A Second Chance with You

Chapter 2

KC rushed to her first class today, Introduction to Psychology, Saint Andrew building room 305. She didn’t have time to catch her breath once she reached the third floor, she half jogged, half ran to the right room. Only pausing to take a deep breath once she’s right in front of it. She opened the door slightly and peeked inside. With a huge sigh of relief, she stepped inside. The professor has not yet arrived.

There are at least a dozen students already in the room, chatting away like old friends. Most of them opted to sit in the middle and last few rows. She wondered if all of them are freshmen like herself. A few of them paused to stare at her when she entered, some gazed at her with confusion. She felt her cheeks go red and hurried to take the seat right in front of the professor’s table and pretended to be busy looking for something in her bag. She chose the aisle chair and noticed that the girl sitting at the one across hers is staring her at her as well. She blushed again but noticed that the girl was smiling tentatively. She smiled back.

“Hi.” The girl said.

“Hello,” KC replied.

“Wednesday is wash day.” The girl informed her.

“What?” She asked confused.

“Wednesday is wash day. So we can wear casual clothes and all. You must have dozed off during the orientation when they discussed the topic.” The girl clarified glancing at her uniform.

“Oh.” KC realized with a groan. Glancing around, she realized for the first time that none of her classmates are wearing the school uniform. Today is Wednesday. And it was indeed mentioned during the orientation. She did struggle to stay awake as she came from her shift, she even dozed off for a few minutes. She looked down at her brand new uniform, remembering how much time it took to iron it last night. This day is not going well, she thought in annoyance.

“That’s alright.” The girl said reassuringly. “I’m sure you’re not the only one who’s forgotten. I mean, why would they start the semester on a Wednesday anyway?” She asked incredulously.

KC laughed weakly. “Yeah.”

“My name is Jo.” The girl introduced herself, extending a hand.

KC shook it, replying, ”I’m KC.”

“Nice to meet you, can I call you Ate KC?” Jo asked.

Ate? So I do look old. KC thought despairingly.

Jo seemed to sense her discomfort. “It’s okay if you don’t want me to.”

“Do I look old?” KC asked before she can stop herself.

She considered that for a moment. “You don’t look old. But it’s also obvious that we’re not in the same age group.”

Not sure what to make of that response, she asked, “so, how old do you think am I?”

“25?” Jo guessed, after a few seconds of consideration.

“Seriously? You think I’m just 25?”

Her classmate nodded.

That’s not too bad, KC thought with a smile. “I’m already thirty-two.”

Jo was amazed. “You don’t look thirty-two!”

KC grinned. “Thanks. And to answer your question earlier, yes, you can call me Ate.”

“Great! I’ve always wanted an Ate.” Her new friend said excitedly. “I’m the eldest child, you see.”

“Ah. I’m an only child but I do have a lot of cousins so I guess I have Ates and Kuyas.” KC told her new friend thoughtfully. Realizing that she was lucky to have tons of cousins to play with growing up, she didn’t feel deprived of siblings.

“Wow, that must’ve been fun,” Jo commented. “I’ve got cousins too but we’re not that close.”

“Oh, that’s too bad,” KC said, not knowing what else to say.

“I’ve got four younger siblings, three of them are boys. You have no idea of the riot I have to endure daily.” Jo informed her with a scowl.

KC laughed, glad to find someone she can talk to in this class. She worried the other students may find it awkward to talk to her but Jo seemed to be perfectly at ease. Soon they were chatting away happily as if they’ve known each other for years. She found that Jo is also a freshman and an aspiring nurse. She has Introduction to Psychology as part of the curriculum. The two spent the next fifteen minutes getting to know each other and being friends on f*******:. Jo informed her that she loves social media, she has everything from Twitter, Pinterest, i********:, t****k, and other platforms that KC lost track of. She wondered how much time the girl spend on her phone. Having a full time as well as part-time jobs, she only has limited time on social media.

At half-past seven, the classroom has almost emptied. Jo was the first to notice and glanced at her watch. KC looked as well. She had been quite oblivious that her classmates had already left.

“Wow. I guess we should leave too. It doesn’t look like our professor’s attending the first day.” Jo noted, looking around.

“Yeah, let’s go.” She agreed, getting to her feet. “What’s your next class anyway?”

“Communication Skills 1,” Jo replied glancing at a printed copy of her schedule. “You?”

“Mathematics in the Modern World,” KC returned without enthusiasm. She hated Math. Although, she was glad she did not have to enroll in any PE classes. She submitted her transcript and some of the subjects she already took were credited. As far as she’s concerned, she’s done all she could in that part and would happily forgo the rest.

Jo laughed, seeing her facial expression. “Good luck with that. Doesn’t seem like you’re a fan of numbers.”

“Of course, I am,” KC said in mock indignation. “As long as it is preceded by Philippine Peso sign and more than 5-digits. Oh, and should be in my bank account.” They both laughed.

“All right then. I guess I’ll see you on Friday.” Jo waved as they headed in different directions for their next class.

“See you.” KC agreed, waving at her. Feeling lighthearted that she made at least one friend. She looked at her schedule again and noted that her next class will be held at CS404. College of Sciences, fourth-floor room four, she thought. Why are there no elevators here? Thank God for the hours she spent on the treadmill otherwise her tongue would be sticking out by the time she reached it.

She felt her phone vibrate and smiled when she saw who it was.

“Hi BFF!” She greeted her best friend cheerfully.

“BFF! How’s your first day? Are there a lot of hotties? Have you been to the gym? I’m sure the basketball practice is swarming with hot guys without their shirts on!” Marian demanded in one breath.

KC laughed. “I’ve only been here less than an hour you know.”

“Oh, right. That’s fine, you can check them out later. So are we still on for coffee this Saturday? We haven’t been able to catch up in ages!” Marian complained, sounding whiny.

“Yep, I’m looking forward to it.” She confirmed pleasantly, ignoring her best friend’s tone.

She cheered up at once. “Great! Then maybe we can see a movie after then we can go to a Karaoke bar next. What do you think?”

She rolled her eyes, almost seeing the wide grin of excitement on her friend’s face. “I’m still not sure how exhausting my first week will be. How about we just chill at your place or maybe mine?”

“Aw, okay. Let’s stay at mine so we can sing our hearts out. I bought Magic Sing last week and I’ve been wanting to use it but I didn’t want to sing by myself. Mind you, it’s the latest model. It came with two microphones.” Marian boasted proudly. It seems she’s been bursting to tell her about it.

“Magic Sing? That’s expensive!” KC scolded. “What does Third have to say about that?”

“Aw, don’t be such a killjoy.” Her friend told her defensively. Then added in a reasonable voice,  “I’ve saved up for a partial payment. I paid the rest through my credit card, with zero interest. You can’t deny it, it’s a good deal. You know I’ve been wanting to buy one. Besides, it has thousands of songs so it’s a good investment. And, Third was just as excited about it as I was. He’s just away on a business trip at the moment, I told you he would be.” Her tone turned grouchy, “I even invited you to stay with me for a week, remember?”

So she did, KC thought. She forgot about Marian’s boyfriend being away for a week, her friend was begging that she stay with her in the meantime.  With the pressure and excitement going back to school brought, she had to decline. Her apartment is nearer to the university and she doubted she’d get anything done if she accepted her friend’s offer. She ignored this.

“Wow. You’ve spent some time coming up with an explanation for this splurge, haven’t you?” She accused.

Marian laughed, unabashed. “Yes, I did. I know your thrifty soul will have a fit. Did I mention it has thousands of songs?”

KC laughed indulgently. “There’s no escaping videoke, huh?”

“Nope. You can’t get out of this one. Also, when was the last time we had a sleepover?”

And we’re back there, she thought. She shifted guiltily. “Over a month ago? You know how hectic preparing for school can be. I had to get my transcripts then I had to get--”

“Exactly. So, your Saturday is all mine. No further discussions.” Marian fiercely said, cutting her explanation off.

Oh well, I can catch up with everything else on Sunday. “Okay, okay. Fine.” She acquiesced. There’s no escaping Marian when she’s all worked up like this.

“Yay! I can’t wait.” She said excitedly. “I’d buy popcorn and beer and what else?”

“What about me? Do you want me to bring anything too?” KC asked.

“No, no. We can go shopping after coffee. I also bought a portable griller like the ones they use for Samgyupsal so we can also do that. We need to buy Kimchi and beef and pork and some vegetab--”

“Um BFF?” She interrupted Marian tentatively.  “I need to get to class so can you just write those down and we can talk about them this Saturday?”

“Right! Sorry, I’m just really excited about it. I can’t wait to use it and have an authentic Korean experience.”

“I don’t know about that.” She said doubtfully. “You can always treat me to an authentic Korean restaurant if you want. That way we can be sure the experience would be as real as those on K-dramas.” She teased.

“Haha. We’ll have to make do with what we have, I’ve spent a lot last week.” Her friend admitted in a low voice.

“Big surprise. You really need to manage that BFF, before you know it you’re broke.” She chided.

“Yes, mother hen.” Marian retorted sarcastically. “I’ll see you this Saturday, okay? But don’t wait until then to call me. I still want to know how many cuties you’ve met there.”

“Most of them are over a decade younger, you know.” She replied, frowning.

“Aw, c’mon. It’s not as if you’re trying to get them to bed or anything. You’re just going to look. And even if you catch the eye of one or some of them, so what? Age is just a number.”

“Says the girl who refused to go on a date with a wealthy businessman because he’s old.”

Marian scoffed. “He’s old enough to be my grandfather! I wanted a boyfriend, not a sugar daddy.”

KC giggled. “Yeah, yeah. Good thing you found a boyfriend, all right. I better go. Don’t want to be late.”

The rest of the day passed like a blur. One minute, she’s rushing to her first class, now she’s heading out the last one. She was glad that her schedule this semester allows her to be home just after lunch and be free on weekends, even if her subjects on Tuesdays and Thursdays are half an hour longer. Tired but satisfied, she walked towards the station with a smile. The early morning mishap was already forgotten. Most of her professors were present except for the first. And she was able to interact with her classmates just fine, once they got over their amusement that she’s the only one wearing the uniform. She was also relieved to find out that there are other students her age (some even older), and are still pursuing their first college degree.

Don’t know why you’re fussing so much about your age KC. It’s just a damn number, she berated herself as she reached the bottom of the stairs that lead to the atrium.

Her preoccupation was interrupted by a male voice as she exited the building. “I thought you weren’t showing up today. Why were you late anyway?”

“I woke up late, I had a headache.” Another male voice replied.

She froze, that voice sounded terribly familiar. She turned to look but the men were already obscured by the side of the building towards the parking area. She stood there unmoving, wondering if she should follow. That voice sounded very much like… No, it can’t be. I must be mistaken. I just dreamed of him, that’s all. I must be so tired, I need to get home.

“Ouch!” she cried, as someone bumped into her. She turned to see a harassed looking girl picking up a few books. KC helped her and apologized profusely. She hasn’t been paying attention to her surroundings. Embarrassed, she hurried to the train station, eager to get home and rest.