I.ENCHANTED
“This night is sparkling,don’t you let it go
I’m wonderstruck,dancing all the way home
I’ll spend forever wonderin’ if you knew
I was enchanted to meet you”
Chrysanthemum, fondly called as Chrys,was busying herself with a book, daydreaming about the day since for the 2nd consecutive time this week that their professor was absent.It was assumable that the other students weren’t mindful whether their professor was there or not. The students in the room were fairly noisy and definitely not mindful of other people.Some were talking about their “BETS” or first week crushes,others on their lunches and some were asleep.Suddenly,a tall fair-complexioned guy,wearing a blue striped and collared shirt walked inside the room and quickly looked around.She sighed and quickly assumed that he is one of those irregular students who take some classes with them, in order to fulfill their missing units in a certain subject,who are eager to leave as soon as the professor dismisses the class.
He took the entire class,especially Chrys,by surprise when greeted the class goodmorning and introduced himself by the of Mark Anthony Perez,their professor in History 1013 or Heyograpiya at Kasaysayan ng Pilipinas.Everyone was surprised,since Anthony was definitely student-like,in terms of facial features and appearance.Somewhat tall,fair-skinned and having the looks of a young, rich and well-mannered Chinese man,Chrys did not take more than a glance of him.For somebody so young,he did pass of as a student,but as a professor of her favorite subject way back first year highschool? Hold your horses dear,I don’t think so. He started with the usual introduction,introducing himself and professionally apologizing for his sudden appearance,he told the class that they were only assigned to him that week and he wasn’t able to prepare for it.Some students in the back started snickering around,saying that he was not fit to become a teacher,much less a college professor,because he wasn’t prepared enough to handle multiple classes per week and ready to discuss the subject.Chrys just sighed and introduced herself.
When they were asked why did they choose the course (Sociology) and why the school (PUP),others said that they had no choice since the course they opted was full/not in PUP,they decided that Sociology was the way to go.Only 3 people said that Sociology was their first choice:Bernard(the class president),Chrys and Zari.Bernard said that he wanted to study the society and Zari said that she wanted to take social work but instead she took up Sociology since it was near to her dream course.Anthony was delighted when Chrys said that she pursued Sociology because it would be her pre-law course.He was amazed by her and asked if she would take up law in the future,she obviously said yes but in her mind,Chrys was mentally castigating the guy’s stupidity.He was good-looking and obviously a decent college professor,but how dull AND dumb can he get?
After class,Chrys did really go home.right away.There was something about her History professor that stirred something up in her.Did he say that he was an A.B History graduate?,she thought.So maybe this guy knows Ms.Lorene Asis,the person/teacher who sparked Chrys’ interest in History professor that stirred something up in her.Did he say that he was an A.B History graduate?,she thought.So maybe this guy knows Ms.Lorene Asis,the person/teacher who sparked Chrys’ interest in History.
The following Thursday,with a heart beating loud enough to hear,Chrys waited until the reporting started and Anthony settled in his chosen place for the day ,near Chrys’s seat.On that moment,she gathered up all of her courage to say “Sir,dito kayo grumaduate diba(Sir,you graduated from here,right?”) to which Anthony smiled at Chrys for the first time and said “Oo,dito ako grumaduate(Yes,I graduated here)”.To which Chrys asked , “Eh Sir,may kilala po ba kayong Lorene Asis(Sir,do you know a person named Lorene Asis)?”.Again,Anthony did that melting smile of his and said, “pamilyar yan sakin.Siguro 4th year na siya noong first year palang ako(That name is familiar to me.Maybe she was a 4th year student when I was a first year student).On that note,Anthony left Chrys’s place and started elaborating on Pre-Spanish Philippines.With that meager conversation,she was sure that Mr.Perez was a decent,if not a cool professor.
2 Mondays after that,there was a buzz that eventually got to Chrys’ ears:Anthony Perez was a homosexual.Imagine a person with an expression like this (o.O) and you’ll be visualizing how she looked when she heard it.Oh sure,she caught him playing with his fingers against his left forearm,but she forgot that he DAINTILY played with his fingers against left forearm.Maybe too DAINTILY.Heck,if he was gay,it would be a pity.Even Chrys herself would admit,Anthony was ,if not charming,HANDSOME.There was something about Anthony’s smile that made Chrys stare at him since his smiles were very rare.Too bad,Chrys thought,if Mr.Perez is gay.I admit that he is handsome and quite amusing if not charming.She has told the things she knew about Mr.Perez to her co-ELF/bestfriend/twin sister Elle,who thought that Anthony is the missing piece in Chrys’ life.Even Chrys herself,she has thought that it is possible that she likes Mr.Perez as a soon-to-be colleague since he is studying Law at a prestigious university.The moment the professor was seen by the people the side of the room near the ,the buzzing quieted down and they all sat still but they were still whispering about the said topic.They were only quieted down when Bernard stood up and said, “Mga barbaro,andyan na si Sir Perez.Di ba uso ang salitang katahimikan sa inyo ha? Konting respeto naman(Barbarians,Sir Perez is almost here.Doesn’t the word SILENCE exist in your respective vocabularies,huh? Have some respect)”.The class was left speechless,the only thing left was dead air until their professor stepped inside the room and asked who were the reporters and they abruptly stood up and taped their visual aids to the 2 blackboards and started writing some details on the whiteboard.
