Chapter 1

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University week ngayon ng eskwelahan pero hindi tulad ng ibang estudyante na nag e-enjoy sa iba't ibang pakulong booth ay nandito ako sa library para mag-aral. Wala akong oras para magliwaliw lalo't huling taon ko na sa kursong pharmacy.

I look at my wrist watch to check the time and when I saw that its almost lunch time, I closed the book I'm reading. Inayos ko muna ang mga gamit ko at saka tumayo para pumunta sa cafeteria. Subsub man ako sa pag-aaral pero sinisiguro ko parin na hindi ko napapabayaan ang sarili ko. I'm a medical student after all, how can I give quality health care to my patient, kung mismong sarili ko hindi ko maalagaan ng maayos.

Naglalakad na ako papuntang cafeteria ng may makasalubong akong kaklase ko. She smiled at me, so I also gave her a tight lipped smile. Magpapatuloy na sana ako sa paglalakad ng tumigil siya sa harapan ko. Sa itsura niya, alam kong may sasabihin siya sa akin, pero parang nag-aalangan siyang magsalita. I know that I always intimidate people because of my always quiet personality and stoic face. I always put distance to other people, and I think that's the reason why in my four years in this university, I never had friends. It's actually okay because I hate emotional attachment to other people not related to me, other than my family.

"Zep, Pinapatawag ka ni Dean Gonzales, pumunta ka raw ng faculty room" aniya, na pumukaw sa malalim kong pag-iisip.

"Sige, salamat" I nod and gave her a tight smile then turn my back, heading the faculty office.


NAGLALAKAD ako sa corridor at isa-isang nilalampasan ang mga classroom.

"Ms. Izquierdo!" someone called me.

Napatigil ako sa paglalakad at napalingon sa pinanggalingan ng boses para tingnan kung sino ang tumawag sa akin.

And there I saw him inside the classroom smiling widely at me.

I watch him excusing himself to engineering students. And the unknown feeling in my chest start to arise when he's started walking towards me.

"Mabuti at nakita kita Ms. Izquierdo, alam mo na ba ang tungkol sa student leader convention?" he asked

I swallowed the lump on my throat. I don't know but I felt uneasy around him.

"Amm, a-ano pong convention prof? I'm sorry, pero hindi po ako na inform" nakatungo kong tanong, nararamdaman ko kasi ang mga matang nakamasid sa amin sa loob ng classroom na iniwan ni Prof.

"Hindi ka pa pala nasabihan ni Dean Gonzales?" nagtatakang napakamot ito sa ulo niya.

Isang beses ko lang siyang naging professor sa subject na Physics at second year pa ko nun. Engineering teachers kasi nagha-handle ng Physics dito sa school namin. Nung una siyang pumasok sa room namin akala ko transferee student lang kasi hindi siya nakasuot ng uniform dahil parang kasing edad lang namin siya, yun pala Professor na namin. Majority ng mga pharma students babae, at majority rin nun ay may lihim rin na crush sa kanya.

He's a one hottie professor that every girl student would drool over. Lalo na kung titingnan mo ang kanyang kulay kayumangging mata, mahahabang pilikmata, makapal na kilay, matangos na ilong, mga labing mapupula at pantay-pantay na mapuputing ngipin na lumalabas sa tuwing ngumingiti siya.

Napakamaamo ng kanyang mukha at lalong umaaliwalas sa tuwing ngumingiti siya.

"Aray!" napukaw ako sa aking malalim na pag-iisip ng pitikin ako ni Prof sa noo. Mahina lang naman, pero sapat na para mabalik ang isip ko sa kasalukuyan

Humahalakhak siya, "akala ko kasi nakatulog ka na ng nakadilat, kanina pa ako nagtatanong sayo pero mukhang wala sa katawan mo ang kaluluwa mo, tong batang to, sige na may klase pa ako, nag-iingay na yung mga asungot, tanongin mo nalang si Dean Gonzales" napanguso naman ako sa litanya niya.

"Prof U-week ngayon ah" sabi ko na nagtataka

Humalakhak naman ulit siya sa reklamo ko saka ginulo yung buhok ko "Nag make up class ako kasi palaging mga absent yang mga estudyanteng yan kaya para makahabol sila sa lesson nagklase ako ngayon" paliwanag ni prof

Tumango nalang ako, at napatingin sa mga engineering student. Nahagip ng paningin ko ang dalawang mga matang matiim na nakatitig sakin.

His deep gray eyes and his slightly furrowed brows sent shiver down my spine. He's staring at me like I'm kind of puzzle he can't solve. He grinned at me when he caught me staring back at him. I instantly turned my back and started walking without looking back.

Gosh! What was that? He's kinda creepy. I shook the image inside my head.

PAGKATAPOS akong kausapin ni Dean Gonzalez tungkol sa student leader convention na wala naman akong nagawa kundi ang pumayag dahil running for Summa Cum laude ako. I don't want to disappoint the people who believes in me.

Nagmamadali na akong pumuntang cafeteria kasi past lunch na, kung maari ayaw kong malipasan ng gutom. My parents will freak out if they will know that I skip my meal.

Ano kayang magandang kainin? Ayoko ng medyo heavy meal. I think I'll pick something healthy.

"What's your order ma'am?" the girl asked me.

"Give me one serve of chapsuey, one half cup of rice, one piece banana and mango shake miss" I politely said.

"Just wait a minute ma'am" she said, I just nod at her.

Minute later, she gave me my order after I paid it.

So far madami namang vacant table kasi past lunch naman, wala na masyadong tao. Pinili ko yung nasa sulok na part ng cafeteria. I just want to eat in peace.

After a while, I finished my late lunch. Tinatamad pa akong tumayo kaya napag isipan kong magcheck ng mga social media accounts ko. I might be an antisocial in real life but I'm very active virtually. I love posting photos.

I checked my facebook account, 50+ friend request, 60+ notifications, 10+ messages. Tiningnan ko isa-isa ang mga nagfriend request, ina-accept ko yung mga kilala ko. Binuksan ko ang messenger ko, panay group chat lang naman ng section namin at group para sa mga iba't ibang subject, na hindi ko pinapansin, aksaya sa panahon, wala namang sense yung mga chat nila. Yung ibang message ay nanggaling sa ibang random strangers.

I closed my FB and I open my insta account. My brows furrowed the moment I saw my notification.

1688 notifications!

Where were this came from? I just checked it last night. What's this?!

I instantly check my insta notif, I scroll it down, and then I scroll it up. There's only one account who's been liking my post from my latest photo till my very first post in instagram! Gosh! I click the account out of curiosity but damn! The account is private and the person has no profile picture. Who's this @ardemet, this person is creeping me out. This nobody really has the nerve to let me know that she's or he's stalking me.

"I think someone is having a bad day" someone said, interrupting my deep thoughts. I felt him standing in front of me. I look up to him. And there I saw those brown almond eyes again.

Prof Austin Ivan Demetriou

"P-prof!" napatayo ako bigla sa gulat

Napahalakhak ito "oh bakit parang nakakita ka ng multo? Kung iniisip mo yung pag walk out mo kanina, it's okay, alam kong nagmamadali ka" at dahil sa sinabi niya, naalala ko na bigla nalang pala ako umalis kanina.

I just shyly smiled at him. Gosh! Stupid Zephyr!

He sat down in the vacant sit in front of me. "Zep you look bothered today, what's wrong?" he asked.

"Noth--" I was about to say when someone interrupted me.

"Hitting on your student? That's bad" his baritone voice filled my ears

I look up to see who's the guy.

Those gray eyes.

------
A.N Medyo trying hard po kasi first time ko po ito. I hope someone is reading this. Hahaha. Actually I'm just bored, so yeah

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