It’s K2BDem!

Chances are, you’ve come across these girls in one of those ho-hum Saturday afternoon channel-surfing sessions. Admit it, you gave them a second look, then a minute, then before you knew it, there went the credits. You didn’t know what hit you, was it the pre-pimple wonders of early pubescence or simply the need for a good high-school walk on memory lane minus the dreadful yearbook picture? Whatever it was, the innocent humor, the shallow yet inevitable setbacks or the puppy-love melodrama, you were glad enough to add to the rating boost.

The K2BU! (another wonder of the text generation) girls are seemingly on the perfect age bracket spot. Not too old for Dawson’s Creek and their mattress antics; and not too young for neon-colored Nickelodeon. But blushing pink, nonetheless, even though only one of them is old enough to be called "sweet sixteen".

And even if those are the ages when pony-tailed girls discover the sweep-ups of love notes or the diaphragm-ic charm of Justin Timberlake, Bullet, AJ, Precious Jewel, and Diana Rose are surprisingly in lack of love-team materials. "I think we’re too young to have boyfriends, so they didn’t want us to have boyfriends in the set too," explains Shaina matter-of-factly, just like how every 12-year-old should react. But they have boys alright, only, they are older. Like Miko Palanca, with an age twice that of Shaina’s. Or the beamy Dennis Trillo who’s already fit to be a yuppie at 23. And Adrian Albert, who’s already 19 but fails to look like one. And of course, perhaps to give the girls an easier time to catch up, Marc Acueza, the youngest K2BU! guy at 16. But hey, let me quote the once Alliyah on this, "Age ain’t nothing but a number." It’s not as though they’re going to marry each other. Plus, they make a perfect mix!

And with the weekly dilemmas of the girls, the guys seem to fall last on their list of priorities. "Basically, the show is about teen life, our real life struggles, like school, family and of course friends!", Angeline spares the giggle for awhile to be serious. So don’t be surprised if some of the girl characters are stuck in dysfunctional families, getting troubles with Math, or tugging each other’s hair from time to time. None of the perfect world of perky kids here! It’s all too real.

And reality TV doesn’t end there. Off-set, these girls are really what they are— (pardon the kinder cliché) best friends. Actually, they’re more like family. Shaina calls Angeline and Bea "cuz" as she’s indeed their cousin. And although Bea and Angeline aren’t really related, they are classmates at the ABS-CBN Distant Learning Center. Pia and Angeline, on the other hand, are related through circumstances—bad ones. Both their mommies were in a brawl before, but are now on the kiss and make-up stage because of their closing-in kids. Everybody happy! "Actually, we call each other "sis" now. We’re really close enough to be sisters!" explains Pia, her usual clownish frolics became all-too cheesy.

It goes without saying that they bond a lot, from tireless taping timeslots to school breaks—but of course, they’re too young for their "kuya Miko’s" young bar, Rockstar. "We just hang-out in Starbucks," says Shaina, which I guess only means two things: They’re caffeine freaks or they talk a lot. "Yeah, we talk about friendship! We talk about boys! Girl talk, you know." That girl-talk uproots their choice of boys—of which they have Aaron Carter as mutual Prince Charming. That and their choices of CDs, too, playing on their respective Discmans. From Mandy Moore to Puddle of Mudd, they’ve got it all covered, except for Pia, who’d pop a Britney "Hit Me Baby" tune anytime of the day.

Klieg lights and cameras aside, these girls would love to have their share of box-office concerts, perhaps ala Spice Girls. They didn’t mind spewing me a song, as though I was a record exec ready to give them a double-platinum. They sang like how they are on and off screen—a good team. And it’s not really far from happening that they’d come up with a good "K2BU! The Album" anytime soon. But for now, they have another season of tapings, goof offs, terror teachers, family feuds, and older boys. They have some more airtime to prove that, indeed, "it’s ok to be yourself"!

Shaina Magdayao

Most of us would hardly remember her as a 10-month old baby in a baby bottle ad, she had grown too fast to make us forget. But not quite, as she’s now hailed as the baby among the K2BU! clique (pardon the oxymoron) once again. Not that they have a choice, she’s only 12 years old, a year away from the teen slot. But she and her friends sure think otherwise.

"She’s usually the adviser in the group," pops Bea, the supposed eldest in the group. And ironically, it is Shaina, the youngest, who is considered the big sister. "I know, she’s supposed to be younger, but her advice are really mature and are very right," adds Pia, another fan of Shaina, the guidance counselor. Come to think of it, it is her that is in showbiz the longest, adding to fact that she has Vina Morales for a sister and mentor, which probably makes her the wisest among them in terms of the trade. It’s sort of like dog-years—you sure age fast when you’re exposed to the lights, cameras and actions, turning up older than your real age.

But then again, all work and no play sums up a life that’s gray, and she knows this by heart. So that’s why when work is getting at a frenzied state, she has the perfect antidote—a colorful time of kikay-fest. "I think that she’s the most kikay among us! She’d usually share kikay tips and all, and she knows all the new trends," says Angeline. If that were true, then her advice might really be something. Maybe she should have her own column!

Angeline Aguilar

It’s not only every Saturday afternoon that you see Angeline. Just in case you were at home for lunch and you had MTB on the tube, and you thought that Joyce Jimenez dances so well and she grew a good two inches, maybe you didn’t squint harder. To make the vision clear, Angeline is a semi-regular of the noontime variety show, and yes, she looks like Joyce J minus the curly locks and the super high stilettos. She doesn’t need them anymore.

Oh, and she’s only 15 and appropriately wholesome. But to retaliate, she has the spunk that gets the boys staring. She’s tall (for her age, at least), has long, jet black hair, the most addictive eyes, and above all, the blabber mouth. I know you didn’t ask for that, but let the other girls explain.

"She’s so makwento! She never runs out of things to talk about. From chismis to jokes, she could talk the whole day," Pia giggles as though she just disclosed Angeline’s biggest secret or her greatest humiliation. But honestly, who doesn’t want a gabber around, especially when you’re bored silly in between takes. She’s also tagged to be the most outgoing in the group, perhaps ready to flash her hand for a good shake, or her mouth for a good round of talk-fest. "She’s not bad with strangers. She’s very friendly," Bea announces without a doubt, not that I never saw it when she sat jumpy across me in the couch. It was all too clear, this is everybody’s girl friend.

But you have to give it to her; Angeline’s happy disposition could easily erase her young heartaches. "My parents are already gone," she says, pausing the snickers for awhile. But she seemed ok right after, perhaps when she was too sure that it was her best friends that were right beside her.



Pia Romero

When Pia entered the room, she was the most composed. She slouched quietly on the couch, her waiflike figure almost sinking beneath Angeline’s height. "She’s just on one of her quiet moments. You should see her when she’s making kulit," Shaina says, sounding like a warning. Not until the time she opened her mouth with a squeaky laugh and didn’t end since.

"She’s really the most immature in the group, but she doesn’t mind it," announces Bea, and this time I was nodding in agreement. She’s 14, not exactly younger than Shaina, but boy, does she have a toddler’s energy. "She’d go running around acting jumpy all of a sudden," adds Angeline, which Pia only returns with a reassuring but seemingly proud laugh.

Her face doesn’t seem too innocent at all. She has that drop of German blood, which could easily connote superior beauty, and this time, it has nothing to do with being a Nazi. But she has innocent perks that make even the most hyper-active kid envious. "I play with my Play Station a lot! But I’m already bored with the fighting games. Now I just play RPGs, especially the romantic ones," she says which got me surprised. She’s a pretty little budding lover girl who digs a lot of Britney. Hmm, she’s sounding like a heartbreaker already! Not that any guy should mind, right?

"There’s this one time when I got tired of being active and decided to be quiet, and act mature. It didn’t really work," she laughs together with her friends. It was the day that the whole K2BU! cast and staff thought she had a huge problem, or, worse, sick. Maybe composure doesn’t really work for her. Besides, it wouldn’t really be nice not to hear her laugh.



Bea Alonzo

"That’s Bea, she’s the pinaka dalaga," Shaina starts on with the most appropriate introduction. She’s the oldest at 16 and also the tallest at 5’6", leaving her modeling roots obvious. And she’s also the poised one in the merry-go-round…or at least that’s what I thought.

She’s part Brit, which could be held responsible for her eye-batting, her stiff upper lip demeanor, and of course, her beauty fit for royalty. But let’s not expect much of the high-brow attitude; she’s still true to her oftentimes kitschy role in the series. She’s a boy-band addict, just like the everyday Jane. "I totally love *NSync! Justin Timberlake is my biggest crush," she blurts. It goes without saying that she’d vocalize on a boy-band ballad while blow-drying, something that easily bagged her a mainstay slot on a Sunday concert show, which skyrocketed her young career ASAP.

But don’t burden her with the superiority complex deed. She doesn’t consider herself as the mature and experienced leader of the pact. "She’s just like that, acting poised and all. But when we’re all together, she becomes the loudest," Angeline adds. And that, I still have yet to see, much as I need to believe.

But it didn’t really take that long. Soon after, she hoisted the white flag by laughing her heart and poise out. "I can’t help it, I’m with them," she says. And honestly, I don’t take it against her.