Chapter 3: Ferrydell University
"Girls, state your business here," he says bluntly once he finally closed the door to his office.
He dragged us all the way from the locker area to his office. I know. I understand. It would have been better off to go to the office ourselves rather than cause trouble and get us dragged in here. It still ended the same way. What changed?
"All I can see are foolishness and nervousness," Eloisa says with a slurry manner. "Alas, two years can do a lot to a person. This one retained the glasses but became more serious. And this one, by my side, became successful but still remained the fool. Alas, poor me. I never changed."
By God, Eloisa! I thought. You are only making things worst!
"Young lady, have you been drinking?" he asks. He takes a close look at her as if he is trying to remember her. "Ah, now I remember. Why am I surprised about her insolence?" He turned to face me and all I could do is silently pray for strength. "Alright, I'll ask you. What are you doing here breaking a student's locker open?"
He asked that to me without any humor. He is serious. Alas, I can never lie to him. Why must infatuation betray me up to my working days? Eloisa is right. She can see through me. She sensed that my love for is both foolish and senseless. That is why I am nervous.
"Well, I suppose none of you would talk, or will you Miss Aguinaldo?" he asks.
He looked at me directly in my eye. I cannot break away. Eloisa is too high (or drunk) to talk to him. She might have drunk some alcohol when I was asleep. I knew taking the wheel was a great decision. For all I know, she could have gotten us involved in a car accident.
"Sir, we mean no harm here," I say nervously.
"Then what?" He rose from his seat and he began circling us as if he is trying to scare us into disclosure.
"We only want to reclaim our friend's belongings. Apparently, my drunken friend thought it was a great idea to break her former locker at the chance that it might still be there. I knew it was a foolish idea, and we were about to go to the admin office, but a student caught us in the act. We would like to apologize for the trouble."
He looked at me grimly as if he looks into my mind if I am telling the truth. Somehow, this only intimidates me. He wasn't like this before. Eloisa is right, by the way. He became serious. He used to be a fun-loving professor, but now, all I can see is a typical image of a Ferrydell Professor – serious, humorless, strict, et cetera.
"Very well," he says while he breaks his look and walks back to his chair. "I believe you. What is the name of that friend?"
"Emma Concepcion, sir. I was hoping that the school admin might have kept her stuff instead of throwing it away."
"Girls, Ferrydell University is not allowed to do that unless it is the student or alumni that come to claim it. It can also be done if the representatives are permitted to do so. Can I be certain that you have Miss Concepcion's permission to claim it?"
"Sure, of course," I lie to get away from him.
He gave a moment to think about it. What happened to him? He became more logical and rational. He is actually marking an authority. He used to act like your typical college friend, but now, he's grown more mature. Two years changed him. How is that even possible?
Suddenly, he rose from his seat. "Come on. I'll show you where the leftover belongings of alumnae are stored."
We followed him to a dark storage closet. He opened the lights and we saw piles of boxes all stacked up to each other. This is a lot of stuff. How can so many students leave behind so much stuff?
"This is how the storage system works. A locker number is written on the box as well as the year the student graduated. I suppose you still remember both. I shall wait for you here until you find that box. I can't let you go around snooping other boxes. Do you understand?"
"Yes, sir."
I am the only conscious one between the two of us that can talk to him. Eloisa isn't exactly in herself right now. She keeps saying random stuff that might harm the two of us. The locker number was 753 and she graduated in the year 2013. I searched for the box by following through the years of the boxes. I saw a group of boxes from the year 2013. There, I found the contents of Emma's locker. Thanks be to God! I took the box and presented it to him.
"Sir, I found it," I say to him. "Thank you for your help."
"It was a pleasure," he says coolly. "What does your friend need in that box anyway?"
"A book, sir. Anyway, sir, it was nice seeing you again."
I pulled Eloisa from her awkward position and lead her outside the storage closet. She is humiliating herself again!
"Alright, how many bottles did you drink last night without my knowledge?" I ask instantly.
"I don't know," she says hazily. "All I can remember was dizziness, vomit, and fainting. Alas, I apologize for the words I cannot control today. Give me the keys, I'll drive."
"No," I say strictly. "Driving after drinking is not exactly the best action. For all I know, you might get crashed and get arrested for reckless impudence." I pulled her through her arm and dragged her outside to the parking lot. "Come on. I'll drive."
"Where exactly are we going?" she asks. "And would you let me go. I am twenty-two years old. I can perfectly take care of myself, thank you."
"We are going to get some coffee to clear that hangover of yours," I say to her as I still drag her out. "How can you do that to yourself? How can you humiliate yourself before your former professor?"
"I am immune to all sense of humiliation," she says. "It is you who seems to care more about your reputation before him. Both of you might have changed, but your feelings remain constant. Now, let me go."
She pulled herself together and walked properly. Her speech remains slurry due to the alcohol, but I know she is trying to get herself together. Alas, I need all the strength I can muster. One friend is dying, and the other has let her path go astray. Heavenly Father, give me the strength to fulfill my mission with both of them.
We got into the car and I drove ourselves to the nearest coffee shop from the university – Wake Up Coffee Shop. I bought a plain black coffee for her and I bought us some breakfast to churn down. I began to take out the diary and read the first entry.
"What does it say?" Eloisa asks out of curiosity.
"You can read it," I say as I lay it down for both of us to read.
*
I'm late for a wedding. My mother woke me up so early because I'm late. I rushed to the church. When I got to Word Miracle Church, I ran to the piano. As I ran, I slipped off my heels and all of my sheet music scattered on the floor. No one was around to help, except him.
"Miss, are you ok," Jonathan asked me that day.
"I'm fine," I said as I fix my clothes and pick the sheet music up. "I'm sorry. I'm almost late." He helped me pick up the sheet music. He was a really kind man.
"Miss, here you go," He said as he handed me the sheet music. "Be careful."
I went to the piano to play the bridal march. Everything went well, except the reception where I came across him again. I was drinking something that time and the drink spilled all over my clothes. He grabbed his handkerchief and he wiped the stains off my clothes. He's a true gentleman. I wish there were more guys like him in the world
We went outside the garden to the reception to talk. He was so handsome. He wore glasses and he spoke English fluently. I got drunk at the wedding. When I woke up, I wondered why I am not in my room.
"Why am I here," I asked him.
"I brought you here because I do not know where to take you," he said. "You got drunk, but do not worry. I did not harm you in any way. Your stuff is over there by your side."
"What's your name," I asked him.
"Jonathan," he said. "What about you, miss?"
"Emma," I said. And that's the beginning of our love story. I did not know that it was already the beginning, but our love grew little by little starting from there.
*
What a fool! She got herself drunk and she thought that meeting a guy that won't rape her is love! Foolish! She is a greater fool than Eloisa. I cannot believe that a religious girl would get herself drunk like that and let a man take her to his place. Fortunately, he didn't take advantage of her drunk state! God indeed blessed me with two fools I must fix.
"Alas, Emma is a greater drunkard than I am," she says as she drinks coffee. "But at least she found love through that. Look at me. I have been getting involved in several vices, but I never found love or sanctuary."
"Fool, she is," I say quietly. "What a fool!"
"Why do you keep calling her a fool?" she asks.
"I cannot believe that romanticism has gotten to her this much," I say in dismay as I drink more coffee. All I can do is shake my head out of my dismay towards her.
"At least she has found love," she says. "Look at us. We have both been driven by the terrible actions that led us to forget to love. You were too ambitious to succeed in life, and I was too drugged, drunk, and high all the time. She retained her peace with God that is why He granted her love."
"Do you think God does not look down to favor us?" I ask.
"It is merely a matter of faith," she says. "True faith is when you only care to please our Lord and keep his commandments. Admit it. Emma is the epitome of Christian faith. Sure, church service pays low, but she did it out of love for her savior."
"But faith won't get her out of a terminal illness," I say bitterly.
"No, but it will end her suffering for she has already done enough for the world," she says.
I managed to smile at this girl right now. I do not know if she finally gained her mind, or if she is finally changing for the better, but I like her words.
"I like you better drunk," I say.
"I'm not," she says. "I sobered up.This is the person that I am when I am in my mind. For years I have trying toget out of addiction, but it keeps on failing me. Now, I shall do my best tofind my friend's lover."
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