Sadelle

"Good evening, class," our professor greeted as he went into the room.

We replied in unison and the lesson started not long after. Principles of Geology is not my favorite subject, but it's not so bad. I have moments I enjoy the subject, and the other half, well, it's just alright.

I couldn't even focus my attention on the Powerpoint presentation in front of me as I kept on thinking of my encounter with that guy earlier. We made a truce, though it was mainly just him forcing me to agree, that we'll continue this book-custody situation tomorrow. He even pleaded that I let him go for today, and tomorrow, we'll try to compromise.

Personally, he seems to be talking rubbish. He was just in a hurry to get me to agree just so he can get back to his group earlier. He mentioned something about a meeting and finalizing decisions that they have to do. If it was up to me, he would've never been able to leave my sight without me getting my book back. However, the guy is persistent and annoying. He kept on pleading with me until I felt myself slowly reaching for the invisible plug in my head and just shutting myself down from that conversation.

Kulit kausap. Before losing my appetite to eatz I realized, that I'd just agree with his  truce. Then, we went back inside the cafe and he returned to his group's table and me with my own.

We agreed to meet at the university cafeteria tomorrow mid-afternoon.

One thing I couldn't shake off my mind is this: he was the previous owner. I have to say, I expected a little too much. He seems like a rip-off from the owner I expected. Not the good kind, because rather than saying he's a steal, it's more like he's the one who steals things - like my book, for instance. Besides, it seems ludicrous to imagine those kinds of thoughts coming out from someone like...him?

Granted it's not ideal to judge a book by its cover but what if the cover appears tacky? Who's to say you'd read lots of substantial thoughts inside it? Moreover, why would something so informative be presented in a way that diminishes interest?

In short, if the wonderful package contains his thoughts, why is the packaging shown in the personification of an aggravating guy? Isn't that ironic?

"Make an essay regarding the importance of groundwater," our professor's voice snapped me back to reality as I looked at the Powerpoint slide  projected on the board.

My blockmates started getting one whole sheet of yellow paper. I also took one from my tote bag. From here on, I focused on listening to the subject properly. This is already not working well for me when I'm not sure of all things discussed prior to making the essay since I was so caught up in my thoughts. After giving our papers to the professor, he went on to tackle the remaining sub-topics for tonight's class and dismissed us when the clock struck half past seven.

"Uy, Miss Intramurals, pa-picture nga!" one of our guy blockmates exclaimed as our professor left the room and only the students remained.

I looked at his direction and saw that they all were looking in a certain direction. I followed their gaze and saw that they were looking at Lizzy. Our girl blockmate who she's getting closer with playfully nudged her. She was smiling and chuckling as she waved her hands at them, embarrassed by the statement.

"Representative ng ArtScies. Kayo naman..." she retorted and it earned another set of teases from our blockmates.

"Sus, sure win na 'yan! Ikaw magiging Miss Intramurals this school year. Mula paglabas ng result na ikaw ang representative n'ong Monday, tapos ngayon na first day of rehearsals niyo, halatang sa'yo na ang korona. Swear!"

"Grabe kayo, guys. We're not sure about that pa. I just want to enjoy this experience and the competition," Lizzy replied, clarifying to them as if she doesn't want any added pressure.

Taken aback, I made sure not to let anyone see through me. I wasn't aware she passed the audition and will be our representative for Miss Intramurals. Well, it's not like I even cared in the beginning. This isn't my thing and I don't intend to make it one. And to my recollection, she broke off our friendship so there's no need for me to catch up on the details of her life. That's for showbiz people to do, because their lives are so boring and uneventful, they need to spice it up by meddling with other people's lives.

These are enough reasons for me not to give any reaction, but it's shocking to me that I even got surprised by this information. She used to always tell me anything and everything that was happening in her life - even when she ordered another flavor of ice cream just because she wanted to go with a different decision on that day.

"Basta, you're the winner for us na. Good luck, girl! We're all rooting for you!" the same girl cheered as she pulled Lizzy in for a hug, which was reciprocated by the latter.

I gave them a quick look as I shifted my stare to my tote bag. I placed my notebook and pen inside it, telling myself I'd leave as this conversation doesn't include me.

Wala nang saysay manatili pa sa mga bagay na tapos na.

"May council gimmick na ba tayo for Intrams? Narinig ko yung Educ, may pa-photo booth. Tapos, as always, yung SBM, magbebenta. Ano'ng para sa ArtScies?" another girl blockmate asked which seemed to be directed at one of our blockmates who's an active volunteer in the council.

"Wala pang final decision, eh, pero sabi baka later tonight or tomorrow  i-announce na sa college group chat..." the blockmate in question answered.

They started talking about the opening program for Intramurals and other stuff related to it. That's my cue to leave.
Since every last week of October we have Intramurals, that means having no regular classes. Obviously, everyone's excited to play sports and cheer for our own colleges. I, on the other hand, am looking forward to staying home next week. Besides, Intramurals aren't graded. Hence, I don't have to go.

It was a bit of a challenge waiting for the jeepney as it's already nighttime, and like me, lots of students are waiting to get on. The ride even goes by batch because of how much people wait in line. Considering all this, I went home somewhere around nine in the evening.

From the outside of our door, I could hear the living room television blasting a scene from a well-known sitcom series.

"I'm home," I greeted as I opened the door.

I saw my mom sitting on the couch as her body was facing sideways. She had a wine glass in her hand. I saw an opened red wine on the table.

She gave me a quick look. "Good. Have you had dinner?"

I shut the door behind me and walked to the dining table.

"Nope," I answered shortly.

"Oh, kumain ka na. Nagluto ako ng Pork Chop," Mom added as she continued watching her series.

I gave her a nod even if she wasn't looking and saw the viand on the table. This is the usual scene I have with my mom at home.

We have small talks, but that's it. As far as I could remember, this was how things have been since I was young. My mom's not temperamental, but she's not doting either. We live in one house, but it's like we're in two different worlds. I don't remember if this has been our set-up even when my dad was still alive.

Walking up the stairs, I headed straight to my room and placed my tote bag on my chair by the study table.

My outfit feels comfortable as we always wear civilian clothes every Monday and Wednesday but, I'm not the type to soak in my outdoor wear inside my room. Hence, I took a quick body shower and did my night ritual afterwards before changing into my maroon silk pajamas.

I put my slippers on before placing my clothes on the laundry hamper located in a corner of my bedroom.

Looking for my phone, I walked towards my tote bag and saw it inside. I took it out along with my notebook and pen, and also got my laptop on the study table before heading to my bed.

I turned my laptop on and checked my phone while waiting. I went to a messaging application and went to our group chat for Wika, Kultura, at Lipunan. I started reading to see which my parts were and was planning how to do my research for the assignment. Once settled, I maneuvered my laptop and started searching for the topic related to our group and checking my notes from time-to-time.

One of my groupmates shared a link for where we could input our parts for our visual design presentation. I had another groupmate who was also editing the file at the same time as me. It took me about an hour before finishing my part for the assignment.

I felt my phone vibrate. I saw my mom calling me.

"Yes, Ma?" I said, answering the call.

"Are you going to have dinner?" she asked on the other line, with the noise from the television in the background.

"Yes po. Just finishing my assignments." I answered and she told me to just go down and eat once I'm done before ending the call.

I was about to turn my phone off when I received another notification. It was from a messaging application.

Pressing it, I saw that the message was from our college group chat.

ArtScies Tigers

Yuan: Good evening, Tigers! I would like to inform everyone that we finally have a council gimmick for the upcoming Intramurals next week. We will be hosting a freestyle rap battle. For students who are interested in auditioning, please send your registration at this link: https://councilgimmickregistrationform.com.

Along with this, please send a 1-2 minutes freestyle rap without any profanities or curses. Please format your file name with the following: Last Name_First Name (Program-Year Level). All year levels are encouraged to join. Deadline of submission will be Monday next week, at 10PM. Further details are to be followed.

Thank you and stay safe, everyone!

Seconds later, other students were reacting and replying to the message.

My eyes remained glued on the name of the person who sent this message.

Yuan?

I clicked his profile icon and was brought to another page with four other options. I chose to check his profile and waited for it to finish loading.

"Yuan dela Torre," I spoke to myself once his profile had finally shown.

Is this guy the Yuan who stole my book?

Fortunately, his profile photo isn't private. I clicked it and the photo enlarged showing me a candidly taken photo of him laughing with a background which seems to be in an office of some sort. I saw that it was a DP blast concerning the upcoming Intramurals. Below is a group caption that each college council instigates.

There were lots of comments under the photo. They were saying a certain tagline which I think is related to the gimmick when one comment caught my eye.

Baka ArtScies VP 'yan. Power!

It's him!

He's our council vice president? This stealer has been voted to be a student leader?

A knock on my door disrupted my attention. I left my phone on the bed and walked to open the door. I saw my mom.

"I left the lights on downstairs. Ikaw na ang bahala d'on, papasok na ako sa kuwarto ko," she informed me as she pointed to the stairs.

I nodded. "Yes, Ma. Goodnight."

"Goodnight," she replied as she headed to the room beside mine and opened its door before going in.

This made me decide to have dinner first. It was already late. I have a class at nine in the morning tomorrow. So, I made up my mind and came down. 

While I was eating, I kept on thinking how I would get my book back when all of a sudden, I found myself in a trance. I kept trying to tell myself to think about my book but it doesn't seem to be working. Rather, it's not enough to keep me occupied from something else.

I don't understand why I'm still thinking of what happened in the classroom earlier. I keep thinking of Lizzy being the representative, our blockmates cheering for her, and that girl she was hugging earlier.

Just last week, I was her best friend. In these seven days, everything crumbled just as how the world took time to be created. Suddenly, I'm now an outsider in her world. The thing is, it doesn't even seem as if she feels the inexistence of my being in her life. The world seems to favor her with everything happening.

Ang daya naman. Where does that leave me?

I washed the utensils I used after eating and placed what's left of our dinner in the refrigerator, before wiping the table clean and turning the lights off. Then, I walked upstairs to my room.

In my room, I closed my door from behind and went straight to my bed as I checked what time it was on my phone. I saw that it was five past eleven. I decided to give myself another half hour, checking our assignment in Math and deciding to start with it tomorrow. I placed my laptop back on my study table, my phone on the bedside table and slept for the night.

The following morning, I woke up at six. I prepared myself for today's classes and finished at half past seven.

Since there are no carpools in sight, I decided to walk my way out of the subdivision. Turning left, I see the gate of our subdivision and I head outside.

"Good morning, Ma'am!" a guard greeted me and I just nodded at him as I continued to walk.

As I walked some more, I took another second turn to the left heading to the main entrance of our gated community and saw someone walking a few feet away from me. From behind, his uniform looks similar to our university. His hair length also reminds me of someone but I can't put my finger on who. Walking the same direction as him, we both headed towards the main entrance and went out to wait for a jeepney.

I maintained an appropriate distance as we were waiting for a jeepney. I gave a subtle sideways glance in his direction and saw his side profile. Then, I noticed a band-aid on his cheek.

Wait a minute. I know who this guy is!

It was Yuan!

We live in the same subdivision? Great. Now this guy is as good as jailed. I'll make sure to hunt him down, he'll rue the day he decided to steal from me.

Susugurin ko na sana ang lalaking 'to nang may biglang pumrenong jeep sa harapan namin.

"Dalawa. Kaya pa'ng dalawa. Sakay na!" the conductor shouted as he was banging on the jeepney's roof.

I was left with no choice but to get on the vehicle. Inside, Yuan was on the other side and sat closer to the jeepney driver. I was on the other end and near the exit. He didn't seem to see me as my eyes settled on him like a hawk eyeing its lunch.

Towards the whole ride, I kept my stare on this brazen bloke and saw him passing fares and change to the driver from time-to-time when someone would hand him for money. Without noticing, I saw him tapping the driver before standing to bend over as he was getting off the vehicle.

"Oh, XU. Dito na lang," I heard the conductor and that woke my senses up.

We're already at the university!

I hurriedly got my purse from my bag and felt the jeepney slowly moving.

"Teka lang, Kuya!" I shouted as I handed the conductor the fair for the ride and got off.

I saw Yuan walking ahead to the main entrance of the university. Goodness. Presence of mind, please. Muntik pa akong lumampas sa university.

My plan of coming up to him was slowly immaterializing as a group of five students who crossed the road from the other side blocked my view as they walked in front of me, laughing with one another about nonsensical things.

I told myself to just wait later this afternoon as I'll meet that rascal and get ownership of my book again. I took my phone from my bag and checked what time it was and was relieved upon seeing it was half past eight.

The first subject is a lecture class in General Chemistry. As soon as I entered the university, I placed my ID on the scanner and passed through our turnstile gate. I took my time walking to the Science Center before reaching our designated room.

Upon arriving, there were only a few of us in the room and I had the liberty to choose which seat to take. I sat in the second row and started maneuvering my phone while waiting for class to start. My blockmates started coming one after another and five minutes to nine, our professor arrived.

We had the usual set-up for class. We'll read a certain chapter, though I read mine from the laptop I brought to class today. We were given the option to buy the book or download its copy online. Then, we would have an activity and do class recitations.

This was pretty much shaping to be a usual day in my life, except that I was plotting how to get my book back from Yuan later. Time flew by and the next thing I knew, I was already hearing the bell ring.

We were preparing for our next class. Well, it's still General Chemistry, but this time it's our laboratory session. The chemistry lab's in the fifth floor of the same building so we all had to walk from the second floor up to the fifth floor.

I walked up to the fifth floor and when we were all gathered, we waited for our professor to open the laboratory door. Weirdly, I saw some of my blockmates looking at me from my peripheral vision.

Along with them was Lizzy who kept trying to throw me glances every few seconds away.

What's wrong with her? Shouldn't she be talking with her newest close friend?

The door opened and one-by-one, we entered the room. I could've sworn all the profanities I knew when I realized why they kept on staring at me as I sat in my designated space and looked at the person sitting next to me.

Lizzy.

How could I forget about this? Of course, she's my lab partner! I took my lab coat out of my tote bag and placed my lab goggles on the table.

"I'll go borrow the materials for today," Lizzy broke the silence and the only response I could give was a nod.

I took my laboratory book, since this was a requirement for everyone, and went to the page where we'll have our experiment today.

After a few minutes, Lizzy came back to our table with a container with all the  materials we'll need for today. She also had a separate paper with her, containing our guide sheet for the day.

Placing these on our table, she moved the sheet guide a bit closer to me. Then, we went back to this deafening silence.  She was reading the questions from our workbook and I was questioning the world whether I was in some kind of a prank or not.

I read the top of the sheet guide and saw the experiment for today: Chemical Reactions.

Below are written instructions for each segment of the experiment we have to push through today. There were seven items for the chemical reactions, and five post-lab questions.

We needed to finish the experiment today, but none of us wanted to start the conversation. Could I just go to our professor and request to do the experiment individually?

"Nothing's going to happen if we continue being quiet here. Let's just set aside whatever feelings we have right now and work on the experiment," Lizzy spoke after breaking another segment of our silence.

I looked at her and saw that she was already looking at me.

"Set aside our feelings? Wala naman akong ginagawa, ah," I retorted.

She sighed. "Please, Sadelle..."

That caught me off-guard, but I quickly regained my composure.

"Okay, Lizzy," I replied and we started working on the experiment.

So far, we were doing well despite focusing our conversation on the experiment alone and nothing else. We started to fill the first part with answers once we've mixed the two reactant solutions with each other.

She was on the fourth one of the seven reactant solutions when I paused to check our answers. She was assigned with the even numbers, and I did the odd numbers.

2. List Reactions: Cobalt (II) Chloride and Sodium Carbonate

Describe observation: Na²CO³ reacts with CoCl2, forming a light orange-colored reaction.

Write a balanced chemical equation (if any): Co² (aq) + CO²3 (aq) - CoCO3 (s).

I stared at the answer longer. Something's not right. What is missing? Then, I realized what it was.

"Kulang ka ng plus and minus sign after the superscript," I pointed out.

She stopped what she was doing and placed the test tube on its holder before checking my correction.

Furrowing her brows, she kept looking for what I was talking about.

"Oh, right!" she realized as I pointed at the two superscripts without a plus and minus sign. "Sorry, it seemed complete na kasi."

"Well, it's not," I shot back.

"And I apologized for the mistake. Move on, we still have other reactions to finish."

For some reason, it didn't feel as if she was talking about the experiment.

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