Someday, I'll Find My Way Home

Karl is cold.

The next day, I was out of focus that even Sir Gabe noticed it after his class. I did what he told me to do--record the attendance, collect all quizzes, and try to jumpstart on checking them. All of those I did quickly, then all of a sudden, the students were marching outside the lecture hall. 

I went to Sir Gabe, wearing his iconic UP bomber jacket, and handed out the quizzes and the attendance sheet. While we walked outside the lecture hall going down to the faculty rooms, I saw a glimpse of Axel, talking to the seniors in the organization he was applying. 

I snobbed him completely.

"Karl, who's that guy that you're always with?" Sir Gabe asked. We were walking down the stairs, and some students were greeting him on the way down. I was a little anxious on being beside a professor and just casually chatting him.

"The chubby guy?"

"No, the one in the polo."

"Axel?"

"Surname?"

"Medrano."

"Oh, Medrano! I remember his grades," he said. "He performed well last semester."

I didn't want to say thanks to me because that was presumptuous of me. "He's quite intelligent, sir."

"Why don't I see you quite often with him recently?"

There was that question again. If it weren't Sir Gabe who asked that, I would have been furious--the kind of lash out that nobody wants to see from me. I answered with a calm voice, "Sir, he's applying at an org."

"Oh, okay. It's just weird not to see you together," he replied. "Every time I see you, you're with him."

I used my awkward and polite laugh for that one. "He has other priorities."

We stopped in front of the faculty room. "Do you want to go inside and have some snacks? Kath has some sourdough bread that she just bought."

"What's that?"

"It's the best bread you'll ever taste. Come."

I was a bit hesitant, but then I remembered that I haven't eaten anything today yet, and I had class from 10 to 4, with only a 30-minute break. Free brunch!

-

For the first time, I was thankful of our fixed seating arrangement for our majors class because I was far away from Axel, and I was next to Paula. She was a great seatmate because she always had something to talk about someone. I got the fresh gossip from her everytime, and she always tells me because, according to her, "You don't have anyone to tell about this, so might as well share it to me."

The only downside was that she always calls me Girl. She insisted that I call her Boy, but I refused. I liked calling people by their names.

And I loved it when she always greeted me with a hug everytime she saw me.

It's weird how four weeks could change friendships.

"How's my favorite person in this fucking university?" she asked as she sat down next to me. 

"Why are you wearing a sweater today?"

"Girl, we have a lab class on the coldest laboratory today," she answered. When she sat down, she removed her sweater, revealing her pink spaghetti strap top. "Unlike this hall, which was okay, but this sweater is too thick."

I cursed. "I forgot that!"

"Last week, I was literally freezing to death," she continued. "I even wore pants today, even though I want to wear shorts. Ugh."