A LOVE FROM NINE THOUSAND MILES - ENGLISH (SSPG/R18+)

Chapter 1 - Margaux Cuevas

Present - September 2003

I am Margaux Cuevas. I grew up in the province, where life was simple yet a bit challenging. My childhood took a poignant turn when my mother passed away due to heart disease and her absence left a void that shaped much of my early years.

As the youngest of three siblings, I had big shoes to fill. We were not wealthy, but my siblings and I were determined and excelled in school. My older siblings graduated from college through scholarship grants, setting a path I was eager to follow. Every night, I burned the midnight oil, ensuring I stayed at the top of my class in high school. By God's grace, my hard work paid off, and I achieved my dream of studying in college despite the hardships.

"Margaux! Come on. Earth to Margaux! Hello?"

"Oh, I’m sorry, Maurine! You were saying?"

"Oh my gosh, Marg! You're spacing out again. What's wrong with you?" asked my friend and classmate, Maurine, sounding irritated while standing in front of me with her arms crossed, seemingly impatient.

"Nothing, Mau. I just remembered something," I replied calmly, looking up at her.

The truth was, I was really concerned about my classes, especially Calculus, which was a prerequisite for my major subjects in the second semester.

For some reason, I couldn't bring myself to like Calculus or the professor who taught it. No matter how hard I tried, I just couldn't develop an interest in the subject. Being a five-unit course, I feared that a low grade would jeopardize my two scholarship grants. Even with high grades in my other subjects, this could drag down my General Weighted Average. The final exam was approaching, and I didn’t know what to do to pass. The anxiety gnawed at me daily, making it hard to focus on anything else.

"Nothing? You suddenly space out. It's like you're on another planet these past days," she asked doubtfully.

"Trust me, Maurine. I’m perfectly fine. So, what are you up to now?"

"What am I up to? What are WE up to, silly!" she replied, raising an eyebrow, indicating her patience was wearing thin.

"Why are you so hot-headed today? Calm down, friend," I said, putting my arm around her to soothe her.

"I'm cool, okay? It's just that you irritate me sometimes. You've been spacing out these past few days, Marg, and that's not like you at all. That's why I'm worried. If you have any problems, please tell me. I'm not saying I can solve them, but at least you'll have someone to share them with. You don't have any family here except for your sister, and you don't even get along with her," she explained.

"Thank you very much, Mau. I appreciate your concern. But please, trust me when I tell you that I’m fine. Besides, I don’t have anyone else to confide in except you. So if I do have any problems, you’ll be the first to know. I love you, friend," I said emotionally, hugging her. "Where are we going? We don’t have any classes this morning. That's two free periods."

"We’re going to the computer laboratory. We’re going to hang out there and look for foreigner chatmates!" she said dreamily.

"Ewww! I don't like foreigners, friend. They’re too big," I complained, grimacing.

"What are you saying? It's great, I mean, good. Don’t you want someone daks, Marg?" she replied with a teasing smile.

"W-What do you mean daks?" I asked, confused.

"Daks, as in 'dako' in your dialect in Cebu, which means huge. And long too," she said, laughing.

"What do you mean by huge and long?"

"What else? Their physique, love, and patience!"

"Hey, you're such a goofball! Always cracking jokes! Come on, I want to log back into my YM account. Maybe that guy I met in the chat is online again. He's really fun to talk to," I said, urging her toward the university's computer lab.

"For real? You met someone online? Why didn't you tell me sooner? Oh no, you've been keeping secrets!" she exclaimed dramatically.

"Hey, I did tell you about him! But," I rolled my eyes, "you seemed distracted at the time, so I didn't bring it up again."

"Really? I'm sorry, Marg. I must have been somewhere else mentally. So, spill the details before we hit the lab," she said affectionately, steering me toward the school canteen. I had no choice but to go along.

At the canteen, she promptly ordered food, as generous as always knowing I saved my scholarship allowance for house rent.

"Come on, spill it, I'm all ears," she said eagerly.

Over our meal, I started recounting my conversations with my chatmate.

"Oh my gosh, why do I feel so excited?" she squealed, bringing me back to the present.

I shared a lengthy tale about my chatmate, Sagittarius Dela Victoria. Engrossed in our conversation, we didn’t realize that we had finished our food and an entire vacant period had passed.

"Why are you getting so worked up? You're too dramatic, Mau! It's just a chat!" I chuckled.

"What do you mean 'it's just a chat'? Your story is so thrilling! Did you chat again after your first conversation?" she asked eagerly.

"Definitely, we've chatted many times. I really enjoy our conversations. It feels like we're sitting face-to-face. And he's incredibly knowledgeable! Sometimes I feel a bit intimidated, but he's good at keeping it up. I mean he keeps the conversation flowing," I explained.

"You really startled me when you said he's good at 'keeping it up'! I thought you meant something else," she giggled mischievously.

"You're such a tease sometimes," I laughed, playfully poking her.

"It's all in how you say things! Be clear, please," she teased, tapping my hand. "But seriously, your story is so exciting! Who knows, he might be 'the one'!"

"You're getting way ahead of yourself, Mau! Let's not get carried away. Anyway, we still have another free period. Maybe Sage is online," I said, pulling her towards the computer lab.