Somewhere Someday
(Chapter 11 – Love On Hold)
One cloudy morning, Hanna walks quietly towards the classroom. Even if she is a bit sleepy because of studying late for a quiz this afternoon, she still manages to put on a smile, alternatively yawning as she reaches her desk. The young lady thinks that something weird is happening. Unusual smiles and glances from her friends confuse her.
The unassuming girl puts her bag on her place as she sits down, seeing a small folded note attached to her desk. She reads a short passage as she tries to remember why the handwriting is familiar.
“Better is an open reprimand, than a love that remains hidden.” – Proverbs 27:5
Amazed with the proverb, her eyes spark in wonder as she finally opens the note which is folded into half. Now everything is clear. A name written below the short but sweet letter confirms her suspicion.
Seeing you as my Snow White, I knew it was love at first sight
Hidden feelings I can’t fight, I now confess for the time is right
“I love you Hanna” I’ll make it trend, I’ll do it for my best friend
Moments with you I want to spend, just don’t let this love end
(John Carlo Chua)
Before Hanna can even react, a mob of friends swarmed into the door. Smiles and laughter fill the room as her best friend JC finally appears, holding a bouquet of fresh pink roses in his right hand, while gripping sticks of rainbow-colored balloons in his left. Walking towards the surprised girl, the class begins to feel the romance and excitement of his confession. But not all are happy. Gillian, together with her friends, look frustrated as they roll their eyes in disbelief.
“Is this a prank? W-wait… I’m overwhelmed. This is the first time that someone did this to me.” Hanna opens her mouth in awe as she feels the light atmosphere of the room.
“I love you.” JC says in a soft and humble tone. His sentence makes Hanna smile, with her soft cheeks slightly blushing. She looks straight at the boy and starts to notice all the features which entitles him to a campus heartthrob title. It is only now that she happens to fully appreciate his sweet face, cute chinky eyes, and pearly white smile.
“I… I don’t know what to say…” Hanna slightly gasps for air as she begins to become conscious in front of the guy.
“Hanna! Yes is the answer!” Paula shouts as she stands in the platform, leading the class to cheer Yes.
Hanna looks at JC, smiling as if there is a ready answer brewing in her head. Taking a deep breath, she softly touches the guy’s face as she finally gives her reply. “Yes.” She exclaims, making the class shout and cheer in victory. Their classmates treat the event like a basketball championship.
“Yes… you may court me.” The young lady makes a follow-up statement which leaves the class hanging. They weren’t expecting such reply.
Nevertheless, JC is an understanding guy. Instead of getting disappointed, he sees this as a chance and an opportunity to woo his love. At least his intentions are now made clear.
“Really? Well, thank you. Promise I’ll do my best. I’ll court you with all my heart.” JC smiles at Hanna as they unconsciously hug each other like they always do as best friends.
“I’ll give you a chance. You’re special to me.” The sweet girl tells her suitor while their cheeks touch and press each other.
“Is that the real reason why you said yes?” The boy whispers to his love’s left ear, releasing a warm feeling of his breath. “Fine. I admit that you’re cute.” The girl replies as she starts to thrill; their tight embrace slowly becomes a romantic one.
“How dramatic! What a way to prolong the agony of a guy who did all his best to confess!” Gillian suddenly makes a scandalous scene.
“Very dramatic indeed! They’re the couple and you’re the villain.” Paula cuts the jealous woman.
“Shut up, sidekick!” The intimidating girl glares at Paula. She walks in front to talk to JC. “If I were her, I would accept your offer. Perhaps, you don’t even need to ask me. I’ll go steady with you in less than a minute.” Gillian gently touches the guy’s face, hoping that it would change his mind.
“That’s the reason why I don’t like you. You’re easy to get.” JC releases a cutting remark, embarrassing Gillian in front of the whole class.
“I hate you!” says Gillian, walking out of the room wearing an angry face, with friends following her outside.
“Yeah! Serves you right! Call me sidekick again and I’ll kick your ass!” Paula pretends to follow Gillian at the door and fakes a high boot.
“Don’t mind her.” JC remarks as he softly touches Hanna’s hand, fingers nearly intertwine.
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“Hey, Villegas!” A threatening baritone voice dominates the school basketball court. An uninviting tone suddenly stops Lloyd from walking along the square. The senior team captain is calling him.
Before turning his head as a courtesy to his senior, a speedy ball hit his back, hurting his spine due to the intensity of the sudden throw. Deeply harmed, Lloyd can’t help but fall on his knees while enduring the pain. “Ow!” The boy grunts as he puts his hand on his back, slightly pushing it.
“Poor Lloyd!” The captain laughs disturbingly. Not contented with his fast toss, he throws a lighter one on the freshman’s right arm, adding pain to the boy who receives the blow.
“What’s your problem?! I’m not doing anything!” Lloyd wants to fight back but he has to control himself.
“Of course you did something! Don’t play innocent here!” The captain ducks down to talk face to face.
“Is it about the photo?” The boy asks, confused of what he really did.
“Flirting with my girl, eh?” The furious senior forcefully grips Lloyd’s arm, making the boy shudder.
“It was nothing. Wait, I thought you already broke up with her?” The curious boy utters a question.
“It doesn’t matter! She is still my girl! Look… don’t mess with me, or else I might kick you out of the team. You don’t want to lose your scholarship, right?” The senior naughtily grins as he pulls Lloyd’s jersey shirt with force.
Powerless at the moment, Lloyd can’t help but nod and agree with what his senior is saying. Still feeling the pain, he continues to hold his arm and back while the senior stands up and leaving him hurt at the middle of the basketball court.
It took him minutes before he got up and finally stood on his feet. Aside from the physical ache, another trauma developed inside him: the bullying that he had to experience even if he did not do something wrong, and the beating that he had to endure. For the innocent boy, life is sometimes unfair.
Exiting the school gymnasium as he is the only one walking in the hallways, he hears a voice… a voice that used to be sweet to his ears, but now, hearing it would not be a good thing anymore.
“Lloyd? Lloyd!” The voice gets louder as seconds pass. The boy just lets the sound enter his right ear, then lets it pass onto the left.
“Did you not hear me?! I’m calling you!” Lloyd finally sees Trixie in front of him, trying hard to get his attention.
“Oh, it’s you.” The boy says softly with a sigh.
“Is there a problem? You seem drained. You’re not like that. You’re always happy and excited whenever I pop out and talk to you.” Trixie notices the boy’s weariness.
“Have you done some research on our project?” Lloyd suddenly asks.
“Uhm, not yet. In fact, I would start researching at home this evening.” Trixie replies, observing the boy’s eyes which look tired and hopeless.
“Maybe I’ll just ask the professor if we could do the project separately. You do yours, and I’ll do mine.” The boy sighs and starts to move his foot away from Trixie.
“W-wait! What do you mean? We’re partners, right? You can’t just leave me like that!” The chick shouts as she grabs the boy’s arm, stopping him from walking away.
“Our professor just granted us the privilege of researching for a topic until next month, but our classmates are already working on their reports. We’re left behind. I think it would be better if we do it on our own.” Lloyd explains his side, making Trixie infuriated.
“What?! You don’t want me to be left hanging!” The sophisticated girl continues her rage.
“Okay, fine. We’ll still be partners. But, I think I’ll have to distance myself from now on. You know… we could just talk in class about our project and discuss our lessons. We don’t need to talk outside the classroom.” The boy says as he bows down.
“Is this about the circulating photo? Tell me! I know you’re not the type of guy who would say that.” Trixie airs her frustration.
“It’s related to the issue.” Lloyd answers, making Trixie raise her eyebrow.
“You don’t have to be sensitive in every issue, Lloyd. That… that issue… is just a petty one. Why do you have to be affected? I’m not!” Trixie exclaims while doing hand gestures.
“Well, good for you. But I can’t handle such issues. I’m not that strong, you know. Besides, I’m taking care of my image in school. I’m now a varsity player, and I don’t want to sacrifice my scholarship. I hope you’d understand.” Lloyd says as he gently pats the girl’s shoulder, leaving her standing in the hallway.
In their everyday conversations, this is the first time that Trixie is the one being left by the other. Seeing him walk away, a dash of worry bothers her as she sees Lloyd’s imbalanced walk.
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September 2012
Another month has passed and Alfred finally reaches high school level. His friendly relationship with Hanna is somewhat improving for they can now talk and discuss about other things aside from their usual lessons. For this session, the young lady is discussing Philippine literature, telling the story of the Adarna bird, a mythical creature who has the power to heal any kind of illness.
“But before anyone can get hold of this magical bird, one has to endure the frightening trails of the forest. A hopeful has to be mentally and spiritually awake when the bird sings seven songs, or else he will turn into a rock.” Hanna tells its summary as Alfred blankly stares at his textbook.
“Are you still following me, Alfred?” Hanna notices that the guy’s mind is not with the lesson. Alfred continues to stare at the book, with his face becoming sad.
“I don’t have to follow. I know the story by heart.” Alfred replies, closing his textbook.
“Oh, I see.” Hanna is surprised with the sudden actions of the guy.
“This is the only story that I know. Mang Fernando had this old storybook in the carnival tent and he shared the tale to put me to sleep. He also used the opportunity to teach me how to read.” The guy vividly remembers the old times
“He was your stepfather, right? I can see that you miss him a lot.” Hanna understands the guy’s feelings.
Alfred surprisingly reaches for his pocket to get something. He pulls out a golden locket clock necklace, the one that was given to him by his stepfather. Alfred opens the locket, and beside the clock, there is a small black and white photo of him and the old man.
“This is Mang Fernando.” Alfred shows Hanna the vintage photo placed inside the clock frame. Hanna is more than amazed to see an old picture that dates back to 1942.
“How cute.” The young lady smiles as she sees Alfred pout in the photo.
“I know what that means…” The young man looks at Hanna, making the girl conscious of her face.
“What do you mean?” Hanna scares herself as he pretends to pile up the books in the table.
“You said I was cute, and I already know what the word means.” The boy teases Hanna, making her flip some pages of a book.
“Excuse me? I did not say that! I said the photo was cute, not you.” Hanna defends herself. “It’s the same.” Alfred replies.
“Okay, we’re becoming sentimental here. Why don’t you just answer some mixture problems in Algebra? I know you’re already bored with that subject, but still, practice makes perfect.” Hanna brings out problem sheets for the young man to solve.
As Alfred studies the problems given to him, Hanna instinctively studies his face while he is answering the sheets. Seeing him writing with a pencil and analyzing information makes her smile, but she does not want to mistake it as a strong liking to the guy.
Before thinking of a way to distract herself, JC calls her. She quickly answers the call and begins to talk to her suitor. While Hanna is giggling and smiling in the phone conversation, Alfred looks at her from time to time, sometimes forgetting the answers to his Math problems.
“A dinner date? So when I come, it would mean a Yes? Let’s see!” Hanna laughs as she feels really comfortable talking to JC. Alfred is already losing his focus as he drops his pencil on the floor.
“Who was that?” The curious guy asks after Hanna drops the call.
“It was JC, my best friend turned suitor.” The young lady smiles as she sits down. “Are you finished? Let me see your answers.” She extends her hand to get Alfred’s answer sheets.
“I’m not yet finished, okay?! Just… just keep quiet… I can’t concentrate!” Alfred exclaims as he puts his hands into his head, doing a sudden frown.
“Okay, fine. But why are you mad? I’m not starting a fight.” Hanna retrieves her hand and opens a pocketbook to wait for Alfred to finish.
“Are you coming to your dinner date on the next day?” Alfred abruptly asks to which Hanna becomes surprised.
“H-huh? Why are you asking?” Hanna raises her eyebrow.
“I just became curious. You were talking so loud and I can’t help but hear your conversation.” Alfred replies as he finishes his Math problems.
“To answer your question, I feel that it would be okay for me to go steady with him. I already have a job and I’ve been saving for my family so I think I should focus on my own happiness now.” Hanna replies as she finally gets Alfred’s sheets.
“Do you love him? Will going steady with him make you happy?” The young man continues to annoy her with follow-up questions.
“JC is a nice guy. He’s the type of boy whom everyone will want as their boyfriend.” The young lady answers the questions. “What happened to your score? You used to excel in Algebra!” She is surprised with the low score Alfred gets for his exercise.
“I’m not in the mood to analyze!” Alfred answers Hanna’s question.
Still frowning, the young man stands up and leaves the room. Finding it stuffy for him at the moment, he walks to a cabinet of small cages for tiny animals. There he opens a cage where a cute little rabbit is confined.
Alfred gently gets the fragile rabbit and rubs its long fluffy ears. Little did he know that Hanna is following him. The young lady sees how the guy takes proper care of the tiny animal.
“You really love that rabbit, since it was brought here a week ago.” Hanna notices the guy’s kindness to animals.
“This rabbit is my friend. Whenever I’m stressed or lonely, I’ll just play with him.” Alfred fondles the rabbit’s face as he feeds it with a carrot.
“I think you should give him a name.” Hanna cheerfully suggests.
“No need. I can call him rabbit anytime.” Alfred still holds the carrot as it is gobbled up by the cute mammal.
“No, names are important, especially for new friends. Hmm… I think… we should call him… Munchy!” Hanna lightly claps as she thinks of a new name.
“Why Munchy? I prefer calling him rabbit.” Alfred disagrees, hugging the animal tighter.
“Look at how he munches the carrot. So cute! Munchy… Munchy…” Hanna says in a harmonious tone as she pets the rabbit, playing with its nose. “May I carry him? Please?” She pleads to the young man.
At first, Alfred hesitates, but with Hanna’s continuous and tireless pleading, he finally gives her the chance of touching and carrying Munchy.
“Be careful!” The young man shouts. “Stop shouting. Munchy will get scared of your big voice.” Hanna reminds Alfred as they both play with the cute rabbit.
END OF CHAPTER 11
CHAPTER 12 (The Volume 1 Finale) will be on Monday, December 10, 2012 :)