the rose,... cut

(js prom '05 : 2nd of 4 parts)
"gab, anong ginagawa mo?" said noel, watching me shorten the stem.
"making a brooch, i presume," was my reply, with a slight grin. i put the short-stemmed rose in my
pocket. it held on. great.
after doing that, i gave myself a good look at the whole area, scanning for faces familiar to my memory.
"ang ganda nya no, gab?" snapped a friend, pointing to someone. glancing at that direction, i saw a,
let's say, charming white girl wearing a beige gown. and i stared at her. for how long i didn't notice
(and again i hope she didn't too..) coming back to my senses, i found myself sitting in front of her,
only a table away, and then, blushing crimson, returned to my empty plate.
right on front some people from our journ delegation were presenting the graduating batch's last will and
testament.. mind you, i expected my name to come up somewhere. it did - somewhere in the latecomer's
section. (well, that's who i am.)
"the next three tables, you can now get your food at your extreme sides..."
thirty people stood up, almost in unison, including me and the cute lady, and made a queue for the food.
the girl's date was with him; slightly irritated, i managed to put distance between them and i.
the food - awesome... hizon's really lived up to it's reputation... but that's a minor thing. i mean, i
rarely saw anyone gather second helpings, or at least at our side of the hall.
after i helped myself, i went out of the hall to talk to some friends...
which led to our second encounter.
"hello gab!" came the greeting.
still stunned at her presence, i waved back, took a side-glance, and looked away.
"galit ka ba sa akin?" she asked, and i was dumbfounded - like petrified, say, that i only shook my head
in response.
after a brief moment of silence, she said...
"isasayaw mo ba sya? ang ganda nya ngayon o!"
and from there i was hit back to earth - "hinde. namanata na nga ako diba?"
[we were referring to the beautiful dame across where i sat...]
i knew i must be true to my word. she didn't smile back again..
as a reminder, she shouted back, "last dance ko ha!" before returning to the hall.
lovestruck? no. stupefied? much better, i suppose. again, a smile broke out through my face.
after an hour of dinner and pictorials, all returned to the banquet hall to watch the "cotillion de
honor" which pulled of a nice and, by the end, a crazy performance. it was all nice, however.
then there was the announcement for the nominees of the high court (which meant the king, queen, prince,
princess, faces of the night, and a teacher) - which the teachers chose wisely, except for the best
teacher (of course, they would vote themselves in, right?)
then the dance started. not the formal dance, a form of intermission, though - all those ladies can't do
quicksteps to fit those tunes. we had fun anyway.
after a few minutes of balloting, the results came up. five of those i voted got the nod of most. each of
these prized winners had to do a ceremonial walk, and go to a prepared place somewhere in the left wing
of the hall.
as dessert was being served, and i was drinking a dose of orange juice..
"...enjoy your prom dance." a teacher formally stated.
a slow tune started playing...
all i hear is raindrops...