I said! =)

Ahem, ahem.
Our life started on the month of May, 10 years ago. I first laid my eyes on him on May, and yes I was on happy mood then. This was why: It was my first time to travel alone to Manila (I’m from Las Piñas) and I was lost on my way to Adamson. I missed my Masagana Mall landmark and I landed in Sta. Isabel. I started walking away from Adamson and I was lost among the green G.I. sheets that walled Sta. Isabel University. I had a funny instinct that I was going the wrong way so I turned around and walked and walked until I saw the Adamson walkway. So stupid of me to get lost. I must be suppressing my giggles when we made eye contact. He was sitting alone in a cigarette stand in front of the walkway, a stranger who was clueless of my morning lost and found adventure.

Little did I know, he would wreak havoc in my quiet, private little life. He turned out to be my classmate in DOST summer class in Adamson. He always picked on me. He would greet me and make fun of me. He paired me up with boys, broadcasted my name during breaks, got my number and gave it to everybody. Just basically a pain in the neck every day until the end of class.

I thought my life would be Pio-free when I entered college. Wrong! There he was, sitting at the back of the room when I walked in W307, section B107. When I had the chance to give him a piece of my mind, I frankly told him, “Di ba ikaw yung mayabang na greet ng greet sa kin sa DOST?”, which of course, he denied to death. From then, he started being nice to me.

Then, we became friends, we used to call each other a lot on the phone. I remember the first time he called me, he was asking me to do our Chemistry report for him. The nerve! But he was just joking then. He was one of the most intelligent persons and the funniest person I know. He naturally knew the stuff which ticked and tickled me.

We really enjoyed the friendship we had. He drew flowers on paper and gave them to me. We fold hearts out of paper and we made crazy bets! One time, I lost a bet to him, and the prize? My life. I bet my life on some Trig problem, in which he was right. Also, I remember, he drew his name on my hand with one of my colored pens, and he told me that if the drawing was still there by the next day, I would have a special prize. So I did the same to him.

I knew he would have the drawing by the next day, so I just bought a little gift for him-a small Disney button with “P” for his name. I remember wrapping my hand with plastic when I bathed so that the ink won’t wash out. The next day, I happily showed him my hand and to my disappointment, my drawing was erased from his and he even made fun of me for keeping mine. He didn’t give his gift for me until it was my birthday (it was a CD), in return I still gave him the button.

It was nice being friends with him. Even when we parted sections the next semester, we still talked and spent time with each other. Until the friendship became questionable to me, because I liked all things that was him. Sometimes, I thought of him and I missed him. I would be very secretive to my friends of the time we spent together. Then, reality slapped me when one my friends asked me what is going on between him and me. Of course, the “just friends” thing came out of my mouth.

But I knew better when he introduced me to his best friends and they serenaded me with love songs. He sang me love songs...But nobody would say anything, nobody would give definition to what we were and where were we. There were times it got awkward, then came the “pakiramdaman” of some sort. I got scared of what might happen to me if I got closer to him that I decided to stay away from him for a while. I was young and vulnerable and I didn’t want to complicate my life even further. And parting was ok with him also. I won’t lie and say that it didn’t hurt.

Months passed and I got used to not having him in my life anymore. So I lead another life, a life without him for three years… We would avoid each other, a lot. I remembered he didn’t run for president in our org (although he wanted to), because I was an officer there. He would send his minions (hwehwe) to me if he needed anything from me. But it was difficult to avoid him because he was popular. We worked together as encoders during enrollment, but we would not talk to each other. He attended all my org meetings, the only time he was quiet! I would hear stories about him, about his relationships and personal life. But I just acted indifferent and disinterested to all the things about him.

Not that he didn’t reach out. I remembered he poured out everything that happened to us to my good friend Ruby. After that, he called me. And he told me he missed me…It was one of my most heartbreaking moments, because I was caught unprepared and I didn’t know what to say…

Then came Electronics design class, 4th year. I had no choice but to group with him, otherwise I would be grouped with people I didn’t personally know. It was sooooooooo awkward. My groupmates knew what happened between us and one Sunday meet, they teased us and left us alone suddenly. I was toying with someone’s keys on the table just to break the silence when he stopped the thing and he talked to me. He told me his side of the story. Which got me confused and strangely enlightened. Just before the other teammates arrived, he asked me, “Masaya ka ba?” (Referring to my other commitment.)

I replied, “3 years, dapat masaya di ba?”
I realized, I could not answer yes because I could not deny right there and then that I never stopped falling for him…

Design class allowed us to spend time with each other, in and outside school. It was like making up for the lost time. He took care of me like nobody did, he would take me home and hung out with me again. It was paradisial, a word I used for the first time in my life to describe what I felt. Then one day in May, we didn’t deny it anymore. We admitted to ourselves how much we really missed and loved each other.

And now, we will start the rest of our lives on the month of May. I could finally give his prize to the bet I once lost to him. My life…