"Check this list again. There are a few mistakes that need to be fixed..." Bear hands out the list to Cherry; the secretary of the BBA Student Council. She nods as she takes it and studies the list.
"What about food?" Kitty and Lauring are still discussing at the corner of the room.
"Food check. The cafe will send them before nine..." Lauring replies to Kitty. The girl ticks the checklist board.
"Anything else?" asks Ta. They shake their head.
"Medic, make sure you guys are present at the Auditorium 3 tomorrow. Don't miss the time like today," Ta warns them.
"Sorry, Ta... There is some miscommunication..." replies Yuri, one of the medic staff.
"You're lucky that Zee noticed that. Or else, we'll gonna be in deep trouble," says Ta.
"There's no need to be antsy about this. No one is injured! Plus, there were no physical activities.."
"I know, Yu. But the procedure said, there must be a medical team on standby. The Dean permitted us to conduct this orientation. So we have to follow the rules given by the institute," Ta emphasizes his words. Yuri whines silently behind his back.
"Yo, Yuri... You are lucky that Ta is the Student President. Imagine if it's Zee. You're so done!" Seth teases her. She gives him a sharp glare. Then, slowly look at the guy who has been zoned out by himself next to Ta.
"Even if he's not the president, still we got scolded big time just now!" Yuri murmurs.
Seth snickers. Kim, who was standing next to him chuckles. That's so Zee. He never hesitate to point out any wrongdoing. He is firm on what he believes is true.
"So, what now? What's next?" asks Ta.
Everyone is looking at Zee now. He looks like he is in deep thought.
"Zee... Zee..." Ta nudges his waist.
"Zee... Yo, Zee!" Bear smacks the table, making him flinches a bit.
"Huh? What?" he asks.
"Are you still with us, or are you already floating around with those beautiful slated eyes... " Seth teases him.
"Ai sutt! I was thinking about tomorrow's program!"
Everyone teases him now.
"If you deny it, you won't be this mad!" says Kitty. She wiggles her eyebrows.
"I'm always angry. What's the difference anyway?" Zee says, throwing a crumble of paper into the dustbin.
Kim observes Zee from afar. Deep down inside, he is kinda curious about Zee's actions today. That man never flirts with anyone. Never being so offensive as well when it comes towards the other person. As far as he knew, Zee has no interest in any types of relationship. But today, he was pushing and pulling with the girl twice. That's so out of his character!
Is he having an interest in her too? If so, then he is my rival from now on! Kim whispers in his heart.
"Zip it, guys. We have something to discuss," Ta eases the crowd so they can stop the teasing and cause the discussion to drag too long.
"Okay. Let's execute the signup project," says Zee.
"Are you sure about that? I mean, mentorship is enough for freshies to know their senior," asks Kim.
"Mentorship limits the number of seniors that they should recognize. Not all of us are involved in the program as well. Bear isn't in, and so did Kitty and Cherry," replies Zee.
"True. We want them to know as many seniors as they can. Not only the final year senior. They need to know the second-year seniors as well," says Ta.
"It's not a custom for BBA students to get signs from seniors. But, as time goes by, many of them didn't even recognize the senior at all. The gap between us and them is getting wider every day..." Bear sighs.
"Speaking about that... Lau, tell them that story..." Kitty nudges her friend. The girl sighs and shakes her head in tiny.
"Last semester, I went to the library. There was this guy. I was sitting and doing my assignment when he casually came and hit on me. The thing is, he was so tasteless and even sometimes acted rude! Then, I noticed his student card. He's a BBA student in his second year... I asked him if he was a BBA and he said yes. He was clowning himself in front of me, being clueless about the fact that I am his senior!" Lauring pours out her feelings in such a dramatic way, making the whole gang laugh hard.
"Perks of being petite. Maybe he thought you're a freshie from Econ..." Seth teases Lauring.
"Freshie my ass! I'm older than him!"
They laugh together.
"Fine. If everyone agrees with this, I won't object either. But, let me tell you guys beforehand. I won't make this easy for them. I'll make some benefits from this, you know... Phone numbers, LINE ID..." Kim glares at Zee. "Nothing is free in this world, isn't it, Zee?" he smirks at Zee.
Zee stares at Kim, knowing what's in Kim's mind. He knew that guy long enough to even read his sneaky move.
"Ah... I agree with you, my friend..." Seth puts his hand on Kim's shoulder. "Let the games begin..." both give each other a high five.
"These jackass players won't stop..." says Bear.
"They will flirt with every single woman in this universe until the world ends..." Ta whispers at Bear. The man chuckles as he stares at Kim and Seth.
Zee sits still, stoic at his spot. He's in a deep thought. He doesn't talk much tonight. He feels like he refuses to.
"Are you okay, Zee?" asks Ta. He did notice the change in his friend ever since the orientation program ended for today.
"I'm fine. Just tired..." Zee replies with a vague smile.
"Did you still attend the office yesterday?" asks Bear. Zee slowly nods.
"You should rest, you know. Working and studying at the same time will exhaust you," Ta advices him.
Zee chuckles. He looks down, fidgeting a bit.
"Tell that to my father..." he pats Ta's shoulder before leaving the council room.
***
After a nice cold shower, Zee hangs out on the balcony, chilling by himself. Ta is probably still in Bear's room. Those two lovebirds dare to show off lately after officially declaring themselves as a couple last semester. Before that, they discreetly flirted, being hush-hush for almost two years.
At least Ta and Bear have a happy ending! What about you, Zee?
He asks himself the question.
After he finishes his cold beer, he walks inside. Slowly, he sits on his bed and pulls a drawer from his side table. He takes out a black book from the drawer.
He smiles while flipping the pages of the book, before stopping at a specific page.
There is a picture on that page.
Looking at the picture, his mind wanders to the past.
***
It was raining. Quite badly. As usual, he strolled along the back alley, coming back from the gathering place. Lucky for him, he got his umbrella with him.
Rain pours even more heavily. He ran a bit, so he could arrive home soon. The main road was just in front of him. He decided to wait until the traffic cleared up a bit.
He checked the road if it was safe to cross. As he was running while crossing the road, he saw someone so familiar, crouching behind the noodles shop where he used to come for breakfast.
"Hey... Hey...!" he shook her body a few times. The person looked alive but somehow unresponsive.
"Hey..." he pushed the body a bit. Slowly, the unconscious body fell aback. Zee quickly grabbed the body from falling on the dirty muddy road.
The face was exposed to the rain, making the person flinched. Slowly, those eyes opened.
It filled with sorrow.
Zee knew the girl. She's from his school but a student from a different class. She was from Class A, while he was from Class D. He recognized her immediately for one solid reason.
He had a crush on her since they were 13.
"Pan..."
The girl shut her eyes tight. Tears coming from her eyes. Zee slowly helped her stand up, so they could get out from there. Nights were getting darker and the rain didn't help at all if something happened to them...
***
"You drift away a bit, friend..."
Zee quickly hides the picture inside the black book, looking at Ta, who is leaning against the room entrance, smiling at him.
"I thought you had a sleepover at Bear's..."
"His sister stopped by for a visit. So, I decided to come home. It felt strange when Bear introduced me as his classmate, rather than his boyfriend..." Ta shakes his head a bit. "Guess he isn't ready to come out yet," he grabs two bottles of cold beer from the fridge and passes one to Zee and indulges the other one by himself.
"Give him some time. It's hard for him to even digest his feelings the first time he falls for you. Imagine dropping the bomb on his family..." Zee snickers while swirling the beer.
Ta nods slowly. When he first met Bear during his freshman year, he never imagined that the man would end up being his boyfriend. They knew each other during the orientation and got closer after that. When they participated in the BBA student council's activity, they started to realize their feelings from each other that is more than just two best friends.
"All this time, Bear is searching for himself. He can't believe that his first love is a man. Even I never thought that I would fall for a man, after having a steady relationship with a girl before," Ta smiles, thinking about the moment when Bear confessed to him.
"You know, Zee... When Bear confessed to me, he was crying in the rain..." Zee laughs while patting Ta's shoulder. "Then I told him, it's a waste of time crying in the rain. We had our first fight, right after we became boyfriends. Can you imagine?" Ta shakes his head and smiles.
"At least you have someone who loves and cherishes you. Bear is a supportive boyfriend, a loyal partner, the best classmate, and a good friend..."
Ta smiles all over again. Zee is right. He couldn't ask for more if it's from Bear.
"What about you? Have you finally decided to open up your heart?" asks Ta. Zee slowly sips his beer, staring at the blank space in front of him.
"I don't wanna think about it. Guess I had enough of love. Right now is the time I repay back to my family and society," says Zee. "Besides... Love will come to you when you have everything in your life. No need to hurry," Zee continues. Ta clicks his beer bottle against Zee's bottle.
"I'm gonna take a shower..." Ta rose and grabbed his towel. Zee slowly flips back the black book and takes out the picture.
How can I open my heart when I can't even close the previous chapter?
Zee strokes the picture softly, taking a deep breath before closes the book and keep it back into the drawer.