Dennis…
“My HUMSS class was amazing sir Den. They were very active. I only raised one question and the entire class exploded with inquiries. They’ve got a lot of things to say.”, Sam shared during our break time in the faculty room. “How about your STEM class, how was it?”.
“Ha?”
“What are you thinking? You’ve been staring at your spreadsheet for a while now.”, he asked.
“A lot of our teachers are asking about this one student of mine. He is not yet attending any of his classes since day one.”, I told Sam.
“Who is that student?”, Sam leaned forward to look at my spreadsheet.
“This one. Jefferson Ledesma. B13.”, I pointed at the name of my student.
“What does his classmates say about him? Do they know the reason why that kid is still not coming to class? – Sam.
“I’ve been asking the entire class about this kid for several days now. But none of them knows him.”, I said with a little frustration.
“I think it’s better if you raise that concern to Dean already. We are going to submit an updated list of students next week.”, Sam suggested.
“I am thinking about it also. We still have late enrollees coming in. For sure, there’ll be additional names on our list on the coming days. It is harder to submit a copy if we are not sure of the list.”, I replied to him.
“You know what, turn your laptop into sleep for a while and come with me for a little snack. The banana rolls are delicious just outside the gate.”, Sam invited excitedly at the notion of food.
I set my things aside on my table and join Sam for a quick snack. There are a lot of students along the hallway that we pass by and most of them are staring at us. Truly, our charisma when we are together are still unfading. We catch students who are staring secretly but immediately turn around when we pass. Some will giggle and whisper excitement gestures among their peers as they see us.
When we arrive at the small food stall outside, students are already lined up to order the bestselling banana rolls. Luckily, when the lady sees us and recognizes us as instructors, she prioritizes our orders. While waiting for our banana rolls, Sam ordered two sodas for the both of us. There still students who are attempting to catch our attention. Some are intentionally making a move like walking in front of us and chatting quite loudly so we will notice them.
While I am doing my very best to avoid any attention, Sam on the other hand seems to be enjoying the attention.
“You really think you’re a celebrity, aren’t you?”, I whisper to Sam under my handkerchief.
“I am just enjoying the moment. Let me be.”, Sam brags at me.
“Oh my gosh, if only they know,”
“If only they know,”, Sam snaps at me while stressing his point. “so it is best if you won’t say anything anymore. If I were you, I suggest you go with the flow. Cherish the moment.”, He smiles maliciously at me.
After several minutes, the lady delivers our order to our table. Sam suggested that we go the usual place where we stay during down time to eat. One of the best thing I love about the University are the Acacia trees. You can find it anywhere on the school grounds. Students tend to stay on one of these trees during free periods. Sam and I love to stay at one on the farther side of the University. We love that spot because few students are going there. We can the spot to ourselves. The place is also quiet and isolated. We can talk about anything that we want without the fear that we might get overheard.
As we are walking to our spot, Sam never stops munching his banana rolls. “You will definitely finish that roll before we get there.”, I snarl at him.
“Don’t over react Dennis. I bought three. I can’t consume all these at once.”, he said defensively. Honestly, I cannot blame him. The banana rolls are really mouthwatering.
We are still afar from our spot when I abruptly stop walking.
“Why did you stop?”, Sam asked with his mouth full.
“Sam, I think somebody got to our place first.”, I point to the tree that are heading. Sam look at the direction and notice that a boy is already sitting in our tree. The boy is sitting with his side facing us and alone. He is looking at the other side of the ground.
“What are we going to now? our spot is occupied.”, I heaved a sigh of disappointment.
“We make him go away.”, Sam said.
“Are you nuts? What is this, power tripping? Not because we are faculty here we can just barge into a spot that is already occupied. It is not ours in the first place.”, I stopped him.
“What are going to do then?”, - Sam.
“You mean what am I going to do now. I still have my banana rolls right here. But yours are gone already. That soda is all you have left.”, I said while showing Sam still hot and untouched rolls.
Sam gave a clumsy smile instead. We cannot do anything now but to turn around and go back to faculty room where I can eat.
***
“Mr. Toledo, excuse me.”, Ms. Roque approaches me. She is one of the instructors of my advisory class. “Did Mr. Ledesma come to you already?”
“Mr. Ledesma? He is here already?”, I clarify. A bit surprised.
“Yes sir. I told him to come to you to explain himself. I think he comes this morning with his dad. They were at the Dean’s office before his dad escorted him to his classroom.”, Ms. Roque explains.
“Is that so. Thank you Mr. Roque. I’ll ask one my students to tell Mr. Ledesma to come to the faculty and see me.”, I thank her before walking to my cubicle.
“You should be okay now. Your missing student had come to school already.”, Sam uttered behind me.
“Yeah I think that is a good news. Wait.”, I stop myself mid-sentence when I see one my students outside the faculty.
“Where are you going?”, Sam called out to me as I walk hurriedly outside to catch up with my student.
After talking to the student, I get back inside the faculty where Sam is waiting in my cubicle.
“What did you say to your student?”, Sam asked. “What’s wrong?”
“They confirmed that Mr. Ledesma come to class morning but he didn’t attend the rest of his class.”, I said.
“Your student cut his class already? He never come to class and when he does, he cuts it?”, Sam commented.
“I don’t understand. If there is problem with this boy, Dean should have called me when his dad was here so that we can talk.”
“Let it go Den. For sure, this Ledesma will be coming to class tomorrow. And he does, take the initiative to come and talk to him in private.”, Sam suggested.
***
The last bell of the day rings at 4pm. All classes are dismissed at this time. So you can expect a rampage of students from different levels coming out of their classrooms and off the school. I never go with the dismissal of the school. I come out late always to avoid being jammed by students. Even if I get out 6pm, that’ll be just fine. At least, the jeep won’t be too crowded when I took a ride. Also, the traffic is light already.
Normally, I get out with Sam but he said he is going somewhere else so he needed to leave already. Honestly, I don’t believe him. For sure, he is meeting someone. He doesn’t share most of his getaways with me but I can feel if he has. I’m pretty sure that he will tell me about it some other time.
After waiting for two hours while enjoying the AC and free wifi, I decided to fix my things and go home. I put my laptop inside my backpack and arrange my books on the shelf.
The sun is setting when I get of the building. The wind is blowing cold already. It takes several blocks of walk before reaching the gate of the University. This is what I love about leaving the school at this time. The way on the west side of the campus exits straight to the jeepney terminal. I always take this route when I leave alone. I love the feel of the deserted hallway at this hour. I love looking at the bougainvillea as it drapes down the wall of the pathway and how it rejoices as the setting sun hits it. The scene is very peaceful and lovely.
If only this place is not crowded with students during lunch break and dismissal, this is where I will spend my down times. I prefer to stay here rather than in the faculty room where chattering of instructors are heard. This is where Sam and I usually exits when we are together but since he left early, I walk here alone.
I am walking down the pavement when I see a student walks out of the building. Looks like we are heading the same way to the jeepney terminal. The student is not far from me and he is also walking slowly. He doesn’t have any classmate with him too. I was about to walk right pass him when he notices me. He looks at me and stops walking. The student then greets me “good afternoon”. I simply nod my head in acknowledgement and continue walking.
I notice that the student didn’t follow me as I walk. He just stands there. I turn to look at him but he just bows his head at me. I choose to ignore the student and went on.
When I reach the jeepney stop, I took the first jeepney that stopped at me. After I sit down, I saw the student came out of the gate. I am sure he looked at the jeepney where I am riding. I don’t know if he is looking at me or the jeepney but I’m sure he followed us with his stare.
I am not sure if he will ride this jeepney also because he didn’t make any effort to run after us or call out for attention that he is going to ride. The boy walked towards the side of the street, still looking at us. But it wasn’t long enough when a gray Honda Civic stopped in front of him. A middle aged man wearing a white polo came out, walked on the passenger seat and opened the door for the boy.
Why am I not surprised? Most the students in the university came from a well off and renowned family.
***
The following day, I looked for Mr. Ledesma. According to his classmates, Ledesma attended the first two periods but was gone again during break time. He never showed up for the rest of the period.
“What is going on with that boy?”, I asked myself as I was walking to our favorite Acacia tree. Sam has an activity with his HUMSS class so he cannot be with me this afternoon. I am about fifteen meters to the tree when once again, someone made it there first. It is becoming irritating because the spot is quite a long walk from our building only to find out that it is already taken.
I was about to turn around and walk away when I made a pretty good look on the student sitting under the tree. I was staring at the student when it turns to look at my direction too. The student panicked. He stands up and grabs his back on his side and he started walking towards my direction. It’s awkward because it wasn’t my intention to drive him away but surely I cannot change it anymore.
“Sorry sir, you can have the spot if you want.”, the student said as he walked right pass me with his head bowed down. The student is walking briskly. He just paused for a moment to greet me and about to sped away when I talked. “No, it’s okay. You got there first. I don’t have to…..”, I paused when I tend to recognize him. “aren’t you the student in the hallway yesterday?”.
“Ah, yes sir.”, the student replied. Head still bowed down.
“Do you know that it is rude to not look at the person you are talking to.”, I told him.
The student realized what I am talking about and raised his head to look at me. He smiled shyly. That time, I was able to see his face clearly. His face is pale and white. He is skinny and his cheeks are a bit sunken. There are dark circles around his eyes also. He looks sad and weary.
“Are you okay?”, I asked him concernedly.
“Yes sir. I am okay. You can take the spot sir. I have to go.”, the boy said and hurriedly walked away from me.
I wanted to call after him and maybe offer anything to make him feel better but obviously, he doesn’t want to be helped. I looked at the student as he took the next curve and disappeared in sight.
***
The following day, I was on my way to my STEM class when a student offered his hand in carrying my books. I usually do not ask students for help unless I have a projector with me.
“No thanks, I can man….”, I didn’t finish what I am about to say when I recognize the student offering his help. “Oh, it’s you again.”
“Yes sir, it’s me again.”, the boy said and then smile. He is more lively and alive compared to how I saw him yesterday. His skin suddenly got its pink blush color and his eyes miraculously just lit up. What happened to him?
“Should you be in class right now? why are you still outside?”, I asked.
“I was late sir for the first class. I was shy to enter the classroom as the professor was already inside. So I decided to wait for the next class before coming in.”, he explained.
“Okay, then go to you class now.”
“I am sir. That is why I am offering my help to carry you books.”, the boy grinned at me again.
I gave the boy a long firm look. I was conducting my classes for a month now and I can recognize most of them already. I do not remember having him in my STEM class. Until I remember,
“You are Jefferson Ledesma?!”