in between the lines

free-falling: foundation day

Leon, together with the rest of the university student government members had just arrived at their school after a 5-day convention that they participated in. Consequently, that day was also the foundation day. Her team was quite reluctant to hand over the preparation to their juniors, but they had no choice. Ayaw din kasi pumayag ng admin na i-move ang foundation week dahil naka set na ito, and at the same time, they had to accept the invitation doon sa conference dahil once a year lang 'yon.

So much can happen in a few short days. Twenty-four hours can feel like nothing when a person is having fun, but the entire 5 days felt like hell for all of them as if each second ticked through an entire lifetime. Apart from the impending foundation's day doom, they didn't have much time to use their phones because of their full schedules. The bus ride on the way to the university from the hotel they were staying at was the only time they had sufficient sleep.

Well, only a few of them, really. Leon was busy overthinking the state of the campus on their way back. She had already received a bunch of concerns from her subordinates, and not to mention, fellow students complaining on the university community's facebook page early in the morning.

"Okay.. So pinush nga nila ang open house?" Asked Kiko, who was walking beside her. They were on their way to the student government office to drop off their travel bags when they observed how cramped the campus was. "Kaya naman pala ang dami nang nagrereklamong estudyante sa FB about sa surge ng mga outsiders."

"Looks like it. Ang laki-laki ng campus pero sobrang daming tao. Pinakausap ko na kay Kit 'yung director ng events na hindi pa tayo ready mag open house. They know there are consequences if they pushed through without my approval," she firmly answered.

After Grace, (the previous president) stepped down, Leon had no choice but the occupy the vacant spot, then Kiko occupied hers. She had no intention of running for the presidency, but the position called for her service.

She quickly opens her phone to check if Reese had responded to her text, informing her that they already arrived. An hour and still no response. The last time they messaged consistently was five days ago, then the following days were broken replies because the two were busy with their own responsibilities outside their relationship.

Leon did not mind. Reese was usually the one to endure hours of her unresponsiveness due to frequent council meetings, seminars, and conferences. It was just unusual for her girlfriend to not reply, knowing it was foundation day and the classes are suspended.

"Yo, Lens!" Soni greets them as he aims for a fist-bump. "Huy, Kiks. Halatang pagod na ah."

"Tell me something I don't know," Kiko sighs. "Bakit mag-isa ka lang, Sons?"

"Huh? Ako, mag-isa?"

"Gagi, nakabalik na pala kayo?" from a distance she could already tell it was Ted's voice. "Hi, bise! Namiss kita."

Ted was about to reach for a hug but she shoved Soni towards Ted instead. Everyone knows she only wants to hug a certain person today, and that person is definitely not Teddy.

"Arte," Ted scoffs. "For your information wala kaming balita sa jowa mo. Kahapon pa huling kita namin. MIA rin sa gc. Balak ko na ngang i-kick sa close friends ko, eh."

"Lens. Nakikita namin 'yung mga posts tungkol sa USG. But mostly sa 'yo," Ted's tone shifted with pure concern.

Leon had seen it all. Students were saying things about how negligent she was as a president, or how Grace was a better president if she hadn't transferred schools—all because of one mistake that everyone in the student council is collectively responsible of.

Jochel and Rei came to the office five minutes after the two. They also said the same thing: that (1) Reese was unresponsive and they didn't know where she was and (2) Leon was receiving a bunch of hate for the foundation day fiasco.