Dali-dali kong ininom ang tubig ko sa tumbler matapos ang klase namin sa PATHFit, hingal na hingal ako sa ginawa naming shuttle run. Saglit pa ay may naramdaman akong tumapik sa ’kin. ’Di na ’ko nag-isip pa kung sino ’yon dahil alam ko na kaagad na si Kuya Herald ang tumapik sa ’kin. I smiled once I saw him smiling at me with a satisfied look on his face.

“We made it to be the quickest group to finish. Mabilis ka kasing tumakbo.” Ngisi niya naman na kaagad ko namang kinontra.

“Oh, stop it, Kuya Herald. You’re the one who runs effortlessly, ikaw nga ’yong parang ’di napapagod kahit pinagpapawisan ka na.” Tawa ko naman, napatawa naman din si Kuya Herald sa sinabi ko.

“I already told you, drop the Kuya already.” Singit niya sa usapan namin, ngumisi na lang din ako sa kan’ya at umiling ako sa sinabi niya.

“Nope, still calling you Kuya.” I giggled and I turned myself away. I walked passed him to breathe into the wind outside of the closed gymnasium.

I exhaled the air I breathed and I took another go, I stretched my arms and legs and once again faced Kuya Herald with the same energy. He’s just blankly staring at me at that time, he regained his composure once I turned around to see him. I bet he’s tired from all that running, we do really need to rest.

“So, how about that thing you mentioned earlier, about Elwin and his friends or so? Tuloy pa rin ba tayo ro’n?” tanong ko. Nakita ko namang tumango si Kuya Herald, he walked passed me and he lead the way to the path walk that runs through the College of Engineering.

“Sa CoEd Canteen daw sila magme-meryenda. Nauna na sila sa ’tin do’n since kanina pa naman naglabasan. You want a ride a cab or walk?” he then asked me. I did not insist on riding a cab because I can finally walk with him along the path walk.

“Nope, it’s better to walk the way to CoEd and feel this calm breeze today. It’a not quite hot, thank goodness.” I reverted my reply on the current atmosphere here in the campus. It’s true na hindi nga mainit dito ngayon dahil bahagyang lumamig ang simoy ng hangin at ’di ga’nong maaraw.

“Ia-angkas na sana kita sa motor ko kaso sa CoEd ko rin ipinarada, wala na raw kasing mapagpaparadahan diyan kanina sa tapat ng gym kasi pre-occupied ’tong buong area ng mga IT at Engineering.” I heard Kuya Herald reason for the most random time, but I quite felt gratified when I thought that I coul’ve been his angkas on his motorcycle.

And damn it, he has a fucking motorcycle?!

Well, I guess most people here does, this campus is huge so bicycles and motorcycles are often present. It’s just that it needs to be registered to the guard house before being used in the premises of the campus. Besides, since he has his own motorcycle, I bet that he must be financially stable to even afford one—ang mahal na kaya ng motor at gasolina ngayon.

Hindi nga nagtagal ay narating namin ni Kuya Herald ang CoEd at dumiretso kami kaagad sa canteen, do’n ay natagpuan namin ang bugso ng mga estudyanteng bumibili ng kanilang mga meryenda. Sa gitna ng canteen ay naroroon ang dining area kung saan ay maraming mga nakaupong mga estudyante, either their talking to each other or just eating quietly—some do both to the point that they’re laughing while hitting each other’s arms.

Saglit pa ay may nakita akong kumaway sa gawing kaliwa ng dining area, I saw Elwin waving at us together with a group of people sitting on a table. Apat silang nakaupo sa table na ’yon, at base sa nakikita ko’y talagang magkakaibigan na sila. I just hope that they’ll accept me as their friend, kasi alam kong medyo mahirap pa ring mag-adjust sa part kong... was once a... loner.

But forget about that! I’m here in college now and that isn’t even worth remembering! Hindi ko na dapat pang alalahanin ’yon, what’s important is that I’m meeting new people in this new environment, and that Kuya Herald was the one I first formally became friends with.

“Kumusta, Elwin?” tanong ni Kuya Herald nang makalapit kami sa grupo nila Elwin. Ngumisi naman si Elwin at kaagad siyang sumagot.

“Kapupunta lang namin dito, kabibili lang namin ng meryenda, binil’han ka na nga namin ng makakain, pati na rin ’tong si Sunder.” Saad ni Elwin, bahagya naman akong nagulat sa sinabi niya.

“Nako, nakakahiya naman, pero sige, libre niyo, eh.” Ngisi ni Kuya Herald at umupo siya sa tabi ni Elwin, tinabihan ko naman si Kuya Herald at tatlo kaming magkakatabi sa isang sulok ng mesa habang tatlo naman ang kaharap namin.

Hindi ako nakakibo dahil nahihiya pa ako, tinanggap ko na lang ang meryendang ibinigay nila sa ’kin, tatlong piraso ng malalaki at matatabang turon at walong pirasong siomai, binigyan din nila ako ng isang lata ng pineapple juice para panulak. Ang dami na nito at parang ’di ko na yata kayang ubusin, kaya itatago ko na lang muna siguro ’yong turon sa bag ko total ay nakalagay naman ’yon sa styrofoam.

“Salamat nga pala sa libre niyo.” Ngiti ko sa kanila, ngumisi naman si Elwin at saglit pa’y nag-inat ng kamay bago niya ako tugunan.

“It’s Knight’s treat for all of us, madalas siya manlibre ’yan, rich kid siya ng grupo namin.” Elwin’s tone became proud as he introduces me to a new person—a boy, in which I remember named Knightingale Estacion, he’s one of those people I thought I would befriend.

“S-Salamat, Knight.” Saad ko sa kan’yang kaharap ko ngayon sa lamesa, ngumisi naman si Knight at tumango.

“Wala ’yon, a friend of a friend of mine is also a friend to me as I always say. This is just how I say hi.” Saad naman ni Knight, kahit medyo nahihiya pa man din ako ay tumango na lang ako pabalik.

Kinain ko ang pagkaing nilibre sa ’kin ni Knight, gano’n din naman ang ginawa ng iba, we talked about our lives, and everyone introduced themselves to me. Malaking milestone ’to para sa ’kin since I haven’t really made some friends back in the day, I was busy with everything and the drama that I’m having that time so I haven’t really considered befriending anyone.

“I’m Knight, anyway, short for Knightingale. You may have heard my name noong nag-introduce ako in front of the class. And yeah, mapagbigay ako sa mga kaibigan ko, gallant, you can ask me anything you need—’wag lang sa paglo-love life, GG tayo ro’n, taken na ’ko.” I giggled at Knight’s statement as he lent his hand, my giggles turned into a smile as I took his hand for a handshake.

“Elwin, boss, brusko, g’wapo, certified basagulero.” Tango naman ang itinugon ko kay Elwin dahil ’di niya inilahad ang mga kamay niya, he’s arms are crossed as if he’s boasting about himself—well I can’y deny it though, he’s got the looks.

Kuya Herald told me various stuffs about Elwin in our past conversations this week, he said that Elwin’s a basketball player, and yeah, basag-ulo raw talaga siya, bully, most-wanted ng mga barangay tanod—hyperbole intended, and he’s just living a carefree life.

He wanted to be a policeman like most boys do. Nawalan lang daw ng slots no’ng enrollment dahil nagkaro’n daw siya ng problema while processing his documents in which he’s probably ignorant at—Kuya Herald said that, it’s not me.

That’s the reason kaya siya nag-Education, at dahil late na rin siyang naka-enroll ay ang BEEd na lang na program ang naabutan niyang may vacant slots so he took the risk of enrolling and taking it. Maaari pa rin naman daw maging police kahit na Education graduate ang isang tao pero ang tanong, makaka-graduate raw kaya?

“I’m Penny, Pen na lang for short. You probably have heard my name in the introductions. It’s nice to meet a new friend.” Says Penny, I smiled at him and we shook hands. I admired his dedication, to be honest, because I quite knew that Penny and Elwin had been really close since first day.

Penny is the kind of person that reads books, he confirmed it in his intro on the first day. He’s not quite athletic and he doesn’t like sports because he’s got asthma. Even so, he’s got the passion for the arts and he said that he dances, though it’s only folkloric dance that best inclines to his health condition. He wanted to try and audition on the NEUST Folkloric—a folk dance group under the LCADC or the Literary, Culture, and the Arts Development Center this coming month.

About those kind of orgs, I’ve heard that The Blaze will also be open for applicants. I’m planning to give it a go since I’ve got here. I haven’t really tried journalism for a long time, so it might as well be a comeback. Nevertheless, it’s important to take risks or else, lose the chances.

“Ako naman si Rhaiza, Rhai or Rhaiza—call me as you prefer, you might as well heard me introduce myself on the first day. I hope that we’ll along just nice.” Rhaiza, the only girl in the group spoke up right after.

Yeah, I have heard her intro, she’s quite unique, to be honest. She’s the youngest to ever join the NEUST Chorale—the official choir group of our university, when she first entered NEUST Laboratory High School, until now, she’s still a part of the choir. She’s a soprano and she can do the notes high enough for everyone’s satisfaction.

Napansin kong si Rhaiza lang ang babae sa group namin, she must be one with the boys. But the idea inside my mind was then flapped out when she said something further from what she said earlier.

“Baka iniisip mong ako lang ang babae rito, welp we’ve got another one around and may isa pa tayong kasamang lalaki pero they’re BSEds, kasalukuyan silang na sa klase today kasi ’di match ang schedule nating mga BEEd sa schedule nila.” Rhaiza bursted my bubble, napangisi na lang ako nang malaman ’yon, at least there are two girls around.

Nakita ko namang umakbay si Elwin kay Penny at parehas silang nagtawanan habang kumakain sila. I just peacefully ate my food together with them. Napag-usapan din namin ang mga nangyari nitong nakaraang linggo and how our lives are right now that we’re college students. They shared various things on how they do their daily habits and routines that I could really get inspiration from.

We were talking loud and our laughter was uncontrollable, we were having a good time like everyone else in the canteen—hindi lang kami ang nagtatawanan. This area is like a free space to hang out, most of the aloud ones are here, too. So it’s not a main problem if we’re too loud because it wasn’t even prohibited.

Until...

“Look at that dumbass bitch, halata mong malandi talaga ang gaga. Puro lalaki ang kasama, oh, ’di na siya nahiya sa kakatihan niya.” Nanlaki ang mga mata ko nang marinig ko ’yon, amongst the ones laughing, I can totally hear those who said it even if it’s a table across.

“The fuck?!” I cursed and frowned making everyone on our table freeze as they looked at me with serious stares. My eyes widened as I’ve noticed it, I then faced them and explained.

“There’s a group of girls sitting across the table behind Rhaiza, they were shitting on her.” I explained, nagulat naman si Rhaiza sa sinabi ko.

“Wha—a... ano? Sino ba ’yang mga putang inang ’yan?” Rhaiza stuttered as she looked behind, and the girls catched her—us, looking at them. They gave us an eye roll for doing it, what a direct assault!

“Ah, sila ba? Hayaan mo na ’yan, inggit lang sila ’yan sa ganda ko. Lalo na ’yong isa diyan na fake ’yong putang ina niyang kilay! Kung malandi ako, mas malandi naman ’yan, naka-pitong jowa nga sa loob ng isang buwan!” Napasinghap ako nang isigaw ’yon ni Rhaiza, napatawa naman si Rhaiza sa reaction ko.

“Hey, mga Educ tayo, tama na ’yan, lumalabag tayo sa Code of Ethics.” Kuya Herald then interfered, Rhaiza just laughed it off.

“Oh, relax, they’re just envious of me because I fetched the finest fish in the sea kung saan sila nagkakandarapa lahat... siya nga pala, Knight’s my boyfriend, if anyone wants to know.” Mas lalo pa akong nagulantang.

Say fucking what?!