APRIL 10, 2023・MONDAY・8:46
JR presses the flush button on the urinal and zips up his pants. He goes towards the sink and turns on the tap to wash his hands. On his peripheral, he can notice some guys staring at him from outside the door. He turns to look at them.
The two of them look at each other and shyly walk towards him.
"Hello." The tall one says in a very deep voice.
"Hi?" JR says, confused. He finishes washing his hands and wipes them with his handkerchief.
The tall one looks at his friend and shrugs, egging him on.
"Kuan...Kaila mo'ng Escano, pre?" the shorter one asks. "Katong si Maya ba. GAS man yata to siya. Diba amigo man mo ato niya?"
"ERM...DO YOU KNOW ESCANO?"
"HER NAME'S MAYA. I THINK SHE'S FROM GAS? AREN'T YOU GUYS FRIENDS?"
JR doesn't respond, confused and a bit taken aback. He nervously swallows. "Ngano diay?"
"WHY?"
"Naa to siya'y uyab, pre?"
"DOES SHE HAVE A BOYFRIEND, PRE?"
The tall one pats his friend's shoulder and walks over to the urinals to piss.
JR hesitates at first, unsure of what to say. "Er...wala."
"ER...SHE DOESN'T, NO."
"Katong lalake diay? Katong pirme naa sa iyahang instagram?"
"WHAT ABOUT THAT GUY? THE ONE FROM INSTAGRAM?"
"Si Noel?"
"NOEL?"
"Oo, kato siya. Uyab pa sila ato?"
"YEAH. THAT ONE. ARE THEY NOT TOGETHER?"
"Dili na."
"NOT ANYMORE, NO."
A huge smile appears on the short one's face, he holds his hand up, waiting for a high five. "Nice," he says.
JR awkwardly returns the high five.
"Okay. Kato lang. Salamat," the short one says excitedly before heading over to the urinals to join his friend.
"OKAY. THAT'S...THAT'S ALL. THANK YOU."
"Okay," JR mutters, probably not loud enough for them to hear. With one last puzzled look at the two of them, he walks out of the restroom.
He takes his time, making his way through the classrooms, peering into each one through their windows. He passes by the Science Lab and gets a sudden jolt of panic as he sees Hazel inside, seemingly doing a report.
She gestures towards a presentation displayed on the screen.
Curiously, it's brimming with cats.
He continues to look inside and realizes that she's only presenting to her teacher, not an entire class.
All of a sudden, she meets his gaze.
Immediately, JR looks away and walks a bit more faster.
—
"Yo," Noel says, watching JR take a seat next to him and fiddling with his pen.
JR nods at him. "Wala pa gihapon si Ma'am?"
"MA'AM'S STILL NOT HERE?"
"Wala pa. Murag dili man yata siya mag-klase."
"NOPE. I DON'T THINK SHE'S COMING TODAY."
"Ahh. Maayo." He sees that Noel is writing something in his notebook. "Unsa na?" he asks.
"OH, GOOD."
"WHAT'S THAT?"
"Naghuna-huna lang ko ug kanang mga pwede namo idungag sa among rationale. Ambot uy. Lisod kaayo among topic."
"I'M JUST THINKING OF WHAT WE CAN ADD TO OUR RATIONALE. I DON'T KNOW. OUR RESEARCH TOPIC'S SO COMPLICATED."
"At least gatinabangay mo sa imong mga kagrupo. Sa amo, kay ako ra nag-carry sa tanan."
"AT LEAST YOU AND YOUR GROUP MATES ARE HELPING EACH OTHER. ON OURS, I'M JUST THE ONLY ONE DOING ALL THE WORK."
Noel shakes his head. "Ireklamo na kang ma'am bai, uy."
"DUDE, YOU HAVE TO TELL MA'AM ABOUT THAT."
"Ambot. Awon lang nako ani."
"I DON'T KNOW. WE'LL SEE."
Noel has a thought and writes it down.
JR continues to stare at him. "Kumusta man ka bai?"
"HOW ARE YOU, BAI?"
Noel looks up at him. "Okay lang."
"FINE."
"Unya?" He looks away for a bit. "Nagsturya na mong Maya?"
"AND?"
"HAVE YOU TALKED TO MAYA FINALLY?"
"Wala pa. Ambot. Gusto unta ko muadto sa ilahang balay, bai, para mangumusta kang May-may. Pero murag weird na man uy."
"I HAVEN'T YET. I DON'T KNOW. I ACTUALLY WANTED TO GO TO THEIR HOUSE TO SEE HOW MAY-MAY'S DOING. BUT...IT'S JUST SO WEIRD BETWEEN US."
"Basig..." He looks at Noel and reconsiders what he's about to say at first. "Basig tama si Aljun. Basig kinahanglan na nimo mangita ug lain."
"MAYBE..."
"MAYBE ALJUN'S RIGHT? MAYBE YOU NEED TO START LOOKING FOR SOMEONE ELSE."
Noel contemplates what JR just said for a moment.
"Kanang bahala gud ug dili seryoso, bai," JR suggests. "Dili man gani kinahanglan nga uyabon nimo siya, kanang distraction lang ba."
"I MEAN, IT DOESN'T HAVE TO BE SERIOUS."
"YOU DON'T EVEN HAVE TO BE LIKE A THING IMMEDIATELY. I DON'T KNOW. JUST SOMEONE TO DISTRACT YOU."
"Pero..."
"BUT..."
"Try lang gud. Wala ma'y mawala."
"JUST TRY IT. YOU'VE GOT NOTHING TO LOSE."
"Okay?" Noel puts down his pen. "Unya asa pud ko mangita?"
"AND WHERE WILL I LOOK FOR MISS DISTRACTION?"
JR shrugs. "Ambot. Diri sa skwelahan?" He scans the entire classroom. "Or erm...Tinder?"
"I DON'T KNOW. SCHOOL?"
"OR ERM...TINDER?"
"Tinder?" Noel laughs. "Unsa ka 40?"
"WHAT ARE YOU? 40?"
"Ambot bai. Dili man ko kabalo ug mga ingon ana. Pero kato..." He exhales. "There are other fish in the sea, bai."
"I DON'T KNOW BAI. I'M NOT REALLY FAMILIAR WITH PEOPLE LIKE THAT. BUT YEAH..."
Noel stares at JR for a bit and suddenly gives him a look as if realizing something. "Ikaw diay bai? Murag wala pa yata tika nakit-an nga naa'y uyab."
"WHAT ABOUT YOU JR? I DON'T THINK I'VE EVER SEEN YOU IN A RELATIONSHIP WITH SOMEONE."
JR adjusts his throat. "Erm...Pag-trabaho na dira uy. Masuko gyud to imong mga kauban."
"ERM...NOEL, I THINK YOU SHOULD GO BACK TO WHAT YOU WERE WORKING ON. YOU WOULDN'T WANT YOUR GROUP MATES GETTING MAD AT YOU NOW, WOULD YOU?"
"JR, seryoso ko ba. Naa na ka'y nauyab o naka-fling man lang?"
"JR, I'M SERIOUS. HAVE YOU EVER DATED SOMEONE? A FLING, MAYBE?"
"Noel, tiwasa na na imohang ginabuhat."
"NOEL, GO BACK TO WORK."
"Crush...Wala ka'y crush?"
"CRUSH...AT LEAST A CRUSH?"
"Wala, Noel. Mamatay ko nga single."
"NO ONE, NOEL. I'M GOING TO DIE SINGLE."
Noel laughs. "Unsa man na siya uy? Ingna na lang gud ko JR."
"C'MON, JR. YOU CAN TELL ME."
"Wala, Noel. Ikaw no, mao ra gyud na ang naa sa imong utok."
"NO, I'M NOT INTERESTED IN STUFF LIKE THAT, NOEL. YOU AND ALJUN SERIOUSLY NEED TO GET HELP, IT'S ALL THAT TWO OF YOU THINK ABOUT."
He rolls his eyes and puts his arms on JR's shoulder. "Pangitaan tika ug babae, bai. Ayaw kabalaka."
"WE'LL FIND YOU A GIRL, BAI. DON'T WORRY."
JR playfully shakes his arm off. "Stop!" he says with a little chuckle.