Sadelle

Second class of the day and I'm already out of energy. I guess that's a given since the subject is Elementary Analysis 1, which is basically Calculus. I don't find the subject a bore, but the professor makes it agonizing for me.

Why are interesting subjects usually taught by dull people?

Our professor goes on to give us more examples of derivatives. He establishes that derivatives could not exist without differentiables. Then, he proceeds to give us problems looking for the derivative. Only a few of my blockmates volunteered to answer.

I looked at the equation on the board:

Find the derivative for this equation: f(x) = 3x³ - 5x² + 4x - 7.

I tried analyzing the equation and saw one of my blockmates stand up and go to the board before he started solving for the answer.

Still looking at the board, seeds of realization slowly sprout into my mind. I never saw Mathematics this way before, but as I think about it, it does make sense. A function talks about an input and an output, x being the input, while f(x) is its output. In this equation, the derivative aims to measure the rate of change. It describes how the output changes as you change the input in your function. Obviously, derivatives won't exist without differentials, which in this sense, talks about how the function has a certain point at which we can solve for the change it undergoes. Now, considering these changes, adding them all up in order to reach a certain sum is what's called an integral.

Change seems to be an integral factor here. With a certain point of change, one would be able to pinpoint an answer for the problem given.

In a way, the function serves as the situation itself. This situation, inevitable as are all things, will reach a moment of change. Finding out at which point of time things change is the differentiable, and singling out this change is your derivative. Now, before it leads to this one big change you're trying to solve, it first adds up with a collection of reasons or happenings - considered the integral - which leads up to the change. By that analogy, change is a continuous instance that's bound to happen no matter in which state of situation you are in.

My gaze stubbornly shifts to Lizzy's direction two rows in front of me. She's solving the given equation in her notebook, while simultaneously talking to our blockmate beside her. If things changing have certain points that lead to these shifts, how come I can't find anything for why our friendship ended?

If the function of our friendship has reached an obvious differentiable of how things changed, leading to her derivative decision of ending our friendship, how come her aforementioned integrals of my supposed invalidation is foreign to me? How come I can't even distinguish what changes occured? How does a friendship end without knowing you were the reason for its doom?

She smiled at the girl and they were pointing something in her notebook and agreeing with one another.

I shrugged these thoughts out of my mind. Goodness. Look at what that book has done to me. I'm giving more meaning to things I usually ignore. This shouldn't be the case, what I actually should be focusing on right now is how to find my book. I still have to look for that guy. I'm pretty sure he's the one who stole my book.

He bumps into me and then when he leaves, I realize my book is missing. Yeah, that's a thief right there. No other way to explain it.

That's probably why he asked me about my book! He already had his eyes on it, and was just planning how to carry out his thievery on me.

Just one sight of that boy and he'll get what he deserves: I'll scare the daylights out of him.

"That's all for today. Don't forget your assignment," our professor's voice brought me back to reality before I heard the bell rang.

Assignment?

I turned to look at the board but saw no writings of an assignment. I turned to look at my seatmate, a girl I've barely interacted with.

"What's the assignment daw?"

She looked at me, a bit unsure whether to reply or not. She seemed hesitant to interact with me, but this barely counts as one as I only need to know what our assignment is.

"Uh, ipo-post daw ni Sir sa eLearn..."

I nodded upon hearing her answer. I'll just check the portal later, then. I stood up, got my tote bag, and headed out of the room. I even heard Lizzy and her friends from behind discussing with one another where they'll have lunch but I paid no attention to it.

She should go have fun with her friends. Besides, she's just like them. They're all pretentious and hope to find belonging in the delusion of each other. I don't need a person of her kind in my life.

Heading to the cafeteria, I started looking for a space to sit in once I arrived. The good thing about today is that my next class is not until six in the evening. I have a lot of free time to look  for my book thief. I found a free space near one of the stalls where I usually buy my lunch. Immediately placing my belongings on the table, I got my wallet and headed to the stall to order what I'll have for lunch.

I usually don't take long to finish eating. I'm not a sloth or a snail so there's no need for the exaggerated slowness in my movements. True to my word, I finished eating in less than half an hour. Deciding to head on with my search, I started racking my brain for information of where I might find that guy.

"I'll search the cafeteria first," I told myself as I remembered that I saw him here two days ago and that it's lunch time, so he might be having his lunch inside the university. To my demise, I didn't see even a hint of his shadow in the cafeteria.

Granted, there were lots of students but, I believed I searched the place to the extent of my abilities. I, then, decided to head to the gazebos, the field and the nearby benches, and even the smaller cafeteria we have on the ground floor in the SBM building. I tried to look for him at the covered court while peeking from the outside.

Checking my phone, I saw that it was already one in the afternoon. I still have five long hours left. A lost book, a mysterious guy, and my patience starting to wear thin. Really, am I pushing through with this search?

I need to have a plan, but I don't even know where to start. What do I even plan about? I have nothing to narrow my ideas on! Buti sana kung alam ko program ng lalaking 'yon para alam ko kung saang building maghahanap.

This is hopeless and I'm just getting more infuriated by him stealing my book!

Calming myself down, the library was the best place I thought I could cool myself down. Might even squeeze doing my own research about the book there. Enticed by my appealingly good idea, I headed to the library next.

I chose to search at our new library. Both our old and new libraries are connected by a small bridge on the second floor. I went to the fifth floor and was determined to search one of the computers and at least have even the slightest lead if not of my book thief, but the book itself.

Okay. Let's do this step-by-step.

Luckily, there was one free computer when I reached the fifth floor. The other two have students using them and I headed straight to the third computer right away. I clicked an application before it led me to a portal with a search engine.

I started typing on the search engine: Opposite Mirrors.

Lots of suggestions showed before I could even finish typing and when I did, I clicked search before it loaded to a different page a few seconds after. None of the results showed the one I was looking for.

I tried typing on the search engine again: Opposite Mirrors book.

Still, I failed to find exact information about the book. I started tapping my fingers on the table as I tried to recall the author's name.

What was it again?

"Von...No, Yawn?" I shook my head. "Ano ulit pangalan n'on? Ah, Yon! Yon..." my mind was grappling at all the information I could hold access to at the moment.

"Miss, gumagamit ka pa ba?" someone asked from behind.

I raised my right forefinger at whoever that person was, not removing my stare from the screen. "Just a moment."

For a moment, I didn't hear any reply or sound. I went on trying to remember the author's last name.

In a whisper, as if trying not to let me hear, I heard someone say: "Arte. Computer mo, girl?"

Another hushed voice stifled a laugh. "Ssh! Baka marinig ka..."

Narinig ko na. Parang ewan.

I ignored these two voices behind me. There's nothing else they can do but wait. Kasalanan niyo, 'di niyo inagahan ng dating.

As I was having my inner monologue, I finally remembered the author's last name! I immediately typed it on the search engine.

Opposite Mirrors by Yon Gallare.

As the page finished loading, I started scrolling to see if there's any information about the book or its author.

Still, there was nothing!

What is wrong with this book? It has an ugly cover, no information about it online, no information about its author, and I don't even know who the previous owner was?

Did this book come from the magical world of nothingness into the oblivion of lost items?

Vexed, I exited the application and moved a little to the side.

"Tapos ka na?" one of the girls queried with a judging tone.

I gave her a deadpan look. "Sa tingin mo?"

What if I try searching the books here? It seems unlikely, but I might find another copy of the book. Who knows? Anything can happen. People thought the world was flat before, but now it turned out to be round. Who's to say I might not find another copy of Opposite Mirrors in the university library?

Then, I started searching one of the shelves. My hands pointing at each book I pass, trying to read the title. Wait...does this mean I have to search all the bookshelves here? And even the ones on the other floors?

Good heavens.

I have the determination, but I certainly don't have the patience to do it.

Nuh-uh. This won't work. I decided it would be a waste of time doing that with all the shelves here in the library. So...what do I do? Where do I go next?

"Time to go back to the root of it all..." I whispered to myself as I decided, for the second time, to go back to AC² book cafe.

Leaving the university, I walked to the fast food chain in front of our university heading straight to the other side of the road. As I walked further, I saw the entrance to a different alley which would lead to the street where the cafe was located. I walked inside and headed straight before turning left in front of the highway.

A few more steps and I reached the entrance of the cafe and went in. There were a few people looking for books as I entered. I went straight to the other side to see if there was still a vacant table.

Thankfully, I saw a few two-seater tables vacant and sat at one of them. I decided to sit in the direction facing the glass panel. Placing my belongings on the table, I took my wallet and headed to the counter.

When I reached the counter, I saw one slightly tall woman with her hair in a messy bun. I cleared my throat and she turned to look at me.

With an apron wrapped around her, I saw her wearing casual clothes underneath.

She gave me a timid smile. "Good afternoon. What's your order?"

There was something mysterious and ethereal-looking about her.

My gaze shifted to the two food display cabinets they have. I saw cakes, breads, and other baked pastries.

"One slice of your Blueberry Cheesecake and a Blue Heaven smoothie," I ordered as I stared at the plastered menu on the wall.

She nodded after listening to my order before calling one of the staff in a white and gray uniform with an apron. I saw her instructing the staff about my order before the latter started preparing my drink. Looking at her hands, I could see that she was still in the process of baking something as I saw that she headed to the sink behind and washed her hands before coming back to me and wiping her hands with the apron.

"That would be a total of three hundred sixty-nine pesos, Miss," she calculated and I handed her a yellow bill.

Another staff member came and went to the woman in front of me. She told him about my order and he got a plate before getting one slice from the Blueberry Cheesecake and placing it on a tray.

"Here's your change," the woman wearing an apron said as she handed me my money, got a small black pager, and gave me the tray with my food on it. "The pager will vibrate once your drink is ready, Miss. Please take it by then," she added and I just nodded in agreement before going back to my seat.

I placed my bag behind me so that I could lean on it when seating.

I took my phone out and checked what time it was; it's already quarter to two. Waiting for my drink, I busied myself staring at the people walking through the glass panel. The sun is still at its peak as I could see its shining glory from the inside. Even the people's expression from the outside already tells me that the heat is still up and kicking.

Before I knew it, my thoughts started to fly on their own.

Was the author an ex-convict? Why couldn't I find any information about him? Or...was the book illegally published? That's the only reason I could think of why there's no information about it online.

As for the previous owner, is he or she already an old person? That might explain all the annotations I've read. Being that philosophical and reflective requires a certain level of mindset and experiences. Hence, the owner's probably an aged person. If that's the case...are they still alive? Am I just chasing a dead person's thoughts in this case?

I genuinely hope not. I would hope to hear more of this person's thoughts. I don't know who he or she is, but there's something engaging with the way they go about their words and explanations. I've never felt words to be so alive and talk to you as if these sentences meant to provoke a chest of emotions I never knew were even possible to be felt in the first place.

Kahit ngayon, nagtataka pa rin ako. What does this book have that even without knowing its previous owner, I feel a strong pull of getting a glimpse of the great mind who spoke to me in ways I've never been communicated to?

The pager's vibration interrupted the chain of my thoughts. I grabbed the pager, stood up, and headed to the counter.

"Ito po, Ma'am," the lady staff said as she handed me my drink.

I took it and returned the pager. "Thank you," was my short answer.

Back in my seat, I placed the drink on the table and went back to staring at the people outside.

A four-seater table close to the window panel has four people occupying it. They were wearing casual clothes and two of them had their own laptops, while one was taking notes. The last one was leading their group discussion.

"...first day ng rehearsals ng Miss and Mister Intramurals. Nasabihan na ba ang dalawang representatives natin?" I heard a part of what they were talking about.

The girl in front of the guy leading the discussion nodded her head. "Yes, Yuan. Sabay silang pupunta sa rehearsals mamaya. Si Valdez and...who was the girl?"

"Sarmiento, yung first year," the girl beside Yuan answered.

The other guy beside the girl in front of Yuan shifted the conversation into a project they were talking about and the group started talking about that.

I was about to look in a different direction when I noticed one of them looks strikingly familiar. Looking at the guy named Yuan, I slowly completed the puzzle pieces in my head.

He was the one who stole my book!

Due to the unexpected encounter with my book thief, I wasn't able to react right away and continued staring at him. Just when I thought it would be so much harder retrieving my book, I get a clear sign that justice will still prevail.

Humanda ka ngayon sa'kin.

Bigla siyang tumayo at may sinenyas sa mga kasamahan niya bago naglakad sa kabilang dako ng cafe. My gaze followed him up until the passageway he entered. Unfulfilled, I stood up from my seat and placed my phone inside my bag before following him to the other side.

There's no second chance for you, thief.

I saw him enter the restroom and I stopped on my tracks before deciding to wait outside the door. I decided the best thing to do would be to wait for him directly outside before I lost sight of him again.

"Good afternoon. May I help you po, Ma'am?" the clerk asked as she noticed me from the side.

I shook my head at her, dismissing the help offered. "I'm good, just waiting for someone...I know..."

Before she could even reply, another customer by the counter got her attention and she had to attend to them. I stood there, as I continued waiting for this man to face his verdict.

What is taking him so long? Does he have buckets of pee inside him? Goodness. This is a public restroom, not a confession room!

As I was in the middle of my thoughts, the door suddenly sprang open and I saw him ostensibly surprised by me which made him almost fall, if he wasn't able to hold on to the door knob.

Sayang.

"Where's my book?" was my opening line as I held out my hand waiting for him to give me my book.

"Ha?" he replied as he blinked at me a few times, clueless and at the same time still surprised.

"My book," I repeated, giving him daggering looks. "The one you stole. Nakalimutan mo na?"

His mouth was slightly open, as if speechless and at the same time not knowing which words to say.

"Hala," he retorted, gaining back his senses. "Restroom 'to, ah, nasa likod mo yung mga libro."

I furrowed my brows at this guy. "No, my book. The one you stole yesterday." I insisted.

"Kahapon? Tuesday?"

Nag-iinit ulo ko sa lalaking 'to.

"Bingi? Give me my book," I demanded, trying to lessen the intensity of my voice so as not to be heard by everyone.

He looked at me, his brows creased. Then, slowly, recognition passed his expression. "Ah, you were the girl from yesterday," he paused afterwards and gave me an expectant look.

What is this guy even expecting? An award for remembering me?

"My book!" I was starting to lose patience with him.

He chuckled at me. "Miss, I don't know what you're talking about. Wala akong ninakaw na libro," he replied and was  about to walk past me when I blocked him.

"You. Stole. My. Book. Now, give it back," I continued insisting.

Oh, mister, you're not leaving until I get my book back.

Magsasalita pa sana siya nang may mapansin siya sa likuran ko. He gave a small smile before giving an apologetic nod.

"Ma'am, Sir, may makikigamit po ng restroom..." the clerk spoke from behind and I turned to look at her.

I saw a girl awkwardly waiting behind as she gave me and this Yuan guy a weird look.

"Excuse me?" she asked, not sounding sure if she still wants to enter the restroom.

Both Yuan and I moved to the side to give way to her and when this guy was about to walk past me again, I held him by the arms.

"Where are you going?"

He looked at my grip on him before raising his gaze to my face. "Tingin mo saan?"

My grip on him tightened. Pilosopo. "Give me my book. Sige ka, I'll report you for theft!"

His eyes widened at me. "Miss, baka nakakalimutan mong inabangan mo 'ko sa labas ng restroom. Sige, theft sa'yo, invasion of privacy sa'kin," he challenged as if making a joke of the situation.

"What privacy did I even invade in the first place?"

Someone cleared her throat between us. We both looked at who did it and saw the owner of the cafe. She was wearing a cream-colored peplum top, white pants, and flats.

"Do we have a problem here?"

For someone who's not into books, I've been meeting this owner more often than I like. Goodness. I think, at this point, kilala niya na ang mukha ko.

"Hindi po, Ma'am. We were just talking," bawi ni Yuan at ngumiti sa may-ari.

She nodded at Yuan then looked at me, as if asking for confirmation.

"Yeah..." with nothing else to say, I decided to go with his lie.

He was about to leave again when he noticed my grip then smiled at the owner once again before grabbing my hand that's been gripping his arm and went outside the cafe.

"Would you let me go?" I tried to take my hand off him but was unsuccessful, before he let go of it when we were finally outside.

"Kumalma ka lang, puwede?"

I raised my brows at this audacious young man. "Are you telling me what to do?"

"Hindi, ah. Suggestion 'yon, kaya nga may puwede sa sentence," he jested as he gave me a mischievous smirk.

I waved my hands, losing patience with this guy. "This has been an awfully long conversation about nothing. Just give me my book!"

He scratched the back of his head as his face wrinkled at me. I was slightly looking upward because he was taller than me.

"It wasn't your book."

"What do you mean it wasn't my book? I paid for it?"

"Still not yours," he replied, ignoring my previous statement.

"It's mine!"

"Not yours."

"Mine!"

"Nope."

I scoffed at this guy. "O, sige, if it's not mine, who owns it?"

"I do," he replied, giving me a goofy smile.

Oh, how much control it took for me not to slap this guy.

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