I haven’t heard any word about Sam since he flew to States for a few re-shots, which is entirely not new but when three days had passed without even a single notice, it starts to turn out a little bit out of scope. Because even if he is one of a hell busy, he finds even a single second to spare just to tell me of what he’ll be doing. Another thing, for unknown reasons, since that time he left, I start having dreams about him.
I didn’t tell anyone about the dream, but I told my parents and Airin about Sam’s absence. At the very least, they must know about it.
Today, though, is the day that I must start living my life in the student residences within the proximity of the University College of Dublin. It had always been my dream school since I was young since both of my parents graduated there, and my mother is currently a Physics professor there. I anticipate though that she’ll be one of my professors. After all, I’ll be a freshman of Engineering starting Monday; and by my second year, no doubt that I’ll continue onward for Chemical and Bioprocessing Engineering.
Though I actually don’t like the idea of residing to some sort of dormitory, my parents insisted that I’ll certainly fail my first subject because of tardiness. My mother leaves home late for her classes start two hours before noon, and I hate waking up way too early to attend my first class at eight since UCD is about twenty-three miles away from ours… another thing, Airin insisted my parents if it is possible that I stay in one of the school residences that will just be next door to her. My parents even didn’t question her real reason of why.
Anyway, Dad promised that he’ll make up for today after days that I could barely get a chance to talk to him or ask how he is doing. I start to incredibly miss him because of that. So I made him promised one time that I managed to talk to him for a bit that he’ll be the one to drive me to Roebuck Hall Residence, the school residence that they managed to acquire for me. Though it is not the nearest one to my College building, being near to the College of Law instead, they still chose that one not because of being the most costly among the others because of it being the newest one, but because of the ambiance it has. After all, my parents are doctors—my father as an Internal Medicine Doctor specialized in two specialization, and my mother as a Physicist. They’ve set high standards on how to use money in their own accords.
Mom is already at the University for a meeting as usual, and Dad takes the leave for today just to drop me off. So it’s just me and Dad, along with Buzz, to head on to the school residence.
During the ride, Dad allowed me to have my own tunes be played in the car. After all, I and Dad had the same taste in music, while Mom always asked the two of us to settle with something that won’t lead for our eardrums to bleed. That’s why, whenever Mom is along with us, I settle with my earphones instead.
“You keep on looking at your phone since we left the house,” he says, casting a short glance at me.
I didn’t thought that he’ll notice it. But he basically does. I even don’t know why at all, not until when I received a message from Airin few minutes ago that I turn a little disappointed, my mind concluding that I am waiting for another. I shrug my shoulders. “Don’t know.”
“Not excited about College?”
“Somehow.”
“What course is Airin taking again?”
“She’ll be taking up Music.”
Dad nods at it. Few seconds later, he says, “You haven’t heard from Sam?”
I instantly glance at him, surprised myself that he managed to deduce just that himself. “What makes you think I’m thinking about Sam, Dad?”
“Your tone gives away too much.”
I turn away and pin my eyes to the road ahead and the scenery around us.
“No news since the past few days? Even in the net?”
“If they are re-shooting, it won’t even be announced to the public, right?”
“But as an actor, he’ll certainly update his fans like he normally does.”
“He didn’t. His last post in Instagram was that of about two weeks ago. That one time when I’ve pictured him before he left the house that day. And his Twitter and Facebook post announced that he loves to travel the whole of Europe without any media following him for one whole month.” I sigh. “I start guessing that he seriously done that instead of doing a re-shot.”
“I’ve known Sam since he became my patient. That kid doesn’t know how to lie, but an incredible secret keeper himself. At our first meeting, he didn’t told me that he was afraid of needles. If he had told me, I’ve certainly done something for him.”
I remember that time. I laughed when Dad told me the story about an anemic boy afraid of a needle that will save his life. And that only cause my worry to heighten, and it didn’t go unnoticed until Dad has his senses strongly channeled to me.
“Don’t worry,” he assures me with a warm and small smile. “Sam’s just busy. That boy knows that you are worrying about him. He’s probably teasing you. After all, it is very visible that he looks at you in a very different way.”
------------------------------
My room in UCD Roebuck Hall Residence is at the second floor, a door away from the very last one. According to the taker of the residence, the two rooms next to mine, were already taken—Airin’s room comes before mine, and another after mine belongs to someone already. It appears as well that the student dormer of that room will be a freshman, and the taker had concluded the same thing as well. Anyway, who’s who, I’ll certainly find out about who he or she is later on.
“The school office said that you can make this room like your own,” Mom tells me as Dad and I enter the room after her meeting with us just by the lot in front of the residence. “After all, you’ll be its owner for five years.”
I look at her, reminding her about my intentions after College. She and Dad knew how I wanted to continue studying, that after this engineering course, I’ll certainly continue for a doctorate in Chemistry. Which only adds another load of years, wherein they keep joking how it is an additional load to call me with a right title; such as the name of, Engineer Ada Julia Vera Weston, Doctor of Chemistry.
I’m still at the brick to reach that one.
“Sorry,” Mom says with a light chuckle, placing her hands at my shoulders as she kisses me by my cheek. “Just kidding, my dear. I know that you’ll certainly be getting your doctor’s degree. But you should certainly try for something such as Oxford or Stanford for your doctorate.”
“Your mother is right, Ada,” Dad adds. “You can try checking on other universities after graduating your engineering course. I can assure you, sweetheart, after you graduate and successfully passed the board exam, you don’t have to trouble yourself about a university. They’ll be the very ones who’ll wished for you to study at their school.”
I sigh and look around the room for a moment as Mom and Dad rush in and out to settle my things. It is a studio-type room actually; with a living room, a kitchen and dining, a bathroom, and a room which offers great lighting and view of the grounds offered by the wide transparent glass windows that lead to a balcony. I wonder how such a beauty it will be to look at the view later at night though.
Mom and Dad stay in helping me out for the rest of the day. Buzz had been bustling around as well for the whole day. But after we eat dinner that Dad had bought from a nearby restaurant, they finally bid me goodbye. I don’t actually get emotional, knowing that they’ll certainly be checking over me once a week, that I’ll be home whenever I’m free for the weekend, and I’ll surely meet Mom every day. The only reason that I end up boarding is the fact that I am a heavy sleeper, and an early leave from home is surely not my forte, but my parents’. Also, they want to make me independent on my own, despite everything.
I share a hug with them as well as Buzz, before I finally watch them leave my apartment’s doorway and turn the corner to the staircase. But before I could even close the door all the way, the apartment’s door next to me instantly opens up, and out Airin from her confines. And I could swear that I could have died at that moment because of shock.
“You nearly gave me a heart attack!” I scream at her.
She smiles at me sheepishly and says, “I’m sorry. I don’t really mean to startle you, Mi Adá. But seriously, I am so happy that we’re entering College together. Different courses though, but still…” She heads to me and embraces me so tightly that it hurts. “To enter College with my best friend and with my boyfriend… I can’t think of anything wrong in this world.”
“You and Peter all okay now?” I ask as I slowly pull away from the suffocating hug.
Airin smiles at me and places her hands on her hips. “Of course. After all, he’s asleep inside my room. Such a sweetie.” She dips her head to the side. “Mi Tesorino.”
I am glad that I didn’t gape at her. I just don’t want to think of what happened between the two of them in order to reconcile.
After all, I am always the third-wheel whenever the two of them dated since the start. I’ve known Peter just as how long I’ve known Airin, and I could tell that they’ve been way too much in love with each other before they even know it. At the first times that they are dating when the three of us were in the last year of our junior high school, I am always tagging along with them. Not until the time then that the two of them had grown confident of being alone together. And I know that they’ve taken their relationship at one big jump before we could even start our senior high school. I’ll not know about my friends’ sexual life if it wasn’t for Sam, who’ve been following the two’s relationship status as well, who encouraged me to spy on Peter and Airin. We were both in disguise, and people even stare at me and Sam at that time as if we were indeed a couple; that only led us to conclude our mission of Peter and Airin’s date ending in one hotel. We didn’t go on once upon making the conclusion.
All of a sudden, both I and Airin freeze for a moment and scramble for our own phones buried deep in our pockets. Within the next seconds, both of us are checking on what causes our phones to vibrate at the same time.
The notification shocked me to see that Brión Siadhail had updated his status in Facebook and tweet in Twitter, saying to his fans that they should all watch out for his live and exclusive interview with a reporter named Nessa Ultana from one of Irish’s most leading celebrity watch news, along with his always on-screen lover Katherine Joyner. I could be so sure as well that Airin received the same news that she starts fanning herself and hurriedly grabs my hand, leading me in to my room.
I try to act like I don’t know anything. “What the hell?!”
“Brión Siadhail just posted on his Facebook page about an interview for tonight! Within the next five minutes! This is his latest post after days of inactivity,” she explains as she fidgets to reach out for the television’s remote and switches it to life as she settles on the couch. She even draws me to sit along with her as well. “Finally! M’fhíorghrá… after my long waiting.”
I clear my throat. “Might I remind you that your boyfriend is just next door? Alone and asleep on your bed? He’ll practically freak out if he wakes up without you there next to him after such act.”
“I leave him a note that I’ll just visit you, telling him that you just live next door to me. His room is on the door before mine; we’re living in a block!”
“But I didn’t even invite you in at all, or allow you to watch, or even let you sit on the couch! Don’t you dare leave a mark there…”
“I promise you that there won’t be any. I have the righteous and courteous mindset after all to take a shower after being so sweaty.”
I am about to say something, to tell her how gross telling those things to me—a person like me who didn’t even have a boyfriend since birth, and has no intention at all to lose my virtues before marriage and before I could even fulfill all of my goals in life—but my phone vibrates once again and I see that it is a message from Sam. A private message to me in Facebook to be exact, saying: I’m sorry.
I frown for a moment, peek an eye to still see Airin intently watching the television, waiting for Sam’s face to appear on-screen. I notice that Sam is still active, so I reply to him: “What are you sorry about right now, Amadán?”
I watch as the message alerts me that he had seen it, and I wait for the sign that shows that he is typing a message to disappear. And finally, he tells me: “I want to apologize to you first among anyone.”
With that last reply, his messenger instantly says that he is already offline.
What the hell is that supposed to mean?
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