Eight Letters

Chapter 1

This chapter is dedicated to @ichrsjn. Happy reading,bets!

Prente akong nakaupo sa gilid katabi ng bintana habang inaantay ang iba pang estudyante na pwede kong maging blockmates sa semester na 'to. A bit nervous and anxious I took my sketch pad from my backpack and started to sketch the building next to ours. Ginuhit ko ang left side ng building along with it's slopes and missing parts na makikita lamang kapag sa back view ka tumingin. After sketching the left view ay sinunod ko ang front view para hindi ako mahirapan sa angle. Our teacher during my first year thought us that it is the job of the engineer to put the design of the architect in reality, partly true, we must be imaginative to easily take the design and conceptualize. Patapos na sana ako nang may umupong babae sa bakanteng upuan na nasa tabi. She's wearing a baby pink fitted shirt and a skirt, she has a dimple on her right check, naka bun din ang buhok nya at sa tantiya ko ay nasa 5'3 ang height.

"Ah, patabi ah?" I nodded and continued sketching while looking on the other building.  Pagkalipas ng ilang minuto ay paunti-unti ng dumadami ang students and our professor came. He tackled a short introductory about himself and our subject, a fast introduce yourselves and he started discussing. Sanay na din ako sa ganitong set up, pabilisan sa Engineering, hindi excuse ang first day of school para hindi mag lesson ang prof. Naalala ko pa nga noong nasa Japan ako, our professor gave a surprise quiz about calculus.

After our first subject I took my bag and left the room, wala pa akong masyadong kakilala at halos lahat ng classmates ko ay magkakaibigan, even the girl who sat next to me during lecture has a gay friend, perks of being a transfer student.

Bumili ako sa canteen ng burger and water sa kadahilanang wala akong almusal dahil masyado akong excited  kagabi at ala una na akong natulog. I was too busy on how should I compose myself and ended up being too cloudy minded during the discussion.

Pagkatapos bumili ay dumiretso agad ako sa next subject ko, I sat again on the chair beside the window pane, mas narerelax kasi ako pag nasa may bintana ako nakaupo, I munched my burger while observing everyone, mukhang isang buong section ata to ng magkaklase last school year. Nakita ko din ang babaeng tumabi kanina sa akin with her gay friend, she was about to sit on the 2nd row from the door when she saw me eyeing her she immediately took her bag sit on the back sit of my chair. 

"Hi, ulit. I'm Samanta without 'h' and this is Yong nagkatabi tayo kanina and we barely talk what's your name?" 

"Erin" 

Yong and Samanta keep on talking behind hanggang sa nagsimula na ang klase. Walang tumabi sa akin kaya pinaupo ko ang bag ko don for an easy access. The routine for the 1st subject repeated, a short introductory and then discussion. Can't believe my butt survived the straight 5 hours without a short break, and to be honest it hurts. Lunch time at inaya ako nina Sam  na sumabay na sa kanila and I gladly accepted her invitation.

I ordered a rice and steak for my lunch while Yong and Sam ordered a snack. Hindi ako nagbreakfast kaya kailangan ko talaga ng heavy meal to survive my next subject.

"Nga pala Erin, since you're a new student may plano ka bang sumali ng clubs?" tanong sa akin ni Yong habang sinusubo ang kakabiling saging. 

"I am already a member of dance club pero susubukan kong makapasok sa Engineering's HipHop Club" I shrug my own statement after seeing them questioning me with their eyes.

"You auditioned in school's dance club?" I nodded. Uminom ako ng tubig bago pinunasan ang labi ko ng tissue. 

"Noong kumuha ako ng entrance exam last month." simple kong sagot sa tanong ni Yong . 

Kukuha lang dapat ako non ng exam non when I accidentally entered the auditorium kung saan nagpapa audition ang senior member ng dance club, funny how my simple day turned into a drastic one. Fortunately, the club offers 70% scholarship kaya pinatos ko na. Hindi pa naman lugi ang negosyo namin but a simple help to atleast lessen the burden to my parents won't harm me.

Tuloy tuloy lang ang klase namin hanggang alas 5 ng hapon. Pagkatapos ng klase ay dumiretso ako ng auditorium para sa meeting with the councils. Pag dating ko ay may mangilan-ngilan ng tao kaya naupo ako sa bandang likod kung saan kita ang building na ginuguhit ko kaninang umaga. Sabi ni Sam ay departamento daw yon ng Law students, kaya pala ganon ka linis ang building. Glass wall ang bawat buildings kaya naman kita mo ang nasa loob, kung ano ang ginagawa ng mga estudyante at iba pa. Halos lahat ng establishments ay glass wall, canteen,library, colleges and such. 

"Alright this is going to be a short meeting since most of the senior members have their classes, I am your club President Ice pinatawag namin kayo dahil next Saturdy ay Welcoming party for this school year and it is our job to  give the students the entertainment they deserve through dancing!" pagpapaliwanag ni Kuya Ice na syang president namin. He was also present during the audition, he is a 4th year college taking Architectural drafting and I must say he really is a good dancer. 

Pinaliwanag niya pa ang ibang mga gagawin, kung paano ang flow ng sayaw, theme and practice schedule ang iba daw ay sa group chat na niya ipapaliwanag dahil nga may klase pa siya. Pagkatapos ng meeting ay dumiretso ako ng condo. Ako lang ang bumalik ng Pilipinas after lolo died 3 years ago, dapat nga ay dito ako magc-college last year kaso ay nagkaproblema sa company kaya na post poned. 

Dumiretso ako sa C.R at naligo, pagkatapos kong maligo ay nagluto ako ng ulam at ihuhuli ang kanin para mainit pa mamayang hapunan. I know how to cook, mom owns a restaurant kaya nakahiligan ko din ang magluto.  Habang hinihintay na maluto ang sinigang ay kumuha ako ng sketchpad saka tinapos ang building ng Law Department, kinatitigan ko  itong mabuti nang may na alala ako. 

Zysk wanted to enter a law school, yon ang sinabi niya sa akin noong highschool kami. Ahead sa akin ng isang taon at kompara sa akin, he already fixed his dreams, alam niya kung ano ang dapat at hindi dapat at a young age while I was still having a vague future that time and decided to take engineering when I was in my senior highschool year.

"Nag lawyer kaya sya?" I asked myself while remembering a silhouette  of my ex boyfriend.