Rain Came after the Fireflies

Chapter 1

Rain Came After the Fireflies

"Naipasa niyo na 'yung requirement sa Psy 05?" biglang tanong ni Samantha bago pa kami tuluyang makapasok sa designated room namin sa library para sa Sikolohiyang Filipino.

"Kailan ba ang deadline?" singit naman ni Elijah, habang inaayos ang butones niya na natanggal sa pagkakabit.

"Second week of May daw, girl, sagot ni Sam "pero narinig ko sa kabilang block na si sir Julius din 'yung may hawak ay sa last week pa"

"Over talaga sa deadline si sir Julius" sabay ko namang wika ko na sakto sa pagbukas ng pinto. Kasunod noon ay bumungad ang mukha ni Sir Julius papalabas sa room, hawak ang kanyang laptop at may bitbit na tumbler. Agad akong napatikhim sa nasabi ko at halos mapadasal na lang ng tahimik na sana hindi niya narinig 'yon.

"Good Afternoon po, Sir Julius" bati naming sabay-sabay, halos koro.

Tumango lang siya at tuluyang umalis sa room.

May 30 minutes pa bago magsimula ang klase, kaya kanya-kanyang bukas ng laptop at notebook ang lahat, napag-usapan na rin namin kung paano aayusin 'yung requirement sa isa pa naming subject.

"Ano na nga ulit 'yung format?" tanong ni Beatrice habang hinahanap sa group chat 'yung announcement ni class rep.

"Narrative report. Pero may guidelines sa Canvas. Wait, send ko," sagot ni Sam habang nagta-type.

Ako naman, tahimik lang, kunwari busy sa pag-scroll sa PDF file pero ang totoo, nag-recover pa 'yung utak ko sa muntikang sablay kanina.

Across the room, Theo was already settled with earbuds in, typing steadily, effortlessly focused. Parang hindi siya nawala ng ilang linggo dahil sa seminar.

I tried not to glance his way.

I failed.

And like clockwork, my thoughts betrayed me.

Four years of sitting three chairs behind him, and not once did he look back

I'd like to say I'm over him, but if I'm being honest, I never even had the guts to start anything with Theo in the first place. Secret crush lang. The kind you keep in the margins of your reviewer at 1 AM and in the quiet corners of your brain, habang nagle-lecture si prof sa harap.

Misty Rodriguez. BS Psychology. Future psychologist, current overthinker, and certified magaling magtago ng feelings since 2022.

I met Theo during orientation week. Late siyang dumating medyo pawisan, clearly lost, pero confident pa rin somehow. He flashed this charming, almost apologetic smile na parang sinasabi, "Sorry I'm late, pero cute naman ako, right?"

He sat in front.

And when they asked for block rep volunteers? Guess who raised his hand?

From that moment on, we had our Block Mayor.

And he never stopped since then.

Now he's not just Theo, the guy with the perfect penmanship and a top-tier face na pwede nang pang-endorsement. He's Theodore Roosevelt, President of the Psych Society. The name, the face, the voice behind every campaign, seminar, and mental health week event our department has ever had.

And today, after being MIA for a week, he walked into class like he never left.

"Good Afternoon, Ma'am. Sorry po, may meeting lang with the Dean," he said, polite as ever, before flashing that trademark Theo grin.

Our professor just nodded. "It's alright, Mr. Roosevelt. You're just in time."

"Of course, po," he replied, smooth and confident, before settling into his usual seat right in front.

Someone behind me whispered, "Grabe, kahit absent ng ilang araw, pogi pa rin. Unfair."

I didn't need to agree out loud. My silence was loud enough.

Meanwhile, ako? Still, the girl behind him, pretending not to notice the way my heartbeat catches every time he walks into the room.

"Misty," my seatmate nudged me. "Nagpapa-check attendance si Ma'am."

"Oh, uh, present po!" I blurted, too loudly. My voice cracked a little.

Theo turned slightly at the sound.

Our eyes met. Just for a second. He smiled.

Theo turned back to his laptop.

I turned back to mine. Back to pretending.

Baka na-imagine ko lang 'yon?

Keep it cool lang. Walang malisya. Walang meaning.

Pero sa utak ko? May fireworks. May background music. May internal panic na parang finals week ulit.

I looked away again. Kunwari chine-check 'yung battery percentage ng laptop ko kahit fully charged naman siya.

My hands were suddenly too aware of themselves, san ko ba dapat ilagay? On the table? Sa lap ko? Do I type? Do I breathe?

"Mukhang kinilig ka dun ah," bulong ni Ajah sa kaliwa ko, sabay ngisi.

"Shut up," I mumbled, trying to act unfazed, pero ramdam ko 'yung init na paakyat sa batok ko.

"Hindi ako bulag, Misty," she teased again, scrolling through her tabs. "Tsaka kung ako 'yan nginitian, baka 'di na 'ko magpaka-professional."

I rolled my eyes, pero hindi ko na pinansin. The last thing I needed was for this crush to evolve into another episode of wishful thinking.

Kasi kahit ilang ulit pa akong ngumiti pabalik, kahit ilang PDF pa 'yung ma-scroll ko sa tabi niya... I know how this story goes.

And it can't be me.

Great. Now I'm spiraling, all because of a two-second glance and a maybe-smile.

I breathed in. I needed to focus. May klase pa. May sarili akong buhay na hindi umiikot sa isang tao lang, this is what i hate about myself. I can't seem to control myself when love gets ahead of me.

"Ano na, Misty?" tanong ni Neah, medyo nagbaba ng boses. "Sasabay ka ba sa paggawa mamaya?"

"Yeah. Gusto ko na rin tapusin habang fresh pa 'yung topic," sagot ko.

"Same. Kasi next week hell week na, diba?"

I nodded and forced a small smile. My mind tried to stay on deadlines and guidelines, but the weight of him pressed at the back of my head. A long time of pretending, of waiting for something that never even started.

After dismissal, we went to the nearby Dunkin para mag-cram sa midterm requirement sa Psy 105.

As usual, puno ang loob. Midterms season na kasi, kaya kahit fast food, naging extension na rin ng university library. We were lucky to snag a booth near the glass window, kahit medyo cramped.

Samantha spread her printed notes across the table like a tarot reader about to predict our academic doom. "Kung hindi tayo pumasa dito, wala na tayong summer break."

"Wala rin tayong tulog," dagdag ni Neah habang nilalagyan ng creamer 'yung kape niya na mukhang mas matapang pa sa loob ko.

I nodded absently, highlighting random lines sa printed reviewer ko habang pilit kong inaayos ang utak ko na kanina pa distracted.

Ajah opened her laptop. "Okay, sinong may kopya nung format ulit?"

"Ako, wait lang," sagot ko, sabay send sa group chat. "May rubric din diyan, tingnan n'yo na rin."

I tried to focus talaga. Pero between the hum of conversation, the faint smell of brewed coffee and donuts plus Beatrice's playlist of late 2000s OPM love songs... my brain was slipping fast.

"Alam mo bang crush ka ni Theo dati?"

Boom.

Halos mapasamid ako sa iniinom kong iced spanish latte.

"What?" I coughed, napatingin agad kay Elijah.

"Char lang," she grinned. "Gusto ko lang makita kung ano magiging reaction mo."

"Tangina, Ajah." I wiped my mouth with a tissue, half-annoyed, half-relieved.

"Pero seryoso, Misty," she leaned in, "Wala ka talagang balak sabihin kahit pa-graduate na tayo? Kahit slight hint man lang?"

I stared at my screen, the blinking cursor mirroring the silence in my chest.

"Hindi kasi 'yon ganun kadali."

She didn't push. Instead, nag-type na lang siya ng outline, and I quietly followed. But for the rest of the night, even as I highlight key words about behavioral analysis, one name kept slipping through the lines:

Theo.

Hindi ko alam kung dahil sa dami ng deadlines... o dahil nandiyan si Theo, two tables away, with a different group.

His laugh floated toward us every now and then yung mababaw, light, familiar ganon ba. Tumitingin ba siya rito? Hindi ko alam. Hindi ko na sinubukang alamin.

"Uy, Misty," tawag ni Elijah. "Ikaw na magta-type nung part natin sa introduction, ikaw may pinakakumpletong notes."

"Ah, okay," sagot ko, sabay bukas ng laptop. I typed half-heartedly, pilit ini-ignore ang presence ni Theo. But my fingers hesitated at every sentence, especially when I could feel someone glancing our way.

Midterms pa lang, pero pakiramdam ko, nasa c****x na agad ako ng storya ko.

We were halfway through outlining the second part of our paper when a familiar voice called out from behind us.

"Hi, excuse me lang," Theo said, tapping the back of Bea's chair lightly. "Pwede ko lang kayong i-interrupt saglit?"

Everyone looked up.

Theo's eyes landed on me for half a second—long enough to notice, too short to be sure if it meant anything.

"We're organizing a small peer-support activity for midterms week," he continued, pulling out a folded paper from the pocket of his white uniform. "Open sa lahat, pero gusto ko sana mauna 'yung core groups and active circles. Since kayo 'yung pinaka-consistent sa submissions sa block, baka puwedeng kayo na muna 'yung mag-register and help spread the word."

Sam raised a brow. "Like a workshop?"

"More like a breathing space," he smiled. "Parang coffee and conversation lang, nothing heavy. No pressure kung hindi kayo pwede, pero priority kayo if ever."

Elijah took the paper from him. "Sige, titingnan namin schedule."

Theo nodded. Then looked at me again. This time, directly.

"Hope you can join din, Misty."

And just like that, he turned and walked away.

My hands were still frozen above the keyboard.

Elijah leaned in, whispering, "Uy. Minention ka."

I rolled my eyes, trying to suppress a grin.

Not helping, universe. Not helping at all.