CHAPTER 2: MEMORY LANE

CHAPTER 2: MEMORY LANE

FLASHBACK.

I walked on the ground slowly to look for my friends. Finding them is never really a problem. There are only few places frequented by our group: Library, canteen, or the old stage in the open ground. At this time, the sun is still scorching hot for my friends to be in the old stage, and surely they are not yet hungry. That is why I was a hundred percent sure, they are in the library. And when you say library, there is only one particular place.

As expected, I found them in the same spot of the graduate section of the campus library.

“Where were you?” Noelle asked with a raised brow. “Oh, why would I even ask? I should have been used to your tardiness!”

I just laughed at her and sat on a vacant seat. “Did Rev arrive yet?”

Noelle shook her head, so I just silently reached for a page of worksheet on the table and started doing my assignment.

“There are still few items that we have not solved yet since we cannot figure it out.”

I looked at the person who spoke. It was Alexandra.

“Let me see. Which item?” I asked and spread the book in front of me. They know me so well that they know I only get interested with any problem question when it is difficult.

I was in the middle of solving the problem when Rev arrived. I stared at him for a while. His face looked perfect, his eyes always sparkling with mirth. His lips are always ready with a smile showing the small dimple beside his lips. The bridge of his nose is slightly distorted, but that only seem to add to his charisma.

I sighed and then I smiled cheerfully at the guy I call my bestfriend.

“Bro,” Rev tapped the shoulder of Daniel, the guy sitting on my right side. He gestured for him to move from his chair.

Daniel pointed at the chair on the other side of the table. “There’s the vacant chair, man. You can sit there.”

“Bro, don’t push your luck. Rein’s side is always MY place, you know that.”

Daniel looked at me helplessly. He didn’t want to leave because he was watching me solve the question. I just grinned at him. He scratched his head but changed seat nonetheless.

“You know that is Rev’s place, why would you even bother trying?” the group just laughed at Daniel.

“You done?” Rev asked me as he sat down, referring to my assignment.

“Not yet. I just arrived, too, so I have just started. Get yours done, too. It’s nearly time for our class.”

“Hold on.” He tapped my shoulder, stood up and left. When I turned to look where he’s going, I saw him walking away. From a distance, I saw Jean walking towards him. She waved at me, and I smiled back.

Jean is a great person. She’s nice, with a cheerful aura.

And she is Rev’s girlfriend.

Although she is not in our circle of friend, because she is taking a different course, we can say that we are friends with her on account of her relationship with Rev. We have no problem with her since she is really good natured. Simple but naturally beautiful. Her face is heart-shaped and her lips are full and pinkish, despite her being a morena. Her eyes are tantalizing and, just like Rev’s, sparkling like sunshine. She’s got a well-proportioned figure, almost bordering to voluptous.

I looked away from them and winced inside. Falling inlove with your bestfriend is never easy.

“Hey, hey!” Krystel, one of our friends, came and laid on the table a pack of sampaloc candies and some corn snacks.

Our eyes lit with the sight of the ‘merchandise’, which disappeared under the table as fast as it was placed on the table. It was our modus operandi. The assigned library staff for the Accounting Section is selling the ‘merchandise’ and we are his loyal buyers. We swore to never get caught by the librarian assigned to the graduate section.

That is why we tried very hard to eat the snack like a ninja until there was nothing left of it. However, we couldn’t stop our self from giggling from time to time, so we got a few warnings from the librarian.

“Throw away the empty packets,” Noelle said in a hushed voice. Daniel grabbed the plastic on his hands tightly, but since the graduate section is a very quiet place, the sound of plastic seemed to be magnified.

“On top of being noisy, you are also eating inside the library. You could have just eaten the plastic, too.” The librarian suddenly said sternly.

We hid our faces on our hands in unison as we all struggled to hide our laughter. The librarian is strict, but because she sees us everyday in this section, she grew familiar with us. We are confident she will tell on us to the Guidance Counselor.

Just in case we were called to the Guidance Office for disciplinary action, I wouldn’t know what will happen to us, since most of us are government scholars.

Rev returned to his seat.

“Where’s Jean?” I asked.

“She has a class. Where’s my snack?”

“What snack? Do you see any snack?”

“Just so you know, I was the one who gave Krystel the money to buy that!”

“So you are the instigator, Mr. Montenegro?” the librarian turned to him with her arms on her waist.

La la la la laaaaa!

“Aah.. Mam.. Eeeh..”

And then the bell rang.

“Ooopps! Let’s go, let’s go! It’s time for class! We do not want Bull- I mean, our teacher to mark us late again.”

Operation Escape from Ms. Librarian, successful! We were laughing hard on our way to our class.

“Ugh! I don’t have an assignment for Auditing Theory!” I grunted while scratching my head.

“Just copy mine during our class with Bulldog, since he likes to make us copy whatever he writes anyway. He wouldn’t notice that you are copying something else.”

Rev put his arm around my shoulder. Inside, I was feeling giddy for the gesture. I laid my head on his shoulder and allowed him to usher me inside our classroom.

Define normal. That’s our normal. We act like lovers but no one minds us because everyone knows that we are just friends and that he has someone else for a girlfriend. He keeps on treating me to lunch, snack, jeepney fare, cellphone load, worksheet, ballpen, candy, bond paper, assignment, and every little trinkets we’ll see on the sidewalk whenever we are going home from school.

His family is well-off and Rev is a single child. His mother treats me like her own daughter, and she likes me to be his girlfriend. Makes me wonder why Rev didn’t make me his girlfriend instead.

Kidding. Of course I know Jean is so, so much prettier than me. She’s very feminine while Rev keeps on telling me that I am not a girlfriend type.

As his bestfriend, I am already very fortunate. It’s like I found a brother who will always protect me and always got my back whenever I am in trouble. He is always so supportive, he readily helps me in doing my assignments and projects, even though he knows it is just because I am too lazy to do it. He is the kind of guy who willingly stays up late, even if it means waking up late for his date with Jean the following day. Mind you, that was unintentional on my part! I swear!

Admittedly, I caused the two of them many fights and misunderstandings. But in my defense, I also always help them patch things up. And then afterwards, when I am alone in my room, I just hit my head against the wall.

Of course that was an exaggeration, but it is true that it hurts so bad to see them together. Especially whenever I help Rev put up a surprise for Jean. It was a constant torture doing the preparation for a romantic garden dinner, while wishing that there would be a heavy downpour of rain to ruin it.

Why am I doing this to myself? Why must I suffer for this feeling? I should just stay away from this guy. I should just transfer.. to another chair perhaps? Like somewhere in the other corner of this classroom?

Ugh! My world is too small, it revolves only around him.

“Earth to Reina!”

Ooopps! I didn’t notice that the class has ended just like that. As usual, I still haven’t prepared my assignment for the Auditing Theory class which is our next subject.

“I already copied my assignment for you,” Rev whispered while handing over my notebook.

“Waaaah! Thank you, thank you, thank you! I love you sooo much! Muah!” I jumped at him and gave him an imaginary kiss.

“Stupid!” he hit me with his book. Aw! That hurts. It was a hard bound book.

“Hey, that’s Word of the Rings Trilogy! I wanna read that!” I pointed at the book he hit me with.

“I haven’t read it yet.”

“But you’re very slow whenever you read books!” I stomped my feet loudly, pouting like a child. “C’mon, let me read it first. I promise I will read it quickly!”

“Tsss… You abuse me just because you know I love you!” he accused.

I gave him a toothy grin.

“Let’s go, they already left.” He said and stood up. “ We don’t want to be late, our next class is in the next building.”

I followed him gingerly while holding on tightly to the book. Rev took my bag and other stuff already.

“Ms. Romualdez, Mr. Montenegro, you’re both late.”

That was Mam Adela’s greeting when we entered the room. If Rev is alone, she probably wouldn’t say anything. But since she has an apparent crush on Rev, and a very obvious dislike towards me, it irritates her to see us together.

“Sorry Mam, my pen ran out of ink, so I asked Rein to come with me to buy from the supplies store. It will not happen again, Mam.” His reason was corny. But Ms. Adela didn’t care, as long as Rev said it.

“Okay, don’t be late next time.”

Woooow! She really accepted it even though it was so obviously just a make up alibi?? Seriously??

Ms. Adela asked for our assignments so I turned our notebooks over.

“Why are your handwriting the same?” She asked while frowning.

Oh-uh!

“Mam.. Sor-”

“Mam, I’m sorry again. I got my hand sprained during basketball so I cannot write for too long. I asked Rein to write my assignment for me. But I swear I dictated the words she would write on my notebook. You can check it, Mam. Our answers are different.” Rev is really cashing in on his charm.

I skimmed the pages of my notebook while we were going to this class and he was right. He changed the wordings and composition of sentences for my assignment. Although the substance of the answers are the same, but they were delivered in different ways.

Mam Adela did not speak and just let it pass. She could have verified whose handwriting it really is but of course she would not do that to Rev.

“Thank you again!” I whispered to him. He just winked at me.

Haaaayyy…! My heart is melting.