Chapter Five

       It did not take long for Teresa Milan to return the pile of books in their designated bookshelves, just a few minutes after Adam left the floor. She had always loved her scheduled shifts in the library, as she had always been a bookworm ever since she was young. But, today had been quite unusual for her when the turn of events have disrupted her usual routine at work. She did not expect two of the most well-known students in their campus would disturb her peace at work. She even helped one of them--the most notorious one, to escape something that she did not even bother to know what it was about. At least he did his best to help in rearranging the books, she thought. I'll give him an 'A' for his effort...

       After she waited for another library assistant to start the shift in her place at three in the afternoon, she left the building and headed to Subway outside campus to buy her usual favorite Subway club sandwich and a large cup of Minute Maid apple juice. She typically ordered two of each, because it's her and her best friend's tradition to always eat these sandwiches every Thursday in their favorite secret spot located inside the campus. The walk from the library to Subway also did her some good, as most of the time she always worked behind the counter, with reading and filing papers as the main work tasks that she had to do for the day, which involved sitting all day. From time to time, she rearranged books on the shelves, like the one that she did today before her shift ended.

       The campus had always been a sacred place to her, one that she had always imagined being in since she was a child. She always wanted to be in a peaceful place when she was younger, as she and her family did not have a stable living setup for most of their lives. Though she grew up with supportive parents, Tree had always hoped their family would just stay in one place and establish a permanent home despite being humble missionaries--who always travelled to different countries to help church communities. Her parents used to say to her she has already been to ten countries: China, Myanmar, Malaysia, Pakistan, Iran, Russia, North Korea (surprisingly), the Philippines, Japan, and Laos since she was five years old. She vaguely remembered being in any of those places being so young back then, but she clearly remembered not having a permanent place to stay.

       She had always been thankful that her studies gave her a reason to stay in one place. With determination and diligence in her studies, she became one of the few lucky ones who had earned a full scholarship in the university, with provisions of being able to work part-time for additional income for her needs. Her parents, being so proud of her, supported her personal decision to stay in the country to pursue her college studies despite their own plans to fly to another country to help establish a church community for the next five years.

       She admitted missing her parents once she had started staying on campus, but she could not help feeling the stronger sense of having to call a place her own home, which was the campus itself. She loved the way the buildings have been built, which represented a passage of history through time as its own wooden carvings and classic marble floors depicted the mysteries of the lives of people from the past who once walked there. She had also been proud about the thought that it was the top university in the country, and that clearly meant they were the 'cream of the crop', standing out among all the percentage of the students nationwide.

       As she noticed the paper bag carrying her favorite food had gotten a bit heavier while she had been walking, she realized she now had to hurriedly go to Perry who's been waiting in their secret spot. She wouldn't want to spill over their delicious meal because the paper bag gave up on her while she's walking. She was glad to have Perry as her dearest friend, even luckier that they have been classmates ever since they were freshmen. Learning poetry throughout her college life wouldn't be fun if she only appreciated it on her own, believing poetry is meant to be shared with another person. Luckily Perry has had the same mindset, though he has a more sophisticated flair than Tree, who loved to take part in the campus's magnificent plays--being the president of the Silverleaf Theater Guild. Tree was proud of Perry's impeccable taste in quality stories and literature. He had been the one calling the shots since the start of the school year.

      The afternoon sun toned down its piercing glow when Tree crosses over the open field, leading her to a much wider space that is still considered part of the campus. It was only her and Perry who knew about this secret place which is much more beautiful and idyllic, with a very rich history tracing back to the founder of the university. They accidentally discovered it one time when Perry asked her to walk with him when he was feeling so frustrated about what to do in the previous theater production that they had last year. He had some trouble with the director of the play that they were setting up, where he disagreed with the director's style of portraying one character that he wrote in the script. Perry walked out of the entire production that day and looked for Tree and ranted all day about it.

      While he was ranting while walking through another vast area of open field, with Tree listening with empathy toward him, he suddenly stopped talking and walking while he was staring directly up ahead. Tree also stopped, wondering what the fuss was about.

      "Do you see that?"

      "What?"

      "The tree. It's so beautiful!"

      Tree looked at the direction Perry was also looking at, and she did not notice it soon enough until Perry told her to do so. The Narra tree made them feel as if they were walking in a dream, with its gentle, fragrant yellow and minute flowers dancing through the breeze towards the ground. It left both of them mesmerized by the tree's color and how huge it was, compared to the usual trees they have been seeing every day on campus. Perry suddenly forgot about his rantings and frustration about what happened with him today and instead walked closer towards the Narra. Tree quietly followed with her own wonderment about the entire experience.

       As they drew closer, the scent of the tree's flowers grew stronger and it made them feel so calm and nostalgic about the entire surrounding. Perry looked up when he was a few inches closer to the tree's bark and inspected the strength of how it stands, and circles around it to check for anything more magical that they could discover. Then suddenly he called out to Tree and showed her a carving on the bark that shows initials and a date.

      C. C. de Gervaux

      1518

      They looked at each other with wonder and awe.

      "De Gervaux? As in Charles Constantin de Gervaux?" Perry was getting excited.

      "We know he's the founder of the entire university, right?" Tree said.

      "As in this is his own carving? His own writing?!"

      "And oh my god it was written in 1518!"

      "We just found an artifact! A living one!"

      "And isn't it weird that the tree still doesn't look that old yet? It's supposed to look like what it actually is--500 years!"

      With that thought, they looked at each other again with curiosity and looked up at the entire tree again. It does look so young.

      "What kind of sorcery is this?"

      "Perry, there's no such thing as magic."

      "Huh, well then how would you explain a Narra tree still standing for 500 years? And how is it surviving in a four-seasoned country?"

      "Like, wait, it's not supposed to survive through winter?"

      "Hell yeah it shouldn't! And it has a shorter life span, like, just decades or something."

      "So wait, how do you know all of this stuff?"

      "My mom is a botanist, she gave me books about plants ever since I was five." Perry rolled his eyes as he answered.

      "And then you wanted to become a poet and a thespian." Tree laughingly said, amazed with her best friend's back story.

      "Why not? That's where I'm good at." Perry said. "I think we should find out more about our beloved founder and his connection with this tree. Have you discovered any book about him in the library?"

      Tree paused a little to try to remember anything. "Hmm. I think I remember one. But if you really want something more concrete about him, the archives has everything--from his own personal book collection to his...oh right, his personal diaries!" She suddenly got so excited.

      "Getting into the archives is almost impossible, but then we might do something about it later on. We can start with the book that you found, I guess." Perry said with a smile. "Let's say we become historians starting today and start checking out the book tomorrow?"

      "Shouldn't we ask our history professors about it? They are the ones who have access to the archives." Tree suggested. Perry then chose a clean spot and sat on the ground.

      "Don't even think about it! We are the only ones who discovered it for a reason. I don't want this place to be crowded by anyone else but us--the beautiful ones." He took a compact mirror out of his pocket and started checking his face. He demurely rearranged his hair, a few strands that he had to realign. "If everybody else discovers this, this site will become off-limits and will be 'too special' to be enjoyed by people like us."

      Tree thought Perry had a good point. She sat down beside him and enjoyed another breeze flowing through where they're sitting.

      "You're right. This is too beautiful. Maybe de Gervaux made this a secret place for a reason." Then she smiled at Perry, who has just finished retouching his face with compact powder. He smiled back at her. "We have a new friend to protect then."

      Tree was almost a few steps left to where Perry has been waiting for her--the Narra tree, as always. She saw Perry sitting on the ground covered with their favorite picnic blanket, with a thick pile of what she guessed was a script that he has been working on. But she thought he might have been taking a break from it when she noticed him looking at his phone.

      "I'm here!" She happily said as she sat down on the blanket herself. She opened the paper bags and placed the sandwiches on the blanket along with the drinks. Perry still hasn't moved a single inch from his browsing.

      "What got you so caught up over there?" Tree leaned over to check what caught Perry's attention on the screen. She then recognized a familiar face from earlier today--Adam Ocampo--who in the photo bumped through a popcorn cart with Axel running after him.

      "Apparently Ocampo made another scene today." Perry replied while still looking at his phone. He shakes his head while he is reading through the comments about the photo.

      Ocampo should be banned at school. I don't care if he's a scholar.

      Who cares if he makes a mess? Adam looks so hot in that photo.

      Could he bump into me one day? Please Adam, please?

      Whoever that girl is they're having a problem with, she's pretty damn lucky.

      Reply: Isn't the girl named Kimberly? I saw her running along the hallway today crying.

     Too much drama in this university. Why can't we just all study and have fun in a decent way?

      Apparently my friend saw Adam and Sasha Romero talking really serious about something just an hour ago. It seems like they have been fighting over what happened today and about Kimberly. Scandal!

      Perry and Tree looked away from the phone. Tree kept her cool, remembering her ordeal with the man earlier today. Perry let out a sigh. "What's the deal with Sasha getting caught up with that guy? I just don't get it. She's too gorgeous and too smart to be with him. No offense to Adam who's also smart in his own way and gorgeous too. But like, what the hell." He shakes his head in disbelief. "If I were her, I would be with someone in her circle--like Guy Thompson for example." He grabs his sandwich and took a bite. Tree did the same. She swallowed before saying, "Believe it or not, I helped him today."

      Perry was still chewing. "Guy Thompson?"

      Tree shook her head. "No. Adam."

      Perry was about to take another bite but then he stopped midway. "What? How? When? Where? And why?"

      "Apparently their chase reached up to the library, and it ended because of me. Not to brag though." She took a sip from her cup. "Believe it or not again, he asked--no, begged for my help."

      "Adam Ocampo begging for help? That's something I thought could only happen in a parallel universe. So what did you do then?"

      "Well I had to rethink my decisions then. I didn't know what the fuss was all about until I heard Axel's voice surfacing from the hallway. Funny though, I drowned Adam in paper shreds! You could have had a hard time trying to hold your laughter if you were there."

      Perry laughed a little at the thought of Adam stuck in a box drowning in shreds. "So now, he owes you his life because of your heroism? Good job on that one, Tree." He took a sip from his own cup. "I wonder how things will turn out between you two after this?"

      "What are you saying? Don't tell me you're wondering if we could be your so-called 'loveteam' in your scripts. There's nothing going on, Perry."

      Perry looked at her with curiosity. "You're the one who said that, I never said it that way."

      "B-but, that's how it sounded like!"

      "Huh, excuses, my dear. Don't tell me you found him attractive too like everyone else. Like hell, I'm gay but he's not my type. You girls are all over the place for him."

      "I'm not!"

      Perry looked at her intently without saying anything.

      "Your blush says otherwise."

      Tree rolled her eyes.

      "Honey, you're just like the characters in all the novels and films that I have read and watched--even the ones that I have written. You have always been the type of girl that will never be noticed by a guy like Adam, until something coincidental happens. No offense."

      Tree slowly took another bite. Perry has a point. But, wait, why am I agreeing to that thought? She wondered.

      "You know, it has never occurred to me talk ask about the type of guys that you like. And I never asked if you have liked anyone on campus before. Care to share today?"

      Tree went a bit silent. He was right. And he didn't know, after all this time it has always been her own secret. She tried to enjoy the sound of the leaves of the Narra tree brushing through the wind.

      "Oh my god, don't tell me..."

      "What?"

      "You do like him."

      "No!"

      "Ugh. Cut the crap, Tree."

      Perry took another bite.

      "It's typical sis. Everybody likes him. Except me. I'm too fabulous and brilliant to like someone like him." He rubs the back of his ear with his index finger. "Silence means yes."

      Tree sighed. She knows Perry could see through anything, being a good writer and fond of analyzing different personalities for his characters.

      "Come on, it's almost sunset. We can talk about this whole Adam fiasco tomorrow. I can't wait to see what happens next between you two."