Oh, Jennifer...
505 Words
But of course, those kinds of friendships don't last forever. As the school year passed, the groups of friends with similar interests started to change. I don't know why, but it all became an issue of who's the prettiest in the class. Their insecurities came out, and soon enough, they were having word wars.
So, it ended up just me and Jennifer left from our original group.
"Why do you still hang out with me? Don't you like Magnolia and the others?"
"What's happening with you girls? You weren't like this before."
I don't know. They were the first to leave. Besides, I don't really feel them. It seems like we're just pretending to like each other. Just putting on a show."
I didn't know what to say because this is girl stuff. Those insecurities, I just don't get them. So, one day, I stopped hanging around Jennifer. But then, there's Constancio, who still couldn't let go of his desire to court Jennifer. And I knew Jennifer really didn't like Cons. In my head, I kept thinking, "You're gonna get rejected, man, get it together!"
That's how Jennifer and I started hanging out again. She didn't want to reject Cons directly, so she made a plan with me. One Friday, when it was time to go home, Jennifer talked to me.
"Hey, Chris!!! Walk me home!", she said, hitting me with her fan and following it with those words.
"Why? Are you being harassed by a fraternity?"
"No! It's Cons, he's bothering me again."
"Why don't you just reject him?"
"Stop talking so much, let's go!"
Then she hooked her arm with mine. She wanted to walk fast, but she soon realized we weren't the same height, especially since she was wearing heels.
"Slow down," I reminded her.
"Do we really need to hold hands?", I teased.
"Just do it..."
"Hold onto my shoulder instead, you're too tall. And walk slower, you're too obvious..."
So, that's how we started pretending to be a couple. People who knew Jennifer started looking at us. It felt like I was getting myself into trouble. One of these days, someone might punch me out of jealousy. We had to walk even faster; I was starting to feel embarrassed.
Cons and his sidekick Robert were at the school entrance with one of their tricycle driver buddies. When Jennifer saw Cons, we took a different route and went through the other campus.
"Where are we going?"
"We're going through PSU, and if there are no tricycles, we'll just walk."
She sped up, and I couldn't keep up; her legs were so long. Tall people have it different.
When we got to PSU, there was a tricycle terminal inside. We got on one, and she recognized the driver from when she used to study at PSU. She transferred to Bayambang National High School because the tuition at her private school went up.
"Drop me off in front of Cempelco; that's my aunt's house."
"You're close by. Come over to my place first."
- Writer
