A Thursday To Remember

I woke up in someone else's room, still exhausted. All my life I've been getting not enough sleep from school work and now that I've graduated, I still am sleep-deprived - not because of academics, but of something else. Looks like I'll have these eyebags permanently, not that I care much about it. I'm no vain girl.

Anyway, as I've said, I woke up in someone else's room. The lights were pouring in from the window. I had to wake up. I would have given much to stay there and sleep all morning but I cannot be caught sleeping in there. I actually had to quietly sneak out to prevent discovery. Making sounds were very dangerous.

By the way, have you ever tried making love in front of a mirror? It's hot. Like a scene from a porn movie. And you wouldn't believe it was you doing... that.

Moving on, I went out of that building, still brushing cobwebs from my eyes. It was no good that my companion was all fresh and clean from taking a bath. I would have taken one only I cannot do it there. So I had to go home to KNL.

There was no school that day. It was a free day for my Chem 28.1 class so there was no need for me to really hurry. I bought a donut for breakfast and started to walk. We parted like weird - unsure of how to do such a ritual after all that happened. On the trike, I had to crane my neck because the ceiling was very low. My neck began to hurt it started cramping. (Is there such a word? Cramping?) The price of being tall.

I opened the door to find Chase already dressed, ready to leave the apartment. I changed my mind of continuing my disrupted slumber at home since I felt strangely awake despite my tiredness. I ate breakfast, took a much needed shower, and dressed. Off I went to my favorite computer shop to check my mail and my friendster.

It was 10am when I returned to the apartment, and my alertness was beginning to give way to drowsiness. I have a meeting to go to later that day, so I had time to take a nap. I fell asleep instantly and had a very vivid dream of becoming famous. (I have been dreaming like that for the second day in a row now. Wonder what that means.)

I woke in silence - and that was a very queer thing here in KNL. I fancied that the world was magically emptied of people, and I was the only person left. I even half-believed that and I started planning on how I would survive on my own, and the things that I would do. I pictured myself walking on the streets of KNL wondering where the people are, looking around and calling out, with the camera moving around me 360.

It was 1:15pm, just enough time for me to eat the remnants of my breakfast (I bought other stuff on my way home) for my lunch and smoke a few sticks. It seemed that I have forgotten to smoke because I kept blowing air through the cig instead of sucking it. What was happening to me?

Then, my fone rang. Somebody I don't know was calling me. My thoughts were so slow in processing the idea I waited for the fone to ring several more times before I finally answered it.

"Hello?" I said cautiously.

"Mr. de la Isla, I'm from the UP Office of Admissions. Please fax your complete account number and PIN number. Your account number lacks one digit."

"Oh," I said, a bit relieved. "Yes, I'm going to the office later."

"Please do it asap. We'll be giving your pay some time soon."

"Ok then. Thanks."  How could I have forgotten about that? The same number texted me yesterday.

I arrived just in time for me to drop my bag on my cubicle and go straight to the faculty lounge for the meeting. It was about some students complaining about their grades. (It wasn't personally about me, though, and I'm confident that it wasn't my student who complained.)

After that, I was whisked away to another meeting about ChemViz, a seminar for high school chemistry teachers happening this Saturday. I was to do an origami demonstration. What's the connection? You can use paper folding to make models for some inorganic molecules that's why.

After arranging my unfinished business with the UPCAT, LE and I decided to catch a movie in the Film Institute. They often show hard-to-find X-rated indie movies there.

The movie scheduled for 5pm was "Six", a horror flick from Thailand. The next movie, showing at 7pm, was titled "Seduction". I would have very much preferred watching the latter but LE will be leaving for Eastwood by that time, and I did not dare watch it alone lest some of my students see me.

LE, being the chicken that she was, screamed once and had to cover her face during some scenes. I, of course, did no such thing. Movies, ghosts, zombies do not scare me. I'm a Gryffindor you know.

The movie was about six friends going to a haunted house - very typical. There were five guys and only one girl. I found myself discussing how the guys look with LE, and pointing which ones we think are attractive. Well, I had no choice. The girl wasn't really a looker. Very unfortunately, there were no bed scenes.

After the movie, we checked the schedule of the other movies to be shown this month. The security guard called us, and told us to go to the front hall since there was a movie briefing there. What could that be? We went anyway since we had nothing else to do.

We found out that there was a sorta public art fair there, like the ones you see in movies. High-end looking artsy people were talking amidst a white wall brightly illuminated with spotlights. A table groaning with high-end food was on the center of the hall. We were invited inside and I wouldn't have come in if LE didn't find someone she knew.

I was so not dressed for that occasion. I was only wearing my khaki shorts, black shirt, and slippers (at least I've put some gel on my hair.) Perhaps they'd mistake me for an eccentric artsy personality. We ate there and tried to blend in with people we do not know. Unfortunately, we had to leave when the ceremony was just beginning. By the way, the thing was all about this Canadian Film Festival or some such happening in the Film Center this August.

I laughed with LE, talking about how we did an "eat and run" without planning to.
"It's just like a scene from a movie," I told her. "This day is just amazing..."

"Yeah," she replied. "That's why we're bestfriends!" And we tried to do a high five but our hands missed. We just laughed.

We met Kenneth in front of the building, and I said goodbye and left them for their date. She was actually inviting me to ask Rhay and come with them so that it will be a double date. I just shrugged her suggestion off and said that it would only complicate things between us.

I went back to the apartment to find Chase sitting on the front step, waiting for me since he left his key inside. And thus comes an end to one eventful day in my life.

And why did I have to write all of these here? It's because days like this should be cherished. I count the very few stars I can find in my sky and hold them dear because I know I'm going to need happy moments like these when the storms come again.