Quite an entrance into 2024, our boy has himself a chance. To steel himself and to start to have an interest for the new semester. A brief second of flashing memories and feelings - the disappointment, the smoke of a cigarette, the laughter in the night, the heat of the celebration, and the lingering feeling of longing - as he swims deep into the helm of his dreams. What awaits? Revelations and realizations, what answers will be given? Will it still be the same?
A long void of stars. Celestials. Time ticks and a long road of silver forms and focusing a little deeper, there is.. the voice of his dad?
He wakes up.
8:30 am
January 29, 2024
HOME
"Hoy! Hoy, mata na kay naa paman kaha kay klase"
Awoken from his sleep, he wakes up and instantly remembering his schedule for today. He grabs his phone and looks at the time. His class starts at 9 o'clock, and it's currently 8:30 am.
Quickly springing away from his bed, he prepares for a quick bath. Before he does, he sees a text from Jake saying:
(phone)
Jake: "do asa naka?"
Axel: "yawa bag.o pako mata"
As he starts to take a bath, Jake replies a second later "nana ko diri man"
and with that reply, he couldn't laze around anymore. He looks at the time again and quickly calculates that he has to finish bathing in 5 mins and debating whether to eat or not.
What a start to his morning, and ironically recalling what he said to his mom last night before going to bed "dili lage ko ma late".
5 minutes later, he finishes his bath without even washing his hair properly as he doesn't have time to. He quickly puts on his uniform and decides to not eat breakfast as that would take a hefty amount of time given that he still has to commute to school.
"Naay fried rice dira Axel ah" his dad says to him. He replies "ay dili nako mokaon pa" and continues to button his uniform. Puts on his socks, grabs his small bag with just candies inside, and he takes off for school.
and that creeping feeling that he might've missed something..
8:40
To CIT
As fates would have it or maybe his delusional mind, as he steps outside and reaching the road, a tricycle calls out "Dong!" and Axe shouts "Tabunok ya?" and the driver gives him a nod.
Taking a break, he grabs a breather. Looks at the time once again and thinks to himself again.
"Mag jeep pako or habal habal nalang?"
A jeepney would be the cheapeast choice but there's little chances of getting there before it's too late. A motorcycle on the other hand would not be cheap but offers a more mobile and fast way to get there.
As he is thinking about that, he touches his chest and realizes that he forgot to put on his necklace. The most important thing to him, forgotten due to the series of fast-paced movement. "Fuck" he swears under his breath.
A moment later, he's asked by the driver "mo liko paka padung terminal dong?" and he replies "ay mo adto ni gaisano ya?" and the driver nods, and Axe says "awh gaisano lang ko ya"
Putting into stone the plan for riding a motorcycle to commute there.
They arrive at the destination and he leaves quickly after paying for the fare. Scanning forward, he sees two motorcycle drivers at standby. One sees him and gestures to him, he asks "CIT ya?" and the driver calls the other one, eating on the side "oh, hoy! cit daw oh"
He wanted to ask how much the ride was from here to the school but the words never left his lips.
"Helmet oh" the driver gestures to him. He puts on the helmet, briefly smelling the scent of pee, not sure if it was coming from the side or the helmet but he didn't mind anything right now as it is now 8:49 am.
They took off into the highway, headed towards the school.
9:00
CIT
Entering inside the gate, they arrived in the school. Axe takes off the helmet as he gets off the vehicle and asks "pilay bayad ya?"
The driver replies "100 lang dong"
Axe thought to himself that "I expected more but no complaints" and he pays the fare, leaving after saying dropping his thanks.
He looks at the time and it is 9:02 now, and if his memory isn't wrong, he still has 13 minutes left until he is late. He rushes quickly into the building, and a sense of longing enters in his back but quickly shaking it off. Weird.
He runs up the stairs and into the third floor. GLE 302 is the room he is looking for and he finds it. Though unsure if the room he is looking at is the correct one, he hears inside a discussion.
With no signal and/or data in his phone, he couldn't text Jake if this was the room they were in.
9:10 and he only has 5 minutes left until he is late. First day of the new semester, he can't let himself be late. Then, he hears the professor talking inside.
"..Next is attendance, kani siya class kay kibaw naman mo ani noh? Naa moy 15 minutes before mo ma late.." and without hesitation, Axe enters the room.
He nods good morning at the professor and the professor continues his discussion saying "pareha ani niya oh, unsa na time? ay wala pa siya na late pero hapit ra.."
He laughs awkwardly and gets called by Jake across the room towards the back. "Ari diri do kay gi reservan taka"
He sat down and takes a long breath and exhales "woo!"
Relief. He laughs alongside his friends on his row, Jake on his left side and AJ on the right. With Rogi and Zayve on the far ends next to them. The voices blur in the background, and in the back of his head he can't help but wonder if she is in the school right now. She might be, might be not. He remembers the necklace, and deeply regrets forgetting about wearing it. There won't be a next time.
He looks down to his ID, and there, is the tulip. He clutches it, holding it in his hands. Looking back to the room and steels himself. "Naa pakay klase kahuman ani?" He diverts his attention towards his friends and the noise starts to fill his consciousness again. With that, the rush of coming to the school and the familiar feeling of excitement and longing inside the school. The professor continues her orientation, and now officially, the second half to this experience starts.
- Next -
