Chapter 6: One Second

Napakurap si Audrey at ilang segundo pa bago nakasagot. Tinanggap niya saglit ang kamay ni Regan Amadeus saka tipid na ngumiti.

"Audrey..." aniya.

Nagbitaw sila ng kamay at sumulyap ang lalake sa kotse niya bago ito tumango. Inayos ng lalake ang gloves bago siya tinalikuran.

"Goodluck, Serenity," he muttered lowly then he went back to his car.

Nagsalubong ang kilay ni Audrey. Nakalagay ang second name niya na "Serenity" sa kotse pero hindi siya sanay na tawagin sa gano'ng pangalan. It's weird to hear it from his lips.

Maya-maya ay nagkaroon na ng signal na magsisimula na ang karera. Hindi naman puno ang arena. Sa iisang banda lang merong mga tao at karamihan ay galing sa mga mayayamang pamilya. This was just a game for them and an opportunity to bet. Karamihan ng naroon ay gusto lang din makita si Regan Amadeus na mailap sa publiko at ngayong nakita nila na nilapitan nito si Audrey, malaking bagay 'yon. They can't help but to be curious about her especially to those who didn't know her.

Sa mga nakakakilala sa kaniya bilang "loser" na asawa ni Lawrence, iritado silang makita na nagkaroon ng interaction ang dalawa. It was hard to talk to Regan Amadeus and Audrey was not even taking it as a big deal.

"Lucy, paano nakilala ni Audrey si Regan?" Nakikiusyuso na tanong ng isa sa mga kaibigan ni Lawrence. Nakikinig ang lahat sa isasagot niya, kasama sina Gayle at Lawrence.

Umirap ang babae. "Hindi ko alam. Kahit ako nabigla. Nakita niyo naman, si Vasquez ang lumapit sa kaniya. But not surprising, charismatic ang bestfriend ko!" she boastfully said.

Nagbulung-bulungan ang mga naroon ngunit hindi na pinansin ni Lucy. Maya-maya pa ay humilera na ang mga sasakyan na magkakarera. Napatayo si Lucy para i-cheer ang bestfriend niya. Sina Lawrence naman ay ang kaibigan na si Justin ang sinisigaw.

"May nagkukunwaring marunong diyan. Feeling niya na cool siya dahil nag-iisa siyang babae, like a rose among thorns!" natatawang saad ng isa.

"Naku naman, pinapahiya ng asawa mo ang sarili niya, Lawrence!"

Marahas na nilingon ni Lucy ang mga nag-uusap. Naabutan pa niya na iritado si Lawrence sa kaibigan nang ipagdiinan nito ang salitang asawa.

"Stop it, Luke. I'm with Gayle, don't disrespect her. Whatever Audrey's stupid decision is, labas na ako ro'n. Don't associate me with her because we're getting divorce."

She glared at them. "Manood kayo nang mapahiya kayo!" bulyaw niya sa mga ito.

Then the go signal was fired. Agad na nag-andaran ang mga sasakyan. Naghiyawan ang mga naroon, kaniya-kaniya ng gustong manalo. Only Lucy was cheering for Audrey but she's the loudest kaya agaw-pansin talaga.

"Go, Audrianna Serenity!" Lucy cheered.

Hindi naman nagtagal at iilan na lang ang natitira agad ang naiwan sa karera at pumapangalawa ang bestfriend niya.

But Audrey was being taunted by Justin, one of Lawrence's friends. Humigpit ang hawak ni Audrey sa manibela nang makita na dinidikitan siya nito to the point na halos magdikit na ang sasakyan nila. Kinabig niya palayo ang sasakyan at mas binilisan ang pagpapatakbo ngunit ginaya siya nito at muling dinikitan. Then he rolled down his window just to flash her with an annoying smirk.

She gritted her teeth as she remembered how Justin humiliated her a lot of times in the past and Lawrence just let him. Tinapakan niya ang accelerator at hindi iyon pinakawalan kaya naunahan niya nang tuluyan si Justin. Sinubukan siya nitong habulin ngunit sa bawat paghabol nito ay hinaharang niya ang sasakyan niya sa may harap nito kaya naiilang itong magpatuloy. Of course he's scared and she's not. After all, she's been racing since she was a teen.

Hanggang sa hindi na ito nakahabol sa kaniya. She easily got rid of a lot of cars and she realized that it's almost finished. Napatingin siya sa katabi niyang sasakyan na pinapantayan niya. She's sure that it's Regan Amadeus...

He roared the engine of his car, challenging her for a fiery race. Sinagot niya 'yon saka tinapakan muli ang accelerator habang mahigpit ang hawak sa manibela. She slowly smiled as adrenaline rushed to her every vein. Something awakened inside her and she's enjoying it.

She glanced at the side mirror at nabigla siya nang sa isang kisap-mata ay nasa unahan niya na ang sasakyan ni Regan. Nakagat niya ang labi at mas lalong binilisan ang patakbo para mapantayan ito ngunit sa tuwing mapapantayan niya ito ay nauunahan siya nito palagi. And she felt like it was effortless for him. Audrey chuckled. He's a hellîsh driver for sure!

Nang mapantayan niya ito ay hindi na siya pumayag na maunahan pa nito. Malapit na sila sa finish line at pantay na ang mabilis nilang takbo. Audrey didn't mind if it will be a tie. Not bad for her since she's just back from a three-year hiatus.

But she can feel it. Surely, few seconds on the finish line, Regan will be able to increase his speed. Ramdam niyang kaya pa siyang unahan nito and she will accept it dahil talagang magaling ito. She didn't mind being in 2nd place knowing that he's really d*mn good. But in her surprise, kitang kita niya ang kaunting pagbabago sa bilis nito nang nasa finish line na sila, dahilan para mauna ang kotse niya nang isang segundo. She was shocked and could not even internalize that she's the winner.

What just happened?

Pagbaba niya ng sasakyan ay nakabibinging palakpakan ang sumalubong sa kaniya. Dinamba siya ng yakap ni Lucy habang siya ay hindi pa rin makapaniwala sa nangyari. It was just a matter of second!

"Walang kupas, ang galing-galing mo pa rin, Yanna!" ani Lucy.

Napailing si Audrey. "Didn't you see it? Regan Amadeus slowed down for a second," she whispered.

Kumunot ang noo ni Lucy. "Slowed down? Eh, magkapantay lang kayo ng bilis tapos mas nauna ka kasi may ibinilis ka pa!"

Audrey looked around and she realized that no one might have noticed that small change of his pace. Sabagay ay katuwaan lang ito ng mga naroon pero kung talagang propesyunal ang mga naroon ay maiintindihan nito ang tinutukoy niya.

She was handed the small trophy and the cash prize. Audrey smiled for the picture while Lawrence was watching her from afar. His friends were teasing Justin.

"Napakain ka ng buhangin ni Audrey. Wala ka, bro!"

"Hindi ko alam na magaling pala talaga siya."

Lawrence didn't know it either. He didn't know that his wife had a cool side. Napailing siya. Yes, maybe it's cool pero hindi niya gusto ang gano'n sa babae. He wanted someone like Gayle who's very feminine and demure. Tumiim ang bagang niya nang makita na nilapitan na naman ni Regan Amadeus si Audrey. Wala itong pinansin na ibang tao kung hindi ang asawa niya lang.

"Congratulations," he muttered with his low voice.

Tumingala si Audrey at tinitigan ang lalake. He was looking at her with his deep and dark eyes. Napakurap siya at napailing.

"No... I mean, obviously you could have won, Sir," aniya.

Amusement sparked on his eyes. "Why do you say so?"

"I saw it. You slowed down for a second, kaya nauna ako sa finish line. But I can feel that you could effortlessly ace the race..."

Tipid siyang umiling. "No, the win is yours. Never discredit yourself. The one second you're talking about must be an issue with my car so..."

Kita pa rin sa mukha ni Audrey na hindi siya naniniwala. Tumaas ang sulok ng labi ng lalake.

"And I don't appreciate you calling me sir. It would be much better if you would call me by my name, Serenity."