The Last Letter

13

Chapter XIII

August’s POV

It is now the time of the year where all architecture students gather around in order to get to know the freshmen.

Normally, I and some of my close friends would ditch this kind of ceremony in our university but almost all my professors require our attendance and participation.

And the professors also are the ones who’ll check our attendance so we don’t have a choice. If we don’t attend, we might be punished with more activities and worse, we might get suspended. And if that ever happens, my family would definitely kill me since they value our education too much.

There were too many students in the gym and it’s one in the afternoon so it was quite hot. The seniors are so loud as if this would be the last time they’ll talk. I mean, it would be their last time doing this ceremony and their last year in our university. Understandable.

And they weren’t the only ones who were noisy. Almost everyone in this small gymnasium. This is the number one reason why I don’t want to attend this kind of ceremony.

To my surprise, everyone suddenly became quiet when one of my professors, who is terror, turned on his microphone and cleared his throat loudly enough to make anybody jump out of their seat.

“Is this the market? Why is everybody so loud?” He said in a stern voice.

We are used to his rebukes so everyone is just not that scared anymore. In the classroom setting, he exudes a different kind of dark aura so we especially fear him in our department. But although he shouts and scolds us too much sometimes, he is one of the best and skilled professors we had. And after school, he's nice and approachable, but still a fearsome man if that would be the first time you will see him.

I looked at the glass window and saw the freshmen lined up outside in this hot and humid afternoon. We all have been there and in fact they were even luckier. When it was our time, it was like 35 degrees celsius outside and we were forced to properly wear our suffocating uniforms.

The freshmen for this year are less than a hundred, about 80? The lowest number of enrollees our department had ever. Last year alone, there were almost two hundred freshmen enrolled so the university decided to just accept 150 students which is still too much. That's why I skipped the ceremony last year because the gym was too crowded at that time.

Professor opened the gate and signalled the freshmen to enter. Everyone inside is in dead silence and only the footsteps are heard as they march inside the gym.

I closed my eyes and yawned as I suddenly felt sleepy. I always feel sleepy when it is hot like the weather today and I find it really good to sleep under a shady tree at this time of the day.

When I felt like they were all inside, I opened my eyes and I saw them standing at the front, facing the stage where my professor is standing. We prayed, sang the national anthem and our university anthem, then sit finally. I swear, this is the most boring part, the professors explaining our course, making sure that we’ll all follow the university’s rules and regulations and motivating us to participate and be competitive in university activities.

After the long explanation, it was now the time for getting to know our juniors, probably the only part of the ceremony I’m interested in. Everyone was shaking hands, telling us their names and hoping that they can learn from us, some are even making friends now.

A group of six girls suddenly walked up to us and shook our hands and conversed with us politely. They do not seem like the kind of girls that you can see always partying or hooking up with someone. They actually seemed intellectual and smart and in fact, I think this batch of freshmen are nice and well mannered compared to last year’s batch.

After they left, I turned around and there I saw a familiar face amidst the crowd. I only see half of her face but I know it was the girl that Benjamin is interested in. What was her name again? Unlike that night, her hair was down today and she’s wearing glasses.

She looked at me and we locked eyes for like 10 seconds then she turned her eyes away but I was suddenly in a panic mode when she started walking towards my direction. She stopped when she was in front of me and held her right hand out for a handshake.

“I’m Suzanne Mea Cruz, nice to meet you!” She said cheerfully but looking at the uniform I am wearing. My chest is on her eye level.

“Oh yes! August Montilla.” I paused for a while and I said with a smile and also shook her hands. “I know we met before, like 4 or 5 days ago?”

“Yes. And actually, 2 years ago.” This time she looked me in the eyes and smiled.

I looked at the ceiling and pretended to think. “Ahh… yeah… I guess..?” I stuttered. Oh now upon looking at her closely, Ben was right that we met years before. Otherwise, she wouldn’t be this familiar to me.

“Uhm… at the restaurant near the river before the city. The seafood restaurant. I worked there.”

“Yes that’s right! I remember now!” I clapped my hands once exclaimed in amazement. Time flies so fast. I remembered her being quite cute back then but now, she looked mature.

I nodded. “Nevertheless, it was nice to meet you and I hope you enjoy your journey here. You can ask for help from us as your senior.” I leaned closer to her then whispered, “I know about you and Ben, please take care of my friend.” I smiled at her but seemed puzzled by what I said.

She bowed to me timidly and hurried back to where she was before. I was left confused with her reactions but I let it off my mind when I saw that the door is now open and the ceremony has ended. We could go home now since all of our classes have been cancelled just for this ceremony.

My friends all went home so I was left all alone to get my bag at our classroom. I am also about to go home after this because I need to prepare for two quizzes tomorrow. I exited the building and walked towards the field to just admire the best spot of my university for a minute.

At a distance not far away from where I am standing, I could see her, what was her name again? Suzanne? I saw her walking down the field and sat and seemed like waiting for someone. Could it be Ben? I think so. Ben’s class will end in no time so I guess I’ll wait for Ben too since I also have matters I want to discuss with him.

I bought bottled water at the store just in front of the school gate and walked back again to where she was.

As soon as I reached her, I handed her the bottled water I bought. She stood up and waved her hands in front of her like a sign of declining.

“It’s okay. It’s new, I didn’t drink from it.” I said.

“No. I’m fine. I don’t need to drink”.” She answered and smiled awkwardly.

“No. Everybody needs to drink. Take it.” I insisted and placed the bottle on her hand. I think she knew I would nag her continuously for not accepting my drink so she gave up. She opened it and had a big gulp.

“See, I told you.” I smiled then I sat by the grass which she also did after drinking the water.

It is about quarter to 3pm now and the sun is on the other side so our tall buildings slightly serve as a shade in the field. And the weather is not that hot now compared to earlier.

After probably minutes of silence and staring at the view in front of us, I decided to finally break the silence.

“How is the restaurant going?”

She looked at me and then to the grass she’s picking at. “What restaurant?” She asked.

“The seafood restaurant where Ben and I ate two years ago. Hey! Don’t pick that, the guard could scold you if you are caught. That’s hard to maintain, you know.” I added. She let go of the grass she picked and sighed.

“No, it was closed down about a year ago.” She answered. I could see the look in her eyes suddenly change. “My grandparents own that restaurant. But my grandma died so we had to close it down.”

The mood suddenly shifted to gloomy and I felt the cool wind breeze, as if matching the atmosphere surrounding the two of us.

“I’m so sorry to hear that.” I told her. I made my voice sympathetic as much as I could.

She cleared her voice, “It’s okay. As you know, I now work at where you and your friends ate in the city.”

I nodded. And a minute of silence again. I was in an unbelievably awkward situation right now. I wish I could just pick my stuff up and tell her I need to go home but that would be disrespectful so I just stay perfectly still.

“I live independently now. I study during the day and work in the afternoon and night. My grandpa is living at my brother’s now so I only have myself to support my finances.”

After a while, she just told me that. I was quite shocked to hear that she’s enduring that much at such a young age. It’s amazing but at the same time, I felt bad for her now that she’s alone, all she has right now is just herself.

I couldn’t see myself doing all of that since I grew up in an average family, but I completely understand her situation and I admire her courage and tenacity for staying strong.

I stared at her as she said those words and honestly, I don’t know the right words that I should say.

To be continued…