KASA-KASAMA pa rin in spirit ng labing-siyam na Sparkle Teens ang nasawi nilang 16-year-old groupmate na si Andrei Sison sa launching na ginanap ng GMA sa Novotel nitong Martes ng hapon.

As we all know, nasawi ang apo ng balladeer na si Marco Sison sa car accident isang buwan bago ang launch.

Kaya bilang pag-alala, kasa-kasama pa rin si Andrei sa original AVP na kinunan bago ang aksidente at dito ay nakalagay ang linyang: “Andrei Sison: Forever a Sparkle Teen.”

Si Josh Ford naman, ang lone survivor sa naturang car crash, todo-pasasalamat sa Sparkle GMA Artist Center mula sa consultant na si Johnny “Mr. M” Manahan hanggang sa kanilang mga road manager.

Ayon sa Sparkle GMA Artist Center execs na sina Joy Marcelo (assistant vice president for Talent Management Group) at Vic del Rosario (senior talent manager), sumailalim sa grief counseling ang Sparkle Teens matapos ang aksidente.

Kwento ni Joy, “Nag-grief counseling sila. We provided a counselor for them. Si Cathy, ‘yung anak ni… Cathy Babao, ‘yung anak ni Caridad Sanchez. She’s known for being a grief counselor, so, immediately after what happened, parang lahat ng kids nag-undergo ng grief counseling. Siyempre alam mo naman, bata, kailangan ma… araw-araw nilang kasama si Andrei so it was hard for them at the onset na, siyempre, nalaman nila bigla-bigla nawala si Andrei.”

Dagdag niya, halos kalahating taon ding nagkasama-sama ang grupo at si Andrei na tipong araw-araw silang magkakasama.

“They… may bond talaga ang mga ‘yan. And even kanina, nakita n’yo siguro, ‘di ba, they cheer each one talaga. ‘Yung kapag may sumagot, may support system. So, naging close talaga sila kaya conscious din kami na siyempre hindi naman pupuwede na o basta na lang ‘kalimutan n’yo na si Andrei, magsayaw na kayo d’yan.’ So ganu’n.

“As kids naman they were able to… sabi naman sa amin nu’ng grief counselor na ‘yes, they’re okay, they’re more stable now.’ So, yun, we have to move on, guys. Life has to move on.”

Sa tanong kung may pagbabago bang ginawa sa date ng launch dahil sa nangyari, ang sagot ni Joy, “’Yung launch kasi, I think the accident happened almost a month ago, kasi malapit na ‘ata ‘yung 40 days. So parang iniisip nu’ng una, kumusta sila, how they will cope with, ‘yun nga, with the loss of Andrei. So after a few days and after they went to the wake and then na-express siguro nila ‘yung grief nila, nakita nila si Andrei and even the family, na okay naman ‘yung family na, so nu’ng we said, kung kaya na, we asked the grief counselor and then she said na it’s okay. It’s about time kasi kesa magmukmok and then you think about a lot of things, it’s also good for kids to be busy. Siyempre, may work, may trabaho, kailangan, parang sabi nila, it would also be advisable for them to be busy siguro para to keep their mind off what happened.”

Maging si Josh, unti-unti na raw nakaka-adjust sa kalungkutan.

“Okay naman siya kanina,” ani Joy. “I think he was able to answer the questions very well also. Kasi may … we also gave him a special one-on-one session with Miss Cathy. And the family came home from the UK so may support siya not just from Sparkle but from the family.

‘Yung mom niya flew in from London to support him. So okay naman siya, he has family and us.”

Sa ngayon, tuluy-tuloy lang ang trabaho ng dating child actor. May taping na ito para sa isang soap, ang once-a-week series na Wattpad 2.

“Tuloy naman. In fairness to him, the doctors said he can go back to work. Fit to go back to work,” ani Joy.

Bukod kay Josh, kasama rin sa Sparkle Teens sina Antonio Vinzon (anak ng character actor na si Roi Vinzon), Zyren dela Cruz, Charlie Fleming, Princess Aliyah, Keisha Serna, John Clifford, Waynona Collings, Liana Mae, Naomi Park, Aya Domingo, Gaea Mischa, Selina Griffin, Marco Masa, Lee Victor, Bryce Eusebio, Ashley Sarmiento, Aidan Veneracion at James Graham.

Ayon kay Vic, regular na mapapanood ang Sparkle Teens by batches sa All-Out Sundays.

Dagdag niya, ang iba, gaya ni Marco, naka-cast na sa ibang shows habang ang ilan naman ay ongoing ang auditions sa mga proyekto.

Tuloy din ang online classes ng mga bagets at lenient naman ang Sparkle sa schedule lalo na kung may exams ang mga ito sa klase.

“Ayaw din naman ng management na mapabayaan nila ang school nila,” paniniguro ni Joy.