The Magus and His Alpha

Sharing Birthdays

They shared the same classes for the rest of the semester as they were enrolled in a block group of students in their class, typical for first-year students at their university.

The rest of the semester was mainly uneventful. Both realized the intelligence of the other. Justin introduced Roseller to online gaming, which the latter would only engage in during weekends.

Knowing the financial struggle of Roseller, Justin made sure to pay for the time that they would play in the internet cafes.

Roseller sometimes got embarrassed as he was mostly freeloading. He didn't want to take advantage of Justin's generosity. But then the latter did not fail to persuade him.

He loved the momentary indulgence, but Roseller made sure to remind Justin of moderation as they were students. Their studies should be a priority. Other indulgences should be kept in moderation.

During their first semester, they both celebrated their 17th birthday, which they both shared, surprisingly.

October 9 was the date and it so happened that it was a Friday and no class on a Saturday. They celebrated at Justin's house with his grandmother. His grandmother's house was a quaint mid-class bungalow style with a mezzanine in a gated village in Cebu City.

Roseller's first impression of Justin's house with his grandmother was that of a rich family that wished to live simply and yet was not afraid to show a certain elegance. Its facade conveyed a certain level of elegance accentuated by a landscaped garden of flowers and a fire tree at the right side of the house. The front yard held a large lawn space of trimmed Bermuda grass.

The modern-built house incorporated complex traditional Zen-style architecture highlighting the off-white and light brown hues. Its elegance, however, could be seen through the dark brown granite at the entrance door. The huge entrance door made of white hardwood made Roseller nervous as he noted the expensive material used. The house could not be considered a mansion, but it would be insulting to regard it as shabby.

Roseller noted the exterior of the house with a certain interest yet with anxiety akin to someone who was visiting his parents for the first time.

"Good day! You must be Rosler! Justin has been talking about you. I'm his Lola. Call me Lola Meling."

At that time, however, what Roseller had in mind was mostly embarrassment. He could not place himself on the same level as Justin. But despite his shyness, Roseller never forgot to remain courteous.

"Good day, Ma'am! You have a beautiful home. Justin is surely lucky to be raised by you."

"It's rare to see a polite young man these days and good-looking too!" Lola Meling invited Roseller to the house. "Please come in! Justin, show him around the house. You may also take him to your room while we're preparing for the party."

"Yes, Lola!"

Justin beckoned his best friend to the living room.

While they were seated, the friends were greeted again by the matriarch of the house bringing cookies and glasses of juice. She then settled on another seat as she observed Rosler.

"It's great that Justin managed to bring a friend here. I thought my grandson was anti-social. He is always in his room and playing on his computer every night and even on weekends. But lately, he went out on weekends and informed me after probing him that he would be playing with his best friend.

He seemed to always share some things about the guy named Rosler. It's good that I finally see the person behind that name." Lola Meling ended his remark with an amiable smile that seemed to bring warmth to Roseller. That somehow put the moreno-looking young man at ease.

Justin, meanwhile, supplemented the conversation. "I always inform Lola about you because she always wanted me to bring home a friend. At least, I have got someone to play with and, of course, to be my study buddy." Justin grinned.

"Justin is an only child, so I feel like he's a loner. His mom, my daughter, is in Japan, so she could not manage to attend Justin's birthday except now that we can use the Internet for long-distance video calls." Lola Meling graciously imparted things that might seem too personal. But that only put Roseller to a realization that he was welcome in their home.

From his conversation with Justin's grandmother, Roseller learned many things about Justin.

Being the only child of a broken family, Justin never cared about religion nor about the existence of god or a higher being. His mother was already busy with her job in Japan, while his father passed away when he was fifteen, leaving a sizable sum in his will for Justin's fortune to benefit until his ripe age, even if he, the sole beneficiary, would sire many children.

Despite the inheritance, Justin made a choice to live simply. His fortune, perhaps, could be deemed as a primary factor for his complacency in his studies. However, Roseller knew Justin's high intelligence, which he never boasted about even during their times in college.

Roseller would only feel awe if Justin could get high marks in their tests despite knowing the latter's proclivities to online gaming a night prior to the date of examination. Still, Justin's plan for maintaining a low profile in college was exhibited in his graduation period where he only got a 1.7 in GPA, just one point lower than his qualification to graduate with c*m laude honors. He never regretted it.

Meanwhile, Roseller received the magna c*m laude honors much to the excitement and happiness of his parents and siblings. He regarded this achievement as a way to pay back his parents for their hardship in raising him.

Upon his first visit, what triggered Roseller was self-pity, slowly emerging from his emotion. He tried, however, to suppress it as he sensed that it was not worth it to bring himself down.

It was in those times when he regarded the importance of pride to rapidly suppress low-vibrating emotions that would lead him to temporary depression.

Yes, he knew he was poor. His family was impoverished.

His parents barely made their five sons survive.

Thankfully, his mother had an older sister who wished to help her overcome the tediousness of raising a big family.

Because of Roseller's show of intelligence and promise when he was very young, his Aunt Debbie decided to raise him by the time he was 13.

The young Roseller, who was used to star-gazing at the mountain peaks of Dalaguete, was transferred to his aunt's family home in the city when he was about to enter high school.

And so, when Roseller looked back at the first time he was invited to celebrate Justin's 17th birthday together with him, it was also at that time, when his ambition to become wealthy— not only for his sake but also for his family— emerged from the depths of conscious desires.