1894 AND A DAY

The Guy At The Main Gate

The weather seemed perfect for Valdis Constelo’s first day as a Fine Arts student. First time niyang tumuntong sa university na ito dahil online naman ang examination at assessment for freshmen.

As he walked down the entrance that led towards the main building ay halos humaba ang kaniyang leeg sa pagkamangha sa architectural design nito. Makikita sa taas ng building ang naka-engrave na UNIVERSIDAD DE DON MANUELO. He felt something strange with that name. But he liked it. He’s always been fascinated by arts and design. From the look of the main gate up to the recreational area with twin fountains mahahalatang Spanish era nang tinayo ang university na ito.

Everything was perfect para kay Val—not until he tripped and hurt his knee.

Hindi niya napansin na lumuwag pala ang sintas ng kaniyang sapatos. Nakaluhod siya habang nakatukod ang mga kamay sa sahig. He felt more embarrassed by what happened kahit pa ramdam niyang masakit ang kaniyang tuhod. Pakiramdam niya ay maraming mga mata ang nanonood sa kaniya ngayon. Kaagad naman siyang tumayo. He noticed na nadumihan ang pants niya dahil sa pagkadapa but it didn’t concern him. Inikot niya ang mga mata sa paligid only to find out na nakatingin nga sa kaniya ang mga estudyanteng dumadaan. Some of them expressed a concerned look at ang iba naman ay lihim na natatawa dahil sa marumi niyang uniform. This kind of scene should not surprise Valdis anymore, kahit noon pa man ay sanay na siyang pinagtitinginan dahil sa mga maliliit na bagay na hindi niya napapansin. He’s always been a shy person. He doesn’t have friends and it’s more proper to say that nobody doesn’t want to interact with him. To be caught in this kind of situation makes him a lot uncomfortable.

He took a deep breath at pagkatapos ay muling sinulyapan ang maruming uniform. He bent and fixed the hem of his pants pero hindi pa man siya lubos na naka-get over sa pagkakadapa nang biglang bumusina nang malakas ang sasakyan sa kaniyang likuran. He straightened his body and full of innocence na tiningnan lamang ang kulay itim na kotse.

“Hey! Aren’t you going to move?” sigaw ng lalaki.

Valdis didn’t respond. He looked more stunned by the things that’s going on right now. He got overwhelmed by this sudden turn of events. Kanina lang ay ina-appreciate niya pa ang ganda ng paligid but all of a sudden, he tripped and almost got hit by a car. Maraming students ang nakatingin sa kaniya habang nakatayo sa harapan ng kotse na muntik nang makabundol sa kaniya.

Habang nasa ganoon siyang posisyon, he suddenly felt that someone grabbed him by the hands. Mahigpit ang pagkakahawak nito sa kaniyang wrist at hinila siya palayo sa lugar na iyon. Wala naman siyang nagawa kung hindi ang sumunod dito kahit pa halos madapa siya sa pagkakahila nito. He could not avoid to look at his back and he can say na mas matangkad ito sa kaniya.

“H-hey!” tanging sambit niya as he struggled to walk at ramdam niya pa rin ang sakit ng kaniyang tuhod but he didn’t hear anything from him. Dire-diretso lamang ito kahit pa nakatingin sa kanila ang mga students na nakakasalubong nila.

They walked past the football court and even saw them na nakatingin na rin sa kanilang dalawa. Valdis can now feel the sweat coming from his forehead along with his messy hair. Mas lalo pang kumirot ang tuhod niya sa bilis ng pagkakahila nito sa kaniya.

“H-hey, can we stop, please,” pagmamakaawa niya rito as he struggled to speak.

The guy stopped. He let go of his hands and turned around to face him. He slid his hands into his pocket na blangko pa rin ang reaksyon.

“Don’t get hit by a car in the main entrance, or at least, don’t get killed in this university.”

The way he spoke implies something that Val couldn’t understand. Hindi siya nakasagot but he surely felt something by the way this stranger looked at him in the eyes. He also wanted to speak but everything has been happening so fast and he couldn’t begin to understand why he would say that. Magsasalita pa sana siya pero bigla na lamang itong tumalikod at mabilis na naglakad palayo.

“Did he just bring me here and left?” tanong niya sa sarili na naguguluhan pa rin sa bilis ng mga pangyayari. He thought everything will be easier ngayong first day niya sa klase but it turned out a real mess. How can a clumsy guy like him got tripped and almost hit by the car? At ngayon ay hindi na niya alam kung saan pupunta.

He checked his schedule and he noticed that that guy exactly brought him kung saang faculty siya papasok—Faculty of Arts and Design.

He entered the building and looked for Room 402. When he opened the door, everyone was looking at him. Some of them probably saw him at the main gate.

“Why are you late, Mr. Constelo?” tanong ng professor niya na ngayon ay bahagyang nakasandal sa front table.

“Good morning, Sir,” he said while he gently lowered his head. “I… I got lost,” pagsisinungaling niya.

He heard some of his classmates na mahinang nagtawanan.

“Is that the reason why you’re wearing a dirty uniform?”

He took a glance sa kaniyang suot at napapikit na lamang siya dahil hindi man lamang niya naisip na dumaan sa comfort room para ayusin ang sarili.

“I… I’m sorry…, Sir.”

The professor did not look at him. It was busy scanning on the syllabus.

“You may take a seat now, Mr. Constelo,” the professor said.

Val took a seat at the last row. He took a deep breath upon realizing he’s finally where he’s supposed to be. He still have a hung over for what happened earlier. Halos hindi pa rin siya makapaniwala na ganoon ang bumungad sa unang araw niya sa university na ito. And that guy, how can he possibly grabbed Val away from that scene?

“Don’t get hit by the car in the main entrance, or at least, don’t get killed in this university.”

These words echoed inside his head until his class was over. When his classmates started to leave the room he remained in his seat still caught in deep thoughts.

“I think dapat pa nga ako magpasalamat sa kaniya. I could have been in trouble kung hindi niya ako hinila palayo. Also, I could have missed my first class kung hindi niya ako dinala sa building ng FAD,” he said trying to convince himself.

After a while ay lumabas na rin siya ng room and walked slowly in the hallway. Wala siyang ibang maisip na puntahan pero pakiramdam niya ay kailangan niyang mapag-isa. Iyon naman ang gusto niya—to be distant from others because he feels like nobody in the class would want to be friends with him. Somehow, he just have to accept the fact that college life is different from high school. Kung dati nga ay sanay na siyang walang kaibigan ay mas lalo pa ngayon.

He stopped walking and took a deep breath. When he was about to turn left where the elevator is located, a huge poster caught his attention. He walked closer and read the caption, “BE PART OF TAEKWONDO CLUB” and it says screening is on Saturday morning.

The elevator opened from a distance and Calypso Imperial appeared in his powder blue V-neck sweatshirt na nakadoble sa kaniyang Engineering uniform. He looks really attractive in his two-block haircut habang nakapamulsa na naglalakad. He walked past a student na tila nakatulala sa harapan ng poster na idinikit niya sa wall kanina. He didn’t waste his time na batiin man lamang ito lalo na nang mamukhaan niya ito.

When he was about to turn right, he paused and turned back to catch a look at the guy again. Nakatayo pa rin ito na tinititigan nang mabuti ang poster.

“How can he stand there looking at the poster? May balak ba siyang sumali sa club?” sabi niya sa sarili na hindi niya malaman kung maiinis o matatawa. “He can’t even avoid a car na muntik nang bumundol sa kaniya kanina. What a loser,” dagdag pa niya na halatang naiinis at dumiretso na nang lakad.