I spent the following day with Airin and Peter in fixing up last minute documents that needs to be passed to College department heads. We ran off to the School of Chemical and Bioprocessing Engineering first for me, then to the School of Music for Airin, and finally to the School of Architecture for Peter. All the way, we decided to use a bicycle, knowing the countless of roads for us to simply reach one then the other. And somehow, I am glad that Peter is along with me and Airin, because that lessens one person in the planet to blabber about the most controversial and recent news.
Believe me, it is almost unbearable. All news articles and posts in social media sites are all about Brión Siadhail’s retirement from the acting industry. His fans and those who don’t like him, talk about it and gossip about the very reason why he is leaving. He even cause a fuzz when he posted on his official sites one of his most recent photoshoots apologizing to his fans about his decision, and might I tell you that in Facebook alone, the post reached a million within hours. After all, since three years ago, Times magazine ranked him as one of the most influential people in the planet. Not to mention that he is the youngest one to rank so high such as at the seventh spot this year. That’s why I am thankful enough that Airin didn’t comment about it anymore; it appears that she had said everything out to Peter already, or that her most updated one hundred plus posts on her Twitter account were a proof of her reaction about the news.
But, in the end of the day, she finally didn’t manage to handle it well that she sighs loudly, dropping off her shoulders when she does, as she waits for her coffee to get cold. Currently, the three of us are in 105 Café Bistro as part of Peter’s treat.
“I could no longer take it,” Airin says. “Everywhere we went today, everyone appears to be talking about Brión.”
“He’s an actor, darling,” Peter chides as he lets Airin lean onto his shoulder and he surrounds an arm around hers. “An influential man. I feel sorry for the man that he can’t live a private life at all.”
I smile at the two of them as they seat across from me. I reach out for my still hot coffee and savor its warmth. For the whole day, despite everything I’ve done, I still couldn’t get out of my head Sam’s disturbing question yesterday.
Aren’t you scared being alone?
Even the coffee doesn’t seem to help me to feel much better.
“Hell, yeah, you’re right,” Airin replies, looking up at Peter with a smile and tousles his dark messy hair. “I’m glad that my boyfriend is not an actor.”
He laughs. “Good thing for you.” Peter, as if he remembers something, looks at me with an assuring smile. “By the way, where’s Brión Siadhail’s long lost brother? Is Sam entering College this year? He should have been third year now if he didn’t keep on skipping it.”
“Yeah!” chimes Airin. “Where’s Frenchie?”
I almost choke in my coffee, but I am glad that I keep up my composure about it. I have an internal struggle about this one all of a sudden. I start asking myself about what I shall tell them. After all, they know that Brión Siadhail the actor and Sam Bryce Beltrami the childhood friend of mine, are two different people. Currently, I am struggling if I’ll tell them the truth or not.
So I decided to answer truthfully and keep few things hidden to still conceal Sam’s identity as Brión Siadhail. “Well, I’ve heard from him last night. As usual, he didn’t mention any.”
“You should insist him to study as his girlfriend,” Airin demands.
“He is not my boyfriend.”
“Yet.”
I raise an eyebrow at him. “Even if that so happens, he won’t listen to me.”
Airin snaps her fingers as she turns to Peter. “Hear it, babe? She just thought of it as well!”
“I try to be decisive about it since you’re asking,” I defend as I shy my eyes away. I sigh. “After all, he is slowly becoming someone I don’t clearly know of from the past.”
“And what’s that supposed to mean, Mi Adá?” Airin inquires as she eyes me intently.
“He had been acting strange all of a sudden. I…”
“Hey, cheer up, Ada!” Peter calls to me with a jubilant and assuring smile. “If you won’t, I’ll kick Sam’s ass the very moment we meet again.”
“That’s a relief…” I mumble, chuckling lightly.
Airin and Peter laughs. Afterwards, Airin looks at me again and asks, “You’re coming with us tonight, right?”
“Tonight?” I inquire.
“For the Acquaintance Party,” reminds Airin. “Seems that the whole open grounds will be packed with freshmen this school year.”
I almost forgot about it. I remember Mom and Dad telling me about it, reminding me to be not so wasted for that night if ever, and always be prepared for any unusual movements among the crowd. They even told me that I should stay close to Airin if that’s the case. And it appears that it will be what is going to happen after all. I’ll be their third wheel again, but to be loss in a huge number of people will surely push me to the limits to simply return to the residence.
“Yeah,” I reply, drinking a little my already cold coffee. “My Mom expects that I’ll have countless of friends right away after the party. My Dad also does. They’re expecting that I’ll be friends with everybody.”
The two of them laugh again. Airin says, “Since Sammy couldn’t even dare to message you, let’s see his real feelings for you after this night.”
I narrow my eyes, dreading something to happen. “What do you mean?”
She winks at me. “Leave that to me.”
---------------------------------
With that knowing wink, I know very well that it will cause me to something that I’ll certainly regret asking for Airin’s help. And every time I thought of asking Airin about the things that completely troubled me at all, I could swear that she’ll always be the last option to ask to. The first though will be Sam. For unknown reasons, I am much more confident in asking for his opinion rather than Airin’s.
Apparently, that’s the very reason why I stand in front of my mirror about thirty minutes ago, gaping at what she had just done. I scolded her, completely surprised by what she did, “You ripped it.”
“No, I don’t,” she defended with a quick smile. “I shortened it.”
“You literally rip it from above knee to mid-thigh! How am I supposed to be okay with that?!”
“Damn you, girl. You’re such a prude.”
“I am not! It’s simply because I am not going there to seduce anyone.”
“Well,” she staggered and completely caught a picture of me. She giggled.
“Hey!” I scrambled towards her to recover her phone and take a look of it. “Delete that one!”
“Nope,” she replied as she held her phone much higher and jumped in complete happiness after I hear the usual tone of a message being sent.
“What. Have. You. Done?”
She showed me her phone. “Now let’s see how dear handsome Sam is going to react about this.”
That caused me to completely duck my head among the crowd of gathered student on one of the open fields around campus, casting a long glance at me to completely see and realize who I am. Of course, even with a (little) make-up on, anyone will surely realize that it is me—Ada Julia Vera Weston, the one that brought home the gold medal in archery for the single female competition from Summer Youth Olympic Nanjing 2014; the one expected to make a first strike at the upcoming one to be held in Tokyo about two years from now.
That alone completely downgrades me already to even be under the heavy and luring stares of countless freshmen. Most of them are male students whose eyes linger much longer on my legs than on my face. And it completely embarrasses me how there are way too many maniac people in the planet.
“Don’t take anything from anyone,” Airin reminds me as she continues holding onto Peter’s hand, who leads us through the breaks of the waves of people gathered, and despite the almost dim party spotlights and the banging music through the speakers mounted onto almost every post around the perimeter, I almost didn’t notice her. “We don’t want you to get so fuzzy all of a sudden.”
“Don’t remind me like a kid, Airin,” I counter. “I can handle myself.”
“I wonder if you could with such clothing.”
“You are the reason for this.”
She giggles. “I could seriously realize how much Sam is already panicking by the time he received that photo of you. Damn, I’ll tell you how much of a hot chick you are right now. You agree, right, Peter?”
For a moment right there, Peter glances at me after being called by Airin for his attention. He smirks. “I agree on that one, Ada. I’ll seriously tell you that any man will surely fall head over heels because of this.”
“Told you,” Airin chimes next.
“It doesn’t mean…” I trail and sigh, knowing too well that arguing with her about this one is completely running a useless course. I could contradict and make my case to countless of people in this world, even against the judge and a court of lawyers that without a trickle of sweat, I could completely outthink them to prove my innocence. But with Airin… she is a different case than that.
Something suddenly stops me when I feel a pair of hands grab my waist, and a male voice slurs in my ear, “Hey, baby, want to dance?”
I easily slides out of his grasp, learning few self-defense techniques that Sam taught me of when we were young, thinking that it will be needed in the future. I reply firmly, leaving no room for argument or anything further on, “No.”
But his hands only tighten around me. “Aw, come on. Don’t be like that, baby.”
I am starting to panic inside. I’ve practically lose sight of Airin or Peter, to be honest. With the dimness of the place and the cluster of people, it will be completely hard to find them at all. I instantly slap my hands at his, causing him to surprisingly let go, and I use such opportunity to slip past a pair of dancers and lost my own self in the crowd.
But damn… how the hell am I going to find where Airin or Peter is? I wouldn’t even be able to reach out for my phone and call them for they’ve probably close all connections within the perimeter to avoid anyone sending prank messages like bomb threats or what.
The people around me start to form conversation with others. They start dancing along the rhythm, holding out their glasses filled with served alcoholic drinks. Within seconds, I feel so small being in the sea of people completely indulge in the vibe of the event.
At that exact moment, I know that I’ll never learn how to fit in such a world as this. I am not a party girl to be exact. To be honest, this is the very first one that I’ve ever attended. I am also not too good on making friends with others, nor to maintain a conversation with a stranger. I am not allowed to drink any alcoholic drinks, nor be swarmed by a very huge crowd. That only makes me feel like I am suffocated by such great number.
I frantically make my way passed the gathered crowd. In my mind, I know too well that I need to get out of here. Being all alone and lost in a party with such high energy is not for me. The gathered people, their smells mixing together, their curses and voices ringing as loud as the music, and their dances that draws one person to be too close to another… I can’t take such at all.
Within ten minutes, I finally make my way passed the boundary line of the crowd. I almost scramble to my feet to make it out that I end up kneeling by the sidelines. No one appears to be so interested of a freshman girl without any courage to face the reality of College life, the one that is indulge in such a party.
I kneel on the floor in all fours, and I could swear that my chest starts to coil up, making it way much harder to breathe than being caught up in the middle of the dancing students. My nostrils are prick by the common smell of cigarette smoke, almost making me gag at the ground though I haven’t touch even one glass of drink at all.
I see someone rushing towards my direction. He crosses the street easily since no one would dare to speed on this particular street at such hour given that you are within the perimeter of a campus. Through my almost blurring vision, I see him kneeling in front of him. I could feel his hands by my shoulders, and his mouth form words that I could no longer understand.
All I could take notice at the moment is how my heart beats frantically, and I demand for air. For life.
“Hey! Are you all right?”
I finally process what he is telling me. Though delayed, I am glad that I still have such senses.
For unknown reasons, I feel safe. I even let the man places his hand around my shoulder and sweeps me off my feet as he places his another behind my knees, carrying me easily with very minimal effort at all.
I didn’t hear him grunt all throughout, but before I finally let the fatigue come over me, I hear him whispering by my ear without the background of loud music from the open grounds to be heard, “You’re safe now, A mhuirnín.”
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