COMPATIBLE INDIFFERENCE

Chapter 9

"Hey, Dharts. I kinda miss you too."

I looked up and saw the subject of my 60-second memory. Standing in his black pair of chinos, a white collared shirt, a black bomber jacket, and a pair of loafers. My high school nemesis stood handsomely holding out a bouquet of yellow roses. And for the first time, he gave me a pleasant look and an amused smile. Not one of those cold stares I was so used to and not the half-lift smile I last saw in high school. A real smile. I kept staring at him in bewilderment until my mother came to find me.

"Sam, we'll be going. We'll see you..." She trailed off upon seeing the man in front of me. "Thomas Jacobs? Thomas Jacobs! Fancy seeing you here. How are you? You look good. Very good."

"Hello, Mrs. Dharts. It's nice to see you again." He shook my mother's hand cheerfully. "I just came by to say congratulations to Sam." Tom glanced at me while shooting another smile.

My mother beamed at him and turned to me. "Sam, we'll be seeing you at Tamarine Restaurant at 7, okay? And why don't you join us for dinner, Thomas?" She looked at him expectantly. Tom gave her another smile and shook his head. "I'm sorry Mrs. Dharts, I have to be somewhere later. I owe the principal a movie." My mother nodded in response and smiled at him. They seem to be smiling a lot. It's really weird.

My mother prodded me with her finger waiting for my response. Finally, I found my voice which sounded hoarse. "Yes, mom. See you guys, later." Tom said his goodbye to my mother who gave him another one of her warm smiles. Curious. Real curious.

I cleared my throat and looked at my surprise guest with question. He handed me the flowers, actually forced it so I took the lot and mumbled my thanks. He chuckled with amusement. I've been seeing Tom in one of his firsts with me. I suddenly remembered an old habit and gave him one of those popular brows. I finally asked the first question that popped into my mind when I saw him.

"What are you doing here, Jacobs?" He smiled at me for the nth time and replied. "What I did say to your mother was true. I came here to say congratulations. Congratulations, Samantha. You really deserved it. Though I was a little disappointed, never once did you mention me in your speech. I remembered that I spoke about you in high school." Dazed upon hearing that he heard my speech, I realized then he was present the whole time the rite started.

"Well, I kinda understand. I was never really a part of your college life. How have you been doing, Sam? You look pretty healthy to me and well, still beautiful." I felt warmth in my neck and a loud buzzing in my ears. He was talking quite a lot but I continued staring at him, saying nothing.

"So, not a hello? Not even, how have you been, Jacobs? But I guess, I'm quite satisfied with the 'Jacobs, I kinda miss you' huh?" He tittered at the growing irritation formed in my eyes. Well, what do you say to your old adversary who visited you on your college graduation, gave you flowers, said you are beautiful, talked and smiled at you a lot? Nothing. Yes, nothing. Nonplussed, I left him and went straight to my car, a 2008 VW convertible given by my grandfather. Thank you, Grandpa, the Beetle was the perfect tool to escape granted I wore heels that day.

I heard him calling my name but I just drove off and went back to my dorm. Hastily, I changed into my tracksuit and went sprinting at The Dish. I saw my favorite tree and laid down on the grass to catch my breath. Crazy. It was just crazy. My nerves have finally calmed down so I evaluated my emotions. Wow, this psychology thing really got me. I settled to two, confusion and curiosity. I'm confused at the idea that Tom is so friendly out of a sudden. And importantly, I'm curious to know the reason why. Just why.

I threw a big sigh as I glanced at my watch, 5'o clock. I need to go back to prepare for dinner. As I stood up and patted the clingy grass on my back, I heard my name being called out. Again.

"Dharts! Finally found you. You are really fast." I saw Tom jogging towards me. He stopped at my tree, leaned on it while catching his breath. Again, he gave me one of the rarest surprises of my life. The same question popped from my mouth, "Jacobs, what are you doing here?" He smiled and sat on the ground with a big sigh. He gestured me to sit beside him. Raising my eyebrows in curiosity, I sat down.

Silence. Not the tension-filled silence when we were both in the same room. Just a quiet silence. I can hear his respirations settling down to 18 cycles per minute and the leaves singing along the afternoon wind. I finally asked the question he wanted me to ask, "How's it going, Tom?"

I felt him grinning beside me, "Great. I've never felt better. Thanks to you, I got my muscles to forget the word atrophy and old age. I've been well. Happy, I guess. How about you?"

I looked at him and saw nothing but sincerity on his face. He looked at me like an old friend. I gave up. He won't answer my question however I'll answer his.

We started talking about everything. Almost everything. Our friends, family, his tennis game, my tracks and what we would do in the near future. He graduated two days ago at MIT. A graduate of Biological Engineering, he will continue his doctorate at the same university. It's funny how both of us never seemed to settle for less since Day One. He told me his mother wanted him to go to Stanford instead of MIT.

"Why didn't you? It's closer to home." I asked. He looked at me pointedly. "Yes. Because it's closer to home." I sneered at him and thought that if he did went to Stanford, would we even talk like this? I doubt. I admit I was embarrassed with how I responded when he approached me earlier. I'm an adult now, with a degree in Psychology, who should be able to forgo the past like a shrug. I chuckled at my immediate high school response and decided to bury my apprehensions at my favorite tree.

He looked at me inquiringly. I shrugged my shoulders as my phone rang. It was Jam, asking where I was because the dinner is due in an hour. Dinner! I almost forgot about dinner. I immediately stood up and said I had a quick run.

I faced Tom who stood as well. "I gotta go, Jacobs. It was nice seeing you. Thank you for coming today. And yeah, thanks for the flowers." I offered my hand for a goodbye handshake but he just smirked at me. He pulled out his phone and asked for my number.

So, this is not farewell then. I looked at him suspiciously but took his phone and dialed my number, anyway. He seemed satisfied when he heard my phone ring. We chatted about the recent documentary we watched called General Order No. 9 as we hiked down. He walked me back at our dorm's entrance and we waved each other goodbye like good ol' friends. When I opened our room, I saw the girls grinning like lunatics. I raised my brows innocently and they just started giving me The It's-going-to-be-a-long-night look. I paid no heed to them as I grabbed my towel and went to the bathroom for a quick shower. An interesting day, eh?