The Last Letter

16

Chapter XVI

August’s POV

It was the next day and I am in the university.

It is a quarter to 3pm which means this is my last class for today, thank God. I feel so sleepy since I barely got any sleep last night and my professor in this subject is nice and has a quite soft voice. She always understands students who feel sleepy in her class and lets them be but always telling us to make sure we understand the lesson properly. To be honest, I am one of those students.

It is Friday today and I made plans. That is to get more sleep after this class.

When I got home yesterday, I spent almost all my time sleeping and when I woke up, it was already 8 in the evening. I had a presentation to prepare for and so many plates I needed to finish so I didn’t know why I even chose to lay down on my bed as soon as I got home. It was a no brainer move.

But because of that sleep, I acquired the energy I needed to do my school stuff.

I finished all of my requirements at around 3am so I only had 3 more hours to sleep. University journey is surely tough but I’m almost there so I just now need to strive and work harder.

I haven’t seen Ben this morning and noon. I wonder what he will do now after I told him about Suzanne yesterday. I just genuinely hope he’s coming to his senses.

Suzanne? I saw her earlier this noon at the cafeteria but she didn’t see me so we did not have the chance to greet each other. She was also with her friends so I didn’t bother her.

I started to put all of my stuff into my bag. After my class, I don’t have anything else to do because I already finished doing the plates I need to pass for this month yesterday and I finished my presentation earlier as well. I also studied for next week’s lessons and I plan to read more this weekend.

“Class dismissed.” My professor said and started to put her things in her bag.

My classmates were exiting the room one by one so I also stood up and got in line to the door.

“See you on monday.” One of my friends said and tapped my shoulder.

“See you.” I replied.

When I reached outside the building, I went straight to the parking lot where I parked my bicycle. I rode it and headed straight home, calculating how much sleep I should get or if I should sleep until tomorrow.

I went off my bike and just walked when it was time to go uphill. I don’t have the energy to ride my bike uphill and it’s quite hot right now. At this rate, I might as well just die on the way home.

After about 10 minutes of walking, I finally reached my house and parked my bike at the usual spot, the garage.

“I’m home!” I shouted as I took off my shoes by the main door. During this time, my mom is the only one in the house since my siblings are either at work or still at school and dad, of course, is at the farm.

The television was on but my mom was sound asleep. I turned it off to save electricity and opened the windows so the cool air gets inside the house. We do not have an air conditioner since our house is located uphill and there are so many trees surrounding us. The natural cool air is way better than the AC.

After that, I went inside my room and opened my windows as well. I immediately felt the cool breeze coming into my room.

I took a quick shower so that I could sleep better.

The neighborhood is quiet at this time of the day because the husbands might be working and the housewives are mostly asleep. I only saw children outside, playing and probably having the best times of their lives. I’ve been there so I pretty much spent all of my younger years playing outside with my neighborhood friends.

I laid down on my bed, stared at the ceiling and the walls in my bedroom for a couple of minutes, thinking of anything random. In no time, I’m pretty sure I fell asleep when I closed my eyes.

***

“Brother! Hey, wake up! You have a visitor!”

I felt hands violently shaking my shoulders. I opened my eyes to see who it is.

It was Leo, my youngest brother. He is just 7 years old and at his age, I envy that he has a lot of energy.

“Why? What happened?” I asked, scratching my eyes as I gather my strength to get up.

“Uncle Benjamin is outside! He was there for a very long time now, waiting for you!”

I looked at the clock hanging on my wall and saw that it is past 6pm now.

“Why haven’t you woken me up earlier?”

“I did. But you don’t seem to wake up.” He answered and pouted. He looks really cute when he does that. Leo is like the little ball of sunshine in this house.

I finally got up, stretched and fixed myself in front of the mirror a little. But then I realized it was only Ben so I stopped it and went down the stairs.

He was casually sitting at the sofa in front of the tv, watching anime along with my younger brothers, eating my favorite snacks that I think mom prepared for him. He is talking to dad who is reading a newspaper at the dining table. He is always welcomed to this house so he can do everything he wants here, with no restrictions. Of course, except for doing illegal things.

I sat beside him and eat the snacks that were on the center table.

“Let’s go to the city.” He said, but only paying attention to the show on the tv.

“Ohh…” I think I knew what he would do there. Thank God he finally realized what he actually needs to do. But do I really need to go with him?

“Wait. Me too? Why?” I asked.

“So it won’t seem awkward. I might stutter when I’m alone. At least you’re there to smack me in the face when I do that. You are friends with her now right?” He answered.

I thought about it for a second. But if I were him, I would use this time to be alone with her. Or maybe they’ll do that later? Leaving me out of place.

“Sure.” I said simply. For my friend, I won’t mind becoming a third wheel. While they talk, I could go to disco clubs since it is Friday today, maybe some of my blockmates are there.

I went back to my room to change into some of the better clothes I own.

I wore my denim slacks and a navy blue bomber jacket with a simple black t-shirt underneath. I also wore my favorite white sneakers and parted my hair on the right side of my head and applied hair gel on it.

When I was satisfied with how I looked, I went down again. Kissed my mom on the cheek and asked for permission from my dad even though he said I’m too old and I can already take care of myself. He trusts Ben as my friend and he was like a son to him. But dad doesn’t really associate himself with my affairs. He said I just need to study and finish my degree.

We hopped on Ben’s car and drove all the way to the city.

To be honest, this kind of moment is like the highlight and best times of my college journey. The city, the disco, beers, the night outs with the guys and so much more. I wonder if I could still do these things when I am finally in the working phase of my life.

In just about 20 minutes, we already reached the city. Ben found a good parking spot just outside the park but is still near the bistro Suzanne works at.

As expected, the night life in the city is always vibrant and lively with loud music everywhere.

We walked inside the bistro and it was unexpectedly busy unlike the last time I went here with Ben, James and Ray. It was just 7pm now and there were so many customers inside. I saw Suzanne working hard to serve the customers so she didn’t notice us yet.

“Let’s go back later.” Ben said and turned our backs to walk out the door to not block the customers leaving.

Ben and I continued to walk to the path leading to more restaurants and shops. We went inside a small snack bar, just like a convenience store but sells more instant foods. We grabbed some chewing gum and a few chips and bottles of soft drinks for take out.

We went to the park after that and found a playground that has cement benches and tables. We decided to spend some of the time here while waiting for the bistro to quiet down just a little.

“I wish our conversation would go smoothly later.” Ben said.

“Mmm.” I replied while munching and drinking my snacks. “Should I leave you two alone later?” I asked after drinking.

“Nah. No need. I shouldn’t have dragged you here when I’ll just talk to her alone. I plan to spend the night with the three of us. Maybe go to another city or I don’t know. We’ll see later.” He answered.

“I know right. You shouldn’t do that to me.” I jokingly said.

We chatted non stop. We also found a street food cartel nearby and ate there also. Ben and I are fans of street foods even if it is unhealthy so if we run ito one, it is impossible for us to resist.

We probably spent an hour at the park, just eating, drinking, eating again and chatting about school and random stuff.

When we passed by the bistro and saw just a few customers inside, we went to the alley first because Ben said he needed to be ready. When he said he was okay now, we knew it was finally the time.

The time that both Suzanne and my friend to have a conversation again after a year.

We went inside and sat at the empty table. I raised my hand for one of the employees to notice that I need to see the menu. To our surprise, it was Suzanne who went to our table.

To be continued…