"Wow, ako na nga tong hinahabol ka para samahan ka, ikaw pa tong snob?" narinig kong sabi niya kaya naman napatigil ako sa paglalakad. Hindi ko siya nilingunan and tumakbo lang siya past me and faced me. "You don't just ignore people like me."
"No, it's fine. I'm going to the faculty instead. Besides if I keep on searching for this goddamn building, wala namang kwenta because I'm super late." sagot ko naman at nagpatuloy na sa paglalakad.
"I'll escort you to the faculty room then." he offered and for the second time, napatigil ako sa paglalakad because he ran and stopped infront of me and he is blocking the way.
"I can manage. Thanks." I said as I rolled my eyes on him. Lumiko naman ako para makaalis na ng tuluyan.
"No you can't." sabi niya naman ng sumabay siya sa paglalakad sa akin. Hindi ko na siya pinansin and I kept on walking. "I'm sure transferee ka kaya naman naliligaw ka na. And I won't let that happen. Not to a gorgeous girl like you."
"Kupal." bigla akong napatagalog. I don't usually speak in tagalog. Pag naiinis na ako, napapatagalog nalang talaga ako bigla.
"Grabe ang sungit." he said. "Ikaw na nga tong sasamahan, ikaw pa tong suplada."
"Okay first of all, you're super annoying. Ang bastos ng ugali mo. Napahiya ako infront of your friends. I was just asking pero pilosopo kang sumagot. And diba sabi ko? I don't need your help and I can manage. Kaya please lang? Leave me alone." napatigil ako pero after ranting, mas binilisan ko pa yung paglalakad ko.
Naramdaman ko namang di na siya sumusunod kaya I felt relieved. Maya maya, nakita ko na yung sign kung saan yung faculty kaya naman dumiretso na agad ako dun.
"Hi, good morning. I'm Michelle Cobb. I'm the transferee and I'm sorry I arrived late. I tried to search for the building for my first class but I failed. I should've dropped by here a little earlier." sabi ko when I approached the counter.
"We were actually waiting for you kanina pa, Michelle. But that's okay. Good thing di ka naman naligaw." natatawang sabi ng officer dito and I just smiled at her. "Do you still want to tour the Campus? Para naman next time you won't get lost and miss your class."
"I would love to, Ma'am." I immediately replied.
"Please take a seat muna. We'll call you if the guide arrives." she said kaya naman naupo muna ako.
I scanned the faculty office and the interior looks great. Maganda yung office and I also like the temperature. I'm hoping na ganito rin yung classrooms just like the ones sa States, namiss ko rin yun. There's a cabinet infront of me na kinalalagyan ng trophies ng achievements ng university and I must say, ang dami. No wonder pinili ni Mama tong University for me. She can't pronounce it properly lang, though.
And then there's a wall na puno ng picture frames. Probably the pictures of the varsity teams. And then suddenly, I saw a familiar face sa photo. Could it be—
"Ms. Cobb, your guide is here." sabi ng officer kaya naman tumayo ako at lumapit uli sa may counter. "He's Aljun Melecio, a president galing sa isang club ng isang university." Nakipag-shake hands naman ako. He smiled at me so I smiled back.
"So, san mo gusto magstart?" He asked ng makalabas kami sa office.
"You're from here so you decide." I replied.
"Okay then, Ms. Cobb." he said as he flashed another smile.
--
"Do you want to eat? My treat." Aljun offered. Medyo kanina pa rin kami naglalakad and nadaanan na namin halos lahat ng building na importante.
"Ikaw na nag-tour, ikaw pa manlilibre? No thanks, Aljun. You already did a lot for me today." I replied with a smile.
"Ano ka ba, wala yun. You'll enjoy it here, Michelle." sagot niya naman sakin.
"Well I hope so, Aljun. I hope that guy won't bug me anymore." I said as I sighed.
"Sino naman?" he asked.
"Hindi ko kilala." I replied and he laughed. "Bakit ka tumatawa?"
"So hindi mo kilala yung nangulit sayo?" he asked.
"How will I know eh bago palang ako dito?" sabi ko naman.
"Malay ko ba if you have friends here."
"I'm from the States, Aljun. I spent 17 years there and actually, first time ko dito umuwi sa Pilipinas even though my parents are filipinos."
"Great. Pwede kitang itour sa buong Manila." he offered.
"No need, Aljun." natawa ko namang sabi.
"Come on, Mich." he said as he paused for a while. "Is it okay if I call you Mich?"
"Sure."
"Call me AJ then." he said.
"AJ? Short for Aljun?" I asked.
"My name is Aljun Jay, Mich. AJ for short."
"Oh I see. AJ ba tawag sayo ng mga tao dito?" I asked.
"Nope. They call me Aljun. Parang ang formal naman kasi pag full first name. Mas madali matandaan pag AJ diba?" he said.
"Okay, AJ." I emphasized his nickname though at natawa naman siya.
"So ano nga? Snacks? My treat. There are a lot of places around the university na pwedeng kainan." he said.
"But I think I have classes pa." sabi ko naman.
"You're exempted, Mich. Transferee ka at alam ng professors na transferees have campus tour bago makapasok formally sa Classes." Aljun said, still trying to convince me na sumama sakanya.
"Okay game. Pero wag na libre." sabi ko naman sakanya.
"Where and what do you want to eat? I'm sure your craving for something right now." he asked.
"Hindi naman!" I said as I hit him lightly on his shoulder. "Surprise me, Aljun."
--
It was a fine first day kahit papaano. So far so good, except for the incident nung morning. Aljun is my first legit friend sa DU and he looks nice. After naming kumain kanina, hinatid niya pa ako sa class ko. He wanted to sit in pero sabi ko, umattend na siya ng class niya because seriously, he did a lot for me already.
When I got home, dumiretso agad ako sa kwarto not minding my Mom who's busy cooking. When I opened my facebook account, I received a friend request.
Aljun Jay Melecio sent you a friend request
Wow, bilis ah. And without hesitations, I accepted his friend request.
Aljun Jay Melecio
Thanks for accepting, Mich. See you tomorrow! Hope you had a nice first day in Delacroix 😊
And just like that, a very rare smile flashed on my face.
