February 24
I’ve been looking forward to this day. After two years, Jo was finally returning to the Philippines. Just before her flight, we exchanged emails together. She would arrive at noon, but she would head straight first to her home to rest. Then, tonight, along with our old friends, classmates and her relatives, we would have an exclusive dinner at Terravago.
Jo was bringing a friend of hers from work. She was very excited to introduce him to us. In our emails, she gushed about him as if she were selling her friend to me.
I wonder how Jerod was feeling today. I’d only mentioned Jo’s arriving once, and he shrugged it off as if he didn’t really care. But judging from the mortification on his face when Kevin teased him about his ex, I knew that Jerod was just putting up a facade. Jerod had in fact never had a serious relationship after Jo left. He dated a lot of people, but he never really got serious with one.
The three of us: Jerod, Kevin and I always have breakfast together. Even if Jerod and my first class start at 10am every Mondays, Jerod would usually be up at 7am for breakfast. Except today. When I knocked on Jerod’s door to call him for breakfast, there was no reply.
At breakfast, Kevin opened up to me about how he was concerned for his brother. He loved teasing Jerod about Jo, but he genuinely cared for his brother and was worried that he might do something stupid today. Before Kevin left for his 8am class, he advised me to talk some sense into his older brother. Whether he meant I should tell his brother to move on with Jo or if I should insist he wins for her back, I don’t have a particular idea how to raise the topic to Jerod. Jerod never mentioned if he still had feelings for Jo; he had never gave details of why they really broke up, but there must’ve been something that happened in between that caused such a huge rift between them.
An hour before our class, I knocked on Jerod’s room, worried why he hasn’t been up yet. Jerod was one of the best morning persons. Thrice or four times a week, he wakes up early and heads to the gym or goes out for a run. In the two months that I had been living with Jerod and Kevin, I only remembered one instance that Jerod had slept through the morning until 1 o’clock in the afternoon. It was when he got drunk on one of his gym buddies’ 21st birthday.
After knocking and calling out Jerod’s name for the nth time, I finally got impatient and opened the door without his consent. Stench of puke immediately infiltrated my nose when I entered his room. Jerod was lying on his belly, his feet dangling stiffly from his bed.
I heaved a deep sigh at the carpeted floor where Jerod had puked. I would have to call housekeeping later for that. I lifted the covers off Jerod and put it back on him again after I discovered that he was just barely covered by a pair of briefs. I nudged Jerod on the shoulder and he moaned.
“Jerod, wake up, we’re going to be late for school.” I shook him harder.
“Hmmmmm….” He continued moaning in protest.
“C’mon, wake up.” I shook him harder, resisting the urge to slap him to wake up. He only stirred and pulled the covers over his face.
I waited for a few more seconds. I pulled the blanket off his face and stirred him again. “Wake up, Je. Wake up!”
