Love at every plate

It was gentle. The light rainfall against her skin as she swiftly walks towards her college building.

It was gentle. The sound of music playing on the cafeteria speakers as she passes through the crowd.


It was gentle. The way time ticks in slow-motion as she hits her shoulder against someone else.


It was gentle. The whisper of "sorry" as a hand assisted her to stand up.


It was gentle. The smile on her lips as they exchange of comfort and assurance from the accident.


It was as if time picked up in speed as she watches the girl being pulled away by a... friend, she assumes. What seem as drizzle rain sound angry against the metal roof, what seem the soft music on the radio were replaced by beat filled music that sounded distasteful this early on the morning, what seem gentle shoulders were able to push her over the floor. And yet, as she watches the girl with thick glasses and a red pin on her right collar looking back and waving at her goodbye, a smile slowly creeps on her lips.


School bell rings. She's late.

"Nice of you to join us, Ms. Vergara. Take a seat." The instructor greeted her as she joined the class. She apologizes and bows her head in shame as she sits on the nearest seat available.


'What a way to start the semester.' She scrunches her nose as she mumbles under her breath.


The class proceeds as it should. No introduction needed as she is on her third school year and everybody perhaps know everybody. She listens as she normally would as the instructor discusses what they are to expect on the class. 


She tries not to drift off somewhere else. Tries not to think about the TV Series she has been watching all summer long. Tries not to dwell if she's absolutely sure she left Cinta and Hirang, her cats, some food for the time she's away. Tries not to think of the laundry back home, or the classes she's about to attend today, or tomorrow, or the girl...


The girl she met earlier. Who's eyes, even behind those thick frames, were able to speak to her in a thousand languages. The girl with a pretty smile, who's teeth bright and perfect. The girl with long velvety fingers, and yet was able to help her out. The girl who waves her goodbye like she's an old friend she haven't met in a good while. A girl-


"Ms. Vergara." She flinches at the stern voice calling her attention. "It's one thing to be late on my class, it's different when you drift off like I'm not here."


"Sorry, Chef Mano."


"I'll expect extra efforts from you in this class. Are we clear?"


"Yes, Chef."

She places the tray of food on the table and sits with her friends, Maloi, Gwen, and Mikha. Maloi and Gwen are both from the Business and Accounting Department, both taking up business management. Mikha, a freshmen, shares the same program as Colet, culinary arts and gastronomy. Maloi and Colet just go way back, they've been friends since forever, given their mother's are close friends. Some would say they are attached to the hip and might have had a history for romantic connection, but they swear everything is just as platonic as they could ever be. Gwen was just the first friend Maloi got close on her department. Colet and Mikha got close when they met on a party hosted by a mutual.


"Anyare?" Maloi comments as Colet huffs staring at her meal. Fried chicken and sauted potatoes.


"Nabalitaan ko napagalitan ka ni Chef Mano." says Mikha.


"Anyare?" Maloi repeats.


"Nalate kasi ako." She tells. "Ta's nahuli pang nakatulala sa kawalan." her nose scrunches in distaste of the potatoes. 


"Nakita pa kita na natumba kanina sa labas ng caf." Gwen adds like it's nothing.


"Malas mo naman pala today." Mikha laughs.


"Sus. Parang 'di naman. Maganda naman nakatumba sa kanya eh." Gwen tells, her tone playful. "Jhoanna ata name nun eh."


"Kilala mo?"


It wasn't her intention. She wasn't planning to ask like Gwen had a pot of gold on her hands. But she earned a look from her friends regardless.


"Ah. Maganda nga." Maloi agrees, eyebrows rising in agreement.


"Kilala mo din?" She repeats, curiosity rising.


"Masscom yun diba? Nakasama ko yun sa orientation eh. Mabait." Mikha adds, ignoring Colet who was physically leaning against the table.

'Ako lang ba hindi nakakakilala sa kanya? Masscom? Red pin, that explains it' She thinks as she recognizes the color code of the departments of the school. The three shifts their attention to Colet. 'What?'


She thought the three had something to add but then ignores her as they proceed to eating.


"Oh? Yun na yon?" She almost whines as she pulls Mikha's arm who was snickering as she bites off the chicken leg.


"Matabang talaga fried chicken dito no." Mikha comments as Gwen and Maloi agrees with a teasing smile on their lips.

Time flies. It's like yesterday, Colet was just fixing her bag for the first day of class, now, she's two days away from their first exam of the school year. Colet was spending hours on the library, either hunched over a book of local cuisine or watching food classes on her phone, creating a plan to recreate cuisine in unique ways she could put on a plate and be graded for it. Sometimes, she helps Mikha out on freshmen classes.


Today, was nothing different. Colet was on her way to the library to finalize the recipe she's to present to Chef Mano. On the way there, she had to pass through a series of AV room. These rooms are separated with the hallway using floor to ceiling glass panels, if privacy is needed, black-out curtains are used. These rooms may be freely used by the faculty and the students, given they had to schedule reservations.


Colet was swiftly moving against the busy crowd of students, all  in their own world with their own academic battles. She almost walked past it when she stops in her pace, a view catching every grain of attention she has in herself.
AV Room 11, curtains open, a well-lit room as the projector flashes a presentation on the wall, stands a girl with black hair, thick-framed glasses, bundle of papers neatly secured on a white folder held by an arm that was once familiar to the skin.
'Jhoanna'. She recognizes in an instant. It has been months and people would assume, well her friends would, that she must have forgotten about the incident. She should have. But shameless of it for her to admit, she dreams about it. Dreams about the girl, of Jhoanna.


Jhoanna was busy discussing with her friends, or blockmates. Colet wasn't really sure. But she feels like flying, giddy, when the view of her. It almost feels like she's back in highschool, where you ran around multiple classrooms just to see a view someone you admire.


Colet must be crazy. She too, would admit. It's crazy to develop a crush over someone you barely see, or even know.


'Recap: Jhoanna. Mass Communication. Freshmen. Mabait. Glasses. Pretty eyes, bright smile, long fingers- That's it.' It's frustrating nevertheless.


Her breath hitches at the back of her throat as she watches Jhoanna pauses from speaking with her crowd and looks directly at her. It almost seem like she felt someone was watching her. 'You're a creep, Colet.' She mentally scolds herself, almost looking away. 


But she breathes it in, how Jhoanna lifts her hand and waves at her. A smile, that familiar smile, the smile she learned to embed on her mind as she dreams, spreads on Jhoanna's lips.


'Ako ba?' Colet looks around, realizing she's on the center of a moving crowd. She looks back at Jhoanna who seem was laughing at her actions, she also realizes that she has also caught the attention of everyone else on that AV Room. Jhoanna waves at her again and Colet, mindlessly waves back. Their eyes soften at the exchange before Jhoanna shifts her attention back to the presentation flashing on the wall.

Leaving Colet on a cloud nine.

"Mababaliw na ako, Mikhs." Colet confesses.

She's torn from falling asleep and staying awake at night. Torn if she'll be able to dream of Jhoanna or she'll just stay awake to daydream about her.


"Nakakadiri ka na, Ate Colet ha." Mikha complains. "Stop thinking about her like that."


"Hindi ko naman binabastos." Her eyebrows furrows in defense. Crossing her arms in front of her chest as she leans back on the chair.


"Hindi naman yun ang sinasabi ko, alam ko naman. Sorry." Mikha clarifies. "It's been what? Two weeks since your interaction? Bakit doon pa din naka-ikot ang mundo mo?"


'Hindi ko alam.' And it's the truth. It's her truth. And as much as Mikha hates it, Colet hates it ten times more. A hundred more.


"Bakit 'di mo nalang hanapin yan sa building nila? Tapos magpakilala ka, yayain mo. Pogi ka naman." Mikha apologetically adds after hearing nothing from her senior.


"Easy for you to say." Colet huffs, leaning towards Mikha's shoulder where she rests her head. She's not mad, she watches relief spreads on Mikha's demeanor. "Hindi ko nga makita kita 'yan dito sa caf."


"Can't blame her, di masarap food dito." Colet humms in agreement. "You need to try though, or you'll just get obsessive about the image you created on your head and that's not healthy. Malay mo naman, iniisip ka din niya. Maybe she's just waiting for you to find and approach her."


Colet sees it, Mikha's point. Mikha, as young as she is, she's smart. Colet would even argue that she's smarter that her, and Colet vouches she never slacks in her academics and in life.

She avoids it.


She moves on her days ignoring everything Mikha said. Because why the hell would she? Jhoanna might have realized that she was a creep standing outside the AV Room looking at her from the other side of the glass. Her appearing outside the masscom building and waiting for the girl would just add fire to the flame. She can't ruin everything even before it starts.


So nothing starts.


Colet leaves the culinary kitchen practice room. Her white uniform stained by everything she could name. She wipes off the beads of sweat on her forehead with her towel, waving goodbye with her blockmates. She grabs her bag from the locker outside their room and swings it on her shoulder. She heads towards the nearest restroom to change her clothes. She grabs her phone from the pocket of her bag and sends a text update for Maloi. They were planning to eat dinner together before going back to their respective apartments. Maloi's class will be done in a few and they agreed to meet up somewhere close to Colet's building.


She washes her face before entering the cubicle. Slipping through her faded jeans and black coca cola shirt that is slightly baggy on her. Colet likes it, Maloi would agree and she's comfortable with it. She steps out of the cubicle and hangs her bag on her shoulders. Colet fixes her hair before slipping in her black Orlando hat in place. She nods in approval before stepping out of the restroom.


'oof' Colet groans on impact.


Instinctively, she grabs the person on the door as they body slammed against each other, holding her by the waist and pulling her in before gravity takes over.


Colet takes it in. The sweet scent, like fruits pureed to a bottle of perfume. Her arms fitting perfectly around the girl's physique. She hears the quiet but audible breath the latter inhales as Colet feels two arms wrap around her shoulder.


They are practically hugging at this point. Colet is grateful that she was able to change onto clean clothes before everything happened. She holds on to the girl, steadying themselves on an empty hallway by the restroom's door. After what seem like minutes, they simultaneously released their hold. "Sorry." Colet hears it, and she feels like ice cold water were dunked over her head. She freezes.


The girls face appears in front of her as they pull away. A hint of pink hue on her cheeks. Everything felt so familiar and yet foreign on Colet's chest. 'You've got to be kidding.' She breathes in disbelief.


"Oh. Hi." They were just inches apart and Colet wonders if she's breathing when she hears her speak.


"Hi." Her voice, just above a whisper as she watches the girl smile. She unconsciously tilts her head in adoration where the latter blinks at  her actions.


"Banggaan ba ang bagong nice-to-meet-you?" The girls jokes as she steps back, rubbing the back of her neck as she hovers her eyes on Colet's clothes. "You look good." She comments absentmindedly, she clears her throat when Colet wasn't saying anything.


"Sorry, it was so clumsy of me. and uh, thank you." Colet shifts on her feet, a blush creeping in her cheeks like being a tomato face wasn't enough. "We have never introduced ourselves." She remembers.


"Hm. Nicolette. Diba?" There it is again, her breath hitches.


'She knows me?' She let's out a shaky breath. "You know me?" She asks in disbelief. The girl smiles.


"Let me guess, you don't know me."


Colet shakes her head. She feels stupid, 'Parang ang torpe torpe mo naman.' She complains to herself.


"I do." She tries to be firm, to be confident. Like she's not about to combust with how the girl studies her face. "Jhoanna. Masscom. Freshmen. Mabait." She mumbles, breaking confidence at every word she says. 'Idiot. Creepy mo.'


Jhoanna laughs. "Dami mo na palang alam ah?" She teases.


Colet was about to say something when she hears someone. Her. Maloi.


"UYAB!"


They both shift their attention to the girl who is running on the long hallway, dressed in yellow, waving her arms in delight and crashes on Colet's arms.


"Uyab, pagod na ko sobra. Saan tayo mag-dadate?" Maloi whines and Colet just looks at her. She opens her mouth in an attempt to dismiss her friend but for some reason, she freezes.


When Colet remembers Jhoanna, she quickly glances back and finds the spot where the girl was standing to be empty. She looks around and watches Jhoanna walks further away, not able to say goodbye. Not glancing back, like she disappears as quickly as she appeared.


"Oh, si Jhoanna yun diba. Yung crush mo." Maloi innocently points out.


Colet just sighs. 'Di pa nga nag uumpisa, parang matatapos na.'