[Original] RAIN Chapter 3

CHAPTER 3: Storm of Fire and Rain

The best thing one can do when it’s raining is to let it rain.

-oOo-

“Yes, this is Nate,” I said trying to figure out who the speaker was but failed, “I’m sorry but I don’t think I have your number.”

“This is Raymond,” the caller replied.

“RAY!” I was surprised, “Since when did you start calling other people?”

“Well, since that fiasco with Tim and Katrina went out… Can you believe it?” he said.

“Believe what?” I asked trying to act as if I don’t know anything .

“The breaking news about Tim?” he asked back.

“Well…” I started to reply but he cut me off.

“You’re one big crush before you married Cal turned out gay too!” I can hear him laughing from the other side.

“Well, what can I say? I can spot the good ones a mile away!” I said bringing my own sense of humor out.

“Now, that’s the Nate I know,” he said, “You’ve been quite serious and should I say very ‘academic’ and ‘professional’ these past few months that I thought you forgot to smile.”

“No, I didn’t, I just reserve it for my friends,” I said, “And what’s with you bringing up Cal? You know that’s a sore topic!”

“I’m sorry, Nate,” he said, “It’s just that with Cal being dead for more than 2 years, I would have thought that you would have found someone new.”

“I love Cal,” I replied.

“But he’s dead,” he retorted, “I mean, knowing him, he would have wanted you to meet someone and be happy, right?”

“And what makes you think I’m not happy, Ray?” I asked.

“Well…” he started, “Six publications in one year, that’s a sign!”

“I’ve got to do those things to get tenure,” I replied.

“But you could also get tenure by publishing less frequently,” he said, “You’re killing yourself and your students.”

“Hey! For your information, I give my students a break every now and then,” I said.

“Not enough! You’re still a slave driver!” he said, “Remember those times when we had to do some group work for our psychology class?”

“Yes and I drove all of you crazy with my work ethics!” I said, remembering the good old times.

“Exactly!” he said, “Now Nate, I guess, all you need to do is unwind for a little bit.”

“Well, there’s a storm coming, so I might stay in the whole weekend!” I said.

“No!” he interjected, “Not that kind of unwind, Reese and her husband are coming to my place, and Ann and the kids miss you.”

“Well then, I guess, I could spend the weekend with all of you?” I said.

“Just like old times,” he said. Then I heard someone from the background, probably Ann or one of their kids, “Hey Nate, I got to go, Ann told me to just make it quick. See you later, Nate!”

“Sure!” I replied. Then he hung up.

Just like old times, I wonder…

-oOo-

“And we’re down to the last two minutes of the season,” said the commentator from the TV.

Because we couldn’t afford tickets or at least afford to lose time trying to get tickets, Ray, Ann, Reese and I opted to watch the final game of the championship at Emily’s café.

Our team was up by 3 precious points, a 3-point cushion given by Tim after sinking a trey halfway through the quarter. The teams tightened up on defense. Both teams remained scoreless for the last few minutes, trading missed shot after missed shot.

“Let’s Go Stallions!” can be heard from the TV set. The crowd was going nuts waiting for the final buzzer to go off.

“C’mon team, last two minutes…” muttered Ray who was really nervous

Ann and Reese were holding hands, eyes closed, in what seems to be like prayer. The café was quiet. Everyone held their breath as the ball was turned over several times with no team getting a single field goal

“Twenty seconds, to go!” shouted someone from the back.

And the commentator said, “This is it, Stallions making a historic 10-peat victory! We’re down to the last 20 seconds.”

Tim was dribbling the ball crossing over the half court line onto the front court. Down to 10 seconds.

10… 9… 8…

The players started huddling towards Tim.

7… 6… 5… 4…

Tim threw the ball as high as he can. Tears were streaming from his eyes. His first championship as a college baller, 3 seconds away.

3… 2… 1…

And the crowd went wild as the buzzer was drowned by cheers and cries of victory. Emily’s café was in a similar mood. Everyone was shouting, laughing, and shaking hands, as if they were the players. Me? Well I was sitting in my corner, smiling at the whole scenery. I’m not really a party person. I mean, true, I was delighted by the win, but I’m not the type to jump up and down and cry hallelujah.

“Hey Nate!” shouted Reese, “is this your wildest side? Lighten up! We did win that championship.”

“For your information,” I said, “I am celebrating.”

“Not enough!” said Ann as she handed me a cup of iced white mocha, “Here, Emily’s giving free drinks!”

“Thanks.” I replied, as I took a sip from the cup.

“You know,” butted in Ray, “That was the weirdest championship game I’ve ever seen.”

“Yeah , me too.” I said, trying to show that I was into this game.

“Thirty percent field goal,” he continued, “Man that has got to be one of the worst night for our team offensively.”

“But we won!” exclaimed Reese, “We won! We won! We won!”

“Yeah, we did,” chimed in Ann, “We won! We won! We won!”

“Enough already,” I said trying to sound irritated, “Look, I’m going out for a while, All these people are suffocating me.”

“Ok!” replied Reese, “But don’t go too faraway, there’s still a wild party going on here. Don’t miss it!”

“Sure!” I said.

I went out of Emily’s not because I didn’t want to party. Frankly, this championship brought me away from the stress of the looming final exams and I was thankful for that. However, it didn’t take me away from this weird feeling I’m having.

My conversation with Tim the other day was uncharacteristic of me. I’m not the type of person who goes out of his way to make other people feel better, but I was drawn to him. Tim was just too charismatic to ignore. He did seem friendly to me. Not knowing what else to do, I took out my mobile phone and dialed a particular number.

“Hey Cal,” I said, “Listen, are you busy tonight?”

-oOo-

Cal is my best friend. We went to the same high school. But while I was the geek, he was the geeky jock. Ok. I guess that wasn’t the best description. He was really popular, being voted as student council president and graduated as the valedictorian of our class. He also swims competitively. But above all that, Cal was also my boyfriend in high school. We weren’t out to anyone except our families and they were cool with it. However, we ended up cooling it off because we went to different colleges. While I was contented with being here, he wanted to explore so he went out of the state, but not too far.

I drove my car a hundred miles down south to where Cal was studying. It was late evening when I got to his apartment.

“Hey!” shouted a lean guy with straight brown hair covering most of his face from the patio.

“Cal!” I went to meet him and gave him a really good hug. I so wanted to kiss him right then and there, but I thought otherwise, “I missed you.”

“Yeah,” he said, “Me too, so where are you taking me?”

“Just around,” I said.

We hopped inside my car and I started to drive. We went out to the interstate and just drove on with no particular place in mind. I really missed him. But I don’t know how to tell him about Tim. It hasn’t been that long since we broke up so I’m not sure what to expect of him. For all I know, he could still be in love with me.

“What’s eating you?” he asked, taking me back into the situation.

“Well…” I started to speak, “there’s this guy, and I don’t know what’s going on…”

“Let me guess,” he said, while giving me his evil eye, “Tim Chua? Star basketball player? Most valuable player? Honors program?”

“Am I that transparent?” I asked.

“Nope!” he replied, “I just know your type.”

I was silent. He knows my type? Then he must have guessed what’s bothering me.

“You know,” he said, “you should just do it. Don’t think about me. I’ll be ok. We’re not lovers anymore.”

“But I don’t think I’m ready for a new relationship,” I said.

“If you think about it that way, you’ll never be ready,” he said, “Come on Nate, we talked about this before, were a hundred miles apart. I love you but not that way. I mean, you’re my best friend and I’ll be yours, forever, right?”

“Yeah,” I said.

“So don’t fret about it,” he said, “If you like Tim, then go for it.”

I wanted to tell him that I was afraid of going for it, but before I could, I heard a screeching sound from the back and a blaring horn.

Then all went black.

[Original] RAIN Chapter 2

CHAPTER 2:

A trickle of water pours over the dusty leaves of a Narra tree. Droplets slowly attack down on the scorching pavement. A familiar hiss can be heard as the heat dissipates into the icy armada of rain.

Rain… a paradoxical phenomenon. A nice change after the summer has bathed us with sunny days that don’t seem to end, but irritating are those rainy days when you have to walk through muddy paths. It’s a blessing to the farmer, but a curse to those in the slums. People love it because it cools down the earth, but too much leads to destruction.

At this particular instance, it brings despair. A storm is brewing, better be ready.

-oOo-

So Katrina finally found out, I thought, I wonder what happens now.

I replaced the newspaper on my coffee table and started to walk to my study when my phone rang.

It says ‘no name’… probably a student.

“Hello! Good morning! Nathan Jameson here”

“Nate? Is it really you? Have you read the news?” said an all too familiar voice on the other end of the line.

-oOo-

The university was littered with red banners with yellow lettering, “Red Stallions, we still believe!!”.

Every person you meet was wearing the school colors. Smiles are plastered on everyone’s face. Even the looming threat of final exams couldn’t take away the festive mood in the university.

Our basketball team qualified to its tenth championship in the last ten years. That’s an accomplishment. What made it even better was that Tim was nominated as most valuable player. A freshman is in the running to be this year’s most valuable player. It’s somewhat surreal when you think about it. But averaging 28 points per game, 18 assists and 7 steals, it’s no wonder why people admire him. He can score and yet, he is not selfish and passes the ball around.

Walking to my only class of the day, I noticed the rumor mill being overworked.

“Tim is unbelievable.”

“Tim is the greatest player.”

“Yeah, and he even get’s straight A’s!”

“Tim is a God.”

Just as everyone was chatting up their friends about Tim, he entered. But unlike most days when he comes in with a big smile, his mouth was in a pout, and his eyes seem redder. Tim wasn’t his usual self and I’m getting somewhat worried. But before anyone could ask him what was wrong, Doc Mana entered the room with a surprising announcement.

“The test you took last week would be your last,” he paused, “that is if you get exempted. Unfortunately for me, that’s only two people less than my usual checking chores.”

-oOo-

I went to a café after my last class. It was a cozy little café run by a widowed mother of three. Emily greeted me as I entered through the door, “Hey Nathan, your friends are at the booth out back, usual spot.”

I ran up to my friends and greeted them with the exciting news, “Guys, guess what?”

“What?” asked Ray.

“I got exempted from advanced calculus!!” I exclaimed.

“Shut up!” said Reese, not believing.

“It’s true,” I said, “There are only 2 people exempted and I was really scared that I wouldn’t make the cut.”

“That’s neat!” commented Ann, “Now you can help us with Chemistry!”

“Yeah, sure,” I said, not really wanting to do so, “But this is a time to celebrate, don’t you think?”

“Yeah!” all of them agreed.

So I went to the bar to order some food for the four of us, when I heard the chimes signaling a new customer. I turned to see Tim and a brunette walking in. Tim is still as sad as he was earlier and the girl seems to be angry.

“You can’t do this Tim!” shouted the exasperated girl, “You can’t do this to your team, your fans and the school.”

“But I already told you the reason, Katrina,” said Tim, “My grandmother died yesterday, I don’t think I would be able to play and contribute.”

“Ok! Fine…” said Katrina, obviously annoyed, “Since you don’t care about what other people will think about you, I might as well break it up with you!”

Katrina turned away and started to leave the café when Tim called out, “Wait, Kat– ”

Katrina cut him, “Save it, Tim, I’m going.”

Katrina walked out of the café, leaving Tim behind.

Feeling sorry for Tim but not really wanting to step on other people’s business, I called Emily, “Hey, Emily, I’ll have 5 blueberry cheesecake and 5 coffee jelly shakes,”

“Oh, but there are only 4 of you in the table, Nate,” inquired a curious Emily.

“I’m giving one to him,” I said pointing at Tim.

Emily didn’t reply but instead smiled knowingly at me while she prepared my order.

-oOo-

What am I doing? I said to myself, never in a million years would I dare approach someone who’s as popular as this guy.

“Hey Tim!” I said holding up the cake and coffee to him, “These are yours.”

Tim looked up and said, “I didn’t order anything, Nate”

“It’s on me,” I replied. He looked at me again quizzically and finally took the tray with the food.

“Thanks,” he said. Another moment of silence passed. Tim was busy with the cheesecake without actually eating it. He was looking at the distance.

“I’m sorry for your grandmother,” I said, trying to break the silence.

He looked at me and asked, “So you heard that?”

“Well, Katrina wasn’t trying hard to hide it,” I replied.

“She’s right, I guess,” continued Tim, “The team’s been through a lot, and backing out now would just make me a quitter.”

“Well, there is some truth to that,” I commented, “But what do you really want to do?”

He stopped, and then sighed very deeply, “I don’t know.”

“Well, the d-day is fast approaching, Tim,” I said.

“Well, it’s the last three games of the season,” he said still hesitant about everything, “I might as well, just finish it up.”

“Just don’t go out there half-hearted,” I said, giving him the most encouraging look I can muster.

“Don’t worry,” he said, finally smiling, “I’ll play.”

He grabbed a bite of the cheesecake and sipped his coffee and said, “But not because of other people, but because I want to.”

“Good,” I said and stood up and walked back to my friends.

(To be continued)

NOTE: As some of you might notice, this fic is dedicated to someone. Hehe 23rd Happy Birthday Chris!

[Final Fantasy VIII] No title yet

Disclaimer 1: I don't own Final Fantasy VIII and its characters as well as other characters of the Final Fantasy Series that may be incorporated in this story. I'm just getting my inspiration from them. They all belong to Square Enix (formerly Squaresoft).

Chapter 1: A mysterious guest

“Fire Cross!”

A young man in white trench coat yelled as he held his gun blade in front of a large boulder. The gun blade glowed bright red and was set ablaze by the incantation. Suddenly, in amazing speed and precision, the young man slashed the large boulder to pieces.

“Nice one Seifer!” lauded a silver-haired woman from a top a cliff.

“Fujin!” said Seifer, “I thought I told you to stay back at Garden?”

“Yes you did,” she replied, “But Headmaster Cid is looking for you.”

Seifer was confused. After the war with Ultimecia, Garden ceased operations to train more SeeD. Not being able to complete his SeeD training and after betraying Garden, he decided to severe ties with everyone even with his friends.

“This is a special mission,” said Fujin, “You’re going to space.”

“Why?” inquired Seifer, “Garden has Squall and his team.”

“I don’t know,” replied Fujin coldly, “I’m just relaying a message.”

Seifer was again taken aback. He was rarely speechless, in fact he was usually the boisterous one with a sharp tongue and witty comebacks, but being wanted by the very institution he betrayed a few years back was beyond reflex comprehension. He was stunned by the request of Garden.

“Tell th–,” he began to reply but he noticed that as swift as she appeared, Fujin was nowhere in sight.

-oOo-

Several people were gathered at a conference room in Balamb Garden. One was a blond-haired girl adorned with an intimidating pair of glasses and a deadly looking whip in hand. Another one was a pale long-haired guy with cowboy hat and a silver revolver. Another man was blond with a tattoo in his face and wearing the most destructive-looking gloves. Then jumping around greeting the whole group was a young brown-haired girl in a yellow suit, nunchakus tucked on her belt.

Suddenly, the door opened. A girl wearing a light blue duster sweater with angel wings printed on the back on top of a black tank top and shorts approached the group and greeted everyone, “Hello guys! It’s been a while”

“Hey Rinoa, how are you and Squall doing?” asked the girl with the nunchakus.

“Were fine, Selphie” said a young man emerging from the door. He was wearing a black leather jacket with furry collar over a white shirt. His gun blade was safely sheathed in his belt compartment.

“Are we talking about babies soon?” asked Zell, the man with the tattoo.

“Shut up Zell, you’re embarrassing them!” interjected the woman with eye glasses.

“Not really Quistis,” replied Rinoa, “But to answer your question Zell, no, it’s just too sudden.”

Before anyone could react any further, the door opened again but this time, an older man entered together with a lady in black flowing dress. The man prompted everyone to sit down and said, “Let’s start!”

“Esthar has detected a space-time anomaly,” declared Cid in his opening statement to the briefing, “It seems very similar to a time compression vortex, but different in certain number of ways.”

Everyone was still silent for a moment until Quistis asked, “How different headmaster?”

“Well, Quistis, unlike the one from Ultimecia’s time where she compressed future and past into the present, this does not only do that but moreover, it also compresses different dimensions.”

“So is it similar to that one except that there are other worlds being compressed together with ours?” asked the long-haired man with a revolver.

“Exactly Irvine!”

“What do you want us to do then Cid?” asked Squall.

“Well, I would have wanted you to go out there and check it out using Ragnarok,” replied Cid, “But that would leave us open.”

Finally, the lady in long black dress said, “There have been sightings of a new breed of monsters far more deadly than what we’ve encountered before.”

Again, silence enveloped the room. Just then, the door opened to give way to another person who spoke, “They’re fierce and unaffected by regular physical attacks or individually casted magic. The only way I got out from one of them was to use my Limit Break, right Matron?”

Everyone looked back at the newcomer and everyone gasped, a familiar-looking girl in a green halter top and what used to be a long blue dress now were beige Capri pants. Gripping her staff, she launched herself in the air and in a graceful feat of aerial acrobatics landed herself beside Cid and Matron Edea.

Squall couldn’t help but ask, “Ellone?”

Chapter 2: Trance

“So it is set,” proclaimed Cid, “Squall, Ellone and Zell will take Ragnarok to space and investigate the anomaly from there.”

The three of them nodded in affirmation.

“And the rest,” Cid continued, “Quistis, Irvine, Rinoa and Selphie will investigate the source of these abominable monsters.”

“Squall,” interrupted Matron, “Be careful. If you go too near the space-time vortex, it will suck you into a world we know nothing of. Ellone’s magic would only be able to protect you enough to go as near as 20,000 km. In compressed time, that magic is pretty useless.”

“We understand, Matron” replied Squall.

“Make your preparations,” commanded Cid, “Ragnarok launches in 48 hours.”

-oOo-

In an unknown reaches of the universe, 6 cloaked beings appeared out of nowhere.

“There’s a great disturbance in the universe” proclaimed one of them.

“I know, Ultima,” replied another one, “Garden has already sent its best warriors to investigate.”

“But would that be enough, Meteo?” asked a third cloaked being.

“We don’t know, Arthur” replied Meteo.

“I’m ready to help them,” stated Ultima.

“But in doing so, you’re exposing the High Guardians to unimaginable danger,” interrupted another one of the cloaked figures.

“Two of us have already been awakened, Ark,” said a fifth cloaked being, “though not to the full extent of their powers.”

“Yes, Bahumut and Phoenix were awakened prematurely by the SeeDs” said Arthur, “But Madeen, do we have any other choice?”

“I know of none,” replied Madeen.

“Do we know what’s causing this disturbance?” asked the last one.

“We have our hunch, Choco,” replied Madeen

-oOo-

“We’re ready to launch Laguna,” Squall said through the intercom.

“You’re cleared for take off, son,” Esthar president, Laguna Loire replied through the speakers, “Good luck.”

INTERCOM: Ragnarok systems have been optimized. Commencing count down…

(30… 29…)

“Here we go outer space!!” shouted Zell.

“Calm down,” said an irritated Squall, “You’re bound to break something in your over excitement!”

(28… 27…)

“Guys,” said Ellone in a mysterious voice, “We have company.”

INTERCOM: Intruder Alert! Intruder Alert! Unidentified Creature has been detected inside the hangar.

(26… 25…)

The hangar doors were ripped open by a powerful monster. It had the head of a bull but with added tusks. It walks on two legs with an overgrowth of brown fur that ends in extremely hard hooves, while scales covered its back entirely. Each step causes a dent in the hangar floor as it makes its way towards Ragnarok.

(24… 23… 22…)

“Squall!” shouted Laguna from the speakers, “Do you have visuals on the creature?”

“We can’t s–” Squall was cut off by a powerful jerk of the hull. The next thing they heard was a buzzing sound coming from the speakers.

“Awwh man,” groaned Zell, “Communication’s down!”

“And so is the main control panel…” replied Squall, “We’re in big trouble guys.”

(21… 20…)

“We need to abort launch, or else we’ll be paralyzed out there,” said Ellone.

“Can we engage the enemy?” asked Zell.

“It’s too risky to go out,” said Ellone, “It’s like a pressure cooker in the hangar!”

(19… 18… 17…)

Squall, use me.

-oOo-

INTERCOM: INTRUDER! INTRUDER!

(16… 15…)

“Communication’s down Laguna,” yelled Kiros.

“We need to abort launch,” said Laguna, “Kiros, do manual override. Ward, target the intruder with micro-canons”

Kiros and Ward started working on the control panel in front of them. However, their effort returned with unpleasant results.

(14… 13…)

“No use Laguna,” replied Kiros, “Ragnarok is not responding.”

“Our cannons can’t penetrate the beast’s skin,” added Ward.

“Damn!” muttered Laguna, “Squall, I leave it up to you.”

“Laguna, there’s a man out there in the hangar.”

(12… 11…)

-oOo-

As if coming out of nowhere, Seifer unleashed a ball of fire towards the raging bull.

“Hey you big bully!” yelled Seifer.

The monstrous bull shifted its attention from Ragnarok towards Seifer. Without any warning, it launched itself in the air into a ball of fur and scales. The ball started rolling towards Seifer in deathly speed. Fortunately, Seifer’s reflexes were enough to dodge that attack.

(10… 9…)

“Too slow!” mocked Seifer, but before he could get his bearings, he was knocked down by the same ball from behind. The ball stopped rolling as if prompting Seifer to stand up and fight. However, he had a little bit of trouble. That one hit, took a lot out of him.

“You’re a powerful monster,” smirked Seifer as he tried to recover, “I don’t think a mere gunblade would work against you but how about this, Eternal Darkness!”

The hangar was engulfed with shadow. A glowing figure then manifested itself. It was an ark with a dragon’s head at its bow. Under the ark, connected to the keel protrudes a gigantic blade, while in place of sails, lie a giant propeller of sorts. Seifer unleashed a Guardian Force never seen before.

(8… 7…)

The Guardian Force changed to its true form in a series of metal-clunking transformations: Ark, The Shadow Dragon Knight. Ark, then jumped high into the darkness and unleashed a ray of shadow towards the bull. The shadow then compressed to a ball, becoming smaller and smaller until there wasn’t anything left of the monster. With only a small nod towards a barely standing Seifer, Ark vanishes with the shadow.

(6… 5…)

As the shadow clears up, Seifer looked back at Ragnarok and saw a few dents and electrical wiring dangling from several areas of the ship.

“Squall, you need to abort launch now!” shouted Seifer with his last ounce of strength before fainting.

(4…)

Inside the ship, Zell unstrapped himself from his seat and started to go to the main engine room.

“Zell!” called Ellone in a calming voice, “Sit down… Squall’s trying something.”

Zell looked at Squall who was sitting calmly in his station, eyes closed.

(3…)

“Whatever he’s doing, it’s not helping, Sis” replied Zell.

“Let’s trust him.” Said Ellone.

“I can’t just sit down here and let myself get killed you know,” ranted Zell, still not going back to his station.

“There are far greater forces at play here than what you understand, Zell,” said Ellone, “I’m sorry but I have to do this.”

Reaching her hand out to Zell, Ellone sent a magical pulse that caused Zell to fall asleep. Ellone stood up and carried Zell with much effort and discomfort back to his seat and strapped him there.

(2…)

“Come on Squall, do it!” muttered Ellone.

(1…)

Suddenly, Squall’s eyes shot open and glowed bright as he called out, “Bahamut!”

(0…)

INTERCOM: Commencing Launch.

Ragnarok jerked a little as the boosters started up. The blinding flash of combusting fuel soon enveloped the whole hangar. Ragnarok accelerated towards the opened gates and in supersonic speed, it soared out of the hangar and into the sky.

Suddenly, from an unknown part of the sky, Ellone saw a comet-looking object. As it got closer, Ellone recognized the Dragon God, Bahamut. Squall, still in a trance, “Bahamut, can you help us?”

Certainly, replied a commanding but invisible presence.

Bahamut changed into a ball of energy that hit Ragnarok. The ship glowed white as the dents and the circuitry started to fix itself as if Ragnarok was a living and self-healing entity.

Ragnarok is operational, said Bahamut, you can now go back to Esthar or continue with your mission. We will meet again.

“Thanks Bahamut!” said Squall. Then turning his attention to Ellone, “We need to go back and look at Seifer.”

“Of course,” replied Ellone, “He was actually late today. He’s supposed to join us in this mission.”

“What?!” interjected Squall.

[Original] RAIN Chapter 1

Rain.

It’s nice to have rain once in a while. It keeps the earth watered and replenished. Just like our bodies need water, so does the earth. The rain gives the earth a chance to start again. Drowning out all the weeds and pests, rain allows the flowers to grow back and bloom into magnificent works of nature.

But what about our soul? What replenishes our soul? For those times when life throws us challenges, what keeps us going on? For those times when we stumble and lose our way, where can we find strength to stand up and keep walking? For those times when we feel most alone, from whom do we get our comfort?

Who is our drop of rain in this scorching drought of life?

-oOo-

Thunder was clapping at a distance. Dark clouds pass the skies at enormous speed.

“It’s going to rain.” I mumbled to myself, “I better get home.”

I quickly closed my laptop and got up to leave.

“You’re leaving, Dr. Jameson?” asked one of the research assistants as I was about to exit the room.

“Yes,” I replied, “You probably need to leave too. A strong storm is brewing and you might get stuck here for a while.”

“I still have to finish the immunoassays you wanted me to do.” He replied.

“Well, I guess, safety comes first.” I said, “Come on, I’m closing down the lab for the day.”

Taking a day off is really not my style. Being one of the young senior faculties at the university, I’m more inclined to building my research group than having a break. However, taking care of one’s graduate students is also a part of being a good mentor, so I guess giving them time off also works well to my advantage. So making sure that everything is in place, I closed down the laboratory and went to my car.

As I was walking down the red bricked façade, I notice the emptiness of the university. Students were hurrying to get to the dormitories or to their apartments, coffee cup in hand. Janitors were quickly closing up the windows of the classrooms. And me, well, I’ve got a load of papers to grade safely tucked in my bag.

Despite the impending threat of rain, the university grounds look peaceful. The falling leaves create an intricate pattern weaved by the strong winds. The coolness invites you to a state of trance, a state of relaxation.

Peaceful silence.

Arriving at my apartment, I got the newspaper I received this morning to look up some news on the approaching storm. However, an article from the sports segment caught my eye.

Tim Chua, one of our basketball stars is facing divorce with super model wife Katrina Uy. Katrina says she found out of Tim’s supposedly secret love affair with a former college classmate. Rumor has it that Tim used to date a guy in college in secret while keeping Katrina as a cover-up. After 3 years of married life, she finally found all the evidence she needs and even went public with it. As of the moment, neither Tim nor Katrina could be reached for comments.

“The league really doesn’t care whether or not someone is homosexual,” said the Basketball Association Commissioner. “However, we have no control how the fans will receive it.”

Tim Chua.

I’ve heard that name before.

-oOo-

MOB!

Fuck! I’m getting tired, I thought, when will this stop?

“C’mon Freshmen! just a few more stops and we’re done for the campus tour”

Our tour guide prodded us to run towards her. This is freshmen orientation. We already met our Dean’s the day before and it wasn’t really that fun as I imagined. Today, we were doing the campus tours... running across campus is not what I call fun.

Ouch!

Who the fuck bumped into me? I thought as I try to get my bearings.

“Oh shit, sorry man!” said an angelic face with the best eyes I’ve ever seen. I couldn’t help but stare. He has dark brown, chinky eyes, high cheek bones, pinkish lips that curved up into a smile. He has a very fair complexion and again, eyes that just draw you in them. Standing 6’1, he was lean but packed. Wearing a green shirt that says “College of Business”, it suddenly clamped to his ripped body as he extended his hand to me.

“Tim,” he said.

“Nathan,” I replied. I took his hand and pulled myself up.

“Nice to meet you, sorry about that” he said.

I was still in trance by my encounter with the angel when my friends came up to me with smiles and all.

“You lucky bastard!” Reese said sarcastically, “Why did you just stand there?”

“Wha-? What should I have done differently?” I asked

“Don’t you know who he is?” Ann asked back.

“Uh, Tim?,” I replied, “Who is he anyway?”

“He just happens to be one of the most famous people from our batch: Tim Chua” said Ray.

“Tim Chua?” I asked quizzically, “If he’s that famous, why don’t I know him?”

“Earth to Nate! Where have you been all you’re life?” replied Reese. “Tim has to be the hottest man in our batch.”

“Like me!” interjected Ray. There was a moment of silence. We looked at him sarcastically and ended up laughing out loud.

“You have got to be kidding me, Ray” I said in between burst of laughter.

“Oh fine then, He’s also our batch’s basketball star, he’s in the honors program of our business course meaning he has brains, and he plays the piano too.”

“Quite talented don’t you think?” said Ann.

“Oh ok then…” I trailed. I walked along the path as we arrived at our next destination not really caring that I’ve just met the hottest guy in school.

-oOo-

One month into the semester and I was late for Math. Damn. Dr. Manalastas would be mighty pissed. He didn’t like late comers, so I’m really screwed. Dr. Manalastas is my advanced calculus professor.

When I arrived, the class room was empty except for one person: Tim.

“He just finished giving out the result our last exam, and I got your paper, I didn’t look at your score though” said Tim, giving out my paper. I was somehow stunned. Why was Tim here, giving me my exam results

“Thanks,” I replied taking the paper from his hand, I subtly looked at the score: A. Woohoo! It was my second A for math. I know I couldn’t hide my smile for long.

“I saw you smile,” he said, “I bet you got an A?”

“Damn luck!” I replied ecstatically, “Yeah. How about you?”

“Same,” he said. “Oh well, I’ll catch you later for the problem solving sessions.”

“Yeah. Sure.”

Then he walked out and I was left in the classroom. What just happened?