Under the Pouring Rain

Up to the first --- It was the aftermath of the first rain of June when I first laid eyes on this stupid-looking man. The side of his face was dripping with sweat and raindrops from the tree that's shading him from above. He was wearing a pair of red tracksuit — sa kalagitnaan ng summer. The rain was heavy pero mainit ang singaw ng hangin. Noong panahong 'yon ay hindi pa ako pamilyar sa pasikot-sikot ng lugar na 'yon. I ran across a garden, sheltering myself under a plastic envelope. Medyo humina na ang ulan kaya naghanap ako ng mauupuan. Masyado nang crowded ang cafeteria, at wala naman akong kakilala roon so I chose to look for a bench outside. May nadatnan akong fountain beyond the hedges, pwede na siguro doon, masakit na rin ang paa ko kakatayo sa pila. Ang hassle ng enrollment process, pila rito, pila roon. Worse, wala pa akong kasama para makausap man lang. Nauna na sa akin sina Jekoy and Trisha, I had to accompany my stepsister kasi during that time on her ballet recital. They insisted to wait until maging available ako, kaso, nakapagpaaalam na sila sa sports team nila and ayoko namang mag-cause ng inconvenience for them. I touched the cemented edge of the fountain, medyo basa pa rin pala. Pwede naman na kaso ayoko namang maglakad na basa ang pants mamaya, so I walked further pa to check if there is an area na medyo tuyo na. Malaki ang fountain, mukhang hindi rin naman napapabayaan, anyone could tell by the clarity of water. Sayang lang dahil hindi maganda ang location, medyo dulo na kasi at masyado nang shady sa lugar na 'to because of the overlapping branches and leaves over. I almost reached half of the fountain's circumference when an unusual figure made me take a halt. From my direction, paa niya ang nakaharap sa akin. Someone, most probably a guy, was laying on the fountain basin. Naka-cross ang legs niya kaya nakaangat ang isang paa nito over the other. His feet are covered in white socks, realizing it made my face turn a bit sour. Wala namang amoy, mukhang malinis pa nga, it's just— quite disgusting. Out of quick curiousity, my eyes roamed the floor and nakita ko naman agad ang hinahanap ko. His shoes, wait — the other one's missing? I tilted my head sideways to search for it, pero mukhang hindi ko iyon nasa tabi-tabi lang. Did someone else took it? Err, may pagkasiraulo rin pala ang mga estudyante rito. Labag man sa anti-pakialamera kong adbokasiya, I decided to approach him. Baka kasi ako pa ang mapagbintangan kapag nagising siya at nadatnan akong naghahanap kung saan-saan. I took slow and careful steps towards his head, trailing the fountain's border. "Uhm. . ." I lifted a finger para kalabitin siya sana. His head faces the side against mine, pero napansin ko agad na naka-eyeglasses pala siya. Hindi ba siya nahihirapan? Napaka-uncomfy kaya ng position niya. At bakit ba siya natutulog dito? Wala ba siyang klase? Just when my hand was a few inches away, his head turned to face me. Strange, I did not feel startled neither did I panic at that sudden action. Instead, my eyes soften at the full sight of his face. He does not look like someone my age at all. A college student, maybe? Magkasama kasi ang college and Senior Highschool dito. I am applying for the latter, by the way. Out of some unknown force, hindi ko maialis ang paningin ko sa kanya. He has those gentle features, with a slight hint of maturity. But why am I even thinking of that!? Napasampal ako sa magkabilang pisngi to erase that thought, ano ba naman kasi 'yon? Yes, he looks fine but not as attractive as Jekoy. Like honestly, that guy's a campus heart-throb — and why am I even comparing them now!? Err — I shook my head to brush off those inappropriate ideas. Ugh, I hope this stranger won't experience nightmares even in this uncomfortable state dahil sa mga pinag-iisip ko. Anyway, I have to wake him up. . . Sumipa ang pagkataranta sa akin nang mahagip ng mata ko ang sumunod na nangyari. This guy— what the hell!? He flipped his body to the side and it was as you've expected— he fell on the water! "Anak ng—" Agad kong ibinato sa sahig ang hawak kong plastic envelope at sling bag. Tinungtong ko ang tuhod ko sa gilid ng fountain para silipin siya — everything happened so fast. The next thing I knew, I was already grabbing him by the arm kahit nakatukod na ang tuhod at kamay niya sa sahig. My heart skipped a beat nang titigan niya ako sa mata. Basang-basa ang mukha niya at gulo-gulo ang buhok, wala na rin ang salamin niya. "A-Ayos ka lang?" Lalong lumakas ang kaba ko when his lips parted. I was expecting an answer, but instead, napaubo lang siya, kaya nahila niya ang kamay niya mula sa akin. "Ano. . Okay ka lang?" I repeated. Hindi siya sumagot agad, mas lalo tuloy akong kinabahan. "It's not here. . ." Nasasamid pa siyang nagsalita. "Eh?" Nagtaka ako, at tsaka ko lang napagtanto . . He's looking for his eyeglasses! *** "Those brats. . pulling pranks for fun, at sa akin pa talaga." Mariin niyang minasahe ang gilid ng noo niya out of frustration. Nahanap na namin ang kapares ng sapatos niya, and the fact alone na itinago ito, halos umusok ang tenga niya sa inis. I cannot help but feel sorry. . dahil kahit ako ay natatawa sa nangyari sa kaniya. Hey, don't get me wrong, I'm not someone who finds joy on someone else's ill fortune, 'no. Anyway, he mentioned na he's a Biology professor and that he's been teaching for 4 years pero since then, consistent siyang pinagtitripan ng mga estudyante. He does look quite pensive at times, pero siya 'yong tipong paglalakasan mo ng loob inisin. Mukhang madali siyang mapikon pero bit by bit, 'yon bang hindi nagkikimkim. I could tell just by observing his expressions now. Haha! Too bad he seems to be yearning for peace lang naman pero targeted na siya ng mga estudyante. All these in mind, I failed to suppress my laugh and did so. "Miss?" he called out. "Oh, sorry po," napayuko ako sa hiya. Ang insensitive lang 'day? "Ah, I could imagine you laughing with them because you did something terrible to me," he sounded disappointed. Gosh, loka ka talaga, Gia. "N-No, actually. . ." I find you kind of cute. . What was I thinking just now!? I was about to defend my side pero bigla na siyang tumayo. He glanced at his wristwatch for a moment at inayos ang sariling postura. Then I noticed, he's quite tall. Before walking away, his head turned into my direction once more. And that was the first time our pair of lenses met. This time, he is really looking at me, I know that he can clearly see me now that he has his glasses on. "It's past 3, I have to go now. I hope to see you in class soon, Miss." Just now, what did I just feel? August is coming soon, what could possibly happen if I do 'see you in class' by then? *** I did not get the chance to be in his class for my first year there, sa grade 12 kasi siya nagtuturo. Although I got to be close with him by joining the club he's directing, but I will go with the details later. On his first day, he taught us Biology 2, when we're supposed to be taking Biology 1 palang. He apologized and reasoned na he grabbed the wrong textbook the night before. He lost his cool, so our class president suggested that we skip the lecture for a day since orientation week pa lang naman dapat for the first semester. "Ay nako, pogi sana ni Sir kaso may pagka-shunga." "True, dati inaabangan ko pa 'yan sa hallway." Since I got more time to be with him, para bang may nag-u-urge lagi sa akin to defend his actions. He's kind of clumsy and awkward naman talaga sometimes, but he's actually diligent and amiable. Kaso, aside from teaching, he has to work on the club's research project day and night pa para sa national competition kaya lagi siyang mukhang lutang. Unfortunately for me, napangungunahan ako ng anxiety, like 'what if magkaroon sila ng idea about how I really feel about him?', or maybe it's just because I respect him so much that I do not want any malicious matters to swarm around him. *** Going back to my first senior high school year, unang araw palang ng klase, busy na sina Trisha at Jek-jek sa kanya-kanya nilang sports club. Kaya ayon, mag-isa ako ngayon sa tahimik na hallway. They've been pushing me to join any club pero wala naman akong mahanap na pasok sa interest ko. Literature club sana, pero mukhang hindi ko ka-vibes 'yong mga members no'n. Dance group? No way. I did ballet before pero nag-quit na rin ako after umalis ng instructor ko to get married in New York, kasabay kasi no'n na nabuntis si Tita Helena kay Shin. Hindi ko naman talaga kasi gusto, pumayag lang ako kasi it's her dream daw na magkaroon ng anak na ballet dancer. Nasa kalagitnaan ako ng paglalakad nang matapat ako sa campus bulletin board na puno ng posters, inviting students to join their respective clubs. Then one thing caught my attention. . . Officinarum Investigationis Be part of the campus' research team! Sign up now. - Mr. Dylan Castillo, Club advisor Who would even be encouraged to join a club with such an effortless poster? To be exact, it is just a plain bond paper with Galileo Galilei's picture printed on the right side and texts on the left. Oh boy. *** "Oh, Miss Reyes, is it?" He leaned towards his desk to inspect my face closely. With that much tension, unti-unti akong pinuno ng kaba and to make up for it, I took a step backward, too little that it was left completely unnoticed by him. Still at that position, I gulped. "Y-Yes, sir. I saw the poster you pasted on the board po and I find it interesting. Gusto ko po sanang mag-enlist—" "Good heavens, surely!" Nanlaki ang mga mata ko nang bigla niyang hampasin ang mesa at tumayo, sabay hablot ng isang papel at ballpen, "Here, please sign it and take these documents home. Just fill it up and submit mo sa akin tomorrow, okay?" I nodded, still in a state of surprise. "We only have a few members so I'm glad that simple poster got your attention. Anyway, I've been seeing you around but I've never had the chance to talk to you." "Tungkol saan po?" Kumunot ang noo ko sa kuryosidad, kahit na may idea naman ako kung ano ba ang tinutukoy niya. "You've forgotten already? This summer, Miss. I realized na hindi pala ako nakapagpasalamat sa'yo for assisting me." I was right. He remembers it! "A-ah. Ayos lang po," nauutal kong sagot. Oh God, please, bakit ako nanginginig? "This is for you," he handed me a pink velvet, rectangular box which I reluctantly received with both hands. We exchanged glances before I decided to open it, and what greeted my eyes left me at awe for a short while. It was a pen — an expensive looking one! Hindi ko na nagawa pang tignan nang maayos at isinara ko agad ang lalagyan, sa pagkakatanda ko lang, kulay metallic pink siya at nakapwesto na parang jewelry. "Sorry, pero hindi ko po 'yan matatanggap. Mukhang ano, mahal po," I admitted. My heart raced a bit when I heard him chuckle, "It's fine, I bought it recently kahit it's the variant for females because it's the only stock left. Then, I saw a blue one online and immediately grabbed it since that's my favourite color. See? Go on, take it." He took the pen out of the box, making me notice something. "Oh f— Miss Nikki Shel??" I bursted upon seeing her initials written in her signature cursive letters. I've been reading her novels since I entered high school. She's a well-known philosophical novelist whom I love, and well, who would've thought na pareho pala kami ng taste sa mga books? "You know her?" I saw a slight glimmer in his eyes nang itanong niya 'yon, and that earned a tiny giggle from me. "I'm a fan! Oh my God, akin na po pala, thank you!" Wala nang hiya-hiya, I abruptly took it from him and held it tightly in front of my chest. "Glad to know you like it." "I . . I will treasure it. Salamat po ulit." Does not matter how silly it sounds, but I think I just met my first ever crush at 16.