running in the heavy downpour

First there were just a few stray droplets, and then more. When Benjamin and I decided to walk back to the jeepney stop, which was a good fifteen-minute walk, it had started to rain quite heavily. He bought a newspaper to cover our heads because I refused to take his shirt. While others found the heavy downpour as an excuse to stay in the darker, covered part of the park, the two of us merrily ran towards Taft Avenue to get a ride. We were lucky an almost empty jeepney came by as we reached the stop. We were laughing our hearts out, partially wet and cold, as we headed back to the college.

When we reached the college, it was almost nine-thirty, the end of the last evening class, and a number of students had already started the short walk to the bus stop. Our usual group of friends were gathered in the middle of the quadrangle and we could hear them asking each other if they had seen either Benjamin or me. No one seemed to notice that we arrived together when all the students were already leaving. We were like salmon fishes going against the current.

Ben walked straight to where our friends were waiting. I veered to the right of the building administration and circled the group of men huddled around a Harley Davidson before joining our friends. At the same time, Mila and Danny appeared together.

"Hmmmm, something's strange," commented E.S.

She sized up Mila and Danny. I'm not sure if E.S. noticed the two of them holding hands. Danny leaned towards me and whispered, "Is everything good?"

I played coy. "What do you mean?" I asked in a low voice. Mila giggled and slapped my arm lightly.

The girls in our group were, as usual, huddled around Benjamin whose face seemed frozen with that knowing grin. He intermittently glanced and winked at me. Because of the earlier downpour, the group decided to disperse early to go home. When I announced my leave, one of the girls asked if I was walking alone. I said yes. Benjamin quickly stepped beside me, taking my books and said, "I'll walk her to the jeepney stop," then took my elbow and we walked together out of the school's gate.

We were halfway up the street when we heard my brother's voice.

"Where are you guys going?" he asked.

"Oh! Hi, Erick," Benjamin said. "I was going to walk her down to the jeepney station." I continued walking and Benjamin and Erick fell behind two steps as they chatted.

When we reached the station, Erick patted Benjamin's back and told him, "Okay, pare, thank you." And he waved Benjamin goodbye. I looked at Benjamin and gave him a shy smile, flipped back my hair and said goodbye. The grin in his face was still there.

On the ride home, Erick asked if I knew the girl Benjamin was secretly chasing. "No, I don't know."

"You're always talking to him and he never told you anything?"

"We don't talk about those things. We talk about the news, and assignments." After a short pause, I asked Erick, "How about you, what the heck do you talk about when you're together?"

"He's mentioned about liking a girl, but he wouldn't tell anyone her name. He thinks she's not interested in him, though."

"Ah," I said. "Who in the whole college does not have a crush on Benjamin?"

"Apparently you and another one," my brother said.

He was right, I didn't have a crush on Benjamin. But I liked talking to him, because he talked with sense, he could carry a conversation, he could argue and best of all, he could speak to me in English.

We were quiet the rest of the ride. Then it left me thinking, Was I that girl or was there another girl?