BEGIN AGAIN

Freshmen

I forced a smile. “No, I’ll be using the guitar on the other side.” I walked past him, my mind racing. Why would he reject my offer? I was being nice! People would line up if I were a tour guide. I rolled my eyes and shook off the thought. I picked up the acoustic guitar and tuned it, checking the song I was currently working on.

I glanced over at the piano and saw Adrian still playing, but this time, the sound was muffled behind the glass wall. I lost track of time while strumming and writing. I only stopped when my Nanay called.

“Haynaku! Ening, everybody’s looking for you! We were so worried because your Kuya Roger couldn’t find you at school. Where are you? We’ve been calling you, but you weren’t answering,” Nanay said, sounding very worried. I checked the time—it was already 8:23 PM. I looked around, hoping to see the guy, but he was no longer in the room.

“I’m still at school, Nanay. I’m in the music room. I’ll call Kuya Roger to pick me up here,” I said, trying to assure her that I was okay. We hung up, and I quickly fixed my things.

I walked out, and it was already dark. Thankfully, the hallways were lit, but being alone made me feel uneasy. As I walked, I felt a presence nearby and sensed that someone was following me. Thank you, Dad, for forcing me to learn martial arts. My efforts have paid off tonight. I looked around and saw a guard not far down the hallway, so I ran toward him, screaming.

“AHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!” I scream while running.

The guard was alerted and immediately started running toward me. I stopped running and caught my breath.

“Ma’am, are you okay? Why did you shout?” the guard asked, pointing his big flashlight toward the other side.

“Ahh, no, I’m fine. I just got scared. Can you walk me to the gate, please?” I asked softly.

“Okay, Ma’am,” he replied.

I went home, but I couldn’t stop thinking about the guy at the piano. He was really cute, and I was so excited to tell Dina about him. I texted her, but the night ended without a reply. She must have been busy with dinner. I went to bed early, hoping to see the guy again tomorrow.

I woke up earlier than usual today, feeling excited to go to school. I checked my phone and finally saw Dina’s message:

'Sorry for the late reply, I got really busy catching up with my cousins last night.'

'Oooh, I’m excited for you, girl! Haha, or maybe he’s a freshman since you don’t recognize his face. Lol.'

'See you!'

I smiled halfway through her message, but when I read the part about him possibly being a freshman, I froze. Omg, Soleng, what if he’s a freshman? Ew! Or maybe a transferee, right? Hopefully, a transferee. But a freshman? Nooo, he’s too cute for me.

I buried my face in a pillow and started screeching. This is embarrassing. But if he is a freshman, maybe he’s much older than 13 because he doesn’t look that young. That’s fine… or maybe I can just ignore him, right? I shook off my thoughts and prepared for school.