How to Keep a Friend ~On Hold~

Chapter 1

Written: 2-23-13

I was seventeen. I was starting as freshman. I knew I should be glad that my parents could afford to send me to a prestigious University. I should be elated that I'd be spending my entire college life in that school where most teens like me dreamed to be enrolled in. But hell, I was feelin' empty. I was feelin' left out. I was feelin' down. I was feelin' wasted. And most of all, broken. Walking past those corridors felt like I was just keeping what I really felt that day. I knew even in high school I wasn't Miss Popular. I had my own life with my books. And my music. Just like in high school, I looked for a place far away from the crowd so I could steer my way clear of bullies just to have a world of my own.

On the second week of the school year, classes barely started and I was coping on my own. Nothing mattered to me except from sitting on my favorite bench under the bougainvillea tree at the back of the gym. No students ever tried to go that far. I knew because it had been my sanctuary since day one. That day however, I was busy sketching and listening to my iPod when you sat beside me. I felt your presence, but I didn't bother to look your way.

Some stranger, I thought.

"Hey, I'm Christan," you said.

Thinking that it wasn't me you're referring to, I kept on sketching.

"You have great potential you know," again, you said.

Now your voice seemed nearer. I was surprised to see you already so close to me, staring at my work, full of appreciation in your eyes. Still, I just raised my eyebrows and kept on doing my work.

"Do you paint?" you asked.

"Are you talking to me?" I pointed my index finger to my face.

You looked around as if telling me that we were the only people and nodded. I continued sketching. I knew then that I should get angry, edgy, for invading my privacy, but somehow I didn't.

I just... let you be.

"Do you write poems?" I inquired without looking at you. Though in all honesty, I was as surprised as you were when I heard myself talk to you.

"No, I don't. But I'd love to read one," you said and I caught you smiling.

I know you were a freshman like me. But you're too good-looking. Your physique's starting to develop into a boy that would get too much attention soon. You're 5'11", fair skinned and seemed like the boy-next-door type. You wore expensive clothing, your shoes might have cost some fortune, and it puzzled me that you decided to befriend me that day, even though I had given off the vibe that I wanted to be alone.

It was difficult for me to keep up. The people in our school were so judgmental. Every girl would look daggers at me when they saw me with you. A loser befriended by some cute guy? I didn't know what their problem was, but sometimes, I wanted to just get my life back. Back to just being me, on my favorite bench reading my favorite book and listening to my random choice of music. But you just shooed the thoughts away. You proved to me how much you valued our friendship.

At first, it was really hard. You were popularity while I was still a nobody. We weren't on the same course, but you always went to my favorite bench, which you called our hideout, whenever you had vacant classes. You were talkative. You shared how much you value your family and how much you love your two little sisters. But you never bothered to insist on asking me about my life and for that, I adored you more.

One time, your parents visited our school, maybe to check out on you. I was bewildered when you introduced me to them. You were so proud to tell them that I was your best friend. I cannot contain how overwhelmed I was with what you did. Your parents seemed so nice, too. And you didn't know how happy I was that day. That was the first time I felt a sense of belongingness: how it was to be a part of a happy family. Again.