grabbed my hand.
I was about to scream—until the grip tightened, and I traced the hand back to its owner. Somehow, that calmed me down. His grip grew tighter every time the kuliglig sped up, and we both had to lean forward a little—causing our heads to bump now and then.
Finally—after what felt like a life-or-death ride—we arrived at the set. I took a deep breath as his hand slipped away. I caught him glancing at me before hopping down.
"So, how was the ride?" I heard Maive ask Emilliano, and he just laughed.
"Messy hair now, bro?" he joked, referring to how his hair had gotten tousled in the wind.
I, on the other hand, was fixing my hair—especially since I could already hear Cathy and Aries approaching.
"You good?" Aries asked with a chuckle as he helped me down.
"I swear, it felt like I was on a roller coaster," I said, dizzy, as I stumbled over to Cathy. "Cathy, I never want to ride that thing again. I feel like it drained the life out of me."
Cathy just laughed while Aries started teasing me because of my wild hair and epic entrance. I didn't do anything except complain to Cathy—she was the only one who could shut Aries up.
Cathy put an arm around me and led me to the tent. I sat down, and right in front of us was a large monitor.
"We've got a one-hour break before we resume," Cathy said seriously, while Aries nodded.
"Casts! Let's go! Shooting time!" Pia called out to the other actors.
I glanced over and saw Ellie Mendoza—the actress playing Leonora. She was stunning. Pure morena beauty.
Then my eyes shifted to the girl holding Ellie's hand—Veronica Fidel, who played Kathryn, Leonora's best friend. She was a chubby mestiza beauty.
Then, Emilliano and Maive entered, arms over each other's shoulders. They were portraying Emillio and Alexis.
I didn't know if it was just the camera angle or if their friendship was truly that natural—but the four of them really seemed close.
I smiled to myself. It reminded me of my own high school circle. That's exactly how close we used to be.
"All right, actors ready…" Cathy called. "Just like we discussed—keep it chill."
Aries and Cathy were now completely serious. When they shifted to their professional mode, the change was obvious.
I looked at the monitor in front of us. We were far from where they were filming, but we had a speaker system that let the directors communicate with the cast.
"Okay… in 3, 2, 1… lights, camera, action!" Aries called out, and the four actors began their scene.
It was the scene where Kathryn and Alexis first met Emillio and Leonora by accident. Kathryn and Alexis were classmates, while Emillio and Leonora had wandered into the wrong room—which just happened to be theirs. It was chaotic, but that moment marked the beginning of their friendship.
The scene was for one of their academic subjects, of course. Art and Design—sections were mixed under that subject, so it made sense that they ended up in the wrong room.
"Why does Emillio's hair look so messy?" Cathy asked, confused. Maybe she hadn't seen that he rode the kuliglig with us.
Aries chuckled quietly on the side. "That kid's wild. He said he wanted to ride the kuliglig for the experience. Good thing the scene needed messy hair—he showed up ready."
I noticed Cathy glance at me, so I coughed and looked away.
"Ah. So it was for the experience," she said sarcastically.
None of us said anything after that. We all just focused on the large screen in front of us.