It was already lunch time, and since, Arjay and Diana seated together in one table, they are eating alone.
Some of the teachers were grouped together and nobody seemed to bother and joined them. Though it's a good thing for Arjay so he could have Diana alone without anyone bothering them.
He watched Diana as she silently ate and watched intently the people around them. He could hear
laughter from all over the place but she's quiet, too quiet that it makes him wonder what she was thinking.
He cleared his throat to break the silence between them. She looked immediately at him. He smiled and
she smiled back.
"Why? she asked him.
"Nothing. It's just that, you're very quiet." He replied.
She laughed a bit and looked down at her plate. She looked up and saw him staring.
"Why are you watching me eat? Are you assessing me?" she asked.
"Sorry, I can't help it. They're very loud and happy meanwhile you, you're just watching them."
"And that's what you're doing to me right now." She laughed awkwardly.
"Sorry. Did I make you uncomfortable?" he asked.
"Not really. But if you're really that curious, this is really how I ate. I tend to look and watch my
surroundings. Besides, it helps me to savor the food I am eating. And I can't really chew that fast because
my jaw tends to lock." She explained.
He nodded in agreement.
"Okay, that explains it." He said and continued eating.
Diana continued eating, too.
"If you don't mind, I just wanted to ask you something. It's kind of a bit personal, so it's okay if
you do mind." He said after he swallowed his food.
"Sure, I don't mind. What is it about?" she asked.
"Albert Esguerra." He simply said.
She frowned but she smiled a bit.
"What do you want to know about Albert?" she asked again.
"Well, I was just curious how you two became friends?"
"It started back in high school actually. We became classmates in first year, and then we became
rivals in terms of honor roll. It was actually a close fight, having 0.3 point rivalry, but I ended up getting in the top 10 and he landed on the 11th spot. That's when he came up to me and congratulated me, and I
accepted it. After that we decided to be friends. He is actually a very good friend to me since then. His
sportsmanship gained my trust." She explained.
"Wow, that's actually a great story. But how did you remain friends all these years?" he curiously
asked.
"Well, we were classmates for 4 years in high school, and we were schoolmates in college. We
lived in the same municipality plus his mother is a head teacher in the school where l am currently teaching. Actually, Mrs. Esguerra, one of our speakers, is Albert's mother." She explained again.
Arjay felt defeated. Albert has a great connection to Diana and he cannot rival that. But, fighters
never lose. If Albert is close to Diana, he can also get closer to her. It's not that difficult! It's not that difficult, is it?
"Ooohh.. that explains your closeness. So Mrs. Esguerra is his mom." he said more of a statement.
"Yeah... Well, it's my turn to ask now. What made you so curious about him?"
"He just looks so familiar when I saw him yesterday, but my mind cannot remember where I met
him." He lied.
"Maybe l can answer that, too. He's an MVP of basketball in the CBA team."
"Oh, right! I remembered him now. He's actually good at basketball. He was Marcus's rival in the
court!" he exclaimed.
"Yes, that's him." She exclaimed, too.
"I think we're too loud." He whispered.
They both looked around and saw the others glancing at them. They laughed quietly and continued eating. When they were done eating, Arjay took his and Diana's plate and put it on the pile of dishes at the back. He grabbed 2 bottled water and went back to his seat. He handed one bottle to Diana
"Thank you." she said and took the bottled water from him.
Diana was surprised by how keen observer Arjay was. She didn't even expect that he was watching
her eat. She sighed in relief knowing how meek she eats! Good thing it is really the way she eat.
But what makes her wonder a little is the fact that Arjay is curious about Albert. What makes him
curious about him? And she doesn't buy his alibi that Albert looks familiar to him. Of course he IS familiar to him. They were opponents in basketball.
"Are we all rested well after a very good lunch, teachers?" the speaker said when she returned in
front
Yes ma'am." They all answered.
Diana fixed her seat. The seminar will end in 4 hours and she wanted to cherish that last 4 hours beside Arjay, because as far as she's concerned, she'll never know when to see him again.
"Okay, so we will have a game called Never Have I ever. I guess you've heard that game before, right?" the speaker asked.
It was a mixed response. Some said yes, the others said no, and Arjay and Diana definitely didn't
know what the game is about.
"Do you know what game that is?" Ajay whispered.
"Honestly, no." Diana answered.
"For those who are not aware about the game, it was usually played when you are drinking with
friends, but since we are not drinking, we will also change the mechanics of the game." The speaker said and flashed something on the projection screen. "So this is just an ice breaker before we officially continue our seminar. So here is the mechanics of the game. Kindly read."
They all read the mechanics in chorus.
EACH PERSON IN THE GROUP WILL SAY SOMETHING THEY HAVE NOT DONE BEFORE.
WHEN SOMEONE IN THE CROWD DID IT ALREADY, HE/ SHE WILL TELL THE DATE WHEN IT
HAPPENED.
IF THE PERSON SAY SOMETHING SHE /HE HAVE NOT DONE BEFORE AND NOBODY DID IT, TOO,
HE/SHE NEEDS TO SAY SOMETHING ELSE.
THE PERSON WITH THE LEAST/ MOST NUMBER OF EXPERIENCE WILL DO SOMETHING AFTER THE
ACTIVITY.
ANSWER THE GAME AS HONEST AS YOU CAN BE
Arjay looked at Diana the exact same time she looked at him.
"I'm guessing I will be the person with the least number of experience." he whispered to her.
"I doubt that. Count me in." Diana said.
"Let's start the game then. I will give the first statement. Never have l ever stood up a date before."
Diana was dumbfounded with the statement. 'Is she serious?' she asked herself.
"No one? Ladies? I'm pretty sure there is someone who did that already around here." The
speaker said.
Diana stood up, and she was alone. Every single person in the room stared at her.
"Okay, great! At least Ma'am Diana is being honest. So when did that happen?" the speaker asked.
"Way back 2014." She answered.
"So, guessing from the year, you were still in what? High school?" the speaker asked.
"Yes."
"Ooohhh...you were still young back then. No wonder you stood up the date. That's reasonable.
Since you're already standing, and you're seated on the first seat of the first row, you may as well give
your never have I ever statement. Please face the others." The speaker told her.
She smiled awkwardly and faced them. She glanced at Arjay. He smiled at her.
"Never have I ever dated a friend... date as in like a romantic date." She said.
A few stood up, including Arjay. She took her seat.
"Wow, this is getting interesting! I hope you had a really great time being with that friend! Sir
Arjay, kindly tell us when did the date happened, then after, you're next with the never have I ever
statement." The speaker said. The others took their seats.
"It was in 2015. Never have I ever hitchhiked in any transportation." He said.
Diana stood up together with almost half of the young teachers in the group.
"Why did you hitchhike? I am being curious now, but let's save it for later. Ma'am Arianne. Tell
the date and then your statement."
Diana took her seat and can't help but think about the date Arjay said. He and his ex-girifriend, Hanney started dating back in 2015, so that's how they ended up together, probably. And the game continued. When the game ended, it turns out, Diana had the least experience.
"I thought I had the least. Turns out, you're not really that adventurous." Arjay commented and
laughed a bit.
"It's not that I'm not adventurous, I'm just too lazy to do things." she said and laughed a bit.
"Okay, so, since ma'am Diana had the least experience, she had to share something. But I am really
curious about the hitchhiking thing. Can you share that one, ma'am Diana?" the speaker asked.
"Sure ma'am. It's actually quite funny at the same time embarrassing. So, back in high school, we had this annual foundation day at school and I and my friends cut classes during that time. So we decided to go to the farthest barrio in town because we just wanted to. And then we almost got lost."
"Who are you with? And how many were you?" the speaker asked.
"1 was with my friends, both boys and girls. I think we were 6 or 7 who went there. And we lost
track of time. We haven't reached the barrio yet but we were too tired to continue so we went back.
That's when we almost got lost. Luckily there was a hand tractor on wheels. We hitchhiked there and
got home safely. After that, we never did cutting classes again. That's the end of story."
"1 guess we really did silly things on our youth but that doesn't define us now. Experience is really the best teacher. Do you agree?" the speaker asked them.
They answered yes in chorus.
"I think that was fun." Arjay commented. Diana looked at him and smiled.
"It was, indeed, but it was exhausting, too." She said.
"I guess Albert was with you, then?" he asked.
Arjay can see on Diana's face the surprised look, though she tried to conceal it with a smile. She
smiled and nodded. Another less points for him.