Boylets (pArt 1: TRoLL-continuation)

When the priest signaled the Eucharist, almost everyone queued to the altar to receive communion, some of my friends included. Mimay chided me to join them but I sat still…my eyes searching—there he was, ‘Troll’–clad in white bravo—as they call it, looking as handsome as I have remembered him from the time I saw him flashed me that smile at the watershed. If I line up for communion, I’d pass by him and just the thought of getting close to him once again, excites me. I hurried down the aisle and landed just beside him. I smiled at him but he didn’t move an inch—instead, his gaze met mine and I felt my knees wobble. In a fleeting moment I had his eyes glued to mine, my world stopped…my temperature rose…’Body of Christ’— ***‘Amen!’ That was all Benedick could say after I told him what happened at the church the day before. ‘Bruha ka, pag nalaman ‘yan ni Tina, naku!’ His words posed a threat. ‘I like him na talaga! Actually, I think I’m in love!’ Benedick’s eyes widened, he held me by the shoulders and said, ‘Mare, ano ka ba! Bawal ‘yan!’ Before I could reply, I heard Tina ask—‘At kanino ka naman in love?” Right there and then, I froze. ‘Tins, I like troll! The ground below opened and swallowed me to oblivion. *** The next day, I came to class feeling ashamed of myself—I couldn’t look Tina in the eye. Not for anything—because technically, I’m not stealing ‘Troll’ from her because they are not an item—but all of my friends felt a sense of betrayal with what I have confessed the day before. ‘Gaga ka kasi! Kay ‘Bong’ ka na lang! Yaan mo na kay Tina yun!’, Mimay told me while thumbing through the pages of Noli Me Tangere. To which I replied, ‘As if naman sila ‘no! Eh hindi naman so may chance pa ko!’ Mimay just sighed and let me be. Mr. Reynoso showed up 15 minutes late for our Math class, which was very uncharacteristic of him. I had another bout with number phobia and almost made a fool of myself when I was called to answer a problem on the board. It’s a relief to have Bevs, my math wizard friend feeding me with the answer from the front row. When the bell rang, I rose from my seat and went to get my T.H.E. book from my locker. The lockers are situated along the corridors—and from across the newly varnished shelves, you could see the classroom of St. Thomas—and that is where the object of my desire is. I stared dreamily across the corridor, hoping to catch a glimpse of ‘Troll’ but he’s nowhere in sight… *** T.H.E. classes meant two things: cooking class/sightseeing and comic relief. Most of the time, classes are spent at the T.H.E. room at the ground floor where we do hands-on cooking, a very nice excuse for roaming around and you guessed it right—‘sightseeing’!  My friends and I were at it again—only this time, Tina was giving me a cold shoulder. Miss Carillo, our teacher, gave us last minute instructions on handling the ‘yest’ (yeast), sending me and Benedick, as always, to a pit of laughter. After helping our respective group mates with the chores, Benedick and I checked out the quadrangle where about two senior sections are having their P.E. classes. One of which is the class that ‘Jason’ belongs to. Benedick and I spotted him comfortably seated on one of the benches near the entrance going to the faculty room. I asked Benedick if he wants us to get near him but he begged off, saying he’s content just looking at him from afar. We would have stayed there watching Jason’s every move but the bell rang and we had no choice but to go upstairs for our Noli Me Tangere class. Mimay, Gem, Je, Benedick, Joy, Lei, Bevs, Tina and I made the usual side trip to the restroom before going to our room. Since I was kinda apprehensive that Tina might snap at me, I opted to stay as close to Benedick as possible, ‘Paunahin mo na sila, sunod na lang tayo!” The rest went ahead while the two of us waited for another five minutes before we headed to class. When we reached the classroom, most of our CAT officer-classmates were outside chatting with a bunch of people—my heart skipped a beat when I recognized one of the MOCCs hounding Edsel—it was ‘Troll!’ Benedick nudged me and said, ‘Uy! Dinadalaw ka—yo! Kayo ni Tina!’ I just smiled and went inside the room. And just like I feared, Tina was eyeing me with an expression I couldn’t decipher. (2-b-continued)