The next morning, Oliver was all better. He came to school early this time. His color was back to normal and was energetic too. Homeroom proceeded as usual with Mr. Flores checking the attendance of the students. The clock read 8 a.m. and he left the room.
Ms. De Guzman came in for the math class. She was holding the papers everyone submitted for yesterday's quiz.
"I'm very glad with the results of this quiz. A lot of you got the perfect score! However, some were only a bit satisfactory. How come some of you got 3 of the items wrong? The quiz was already easy enough."
"3 items? The exact number Oliver missed." Caden thought to himself.
Ms. De Guzman then proceeded to return the papers. Caden was so anxious the whole time, not for his score, but for his friend's. But surprisingly, Oliver was calm, smiling even. Does he not care that he missed over half of the items on that quiz? It was Math too, his strong suit.
Everyone's quizzes have been returned. Oliver was so happy, clenching his fist as if he just finished a marathon.
"Did you get a perfect score again, Oliver?" Theo asked him.
"Yep. That quiz was so easy, I even finished it while sick." He answered.
"How? You missed three problems?" Caden asked.
"Oh, you were in the restroom for too long that you missed it. Ms. De Guzman showed the problems again for him to see." Jake revealed.
"She WHAT?" Caden screamed internally. He didn't have to risk his correction tape's life for anything. He couldn't hide his shame. He banged his head back and let out a big groan. He wanted to blow himself up right then and there.
Without noticing, the math period had just finished. Caden was still visibly bewildered by what he had just discovered. But he had no time to shake anything off as the English teacher, Ms. Santos, had just entered the room.
"Good morning, Ms. Santos" the class greeted.
"Good morning, class. You may now sit down." She greeted back.
Today's English lesson was on prepositions. This topic was already taught to them while they were in 4th Grade. But it's no problem, it just means that they'll breeze through today's lecture.
The discussion was a bit boring, and the words Ms. Santos spoke entered Caden's left ear and exited the right. He was so ready to sleep this lecture out until...
"Mr. Maximo, stand up." Ms. Santos called for him.
"In the statement "I am here with you", what is the preposition used?"
"Ma'am, the word "with" is the preposition." Caden answered.
"Very good. Now, what preposition could be used in lieu of "with" that would ultimately change the meaning of the statement?" she followed.
"In what?" Caden asked?
"Lieu!" Ms. Santos loudly answered. "In place!"
"Oh! Then, I think we could use "for" instead of "with" in that statement." Caden answered.
"Very good! You may now sit down, Mr. Maximo."
The class was in awe with the answer. How could it be a different meaning? To adults, the difference is clear as water. But these are 14-year-olds we are talking about. They're not that exposed to the concepts of being for someone yet, especially school friends. But Caden already has a grasp on the difference between the two. Maybe it's his father's absence in the most important days of his life that taught him the fine line between them. 5 birthdays, a grade school graduation, and a Recognition Day. It's always because of work. That damn work. Why does he even have to work in a different country? He's barely watched Caden grow up. He didn't even hear his first voice crack. He wasn't there when Caden was circumcised. He never got to put a medal around Caden's neck. Whenever he's in the Philippines, it's just like – he's there. He's with the family. But during the times Caden needed his father, the times when he needed to call out to daddy, no one was answering.
English period just finished. It's 10 a.m. and the bell just rang. It's recess time. Caden wasn't with the boys this time. Claire invited him over to her seat.
"That was awesome what you did back there. No wonder you're Best in English." Claire told him.
"What do you mean?"
"Well, what's the difference between 'here for you' and 'here with you' anyway?" she asked.
"One's heavier than the other." Caden replied.
Question marks flew out of Claire's head. She was confused, but didn't want to dwell into any academics anymore. She asked a different question this time.
"How are you in this section so far, Caden?" she asked.
Caden smiled at the girl. "I'm liking it so far. The boys have been nice to me. They're really funny and they always invite me to eat out."
"That's good! I'm happy you're getting comfy in here." Claire told him.
The two kept talking about what had been happening lately. They haven't really conversed a lot since they were placed so far from each other in the classroom. There's also the fact that Caden doesn't have a phone, so he couldn't talk to Claire at home even if he wanted to.
The school bell rang again. Recess was over. Everyone had to return to their seats because the next teacher was going to arrive soon.
In came Mr. Elarde, their history teacher. He said his "good morning" and proceeded to class. Nothing noteworthy really came of that class because everyone was asleep. Mr. Elarde wasn't a strict teacher too, and he continued lecturing despite having listeners that could be counted on one hand.
The day pushed through until lunchtime came. The four boys were going out to eat together. However, Oliver couldn't find the 100 Pesos he had in his wallet. He rummaged his backpack, practically ripping it apart looking for the missing bank note.
"Maybe it's in your back pocket like you usually put it." Theo told him.
"I already checked. It's not there." Oliver answered.
"How could you lose such a big amount of money?" Jake sarcastically told him.
"Fu*k off! Just help me find it!"
Caden felt sad for the boy. He wouldn't be able to eat lunch if he couldn't buy anything. He knelt down and got his hands on the floor, searching for any sign of the purple piece of paper.
"Found it!" Caden exclaimed. He held the 100-peso bill in between his index and middle finger, similar to how the jeepney drivers hold them. Proudly bestowing it onto the math wizard, he said, "Here you go! Can we go to lunch now?" with a proud smirk.
The four of them then went together for lunch. Jake, Theo, and Oliver went straight for the rice bowl store while Caden lagged behind them to queue in a different stall. A few minutes later, everyone had bought their lunch and reconvened at the classroom.
"Just bread?" Jake asked Caden, looking at the piece of cheese bread that the latter was holding.
"Yes. It's cheap and I'm not that hungry anyway." Caden answered.
The other boys didn't question any longer. The four of them ate together while laughing at Oliver's little mishap.
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Later that night, Caden's brother wasn't using his laptop, so he asked to borrow it. He opened his Facebook account to find that Oliver had sent him a message.
Oliver: "Hey, I found my 100 pesos in the pocket of my jacket just now. Where did you get the money that you gave me back in lunch time?"
Caden's eyes widened. He had that deer in the headlights look from just one message. He just stared at the screen for 5 minutes, barely blinking in the process. The blue light toasted his pupils. He was stuck like this until a new message popped up from the same sender.
Oliver: "Anyways, thank you for that! That's so sweet of you to give me your money."
Caden:"Don't mention it. You treat me next time when we're able."
YOU ARE READING
Those Damn Dimples (BL)
RomansA lot of Caden's later years were spent with the absence of his father, a man whom he had always wanted to feel by his side. He longed for his father, to feel safe in his arms when he's in peril. The man was always abroad, working. Caden had conside...
