Chapter 15

Andrei Castillo was born on November 17, 2002. He was a handsome, talented and nice boy. He got his father’s chinky eyes and curls and his mother’s soft facial features. His skin is porcelain.

Andrei loves to sing, play the guitar and sports. He tried numerous sports such as basketball, table tennis, gymnastics, taekwondo and badminton. But he likes badminton best. Badminton gives him the rush. Playing that sport every day contributed to his lean physique. Even though he eats a lot of food, he is still lean, all thanks to his active lifestyle and genes.

Dianna reminded him so much of his first love Andrew. He is the spitting image of his father.

When he was five, Andrei had a lot of questions like most kids do. Andrei wondered why he did not have a father. The parents of his fellow students always went with them in events like the foundation day, Linggo Ng Wika (National Language Week) and commencement exercises. Even in field trips, the parents accompanied their children.  He thought, why do I only have one parent?

After a long day in school, Andrei asked his mother, “Do I have a father?”

Dianna anticipated the day that her son would ask about his father. This was the day. So, she answered calmly, “Yes, son. You have a father. His name is Andrew.”

“You named me after my father?” Andrei’s eyes widened.

“Yes.”

“Where is he? How come I don’t see him?”

Dianna cleared her throat. “He left us. He was not ready to be a father when you came into this world,” she said flatly.

“Oh.” Andrei looked down on the floor. He was disappointed. “Will he ever come back?”

“I don’t think so. I’m sorry, dear,” Dianna said. She gently tapped her son’s shoulder.

 

Andrei is always active in school. He likes studying as much as he likes playing sports. His grades are high and every year he competes in the sports fest as a badminton varsity player. He makes the school proud for he always wins. His mother is proud of him, too. I’m so blessed to have Andrei as my son. He’s smart and talented like his father.

He formed an alternative rock band with some of his friends in school called Riot of the Electric Blue Guitar. He is the lead singer of the band. They perform in general assemblies, foundation days, Christmas parties, and other events in school. They also perform at his friends’ parties, his family’s occasions and his own parties. He has a beautiful voice like his father. He plays the guitar with great passion and energy as if he offered every fiber of his being to the notes. He surrenders his soul to the music as if his life depends on it.

Andrei is one of the most popular students in school. Girls drool over him and guys want to be like him. He is the campus crush, the most valuable player, and the idol of many students. He has everything a lad can wish for: good looks, talent and the brains. The total package.

At the age of ten, a male talent scout discovered Andrei in the mall. The talent scout was a man in a suit. When he spotted the handsome and tall lad, he approached the mother and son. He introduced himself to Dianna and Andrei and told her that her son was attractive enough to be a commercial model.

“I’m not sure if he wants to be a part of your commercial. He likes to sing and play guitar,” Dianna admitted.

“This is a big opportunity to make your son famous,” the talent scout said. “Don’t you want him to be famous?”

“It’s really up to him if he wants to be a commercial model,” Dianna replied politely.

“Well, call me if you’re interested,” he said to Dianna and Andrei. He gave his calling card and left them.

While Dianna was driving the car, Andrei was thinking about his conversation with the talent scout. Being a commercial model ain’t a bad idea, he thought. I’d want to give it a shot.

He looked at his mother and said “I think I would want to be a commercial model.”

“You do?” Her voice was surprised. “I thought you wanted to be a rock star.”

“Everyone’s got to try something to see what works out for them,” he said. “Don’t we?”

“You know I was supposed to be a commercial model when I was a teenager, but it didn’t work out for me,” she confessed.

Andrei frowned. Dianna saw that he was disappointed. She smiled at her son.

“But hey, I wonder if it will work out for you.” She said in a cheery voice. “Who knows?”

Andrei smiled back at his mother. “I’ll contact the talent scout later as soon as we get home.”

“Cool!” He yelled with enthusiasm.

He’s just like his dad, she thought.

 

Dianna called the talent scout to say that her son was interested to be a part of a TV commercial. The talent scout sounded ecstatic over the good news. He told her the schedule and location of the shoot.

Dianna brought Andrei to a park in Quezon City, which was the location of the shoot. Andrei did his best in acting.

After the shooting, the male director approached Dianna. The male director was fat and he wore a hat and shades.

“You know your kid lacks acting skills,” he told her bluntly.

Dianna gulped. “Did he do something wrong?” she asked.

“No, he didn’t. I’m just telling the truth.”

“Oh.”

“But that’s perfectly understandable because he’s new.”

She sighed. But she’s still nervous. She had no idea if the director liked Andrei or not. She tried to remain calm.

“But you know, he’s a good-looking child and I think his acting skills can be improved.

He must attend the workshop so that his acting skills will be enhanced. Also tell him to try to audition for a child-oriented show that I’m currently directing. Then I’ll see what he’s got.”

The director’s message was music to Dianna’s ears. She told Andrei about it. Andrei was also interested. A few days later he auditioned for the show and passed. He became a part of a gag show for kids.

It was the start of Andrei’s journey to stardom. He was living his mother’s long abandoned dream.

Andrei became more active in showbiz and less active in school. He rarely reported in school because he was so busy working as a child actor. His grades were not high anymore unlike when he was not still an actor. His grades became average and he almost flunked his two subjects, math and science.

One day Andrei received a note from the school. It said that the principal would like to meet his mother. At first, Andrei was shocked and confused. He asked himself if he did anything wrong. Upon going home, he gave the note to his mother. Dianna just took the note and agreed to meet the principal.

The principal and his homeroom teacher talked to Dianna. They told her that Andrei’s grades became low.

“I’m, so sorry ma’am and sir. I’ll tell him to study harder. I might even get a tutor for him,” Dianna said.

“No, it’s okay madam,” the homeroom teacher said. She was beautiful and she wore a ponytail. “We understand Andrei’s situation. We’re here to advise you to consider enrolling him in a home study program of this school so that Andrei won’t be behind his classes.”

The principal explained that the home study program was made for professionally busy students. Most students who enroll in this program are working students and celebrities who can’t cope up with the hardships and stress of a regular school due to the nature of their work. In this program, they will still report in a classroom where a teacher lectures, gives modules, exams, and tests to the students and they just need to finish and pass them until they graduate. It’s like a regular school minus the competition, dramas, and conflicts.

At the age of thirteen, Andrei “graduated” from the kiddie TV show. Meaning he stopped appearing in the show since he exceeded the age limit. So, he went back to school as a regular student. He studied hard and his grades soared high again. He was an honor student every year. He played hard as a varsity badminton player. He represented the school and won many medals and trophies again. Needless to say, his life was back to normal.

A year later he joined a talent search. He passed the audition, made it through the grand finals, but lost in the competition. Even though his voice was great, he was beaten by a teenage girl who acquired more votes than him from the audience. He was the first-runner up.

But a few months later the boss of a recording company contacted him. He signed a record deal with the company and recorded a solo album.

After a few weeks, he became a famous singer. His first solo album sold millions of copies, his songs topped the charts in the local music channels, and his videos on Youtube got millions of likes and views. Soon, he had concerts in the country and other countries, as well. His music videos and album got awards.

Two years later he became a part of a soap opera in which he was paired with an attractive teen actress.

Andrei Castillo became a household name in a short amount of time. His face was plastered in the billboards, print advertisements, and TV commercials.

Andrei was highly successful at a young age. It seemed like he could do anything he set his mind to. His mother was proud of him. He definitely got his talent from Andrew, she thought. And his good looks from me. She grinned.

The only problems he had were the negative comments he received online from his haters and bashers. They called him “bakla” or gay, an insult ugly guys throw at handsome ones. They called him “noodle head” because of his curly hair. He did not reply to their comments. However, he got a modern haircut from a famous hairstylist and styled it with gel. His new haircut gave him a fresher and more youthful look and made him even more handsome. But still the bashers had a lot to say about him simply because they did not like him.

Aside from the relentless bullying and bashing he gets online, his life is great. He is rich and famous. He has everything a lot of people can only dream of.