Hey You

Chapter 11

"Thanks, Jane. I mean it. Thank you talaga," Nella said shyly.

"Sus, wala yun. Anyway, did you get all the information you need for the clubs?" Jane had to make sure.

Nella nodded with a smile. "Yes, salamat talaga. I don't have to sign up pa naman ngayon, diba?"

Jane shook her head. "Oh no, no. If you're interested sa isang club, you just go to their first meeting. Nakalagay sa pamphlet dyan yung mga meeting dates and times. Then there's gonna be one more meeting, puntahan mo lang yung mga yun. After the second meeting, you can officially sign up," she explained.

"Ah okay. Salamat Jane ha," Nella took a step forward and gave Jane a hug.

"Sus, wala yun noh," Jane gently rubbed Nella's back.

"Balik ka na dun, baka hanapin ka nila," Nella nodded towards the crowd.

Jane's eyes disappeared from smiling the whole time. "Ikaw din. Lakad ka na sa next class mo para hindi ka ma-late."

Nella nodded. "Ingat."

Jane waved. "Ingat ka din," she said before heading back to club rush.

Nella took a deep breath. Focus, she thought to herself. There was definitely a time when she was overstimulated when she walked around with Jane to get some information about the clubs the school had to offer. However, Jane's presence distracted her. It was as if some sort of bubble shield formed around them, and she felt safe and completely isolated from the crowd. Her social anxiety is so extreme, she would've already felt nauseous from all of it. Huge gatherings like club rush made her feel suffocated, but not when Jane was around. Not to mention, Jane held her hand while she pulled her around the little tents where each club presented and offered information to old and new students alike. It was like Jane knew exctly what she needed. It was like she knew her for a very long time. Jane knew she felt uncomfortable to be around people, so she made sure Nella knew she was there; that there's nothing to worry about and everything was going to be fine.

When the bell rang, Nella was one of the first few students to arrive to her second to the last class of the day. She kept to her self and sat quietly by the wall. It was where she felt safe, like being in a wall meant that she had something to lean on. It helped immensely with her anxiety.

She read through a few information about each club while she waited for the other students to show up. From sensory overload to information overload, Nella felt overwhelmed. She put away the pamphlets and the other stuff she got from club rush and decided to deal with them later. Then she got her stuff ready before the class could begin and kept to herself as per usual.

When the final bell rang, the students settled on their usual seats. There was no specific seating chart until the next full week of school. That's because during the first week, students' schedules often change. Many get transferred from one class/period to another to fix schedules that were somehow messed up by the system.

Fifteen minutes into class, Nella saw a silhouette pass by the window. Someone was either coming late to class or they just happened to pass by. The students were used to it by now. People, students and faculty, walk around the campus and pass by classrooms all the time. It was nothing out of the norm. However, this time, the door to her AP English class slowly swung open.

"Ah, Ms. Jane, are you going to be one of my transfers?" The teacher greeted her while she took the papers Jane handed to her.

"Yes, Mrs. D," Jane nodded while she scanned the whole room and smiled at the people she knew. Her jaw dropped silently and her eyes widened when she saw Nella sitting by the wall.

Nella definitely perked up. "Dito ka din???" She mouthed.

Jane grinned and nodded excitedly. Then she and Nella did a subtle hooray dance to celebrate.

"Great, Ms. Jane. You're added to my roster. Go ahead and take one of those empty seats. I'll finalize our seating chart next week," the teacher nodded.

"Thanks, Mrs. D." Jane found an empty seat next to the row Nella was sititng, but it was all the way in the back. This would have been the perfect seat, if only Jane was right next to her.

Jane looked towards Nella who turned her head a few times to give her a subtle smile. She loved it every time she caught her looking back a little. When they catch each other staring, they couldn't help but smile. That's why their chins rested on the back of their hands while their elbow rested on the desk. It was their way of hiding from the class the fact that they were distracted with each other.

After class, Jane couldn't contain her excitement any longer. The moment they were dismissed, she hurried towards Nella and gave her a hug. Nella didn't even flinch. She had been hiding the fact that she too was ecstatic that she and Jane were in a class together, so she hugged her back

"I wanted to hug you kanina pa. Sobrang excited ko nung nakita kita," Jane said all giddy.

"Ako din! Grabe. Nagulat talaga ako when you appeared na lang bigla sa door. I'm so happy," Nella hugged Jane so tightly, she thought she was going to squeeze all the air out of her.

"Ang hyper ko. Pano nako neto sa next class ko?" Jane giggled.

Nella laughed. "Relax ka lang."

Jane's eyes widened. "Ano ka?! I get to share a class with my best friend! How can I relax?!"

The two paused their sprint to their next class.

"I—uh," Jane couldn't look Nella in the eyes. "Sorry, feeling close kaagad. Ang gaan lang kasi talaga ng loob ko sayo, pasensya ka na."

Nella chuckled. She took Jane's hand and gave it a squeeze. "No need to apologize kasi ganun din naman ako sayo. I've never felt so comfortable with anyone before. Mas nahiya nga ako na you called me best friend eh ang dami dami mong kaibigan na mas kilala mo pa ng mas matagal."

Jane smiled softly while shaking her head. "Hindi naman yun sa tagal, Nella. It's about that instant connection you feel with that person. I felt that with you. I'm glad you feel the same way, too."