Chasing the Sun

040

The seniors spoke of nothing but the upcoming retreat on friday. The excitement was obvious on their eyes as they talked about who they're seating with on the bus, what places they'd visit once they sneak out of the camp, and of course, who they'd be meeting from the other classes to talk and mingle with.

Finally, friday morning came and the students gathered on the open area of the school as we queued up for the bus. As there were only five sections, each section was assigned a separate bus so Tawan and I were not able to share the ride to the place. When I got inside the bus, it was still spacious and a lot of seats were still unoccupied. I sat on the seat on the last row of the bus, next to the window. As more and more students came in to fill the empty seats, I wore my earphones on and listened to the music. Just a few moments after, my device beeped and I opened it to see a message from Tawan.

From: Tawan

This bus ride will be a bit long and boring, try not to miss me a lot.

I laughed at his audacity to send that message to me, and slid my phone inside again as I thought of his message. He's the one who misses me instantly when we part, but he's just not willing to accept it. Still, I miss him too.

"Is this seat taken?"

My thoughts were interrupted when I heard someone ask me. I turned to see who was talking, and became genuinely disappointed when I saw Aj standing in front of me. He still wore a smile that really annoyed me, but of course I never told him it did.

"Make yourself comfortable", I said as I tried to put the fakest smile I can. I thought of changing seats, but all the other seats had been taken and I was left with no choice but to sit next to him.

"So...how are things going on with you and Tawan?"

I shifted uncomfortably as he made the space between us narrower. I wanted to move as far as I can from him, but my body was already touching the bus' sides.

"Everything's fine, thank you for asking."

"I never really took him as gay you know. Back then he would pick fights with almost every guy in school. We clashed for a lot of times already and I must say, he was quite a fighter.", He said as he smirked.

I maxed the volume of my music as I was feeling too inelegant  with the conversation that we were having. I darted my eyes away from him and into the window, trying to keep him out of my sight. A few moments passed and the atmosphere reverted to normal. The view outside the vehicle changed from being the busy city to a landscape of lush greens and a fair amount of flora and fauna. We were already nearing the location, so I ought to unplug my earphones and got myself ready. When I removed my earphones off my ears, I heard Aj talking to someone on the phone, their laughter clearly audible from where I sat.

"You have the pictures ready right?", Aj asked on the other end of the line. The caller mumbled something but it was hard to make out, though it made Aj giggle again.

"Okay, okay. Let's meet later at the bonfire when the other seniors are gathered up and we'll expose him."

Just then, Aj shifted his eyes on me as he slid his phone to his pocket. He gave me a playful smile once again that sent shivers down my spine. I couldn't decipher what it was he was talking over the phone with his friends, but it made me feel like it's something sinister that involved me and Tawan.