just
got lucky
by
Janice Perez
“No kidding! You mean
you like Radiohead, too? I
don’t know anybody else who actually adores them, I mean they’re not the
kind of band that sells themselves, you know what I mean?”
“Yeah, I do. They’re
just a really cool band who plays for the music and for the fun of it, which
are the most important things of all.”
“I know. Wow, it’s
pretty cool that we share the same interests, Karen.”
“I guess…”
“Well, I have some CDs here of Radiohead, and maybe we could, like,
trade or something. You don’t
happen to have any Counting Crows or Sister Hazel CDs, wouldn’t you?”
“As a matter of fact, I do!”
“Really? Good!
Hey, maybe we can meet later or something, and, like, trade CDs.
What do you think?”
“Sure, but I can’t promise -
”
“Yoo-hoo, earth to Julia!”
A giggling voice interrupted my thoughts.
I turned around to face a smiling girl of my age and height who looked
at me with utter joy, as if she had just heard a juicy gossip.
“Don’t tell me you’re thinking about Scott again,” she said in
a knowing manner.
I drew a deep breath and replied with a playful, pitying look, “I’m
guilty.”
My friend, Laura, made one loud chortle and took a seat beside me in
the bustling interior of Jollibee. She patted me by the shoulder and said in a serious tone,
“Julia, my friend, when are you ever going to forget that guy?
How many times do I have to tell you that it’s time for you to move
on? I mean it’s been over one
year since you last saw, or even heard of him!”
I absorbed my best friend’s remarks and thought about it.
For the last few days I had been reminiscing my short-lived yet
unforgettable moments with Scott, the only guy I ever really liked in my
entire life. From that fateful
day at our Boy-Girl Encounter with his and my high school senior classes, to
that glorious Friday night on the phone where we babbled all night.
Of course, he just didn’t know that it was really me he was
conversing with because I was too scared to reveal my true identity.
I mean during our Boy-Girl Encounter, we only exchanged two sentences
as I was not in my usual loud self, and besides, it was obvious that he had
the hots for Alicia, who happened to be the prettiest girl then in our group.
So there I was immovable in my seat, but consistently staring at Scott
while his classmate, and one of our group mates, George, was endlessly talking
to me about the wonders of Japanese manga comics, which I had no interest in.
But even in my cowardice, I still did the inevitable…I called him up.
Two days after our eventful encounters with the seniors of Scott’s
Boy School, the girls in my school were getting crazy over who was cuter than
who.
Luckily,
I heard some girls talking about the guys that were in my group, and I
overheard someone mention Scott’s phone number.
So that night, I called him up using someone else’s name, but
describing my very own characteristics. For
the rest of the night we chatted about a lot of things that we both liked,
from Radiohead to tennis to utter dislike of Math.
He then asked me to see him on the next weekend, and I said I’d try.
But I never went for fear of disappointing him that when he would see
whom he talked to on the phone, he would just change his mind about making
acquaintances. And so now I am
here, living with this big regret of never having the guts to face him.
And I shall live like this forever, asking myself to every new day that
I wake up to, “What if???”
“See
there you go again! Thinking about Scott and nothing else!” Laura interrupted
for the second time.
“I’m sorry, Laura, I can’t help it!” I replied with all
honesty. “I’m really trying,
but it’s not that easy.”
Laura looked at me with concern drawn on her face.
“Look, Jules, I know just how much you really like Scott.
But you didn’t take your chance to get to know him.
So why don’t you just get on with your life, and try to find someone
else. I mean we are finally out
of that all-girls school penitentiary of ours, and I’m sure you’ll see a
prospective college guy around here.”
Now it was my turn to laugh at Laura’s statement.
I guess she was right. I
am no longer in high school and so I should leave the past to where it
belongs, and go on with what I have at the moment.
Scott probably has found some attractive college girl in Manila,
anyway. I bet he doesn’t even
remember that I exist. And he probably doesn’t ever recall talking to my invented
character and I on the phone.
I stood up to gather my things, as it was almost class time for me.
“Thanks for the advice, Laura. I’ve
decided to heed your words and erase Scott out of my mind for good.”
“Way to go, Julia! That’s
my friend!”
I smiled at Laura and started to leave.
“Well, I got to go now, it’s almost class.
I’ll see you later.”
*
*
* *
Eight minutes later I was rushing up the big stairs of my university as
I headed for my Filipino class all the way up fourth floor.
The first bell had just rung and I didn’t want to be late for class.
It was just my second week as an official college student, and I was
already getting the hang of it. Well,
college is totally different from high school, but I’m actually enjoying my
daily discoveries of it.
I finally arrived in my classroom and to my surprise, found it full of
students already. Last week, our
teacher didn’t show up yet and so did majority of my classmates.
But now that has changed as there was already an elderly woman standing
behind the teacher’s desk, and numerous guys and girls were already filling
up the seats. I had no choice but
to take a seat at the back of the classroom where only a few seats were left
empty. The teacher introduced
herself to the class and began orienting her new students about the subject
and all. I was scanning my eyes
around the room to see if I found anybody familiar.
Unfortunately, I didn’t. The
teacher then made us get paper for a writing activity.
As I retrieved any piece of writing material from my bag I could find,
I heard the door open and someone come in, and take the empty seat beside me.
“Excuse me, is this the Fili 1 class?”
I turned my head right to face and answer the person beside me who
obviously asked the question. Then
I froze.
“Excuse me, are you okay?”
I could do nothing but nod my head slightly.
I was now face to face with the one person I never imagined I would
ever be talking to.
“Hey, have we met somewhere before?”
“Uhmmm…I-I-I d-don’t think s-s-so,” I stuttered.
“Are you sure? I mean
you look really familiar. I think
I saw you way back in high school.”
I bit my lip. This was not
happening. “Well…you must
have mistaken me…uhh…for someone else.”
“No, I’m pretty sure it was you.
Oh wait a minute, now I remember!
You were in my group during our Boy-Girl Encounter in senior year.”
Okay. I had not, in my
whole life, expected that I would ever cross paths with Scott again, what more
have him remember me! Now this is
getting too strange!
“Yeah,” was all I could reply.
What was he doing here? Was
I hallucinating again? I tried to
give him a weak smile. Then with
all my mustered up courage, I said, “You probably got the wrong person.”
He shook his head. “No,
no, I remember. You sat right
beside me in our circle but you didn’t have much to say.
Your name is even…uhmm...well I know it started with a ‘J.’
Jessica? Joanne?”
“Julia,” I replied. No,
this wasn’t a hallucination. This
was really happening and at this very moment, I was actually having a real,
live conversation with Scott.
“I knew that,” he replied with a chuckle.
I couldn’t help but laugh softly with him.
Luckily our teacher was busily immersed with the stuff she was writing
on the blackboard. “Whew, and I
thought I was going to be a total stranger in this class,” he remarked.
I nodded my head in agreement. Then
to my absolute surprise, he asked, “Hey, Julia, I just want to ask, I mean
I’ve been wondering about this for some time now.
Is there someone named ‘Karen’ in your batch in high school?
See, I talked to her on the phone once and she said she was dared by
one of your classmates to call me. We
kind of agreed to meet, but she never showed up.”
Whoa! Did
I just hear that?! Is he meaning
to say that all this time, he was *technically* thinking of me?
“Oh by the way, I’m Scott,” he said, introducing himself as he
extended his right hand. My
shaking right hand shook his and I was able to manage a sincere smile.
I wanted to reply, “I know,” but of course I would be crazy to have
done so. Instead I answered,
“Hi, Scott. I’m Julia.”
Okay, so maybe things don’t turn out the way you expect them to.
I had thought ever since that my case was hopeless, and that my only
chance of getting to know Scott was forever gone.
But there are just some things I don’t have any control over, and I
guess I am really lucky that Someone else is taking care of things for me.
I guess I must continue my story before I sound anymore weird than I
already am beginning to. Scott
moved his seat closer to mine and asked once again, “So, is there really a
certain Karen in your batch?”
I did not reply right away. I looked at him first, and with a sense of comfort brewing
inside me, I answered, “Well, sort of.
But don’t worry, Scott, I have one whole semester to tell you all
about her.”
~The
End~