My Ex-Boyfriend From Kindergarten

Chapter 33: Always

This is yet to be edited.

There are pros and cons of studying with two smart boys. The obvious pro was that Nai and I were able to learn a lot because Cai and Sunny acted more like tutors to us. They explained everything we didn't understand like they had recordings of Ms. Tiu and Mr. Santos' discussions. But then, the awkward con was when arguments like this would break out...

“The second formula is shorter and easier to remember,” Cai said.

“Yes, that is true. However, it's not applicable to all the problems,” Sunny said.

“They invented the second formula for a reason,” Cai said.

“There's a reason the first formula is still being taught,” Sunny said.

Thank goodness Nairobi was there. She ended all of the arguments with her witty remarks. In a different circumstance with different smart boys, I probably would have acted cool like a cucumber just like Nairobi. However, since they were Cairo and Sunny, I was just about as cool as Venus.

In the middle of the two boys' argument of which formula was more effective and Nairobi watching them like a tennis match, I raised my right hand. Surprisingly, that caught the attention of all three of them. However, the expressions on their faces were quite different. Nai looked at me like I was the umpire of the tennis match. Sunny looked at me like he was wishing I'd say I wanted to go home and he'd offer to walk me. Cai smiled at me, seemingly amused at how I caught their attention without saying a single word.

“Yes, Ms. Tomas?” Cai spoke, still smiling. I would have rolled my eyes at him, but then Sunny might think we were flirting or something.

“Can I go to the bathroom?” I asked. I heard Nai's muffled laugh as she covered her mouth with one hand.

“The bathroom's down the hallway, yellow door, has a sign like the ones in public restrooms, except there's three boys and one girl,” he said, keeping his smile. I nodded and then stood up.

“Need a bathroom buddy?” Nai asked.

“I think I'll be okay, but if I'm not back in 10 minutes, come find me,” I answered. In another situation, I might have accepted her offer. But I thought that someone needed to keep an eye on the two boys to keep the tension on a safe level.

“Gotcha,” she winked at me.

I made my way to the bathroom. Halfway there, I noticed the framed family photos hung on the wall. I took a minute to look at them since my bladder wasn't panicking yet. I couldn't help but smile as I looked at their family photos. They wore matching outfits and everything, from sports uniforms to royalty to Hollywood. I'd concluded they took the photos during the holidays because in some of the photos, a Christmas tree could be seen in the background. Everyone was smiling in the photos. But the smiles didn't come off as fake because in most of the photos, they were goofing around. I think Mr. Ocampo was the only one who actually bothered to give a decent smile. In one photo, Mrs. Ocampo was pulling on her husband's necktie, mimicking those movie posters. In another, Ram was drooling while stuffing his teddy bear's ear in his mouth. He was probably around 3 years old. Then there was Cai... he didn't look embarrassing in any of the photos. I think the one that would be considered maybe 0.01% embarrassing was the one with his eyes closed. But it fit the photo because his mom and brother were being goofy anyways.