Daylight

01

"Juan Gómez de Liaño for three!" the commentator roared as the ball went through the hoop. I'm not even surprised anymore, since it seems like he never misses. The sea of maroon cheered, with only a few minutes left in the fourth quarter.

"Kaya pa 'yan! UP habol!" A girl shouted just a few seats away from me. I can't help but smile towards her direction. I then focused back on the game. Adamson University was leading by only 2 points from UP, at 69-67. All UP needed was one shot.

One three point shot. With five seconds remaining on the clock.

Five...

Four...

Three...

Two...

And o— "Juan Gómez de Liaño from the Araneta logo!" The whole UP crowd was quaking. I stood up and cheered with them, with my fist pumping in the air.

We won.

We actually won.

UP will proceed to the championships.

I cannot believe it. And what more I cannot believe is that Juan made it happen.

Juan Gómez de Liaño.

His name sounds very Spanish, but I assure you he's not that intimidating and foreign when he's in class.

Trust me, 'cause I would know.

For my whole time as a UP student so far, I have never had a sem without him. I literally mean it. There's always at least one subject in a semester wherein we're in the same room, same prof, same section.

He's just the usual student, always attends class, takes notes, signs attendance sheets and all. He even takes exams on the original schedule. The only things that will make you notice him are his hair, really, and his height. Other than that, he seems quite normal.

What shocks me the most is that I never even knew that he was a varsity back then. I mean, sure, you'd notice his muscles were toned and all, but I don't know why I wasn't able to piece them together.

Anyways, for my first sem, we were classmates in Math 1. I honestly didn't really notice him much then; I just knew him because I have made a decision that I'm going to memorize—or at least try to memorize—the names of all the people I become classmates with in college. And since this was my first semester, I took it to heart back then. (Don't ask about how I'm doing regarding this by now.) All I knew was that he got exempted in the finals, same as me. We didn't talk much, just small irrelevant conversations about quizzes and exercises, I guess.

For the second sem on my first year, we were classmates in a biology course. I was shocked to see him there, but more so was I shocked to see me there. Me. In a biology class. That I chose.

Funny, since I remember how I told my people in high school how much I don't like biology in general, but look at where I ended up at that time.

That semester we were able to talk more, because we somehow ended up as groupmates. I think it was because we were both absent when the groupings were made. We had to meet outside class hours for some projects under that course, and that was the only time I learned that he was a varsity and his course was sports science.

I remember getting frustrated at times because I would have to do projects alone for days because he had trainings that drained the hell out of him, yet I can't do anything about his schedule nor mine. I understood where he was coming from, doesn't mean I don't despise it.

If there's one thing I dislike the most, it's having to do things on my own when in fact I should be doing them with other people. It's carrying burdens that I shouldn't have had to carry alone.

However for this instant, I tried to extend my patience. Although, I really appreciate Juan because despite his tight schedule, he still finds a way to help. In the end, though I may have done more than I should, he made more than what I thought he could, and that's more than enough to make up for his MIAs. By the end of the semester, we parted with good biddings. Or so I think. But despite all the time we spent (though honestly, we didn't spend much time physically together), we weren't really that close still. Just on speaking terms.

By the third semester, though, things started to change.

-----

Before I continue talking about Juan and my (it feels inappropriate to use 'our') history, let me first introduce myself. I'm Sinag Laya, a UP Diliman batch 2017 student. Most people call me Laya. I graduated from another UP High School aside from UPIS that most of you probably don't know. I'm under the BS Statistics program (by choice, don't worry).

So imagine the shock of being classmates with someone like Juan for three semesters straight.

And for the first semester of my second year, we're classmates in two subjects.

One of the subjects is a major for me. Basically, it's a required subject for me on inferential statistics. I assume it's also a required course for everyone, since Juan, once again, is here. A Sports Science person.

But well, I wouldn't be one to judge if he chose this as an elective, since statistics is one of the most widely applicable courses to all fields.

This is one of my favorite subjects by far ever since I entered college. I love learning about different statistical tests and how they are applied in specific situations in research. So during class, I take notes like the usual student and (try to) listen to the prof most of the time. Of course, there are still times wherein I fail to listen because I'm just not in the mood for acads, and times wherein I already know what's to be discussed so I barely pay attention. My classmates still almost always choose to ask me for notes, though. I don't mind.

The other subject we're coincidentally classmates in is PE.

Out of all subjects in the world, why?

I chose BS Statistics for another reason aside from personal interest—I don't like things that are too physical. I would rather exhaust myself with mental exercises than physical ones.

Just think of the anxiety it brought me when I found out I'm classmates with someone as sporty as Juan on a PE class.

I felt like I would die of humiliation, and that was just on the first meeting. We didn't even play yet.

How am I going to survive this semester?