Almost Maybes

Sophomore Year

~

Second-year in college.

Kirsten, Angelo, and Prix were with me at the school grounds. There were in-ground benches and a couple of round tables. Instead of swings and other stuff that could be found in a recreational area, the school ground was full of benches and tables conducive to studying.

Some of the seats were occupied by the students who chose to study here in the open instead of in the library. I would rather choose nature by my side than bookshelves and unreasonably cold air conditioning around. But most of the students who stay here are just making the most of their free time. Our university had an attached high school building. Sometimes you could see high school students loitering around the area, checking out the place, and perhaps some new faces for this will be their future university.

My friends and I were at the same spot which we called our hideout, though we were visible to the public. Prix named the place; we just agreed with him, who would care if we called this seat our hideout and not just a resting place? No one.

The point was we were fortunate enough to always find this area unoccupied whenever we'd plan to hang out here during free time. This semester, we all have one subject in which the three of us, including Rex, were enrolled and attending the same class. Although Kirsten and I were not in the same course as the other attending students of the class.

"Where's the chosen one by the way?" Prix asked, looking at the people around him for Rex Asis.

He called Asis The Chosen One for he was the teacher's pet as Prix coined the term. Asis had the knack of getting the heart of every faculty member whatever the subject they were teaching and the course they were handling. Indeed, he was a people person. He could have won the presidency if he had run for the school organization president.

"Probably out there with his girlfriend," Sten replied, flipping through her notebook.

"I don't think so," Angelo asserted.

He was also known as Fourth because he was the fourth Angelo Gabriel of the Manansala Family. He had a girlfriend, her name was Mitch. I don't like talking about them with anyone else. Don't get the wrong idea, I had no feelings for Angelo. It was just that I don't have a good relationship with his girl, in fact, including Prix, Asis, and of course Sten.

Fourth went on. "They weren't together anymore," he said nonchalantly, giving us the information we didn't know was true.

I looked up from the book I was reading. I just took one look at Fourth and I knew he was saying the truth. Prix had no say in the issue. He must have known something beforehand.

"First love isn't for our boy, I suppose," Prix said to Rex.

So, Asis got his first love, whoever this girlfriend, ex-girlfriend, whatever, was. I'd seen him with girls, but I couldn't tell who the girlfriend was. He didn't introduce the girl to us or perhaps he did, but with Prix and Fourth only. Girlfriends don't seem to like their boyfriends' girlfriends.

Prix and Fourth seemed bored by the absence of Rex in the group. Sten had one earphone in her ear while writing down something on her mini notebook. When Rex was missing in action, Prix and Fourth would just listen, nod, and give a piece of comment whenever Sten and I were having a tete-a-tete. But most of the time, they would have their kind of conversation, guys' thing as they said. Probably just about video games, pretty girls, and sports.

Whatever the topic was, and in any case, we were still treating one another as friends. Especially in this university, where students don't care about others unless you are part of their circle of close friends. Expanding your circle means occasionally going out with them, meeting with new students, joining organizations, and being popular on campus. One good example of popularity was to be an athlete, representing the school, join the pageants, and just be the beautiful version of yourself every day. One could easily name the pretty faces on our campus. I was not one of them, there wasn't much to look at me.