Romeo and 1

His eyes were still droopy from the sleepy drive from his house to school. Even the sun seemed drowsy, taking its time rising. It was not the usual day for Raphael. It was actually unusual for him to wake up earlier than usual. He usually gets to class late, with everyone chattering with each other just passing time before class starts. No, he was early because today was their year’s field trip. He should be excited really, but he was up last night playing games.

He readjusted his bag as he passed the lobby of the high school building. They were told to come early because the bus taking them to their field trip will be leaving early, leaving the late students behind. There were only a few students in the corridors, either just standing around or just waking themselves up from the drowsiness.

He entered his classroom to find many other drowsy faces; it was something he expected. On the other side of the class, he saw Gregory playing with his PSP and the darned game that he just couldn’t understand. As much as Raphael tried to get interested and understand the game, the Japanese language of the game just made it hard to understand.

“It’ll come out in English version soon enough, dude, just play the game,” Gregory said.

“Yeah, like in a few months. I’ll play it then,” Raphael replied.

They were just sitting beside each other while the ladies were talking with each other on the other side. Raphael, feeling left out with the game Gregory and the rest of the dudes were playing, walked to the girl’s side and listen to the conversation.

Eyes were on him, but it was not unusual. The ladies were comfortable having him around; he enjoyed talking with them.

“Morning,” Raphael greeted, while the rest of the girls nodded and their spirits were lifted immediately, including Raphael. They were cool friends that always had something to talk about, and Raphael enjoyed the things he learned with them. The ladies continued to talk until Raphael could finally catch up with what they were talking about.

While the ladies were talking about funny videos in this site they found on the internet, Raphael was intently listening while trying to remove the sluggishness in himself. Checking his watch, it’s a few minutes more until they had to prepare for the teacher’s arrival.

Having something random, unique or special rarely happens now; school was becoming more and more boring. Raphael hoped that the field trip would arouse something in the classroom, at least to make it more bearable. It was near the winter break and everyone was laid back with the cold humid climate.

It’s really funny, actually, closing in to the end of November, Raphael started having a hard time waking up. The usual heat and perspiration that woke him up every morning was gone, replaced by the cool blanket of air enveloping him in the morning.

The other thing that wakes Raphael up from his bed was the thought of spending time with his friends, knowing something new is going to happen. Mildly excited as he was every morning, he felt he was missing something.

Deep down inside, he was confused. He knew something was missing, but what was it? He wondered deeply about this every time he was bored to hell. Maybe it’s because he doesn’t have a girl to occupy his thoughts or to make him busy, and to give him a goal to reach, while having fun at the same time.

But is that really a good reason to look for a girl? If he does find a girl now, is it because he likes the girl or is it because of that need to have a reason to wake up? The complexity of his situation usually leads him so confused he just shuts up and lets things be.

The class was starting to fill with students while the noise of the chatter increased as well. He just leaned slowly on the desk and just listened to the stories the girls had to share. His eyes, sleepy as they were, were unconsciously drawn to the girl entering the room gently.