Chapter 2: The First Year
Forgive me. I have not introduced myself or the subject of this book. I have waited for an appropriate time to do this, and the time has come, I believe.
Listen closely. I want you to remember his name. I want you to remember it so you can share it.
I want him to live on.
Are you ready to know his name?
Leon Rey Aguilar.
Never, ever forget that name. Ria Carillo you may forget, but Leon Rey Aguilar, you must remember.
His was a name was one I did not easily forget, especially after meeting him for the first time.
It was the first day of high school, around twenty years ago. We were all new kids in that school. I was not used to boys, having come from an all-girls school and lacking boys my age in the environment I had grown up in.
He was a gentleman. A charmer. I will be the first to admit that he was not good-looking or even attractive, and that despite his chatter and friendliness and his innate charm, he was not popular.
He was one of those people who were just there. One of those rank-and-file guys. One of the populace who you ignored most of the time, only noticing their existence whenever you had to go to him or when something happened to him.
Just there.
He got along well with everyone, both the boys and the girls. He was quietly studious, in a way. He was one of the kind that is really, really smart but consistently fails to put that intelligence to use. A pity, since he was the class valedictorian at his old school. He never told me why he was slacking off, though. Maybe he had worked too hard in elementary, and was tired. Maybe things just got too hard for him, either at home or at school.
I don't know. And I never will know.
BINABASA MO ANG
Pseudonym
Teen FictionI wanted to know the person behind the pseudonym, but it was too late. Something very close and personal, partly fiction, partly non-fiction. This is dedicated to--who else but My Muse. Vote/comment!
