LORENZO ELRIC GARCHITORENA

NA-REALIZE KO lang na wala na pala kami sa resort noong bumangon ako sa aking kama at nakita ang familiar atmosphere ng aking kuwarto. Nagising na lang din ako na katabi si Mr. Ginger na natutulog sa tabi ko.

I guess that I should accept the reality that the leadership seminar is now over and I need to move forward with my normal life. Marami pa pala akong assignments na dapat habulin at lalo na ay malapit na ang finals namin.

This semester really flies so fast. And I wouldn't expect na marami ang nangyari sa loob ng first four months ng college life ko. It's totall hell of a ride, and there's really no turning back.

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I entered the school noong mga bandang hapon na. May pinuntahan pa kasi kami ni Mom na personal matter kaya hindi ko na napasukan ang first period. Maaga rin kasi kaming nagbiyahe sa pupuntahan namin.

As usual ay madadatnan ko na lang ang cold war between my classmates, lalo na at magkakaroon ng competition between two groups para sa finals requirement para sa PE subject. Habang nasa dulo, sa tabi lang ng bintana, I could see the group of Arlo and Chino exchanging cold stares to one another.

I don't usually give a dang on them, pero never ko pang nakitang magkasundo ang dalawang group. Well... bahala na silang mag-away, if ever. Sila-sila lang din naman ang sisira sa buong section namin. Mukhang napakalalim ng petty conflict na mayroon sila. I just simply rolled my eyes and checked the notes I  brought out from my bag.

"O, group two, practice tayo tomorrow morning." Joanna then stood up and announced in front of us. "8 AM, a?" she then raised her eyebrow and gave a feminine canine face. Mapapa-practice tuloy kami nang wala sa oras.

"Sobrang aga naman. Puwedeng 9 AM?" One of my classmates who is sitting just beside me commented on her statement.

"Para maaga tayong matapos. Gusto n'yong natatapos agad ang practice, pero late naman kayong dumating." Joanna then answered her with a sarcastic look. Then, Janessa also spoke up on behalf of her.

"Please naman, kung sinabing 8 AM, kompleto na tayo by 8. Hindi dapat tayo magpapahuli sa finals natin." She gave a cold look to the other group lead by Chino.

Nagsalita ang punctual. Si Janessa pa ang may audacity na magsabing huwag male-late, pero noong nag-practice kami, sila pa 'yong late. Are these guys okay?

It's okay to be competitive, but not this kind of competitiveness; it's getting unhealthy, really.

Dahil tinamad magbasa ng notes, in-open ko na lang ang cellphone ko habang nakikinig sa Spotify ng music. I opened my FB account and browsed to my newsfeed.

Ngayon lang pala na-upload ni Cheena ang photos namin from the leadership seminar. I also saw the post of Malcolm which was taken from the K-BBQ place in Angeles, which is supposedly kasama ako sa galaan nila right after ng leadership training namin. Na-upload na rin 'yong ibang pictures sa may resort through the YoLO's FB page. Most of the pictures uploaded na kasama ako, parang may zombie na naligaw. Ako na, ako nang mukhang patatas.

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Mga 5 PM na natapos ang klase namin at naglakad na ako pababa sa school building namin para umuwi. Medyo stressful nga lang ang mga pinagawa sa amin. It's already Finals, so the professors are already pushing us by giving final outputs. Hindi ko tuloy alam kung saan mag-i-i-start nito.

While walking along the corridor before going down the stairs, humabol si Jyrah with her bright smile along with her. I can't help but to stare at her beauty. My bored look was replaced with a slight smile on my face.

"Hey, Lorenzo! Kumusta?" she greeted as we walked down through the second floor.

"Hi, I'm fine. Ikaw?" I asked her while scratching my head.

"Wow, a? Nakita ko pictures ninyo noong sa event n'yo sa YoLO. How's the experience?" Bahagya niya akong hinampas sa balikat, as if he's really comfortable with me.

"Mm... kay." I gave her a so-so look and shrugged. "Maayos naman, pero enjoy."

"Push natin iyan," she commented while holding the strap of her backpack. "Maganda rin na nakikipag-cooperate at sumasali ka sa activities na ganiyan para mai-raise ang confidence at siyempre, ang skills mo na rin." I started to get distracted with her presence. Lalo na at baka pagtinginan kami ng classmates kong nasa likod ko lang.

She combed her shoulder-length hair before speaking again, "By the way, magkakaroon din kasi ng seminar by next semester ang ComSoc sa Laguna, and good din na nasabihan kita para makapag-prepare ka rin."

"So, punta ka?" she asked with enigma.

I rubbed my chin as we reached the exit of our school building which is just near at the food center.
"Siguro? If ever na papayagan, pero magandang experience ito, for sure."

"Asahan ko iyan!" Jyrah then rubbed my hair using her hands.

But our conversation suddenly interrupted as we reached the shed outside our school building when a group of students--who are classmates of Jyrah--that suddenly appeared and approached her.

These people are smiling and one of the classmates gave her a small pink envelope which has designs of red hearts Napatingin na lang ako habang iniabot iyon sa kaniya. Wait, what's the commotion all about?

"Wait, para saan ito?" Jyrah asked her classmates after the envelopes was handed to her. She then opened it and read the letter that was put inside. All I can see on her face that she's gushing over what she read.

But next, we heard a guitar playing and it goes nearer as seconds go by. A group of students suddenly came together with the dashing dude they called Trent. He's holding a piece of red rose. He is also accompanied by his classmate who is playing the guitar. The guy also started to sing when Trent handed the rose to Jyrah that she willingly accepted.

"Your face lights up the sky on the highway~"

My heart started to wrench when I saw her dreamy look while she smiled after seeing Trent. Great. Ang galing lang na nadatnan ko pa ito. How romantic.

He started his speech na wala na akong pakialam kung ano pa ang sabihin niya, kasi I feel occupied with the events. But it's all about Trent confessing to Jyrah. Ganito pala ang feeling na makita siyang ganito sa ibang tao; my knuckles even started to tighten.

The loud cheer coming from the people who are witnessing the event made me more agitated as Trent go nearer at Jyrah. Kung puwede lang sanang mag-teleport or mag-fade in, nagawa ko na, maiwasan lang ito.

"Jyrah, can I be your girlfriend?" I should be the one who will going to say those words to her. I should be the one who is confessing to her. I should be the one on Trent's place.

Yet, before everything falls into place, I started to walk out to that scene. Hindi na rin pansin ni Jyrah ang pag-alis ko dahil overwhelmed na siya sa mga nangyayari sa kaniya ngayon.

Mabilis na lang akong naglakad nang hindi na lumilingon sa kanila. I also shut down my ears and didn't care to listen at them anymore as I go further.

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