After The Credits

Chapter 1 Fated Reunion Karl's POV

Of all the seats, why did she have to get us seats next to him...

It was a windy September afternoon. Karl, a new member of his school's film org, hesitantly walked towards the seat reserved by his new friend Joan, a short-haired girl with glasses and light brown eyes. He had just shifted from architecture to film this school year and met her in class. She invited him to join the org with her, so naturally, they were now attending the org's first assembly of the school year together. Unlike Karl, Joan was already a film student last year. She only decided to commit to an org this year, though, and only did it given the condition that she could drag her friend along.

"Hey, Karl!" She waved, beckoning him towards her. His presence had now been announced and any miniscule chance of him hiding from the man in the seat next to the one she had saved for him vanished. Karl nervously smiled and sat down. Before he could say anything to Joan, the man next to him spoke.

"Hey, Arki. But looking at your ID lanyard, I'm guessing that nickname isn't accurate anymore." The man turned to face Karl, exposing his curly hair and defined cheekbones that were hidden behind the hood of his brown jacket and those eyes. Those all-too-familiar eyes that seemed to have memorized every inch of Karl's being.

Karl looked down and remembered he was wearing a lanyard given out to film majors at a school event the other day.

"Hi Vlad." Karl replied, nodding. Surprisingly, he was able to act calm despite the fact that beneath the surface, he was anything but.

"Hi! Vlad, right? Are you a friend of Karl's? I'm Joan." Joan offered her hand for a handshake.

"Something like that." Vlad replied.

Vlad looked like he had more to say, but his phone lit up, interrupting him.

"Ah, it seems I'm needed elsewhere." He said, reading the notification.

Karl let out a sigh of relief as Vlad left, but he couldn't help but think the sight of Vlad walking away from him was all too familiar.

Really Joan? Sa tabi talaga ng ex ko? Ay joke ex is too strong a word. Wala naman kaming label... And why is he even here? 'Di ba nag-graduate na siya?

"Well someone's Mr. Popular." Joan teased.

Karl faked a laugh, dodging the topic.

"Anyway, magsisimula na dapat yung event, 'di ba?" Karl asked.

"Yeah, in a few minutes probably. They got some alumni as guests today or something."

Ah...

Karl connected the dots in his head.

Kaya pala nandito siya.

Before Karl could continue along that line of thought, a woman walked onto the stage in front of the crowd and began speaking into a microphone.

"Hi everyone! I'm Sue and welcome to the Assembly of Student Filmmakers' first general assembly of the school year! You may recognize me as last year's org head, but for the new members, hello!"

Her speech went on for a while before she said something that caught Karl's attention.

"I am proud to announce ASF's new mentorship program! New members will be paired with alumni who will serve as their mentors! You will receive a text message within the day with the contact information of your assigned mentor."

Fuck. Anyone but him. Please.

After about 30 more minutes of Sue talking and suspiciously seeming to glance at Joan every now and then while Joan blushed in her seat, the assembly ended. Karl got up from his seat, but Joan stopped him.

"Hold on, Karl. I'll go to the bathroom. Won't take long, I promise. Wait for me here!" She said as she started heading towards the direction of the bathroom.

While waiting, someone tapped Karl on the shoulder and sat next to him. He turned his head to see who it was.

"Nandito ka lang pala." The voice behind him said.

"V-Vlad?" Karl gasped.

"'Wag mo nang hintayin yung text." Vlad said.

Punyeta. Alam ko na ata kung ano'ng sasabihin niya.

Karl could feel his palms getting sweaty as he waited for Vlad to finish what he was saying.

"Say hi to your mentor." Vlad smiled.

"I swear, this was completely a coincidence." He promised.

Ulol.

Karl raised his eyebrow at Vlad.

"Hey, I know it's awkward, but... don't you think it would be nice to start over?" Vlad extended his hand.

Karl took a deep breath and shook Vlad's hand.

Start over, aka magkunwaring 'di natin sinaktan ang isa't isa. What could possibly go wrong?

"Well, I'll see you around, Arki- I mean Karl. That'll take some getting used to." Vlad laughed before turning around, waving behind him as he walked away.

"Karl? You look pale. You okay?" Joan's voice snapped Karl out of the little pocket dimension he had been in while talking to Vlad.

"It's nothing, pagod lang ako. I'm fine. Let's get to our next class." Karl suppressed a sigh.

"Alright. Sir Rob next period, right?" Joan replied.

"Oo, tara."

Sigh... kuya ni Vlad.