Fidelity

10th

Pasalubong

"Three months' too short, isn't it?" the Canadian accent slipped through the Staff's smiling lips.

Tunog ng stapler ang tanging namayani sa loob ng faculty nang ngiti lamang ang sinagot ko sa sinabi niya. She finished arranging my papers. Sunod niyang inabot ang dry seal para tatakan ang certificate of completion ng student-exchange program.

Muling umangat ang magkabilang sulok ng labi niya nang sulyapan ako. "Have you made any friends here?"

Sang-ayon ako na maikli nga ang tatlong buwan. Atleast too short for me to be close enough with anyone. Sa ilang taon ko nga sa Pilipinas ay bigo akong magkaroon ng kaibigan, dito pa kaya sa Canada na tatlong buwan lamang akong nagtagal?

"Yup. A lot. Everyone's really friendly," I smiled so widely.

Of course I'm gonna lie. I'm a people pleaser. A great pretender. As most girls are. Sabi nga sa librong Brave Not Perfect, women have been socialized to be people pleasers, to not rock the boat or challenge the status quo, to be perfect. That's true, at least for me

"Great!" she beamed. "I'm sure they're gonna miss you bigtime!" aniya matapos iabot sakin ang records ko.

I took my time strolling on my way back to the classroom. Maganda at malawak ang campus ng Blyth Academy rito sa Canada. The place made it easier for me to adjust three months ago. Bagama't hindi madaling maging international student ay rewarding naman ang tanawin araw-araw.

Noong una ay mabigat pa ang loob ko nang malaman na tatlong buwan ang student exchange program ko rito. Yet look at me now... I can't believe I'm saying this but three months' too short indeed.

Napabuntong hininga ako habang binababad ang tingin sa paligid. I took out my phone to take some photos of the scenery.

Kung may mamimiss man ako rito ay ito yun. The learning environment. I mean, sure, I did met warm and nice people. But it hasn't been that long for me to get attached to them. Lalo pa't mahirap para sakin ang makipag kaibigan. I don't even have any friends in my own country.

You do. A small voice countered inside my head.

I smiled as a certain someone flashed inside my head. Right. I do have one. A bestfriend, at that.

Nanatili ang ngiti ko hanggang sa pagkuha ng huling litrato. I was just about to turn off my phone screen when a notification from Instagram popped up.

@davionL, @KDguamoz, @yourjoe recently added to their stories.

I don't know why I get random notifications like this once in a while. Kadalasan ay hindi ako natutuwa tuwing may ganito dahil ano bang pakialam ko kung nag-story sila?

But the inclusion of Davion's Instagram username in this particular one makes a difference. I think I can let this slide. Maaliwalas ang ekspresyon ko nang pindutin iyon.

As usual, it was just a picture of the gym floor where he seems to be working out on a regular basis. Tanging binti nya lamang ang kita habang nakaupo sa bench. His shoes are on the frame too. And of course, his middle finger at the center of it all.

Hindi ito ang unang beses na nag-story siyang may nakalitaw na ganon. I really don't understand why he seems to enjoy making himself look like an ass when he's obviously not. I do find it amusing though. Mas okay na yon kaysa naman sa mga nagpapanggap na mabait pero gago naman talaga.

Sa buong tatlong buwan ko rito sa Canada ay hindi ko kailanman nakausap si Davion. We never had any kind of direct communication since the moment I left. The only interaction we had are seeing each other's posts online. I also never felt the need to reach out. Viewing his stories is enough to let me know what he's been up to or what's been going on for him.