From A to Z

G

The boys, who were all in the hall preparing their own breakfast, were strangely looking at Adam and Zach as they entered the house.

Earlier, after Mateo woke the boys up, Alex noticed that Adam was not in the house as well as Zach. He asked Mateo the whereabouts of the two, but Mateo too did not know where they were. A minute later, a rumor has already spread in the house that Adam and Zach were alone together, hidden somewhere in the woods, doing something.

Adam only learned about this when Alex raised a question while they were eating pandesal:

"Did he give you a good service?"

Adam elbowed him which made Alex grimace. "You, of all people, know that I would never ever do anything with a guy."

"I know, I know," Alex said. He raised both of his hands in the air. "We were just surprised when we learned that the two of you were missing."

"So, you thought that I surrendered myself to him?" Adam scoffed.

Alex did not say another word and resumed eating his food. He dared not pick on Adam's temper because he knew very well what Adam was capable of when he gets mad.

The rest of the group immediately went to the covered court after breakfast because they were already running late for the sports clinic. Adam, meanwhile, stayed behind to check if the house was in order. Zach volunteered to help him, but seeing the smirk in Alex's face, he refused and told Zach that he could do it on his own.

He checked each of the rooms in the house, but as he expected, they were a total mess. The beds were unfixed; some pillows were on the floor. There were even clothes — shirts, pants, and undergarments — left by his fraternity brothers. Adam was still annoyed from Alex's remark earlier and seeing the mess he was left to clean only enraged him more. How inconsiderate were they with somebody else's property! How unmindful were they even with their own things! To teach them a lesson, he threw away the pieces of clothes in the trash bin.

After cleaning up and making sure that the house was well-locked, he went to Lola Jacinta's house to say goodbye. He headed to the back door instead of the front knowing that Lola Jacinta was most likely in the kitchen. But Lola Jacinta was not there. Instead, he saw the farmer, who was bargaining with the mamimili earlier, having breakfast with his wife and their daughter. The wife who stood up from the table saw him. She walked to him and greeted him with a friendly smile.

"How can I help you?"

"I wanted to say goodbye to Lola Jacinta. Is she here?"

"Ah. Wait, let me call her."

She peaked out of the doorway, tiptoed and leaned her body forward while holding into the door jamb, and called Lola Jacinta: "Inay! A-re, someone's looking for you!"

Lola Jacinta came out of a frail-looking, little house made of dried nipa leaves propped up by bamboo poles as its columns. This structure, detached from the house, was the family's dirty kitchen where they cook using wood and fire as opposed to using gasoline which was expensive in a rural area like M. Kiling.

Like earlier, Lola Jacinta immediately avoided his gaze when she saw him.

"Thank you again for the food earlier," Adam said to Lola Jacinta who was busying herself, rearranging the newly washed cups on top of the outdoor cabinet. "We are traveling back to Calamba this afternoon after our activity and I just want to say goodbye to you before we leave. Mano po."

Lola Jacinta hesitated at first, but she eventually held out her hand. Adam bowed and pressed his forehead against her wrinkled hands.

When Adam looked back to Lola Jacinta as he headed to his car, there was a smile on her face. It was the first time that Adam saw her smile and it was so pure and innocent that it was carved inside his mind and even on his face.