10 Days to Forever

Part 3

"Oh no, here we go again," Chimon said as he felt the cold, wet wind hit his face. It was one of those rainy Baguio days when nobody really felt like going out except when necessary. Unluckily for Chimon, it was just Friday and he still had classes to attend.

He had been waiting at the sidewalk in front of his house for more than 10 minutes now and all the jeepneys (a.k.a. "jeep", a vehicle unique to the Philippines that looks like a really small bus) that passed by were full. Riding a taxi was not an option for him unfortunately especially because he was so near to hitting his target savings. He was only a few thousands short of having 200,000 pesos in his personal bank account.

It may not be much for other people but he has saved up for that money since he was back in high school. He saved as much as he can from his weekly allowance and earned extra money by doing simple jobs here and there. He was quite proud of it.

He was deep in his thoughts when a car stopped in front of him. When the car window was rolled down, he saw Pluem in the driver's seat.

"Get in," he said.

"I'm fine. I'll just wait for a jeep," Chimon responded without looking at Pluem.

"Come on, I know you've been standing there under the rain for so long now. We're going to the same school anyway," Pluem insisted.

Chimon checked his watch and realized he was going to be late if he kept on waiting for jeepneys so he got in Pluem's car. He chose to sit at the back.

"Thank you," Chimon whispered when he had finally settled in.

"What was that?" Pluem asked, unsure if he heard Chimon correctly.

"I said thanks," Chimon said sharply, looking out at the window.

They soon passed by a couple of students from a nearby state university holding a rally on the side of the road. They were protesting the clearing of a sizeable area of land near a major mall. The management of the mall was planning to build a parking lot on the area but it meant cutting down around 300 pine trees.

"Stupid people. They're wasting their time protesting everything. They should just focus on their studies," Pluem commented while watching the students.

Chimon knew Pluem was waiting for his own opinion about the students but he just kept quiet.

---

When they finally reached their school's parking lot, Chimon decided to give Pluem a piece of his mind before he left.

"Thanks for the ride. By the way, some of those students you called stupid a while ago are my friends. What's so wrong in standing up for what you believe in? Are you okay with the idea of cutting down 300 trees that have been there long before the mall was built just to be turned into a mere parking space?"

Pluem was quiet.

"You know what, if I didn't have a class today, I would be with those students. If you would only learn to open a book more often than you open your mouth, you would realize that majority of the rights and privileges you're enjoying today are the products of years of protest in the past."

Chimon got off the car without even waiting for Pluem's response.

What is it with this guy and his tendency to judge people without any basis, he wondered.

---

"Frank!" Chimon called when he saw his friend sitting alone at the library.

"Hi Chi!" Frank replied, clearing some of his things so Chimon could lay down his bag.