I was about to get up and look for another red pen when my phone rang. Manuel's name on the screen thrilled me and so I hurriedly picked it up.
"Hey! What's up, Hun?" I greeted happily.
Manuel, equally excited, spoke on the other line. He informed me that he had already filed his leave of absence and would be arriving in Baguio City tomorrow at noontime. He was inviting me for lunch. But I explained that I couldn't move out of the school as early as lunch since we would be having faculty meeting in the afternoon. In fact, I was not certain of the time we would be finished.
"Go home right after the exams and skip the meeting," he jokingly suggested.
"You bet! I couldn't do that. Otherwise I'd be removed from work. Would you want that to happen?"
"Perfect! So we can be together for four days and your attention will not be divided."
"Yet I'd be broke," I amusingly commented.
"We would be financially incapacitated! That doesn't sound good. Stay there till afternoon then," he humorously answered.
"Certainly!"
"I'll fetch you tomorrow. Give me a call when you're about to leave school."
"Let's meet up at the mall instead."
"Latrice, I insist."
"Alright, you can fetch me in the afternoon. I'll send you a message right away. You take care!"
"Okeydokey! I'll see you tomorrow."
Manuel and I had been the best of friends for six years now. We met in Saint Louis University, one of the most popular schools in Baguio City, where we both enrolled in and graduated from. We were classmates since first year college because we both took up Education and majored in English together.
Our friendship started when Manuel decided to make friends with girls instead of boys who were teasing him 'gay'. Well, I couldn't blame the guys for commenting so. Manuel was totally the opposite of most guys in the University. He didn't smoke, drink, hang out with random friends after classes; he was not even into joining our department's team on basketball or volleyball. He was the quiet type.
However, I knew Manuel well. He was just not the typical type of guy. If what the guys meant in being a gay was someone who has principles, turns his words into actions, puts real effort into his studies, treats me and other girls with respect and gentleness, prioritizes his family above all, then maybe Manuel is indeed a gay.
On the other hand, I never expected that one day I would be friends with Manuel. Let alone to become his best friend. Everybody knew that he came from a well-to-do family in Batangas. I even heard that he was probably the richest personality in our department. I wasn't judging nor criticizing his personality, but then all I thought about rich people were snob and wanted to be friends only with those whose status in society was the same with theirs. So why would Manuel want to be with a college girl like me who's being sent to college only by an aunt?
It was until one day that my perspectives changed. Manuel and I have common friends, Ysabelle and Ethan. I was with them as often as Manuel used to stay with Ysabelle and Nathan's company. We became close friends when we both decided to major in English while Sab and Nate specialized in Mathematics.
Manuel has been a great blessing during my college days. He was there for me most of the time. He used to treat me to lunch which allowed me to save my daily allowance; he was generous enough to share his resources such as laptop and printer that I unluckily lacked of; he was ready to defend me from angry friends and protect me from harm; above all he was there to comfort me when I had my heart broken by someone.
