But With an L

04: Of Course, I Would

"Spread out," sabi ko sa mga News Writers namin. "Gather information, okay? Walang chikahan! Don't forget to wear your Press IDs!"

Apat kaming News Writers ngayon in total tapos each one of us ay may PhotoJourn na partner.

Monthly kasi namin itong gagawin. Ask FEU students about their stand regarding a certain societal issue/s that is/are timely during the month. Para naman may magawa kaming mga News Writers.

Almost nine pa lang ng umaga at ebarg na agad ang init. Ako na nag-volunteer na mag-interview sa mga estudyante outside the campus kasi nga mainit. Kahiya naman sa mga bilat na 'to! Ako lang kasi lalaki sa News Category, hindi pa straight. Haixt.

Pero heterong guy kasama kong PhotoJourn and as much as I'd like to talk to him right now to avoid the awkward atmosphere, I just can't bring myself to talk. 'DI ako comfortable sa mga lalaking straight, eh. Unless na lang siguro kung pogi ka. Chour.

"Start tayo sa Lerma," sabi nung guy. "Marami laging tao do'n, eh."

He's referring to the Lerma Street malapit sa university. May mga kainan do'n, masasarap naman lalo na 'yong sisig kaso nakakatakot minsan mga tambay do'n.

Umiling ako. "May dala kang DSLR, baka mahablot 'yan saka ka-Institute lang naman natin, halos puro FEU Tech lang naman tao d'yan."

"Sure. Buti naman," natatawa niyang sabi. "Dapat talaga hindi kasali FEU Tech, madadamot, eh."

"True!" natatawa kong ambag. "Isang building lang naman pero ayaw magpa-pasok!"

Going well 'yong tandem namin. Mukhang mas mabilis kaming matatapos ngayon kasi malapit na kami agad sa quota.

Bigla akong hindi mapakali nang makita ko si Zeo na naglalakad sa may Hepa Lane. Nasa kabilang sidewalk siya sa lugar ko ngayong nasa harap ng university. Naka-uniform lang siya for Beda.

Malaki mata ko kaya kita ko siya, okay?

I looked at my partner. Mahilig talaga siyang kumuha ng picture kasi kahit hindi required, ang dami niyang kinukuhang shots. I looked at his ID to see his name.

"James," I called him. "Five minutes break? Kita tayo sa harap ng Engineering building."

He nodded, "Sure."

Dali-dali akong tumakbo para i-cross 'yong pedestrian crossing papuntang Jollibee. Buti nakalagpas na si Zeo do'n.

After crossing, lakad-takbo ako para abutan siya. I want to surprise him.

I poked his side. "Hello."

Nagulat lang siya for a second tapos back to being cute na. He looked at me and smile. For a second I thought dapat mahiya ang araw sa sobrang warm ng ngiti niya. "Good morning! I thought afternoon klase mo?"

I lifted my Press ID. "Wala akong class today, but school pub org duties. We're interviewing FEU students about the recent and timely news."

Huminto siya sa isang street vendor. Akala ko bibili lang siya ng chewing gum, but I was surprised when he bought two pieces of Lala.

He gave me the other one. It was days ago when we last met and the Lala thing. "You remembered."

"Of course, I would," he said, and we started walking na ulit.

Ngumiti lang ako and chose not to comment. Madalas pa naman akong panira ng moment. Rhyming, pota. 

Diretso lang siyang naglalakad but I moved closer and looked at him. "Ikaw? What's your stand about the recent news?"