The Last Letter

5

Chapter V

I shrugged off when I felt my stomach rumble. I left them thinking about that girl and ate my cheeseburger. I drank my coke and almost choked on it when Rey raised his hand and asked for some tissues, directly looking at the girl.

“What the hell are you doing Rey?” I asked him. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not angry, I’m just embarrassed that they are making a fuss over a familiar girl. It’s embarrassing since we were whispering like crazy to each other a while ago and the other customers were confusedly looking at us.

I looked at her again and saw her asking the other female employee to give us the tissues Rey asked for. Both of them looked like they didn't know what to do and kept passing the tissues to each other. Even other customers are even more confused about our behavior and the employees behavior inside the restaurant.

In the end, she gave up and walked towards us, almost dragging her feet and we could visibly see she was pissed off. She handed the tissues to Rey and Ben, Rey and James thanked her in unison while looking carefully at her. I just closed my eyes and covered my face with my palms to hide my embarrassment because of these three I’m with.

She didn’t even look at us when she handed the tissues. She placed it on the table while looking away, avoiding my friends’ gaze, then hurriedly went back to the counter.

“Maybe she’s a freshman or sophomore. She’s familiar but she’s not in our year or higher year.” I told them.

“You’re right.” James said as he ate his burger too.

I looked at Ben and he’s still looking at that girl. I looked at her but her back was facing us again. Now that I think about it, she’s purposely doing that because she’s creeped out by us.

“She’ll melt.” I told Ben while chuckling.

“How I wish.” Ben said then smiled at his burger. It’s creepy I know, Ben tends to smile at things when he’s thinking about something nice or when he’s happy.

After eating, we paid the bill to the other girl on the counter and left the bistro. We went to some shops for a bit and spent some time at a karaoke place before going to the disco club. We are making the most of this night as if we won’t go to this city anymore.

All throughout the night, I can’t help but notice Ben smiling at almost everything he sees, even people, even things. Even when he was driving us home, it looked like he wasn't tired from partying all night and he’s smirking by himself and giggling thinking about something. Some disgusting things come to my mind whenever I see him smiling out of nowhere but James and Rey just tell me that he might’ve seen some pretty girls in the club that attracted him.

It was around 2 am when we finally reached my house. Ben insisted on dropping everyone at their house even if he lives near the city, he'll then need to drive back again to which he said he doesn't mind. He dropped me off and I told him not to think about her too much because she might have a nightmare. He laughed and we did our signature handshake and then he drove off.

I entered my house and as expected, everybody's in deep sleep. Since I had a few drinks, I rushed my way to my room and as I don't care about anything else like changing my clothes or taking a quick shower, in a matter of seconds laying on my bed, I think I fell asleep immediately.

***

It has been two days since we went to the city and it’s Monday again today. Normally, I wake up by 5 am to prepare for school but today, I’m unusually tired to even go up to bed. It’s now 6 am and my first class starts at 7 am but I’m still in bed, just staring at the ceiling.

I still live with my parents and siblings since I am saving up money and managing my expenses for future emergencies, you know things like that. I’m just in 3rd year but I’m thinking ahead for 5-10 years from now and saving up for that time. Even if I grew up in an average family where we don’t worry about what we will eat for tomorrow, I’m still aware how hard life is for other people. And I don’t want to experience that so I’m making small sacrifices everyday.

To get to know me better, one thing I can say for sure is that I’m hardworking. I’m not the kind of person who’s naturally smart but I sure work hard. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not bragging.

I got up from my bed and stretched. My usual routine is to look outside my window, the first thing I do upon waking up, and so I did that. It’s almost the same scene everyday so I closed the window and sat on my bed again.

My neighborhood is too simple. Everyday, the same first thing you can see outside are mothers gossiping, holding broom sticks and dustpans on their hands, they probably didn’t even eat breakfast but they start the day by talking. If you're lucky, you’ll see the middle aged man, who sells freshly made and delicious bread, riding his good old bike. You know he’s here when you hear the trumpet-like sound that he attached to his bike. Usually he’s roaming the neighborhood as early as 5 am and his bread will be sold out in just a few minutes. You can also see fathers reading newspapers and drinking coffee, outside their homes and sitting on the wooden benches waiting for sunlight.

My neighborhood is located on a hill. Our house is at a higher place, almost near the peak of the hill so I could see my neighbors almost everyday because I pass by them when I go to the university. They are a nice, really kindhearted bunch of people. During storms or other calamities, you could see everyone doing their best to help one another. They’re the best type of people you could ask for.

On the bottom of the hill, there is a river, extending and connected to the sea somewhat far from here. Some of my neighbors are fishermen, so what they catch in the river is what we buy in the market. Same as my dad, as I have said he is a farmer, and at the same time, the owner of the farm, so what he harvest is also what we see in the market and what we serve on our table.

Ben and I grew up here together but they moved to a far, more secure area near the city, so we just see each other at the university. But sometimes, we visit each other's family to keep up. We still have a few other friends we grew up with here in my neighborhood, some of them even go to the same school as us two.

The university also has a nearby dormitory for students who live in another town or province.

At first, I planned to sign up for a room in the dorm but I figured out that’s a waste of money and my house isn’t even that far. In fact, it would just take me about 30 minutes or so by foot. In the end, I just bought a bicycle and that’s what I ride every single day, and that just takes me 10-15 minutes to reach the school. The only problem is, the way to my house is uphill, so going home is an extreme leg exercise.

After minutes of daydreaming, staring at the ceiling and contemplating whether to go to school or not, I finally decided to wash up and prepare for school. I don’t care if I’m late since I studied advanced for the first class, which is just a minor subject.

It isn’t illegal to skip some subjects but we should just be prepared for any homeworks or presentations for the next meeting. I’m hardworking, yet procrastinating, but at least I’m hardworking.

***

I walked to school partly because I have so much time and partly because I left my bike at school since I rode in Ben’s car when we went to the city last Friday. I don’t mind walking since it isn’t hot yet and I could have breakfast on the way.

When I reached the school, there were still a number of students outside. Our university has a wide field of bermuda grass where we could rest, eat, study, whatever we want to do, as long as it’s legal and won’t bother anyone, we can do it there. You can even set a picnic place there but it’s strictly for us, students only. There are also trees to provide shades. I always go there when I’m free and most of the time, I draw its landscape.

To be continued…