Chapter 6 Six

• “Stop it. That’s enough. This is different, you look ridiculous,” I said and threw the bread I was holding at the person beside me. We arrived early today, with thirty minutes to spare before our first class starts, so we decided to go to the mall to kill time. School can be boring sometimes.
• “Sorry, Ely, but I really feel giddy about Zander,” she replied, still busy tapping away on her phone screen.
• I sighed as I watched her acting silly, smiling to herself. “Just remember what I told you, if he ever hurts you.”
• She paused for a moment to look at me, but then quickly went back to whatever was buzzing on her phone. “Don’t worry. He won’t hurt me, he said it’s just me.”
• “Yeah, just you. You’re the only fool in your relationship,” I retorted.
• “Wow, you’re so bitter! Get a boyfriend yourself!” she teased.
• I shook my head and tied my hair back. “No way, I’ll focus on my studies first. What will I tell my parents if I get a boyfriend so early? We’re just first-year college students, we just finished our midterm exams.”
• I laughed, and she seemed to enjoy it. “Why? What’s so funny about what I said?”
• She laughed too, seeming to really enjoy herself. “Because, Elara babe, you’re so old-fashioned. In our generation, it’s normal to have a girlfriend or boyfriend early on, sometimes even both.”
• She said, and I laughed along. She’s really crazy, knows so much.
• “I’m getting bored,” I said, as she was busy texting her supposed soulmate again.
• “Why don’t you just read with me, come sit here,” she suggested, and since I had nothing else to do, I moved to the seat next to hers. She was still busy replying to her oh-so-destined text. I sighed and stopped reading that pointless conversation. But somehow, I felt envious of her. I’m sure I’m 100% human, but I rarely feel that kind of attraction. I can still remember that my first crush was when I was in my last year of high school. I even gave him a key chain after the graduation ceremony, but after that, nothing. I mean, I know that it’ll fade, but not as easily as that. But that’s just me.
• “We actually met last Tuesday, I forgot to tell you, sorry,” I overheard her say.
• “You what?”
• “I said I met him. He’s really handsome in person, and he smiles a lot. He has a very approachable aura, Elyy, it’s so lovable. And he’s a gentleman, and his voice is so handsome too!” she continued, and I was starting to get annoyed with that guy.
• Don’t get me wrong, I’m not bitter, it’s just annoying. She’s only seventeen, and she’s already concluded that she loves her textmate, and she even met him.
• “Do your parents know about this? What if something happens to you that you didn’t expect? You’ll risk your safety just for a guy whose true colors you don’t even know,” I said to her, as I always do since we became friends. She’s so naive and gullible, and that’s what I don’t like about her.
• “Nope, and nothing’s going to happen to me, there were a lot of people around us when we met, we met at the mall, near our place,” she defended herself, shaking her head. She won’t stop until she proves she’s right, even if she’s actually wrong.
• “You shouldn’t trust everyone. You’ll get into trouble with what you’re doing, Adri, so if you really don’t want to stop, just be careful,” I advised.
• She nodded and smiled broadly. “Yes! Salute!” she said happily, saluting me. This girl will never lose her energy.
• “Wait, why don’t you text him too? So you can be friends!” I didn’t like that idea, so I shook my head in response. “Come on, he’s nice, I’m sure you’ll get along. He also likes music; he plays a couple of instruments, and you’ll have a lot of topics to talk about, I’m perfectly sure.” She explained, but she won’t convince me with that.
• I hate those kinds of boys; they’re a bunch of pathetic human beings. I hate playboys, I hate everyone who plays with people’s feelings. Who would want to be fooled, right? I don’t want to talk to him, I don’t need him anyway.
• “No, that would be absurd, you know I hate giving out my number,” I said, but she ignored me, still busy tapping away on her cellphone screen. And because of my quick wit, I immediately looked up, but it was too late, she had already sent it. “What have you done?! Didn’t I tell you not to give it?”
• She just smiled and flashed a peace sign, so I got even more annoyed. It’s really not amusing.
• “Let it go, babes, so we have a common friend. Besides, I know you’re friendly, you’re just lazy to talk,” she said, words with sugarcoating but with a sour meaning. She won’t get through me with that kind of persuasion.
• “You’re not used to following, I told you not to, and you still pursued what you wanted,” I said before leaving. I’m mad right now; I hate it when everything isn’t going as planned. That’s me. Yeah, great.
• —
• “Fine, just shut up,” I scolded Adri, as she had been apologizing to me since earlier, but I’m cool. My anger or annoyance fades quickly, depending on the offense, of course.
• “So, are we good now?” I asked as we walked.
• “When will you finish the layout for our project? It’s due next week,” I asked while we were walking.
• “I’ll send it to you tonight; check if there are any mistakes in what I did, maybe I overlooked something,” she replied, nodding.
• We both sighed, realizing how hard it is to adjust from high school to college. There are so many changes. I’m still getting used to it, which is difficult, but we’re still just first-year students here, so I guess all neophytes go through this kind of anxiety.
• Some say that our course is where those who didn’t pass the entrance examination are thrown, but if only they knew, if only they experienced having their brains squeezed and filled with different theories, sometimes even out of this world, let’s see if they’ll still say that Psychology is just a throwaway course.
• “Elara, I have to go, Laila texted, we need to work on our thesis,” she said, and I nodded. “Is this baby really necessary? It’s stressful, they’re annoying, makes me want to slap them ten times,” she complained as she walked away, and I couldn’t help but laugh. That girl, always.
• Just as I stood up from my seat to go to my group, I felt my phone vibrate in my pocket, so I fished it out.
• “From unknown number: Hi.”
• “From unknown number: You’re Elara, right?”
• I furrowed my brows at what I read. Who is this guy? So I immediately pressed the reply button.
• “Where are you?” I sent.
• I quickly received a response from the unknown number.
• “From unknown number: Huh? Where are you? What’s that?”
• So I chuckled. “Who are you?”
• “From Unknown number: Ah! Okay, sorry. Zander Jaxon Vanth, at your service. Hi.”
• What a familiar name. Where have I heard that before? Then a familiar voice echoed in my mind, “Babess! I gave your number to Forever Zander!” Darn it. That witch gave out my number.
• “You must be Adri’s fling?” I replied, feeling disheartened, just by the way he texted, I already knew he was a playboy.
• From Unknown number: ouch, that hurts, huh? Fling? Can’t it be just a friend?”
• Maybe I should teach him a little lesson. He doesn’t know what he’s saying.
• “Mutual understanding is different from flirting. I don’t think you have a mutual understanding, even though I’m not and I will not want to see you. You’re obviously a playboy; stop flirting with girls, dude. Real men don’t hurt girls.”
• After sending that, I put my phone away. He’s such a pointless textmate, just another flirt. I felt my phone vibrate again in my bag, but I didn’t bother to check it; he might just annoy me even more.
• —
• “Elara.”
• “Hmm?” I answered while writing a reviewer for our finals, even though it’s still next month, we have a lot of subjects, so I might as well start early. I don’t want to cram, and I’ve been sleepless for two weeks already because of our projects that are due soon, one down since we submitted it yesterday. Good thing that despite her flirtatious behavior, she’s responsible and serious when it comes to studying, so it’s okay.
• “Why don’t you want a boyfriend?” she suddenly asked, which made me pause in writing, but I continued anyway.
• “Aren’t you tired of asking me that?” I shot back.
• “I’m just curious because someone like you, who has no time for a love life, is surprising,” she explained.
• “You know, if you know your priorities at your age, you wouldn’t be surprised to find someone like me in the world. Entering a relationship isn’t like breathing to live or eating to survive; if it’s meant to be, it will be. It will come at an unexpected time. That’s why I’m chill,” I said.
• She nodded, unsure if she was listening or just had nothing to say.
• “Is that how you’ve always seen things since you were a kid?” Does she really have so many follow-up questions?
• “No, actually, I had several flings when I was in high school. I don’t take relationships seriously, I mean, I don’t play with them. It’s a no-strings-attached relationship. From the start, we both know, unlike playboys or playgirls around, they play with feelings,” I explained. I glanced at my watch, 30 minutes before our next class starts. Why do we have such long breaks? They’re just wasting our time.
• “Why don’t you like playboys or playgirls? Do you have an issue with them? Have you been fooled?”
• It took me a while to answer; it seems like I was traveling back a couple of years ago, the fang of pain still stabbing my chest.
• “Those kinds of people ruined my best friend’s life.”
• “Ha? Who? Why don’t I know them?”
• I shook my head to stop the tears I had been holding back since earlier.
• “She committed suicide two years ago.”