My Perfect Stranger

-T-Shirt-

GRADUATION DAY

After 17 years of being in school, I finally have on my hand, the fruit of my labor. I got my college diploma. To break down the 17 years, 5 years in this university, 4 years in highschool, 6 years in gradeschool and 2 years in preschool. Wow! Can't believe I've gotten this far. I can't explain the emotions I'm having right now. You know, it's sort of a mixed feeling of trepidation, melancholy and ecstacy (Whoa! Big words). This time around, no more school, no more allowance, no more classes or anything school related until Donita come up to me and say,

"Pinapasabi ni sir Kyle, this coming Wednesday yung pre-evaluation exam sa review."

Oh fuck! Just great! I almost forgot we still have to review for 4 months. How could I forget that? We still to need to have a license in order to practice our profession. How I hate the thought of leafing through again the pages of our books, staying up all night reading, reviewing and memorizing those terms and end up to have sleep deprivation. Reading my notes inside the jeep and look like a legit nerd. I guess, I have no choice but to deal with it.

"Binti, graduate ka na! Buti naman. Magtrabaho ka na kaagad para di ka na pabigat kina Mama." it's kuya Keith. Complete pala kami sa graduation ko. Nandito sina ate Emma at kuya Joey with Bimble. Kasama din yung asungot kong bestfriend na si Gonzales. He wanted to see Camz wearing a dress. Mag-sorry kayo, balak na nyang ligawan si Camz. Thank God!

"Speak for yourself, kuya? Parang di ka nagstay sa bahay ng 2 years at naging tambay. Don't worry. I'll definitely won't follow your steps. Thanks for the concern and reminder." I countered.

"Hey! Kumikita kaya ako nun." kuya Keith in a defensive tone.

I just rolled my eyes. Lumabas na sina ate ng Manila Hotel while my parents are busy chatting with some other parents. I saw from the side that Gonzales is talking to someone on the phone. I went over his place at sumunod sa akin si kuya.

"Hey! Sino kausap mo?." I asked him.

"Si Bricks. Congratulations daw pala."

I froze as he mentioned his name. Bricks, my ex-boyfriend. Yes, we broke up a few weeks ago.

Flashback:

There's no easy way to break somebody's heart. That song kept on playing and playing in my head. I've decided since last week that I needed to end this all up. I wanted to be honest with myself especially to him. Wala na eh. The sparks were already gone. I thought this situation was only applicable in novels and movies. I didn't expect that it does happen in real life. Yung mga 'wala na yung magic' ek ek.

I called him up and told him I was coming over his unit to tell him something very important. I couldn't do it anywhere. I think his condo is a good place to break the news.

When I arrived at his place, I was just standing outside, staring at his door. I'm having second thoughts right now. I don't know if I could do it. I was petrified. My feet are glued on the floor and I couldn't bring my hands up to ring the bell.

But it's now or never. So I gather all the strength and courage that I could muster, just to ring his doorbell. I waited for a few minutes but he didn't open the door. I ring the doorbell again and knock at his door as well but still no sign of him. I've decided to call his phone up. It rang but still no one answered. I felt a sudden pang of tension crawling all over my system. I started to overthink that he might have sense what I've got to say to him and he doesn't want to see me at all.