JERIC’S POV
June 3, 2013.
First day of the school year.
The first day of my last year as a Thomasian, a Growling Tiger.
Wow, time flies so fast. Parang kailan lang freshman ako tapos ngayon graduating na. This journey has been really fruitful and memorable for me. Daming ups and downs pero sulit naman. I was jolted out of my daydreaming by a text from Aljon. He reminded me to leave early. After a really quick breakfast, I left the house at 5:30 AM because we have our morning practice from 7-10 then another one in the afternoon from 5-8. Walang patawad talaga si Coach Pido pero dapat lang din naman kasi less than a month to go start na ulit ng bagong UAAP season. The last time I had a chance to relax was during our Misibis Bay vacation pa and that was back in April. After that wala na kong pahinga from training every day. I play for the Informatics Icons in the PBA D-League then back with the UST team for the FilOil Preseason Cup. I do go out with my siblings and teammates when I’m not busy but most of the time I’d rather stay at home to rest and of course… think about her. Until now hindi ko parin siya nahahanap. Totoo nga wala talaga siyang Facebook and Twitter. Hindi rin niya binigay kay Achi or Shobe number niya. Kala ko pa naman nakuha nila since syempre mga babae naman ayos lang magbigayan ng number walang hassle. I tried looking for his brother and I actually did but he never responded to any of my messages probably because Solara talked to him and sinabing wag ako pansinin or something, sayang okay naman kasi kami ni Kuya Xave e. Pangalan lang niya alam ko. Ni hindi ko alam kung ilang taon na siya, san sila nakatira or san siya nag-aaral at course niya. Walang wala. It’s like trying to look for a needle in a haystack. There’s nothing much to go on with but I won’t give up, I said that I will find her and tutuparin ko yun whether she likes it or not. At pag nakita ko siya, hinding-hindi ko na pakakawalan. When the stoplight turned red, I took out my wallet and opened it. I looked at the only proof of our connection from that trip: the zip line photo. Hindi ko nanaman napigilan ngumiti. Everything was perfect in that shot. The way the sun hit us, how the wind blew our hair out, the intertwined hands, and most especially how we looked at each other while laughing. I loved that it captured her genuine happiness and it’s now forever preserved with me. Parang tumigil nanaman yung puso at paghinga ko. Grabe, she’s too beautiful that it hurts.
*BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!*
Nagulat ako nag green na pala yung signal hindi ko na napansin. I was too engrossed with her, as usual. Tinago ko na yung wallet ko and nag drive na ko. I got to UST by 6:45 parked and grabbed my things then went straight to QPAV. Pagdating ko halos nandun nadin yung buong team. Sina Aljon, Kim, Paulo, and Ed nagsisimula na sa pag wa-warm up tapos sina Ron, Tata, Kevin, and Karim naman busy sa pagshu-shooting. Na-miss ko bigla si Melo at lalo naman si Fort, wala na nga pala sila dahil graduate na.
“Nandyan na pala si Cap e,” sigaw ni Kevin.
“Tss. Wag mo nga ako tawaging Cap,” sagot ko naman.
“Bakit ikaw naman talaga Team Captain ah,” sabat naman ni Tata.
“Kahit na bro, di ako sanay. Nakakailang e.”
“Asus si Cap mahiyain oh. Hindi bagay sa’yo Teng!” sabi ni Ron tapos nagtawanan sila lahat.
