Disclaimer: For artistic excellence lamang po ang pagkakagamit ng mga names :)
Two Months Ago: On how Jayson got the inspiration.
Jayson woke up pretty late for his 7 o’clock class. Seven thirty five na noon at nakuha pa ng binata na tumanga habang tinititigan ang kisame ng kanilang kwarto.
“Hoy Jayson, gumayak ka na!” sabi ng kanyang roommate habang naglalaro ng dota.
“Pare, teka. May iniisip pa ako. Takte, wala pa pala akong ipapasa sa portfolio namin”
“Gago, mas unahin mo pa yan kaysa sa klase mo?! Accountancy student ka, ugok. Ano ba klase mo ngayon?”
“Financial Accounting ata. Quiz pala namin! Hala ako.” Biglang napabangon ang binata sa pagkakahiga only to lose his enthusiasm. Again.
“Shit ka, major mo yan. Gumayak ka na ah!”
It did not make sense. He just stared at the window for another five minutes bago magsimulang kumilos. No one would notice his absence in the class anyway. May quiz, pero wala rin siyang maisasagot.
On the contrary, kanina pa naghihintay sa kanya ang bestfriend nito na si Erika sa room 802. Late na ng 40 minutes si Jayson at naisip ng dalaga na nasobrahan na naman sa tulog ang kanyang kaibigan. Bestfriends sila since first year college. She knew him well like the back of her hand. His flaws, hobbies at kung anu ano pa.
Siya ang nagpakopya sa binata para makapasok sa Accountancy. Siya rin ang umalalay sa kanya noong nalasing ito sa Lantern dahil nabasted ng kadate.
“Jay, unang quiz natin to. Late ka pa. tsk tsk” sabi ni Erika sa kanyang sarili.
Another twenty minutes passed and she saw him running towards the room. Saglit na humingi ng tawad sa kanilang teacher then humingi ng test paper. Tumabi si Jayson kay Erika.
“Jayson, late ka na” sita ni Erika. It was unnecessary.
“Don’t tell the obvious okay? Pakopya naman na ng nasagot mo. Di ako nagbasa”
Erika then slid her paper para makita ito ng binata.
“Next time na malate ka sa quiz, patay ka na” pabulong na sinabi ng dalaga.
“Okay okay BFF. Thanks by the way. Papasa na naman ako.”
“The happy go lucky one talaga” sabi ng dalaga. She can’t help but to feel light kapag katabi niya ang kanyang bestfriend.
On how they met, it was an accident. Erika was just waiting for the jeepney to come and Jayson, being the lightheaded guy, bumped her which caused her to stumble on her sit. At dahil sa madalas na wala sa sarili ang binata, hindi niya napansin na may nabunggo siya.
She remembered his face and confronted him the next day. Mas napadali ito given that they are studying sa iisang kolehiyo. Instead na mas magalit si Erika, natuwa pa siya dahil sa persistent na sagot ni Jayson. “Ha?” . Simula noon, they became inseparable kahit hindi sila blockmates.
No one would ever thought na magiging magbestfriends ang dalawa. Given na sobrang layo ng kanilang personalities.
Si Jayson ay puro kutob ang ginagamit sa pagdedesisyon habang si Erika ay masyadong teknikal. Jayson, most often, is always daydreaming and Erika was the alert girl. Erika is also open to Jayson’s self deprecating tendencies while Jayson is aware of Erika’s uber confidence.
At ngayong second year na sila, mas ginusto ng binata na magfocus sa pagsusulat, habang si Erika ay nagsunog ng kilay at nag apply sa organization.
The horrendous quiz was done and the papers were checked. Jayson passed. And his classmates gave him a suspicious stare.
“You did it again. Pumasa ka dahil sa akin. Happy ka na naman friend” sabi ni Erika. “Merienda? Treat mo? Gusto mo? Tara? Tara” siya na rin ang sumagot sa kanyang tinanong.
The poor guy cannot say no. He sold his soul sa dalaga. He thought. Jayson laughed.
“Sure. Saan mo gusto?”
After the merienda, they went to the university bleachers to squeeze Jayson’s mind para sa kanyang ipapasa. He thought about writing about Karla, thel EIC, as he created or simply a middle of the road article which will bore the hell out of the readers. After 30 minutes of thinking, he finally got an idea. Write an article about Karla. Well, a satire one.
“Erika, kung tungkol kaya kay EIC isulat ko?”
“Gagee. Huwag daw ah. Adik ka. Alam kong magaling kang magsulat pero, pero.. sige na nga!” sagot ng dalaga.
He scanned the contents of his bag to begin. Yet he was never excited to start writing about how uber perfectionist a person is. In a clearly lit place, he began to write.
“Ekang, isip muna ko. Gamitin mo muna notebook mong dala” saka lumayo ang binata.
“Magsusulat ako ng article tungkol sa isang terorista” sabi ni Jayson sa kanyang sarili. “Hindi ata sakto. Pero sige. Masubukan”
Thirty minutes of unsuccessful self persuasion passed, he decided to stop and roam around the bleachers.
“Magbabasa ako ng vandals, baka may makuha ako”
“Sure” tugon ni Erika
As he was reading the vandals, he saw a notebook five steps mula sa kinatatayuan niya. A human instinct caught him so he picked it and look for the owner’s name. He saw a pseudonym instead.
“Shadow Girl?!” he almost laughed sa nabasa. Then sinimulan niyang i scan ang notebook. He saw a name scribbled over the second leaf.
“Who’s Paul?” he thought. “He could be the campus heart throb who plays basketball in the team or maybe another anonymous guy who’s this girl has a crush on.”
He stopped proceeding as he read the following words.
To My Life. To You. To My First and Last. ' - September 25, 2007
“Okay. Another emotard.” Yet it has caught his interest. “At diary itong hawak ko. Yay”
“Jayson?” sabi ng kanyang bestfriend, she also read the passage as well.
“Holy shit!” bulalas ng binata. “At bakit ka ba litaw ng litaw kaagad?! Akala ko andon ka lang!”
“Sorry. Afraid ka? Ha?” sabi ni Erika, nakangiti. “Ooh diary” dugtong niya. “Basahin natin”
He decided to bring the notebook to the dormitory. He is going to search for the owner, as well as whoever might be in that notebook.
Nakalimutan niya na may article pa pala siyang isusulat para sa literary folio. His next class is to begin in 5 minutes. Before he pack his things, he decided to read the first journal entry.
“It was a sunny day in April when I met a guy. I actually knew him before yet he was never my interest. Until this day came, nagkaspark. Hala ako. Anong gagawin ko? Crush ko na ata siya pero.. pero.. pero.. committed pa ako friend. Teka, ambabaw ko. Crush lang to. Ang hormones, huwag kang makigulo. Ang kiri ko. Hihi…By the way..."
Natawa si Jayson sa kanyang nabasa. “Girls, will be girls” he thought as they walked towards the college. The diary will be a lot of fun.
“Oy. Sila ah. Hindi ako ganyan. Wala akong crush!” sabi ng dalaga. "Eh mas gwapo pa ako sa crush ko sana dati" dugtong niya.