"Mario is really bad. He carried his being playboy all the way to college," commented Mharc who was teasing Mario after he briefly flirted with a girl they just met on their way.
The five of them were now complete. They were walking towards their hangout place inside the campus where they spend their free time.
"Hey, kid! Call me big brother. I'm older than you!"
Mario didn't pay attention to what the young lady said, instead he turned the conversation to something else. He didn't want to talk about that stuff. In reality, he was not into other girls anymore. He was just forcing himself so that he can at least turn his attention to something else. He only does this to distract himself away from Aki and his feelings for her.
"Gosh! You changed the topic again. Why do you always avoid that topic? Whereas before you always boasted that you're just a 'loving person'?" said Mharc, noticing her friend's actions. From walking beside Aki, she quickened her pace to keep up with the young man.
M, Aki and Matthew were just quietly walking behind them and their steps were slow. These three didn't have the energy to joke around with them. They just finished their exam and they feel like all the energy in their body has been drained from the rigours of that examination.
"Do you already like a girl for real?" Mharc continued when Mario ignored her first questions. "Why don't you woo her? I'm sure she will accept you right away! You're a chic magnet, aren't you?"
"Don't tell me you got rejected immediately?" Mharc widened her eyes, acting surprised and hurt with what she just realized. After that, she gave Mario a mocking laugh and a pat on the arm. "Wow, Mario. That's your karma. You've played with so many women in the past," she said, still laughing.
Of the five, Mharc was the only one who did not undergo the difficult examination which was the cause of her friends' silence. She was taking a different course, so what her block did in class was also different from Cubic Meter and Aki's.
Even Mario was tired of the exam, but he tried to socialize with the women around him. He's trying to bring back the old him who has a very "close relationship" with women, unlike the current Mario who only has his attention to one woman. To his best friend's girlfriend.
'Maybe Mharc was right. Maybe it really was my karma. To fall for a woman who was off limits; to my best friend's girlfriend,' Mario said sadly to himself. He tried to keep in mind to turn his feelings to another woman and forced himself to accept the fact that he cannot pursue his love for Aki.
"Stop bothering me, Mharc. My head hurts as well," Mario said seriously. Mharc noticed that her friend was really not in the mood. So she decided not to tease him anymore. She just walked quietly along with the others.
If Mharc noticed that Mario's mood was off, it was even more remarkable for M and Matthew who were both his best friends. They immediately knew that Mario had a problem. They just didn't speak and kept quiet. But they knew that, they noticed it before Mharc did.
The day passed in silence between their circle of friends.
'It's Mario's fault,' thought Mharc.
She doesn't blame Mario. She only thought about it because she was worried about the latter. She knew that their other friends were also worried, so even they were affected and remained silent.
Mario was a cheerful, mischievous, and funny person. He was often the reason for their friends' laughter. That was why when he was sad and had a problem, the people who were close to him were also affected. Even if he doesn't mean it, he affected others. Even though he tried to hide it, his friends will still know about it.
Mario has been like this for a few days now. He didn't realize that his friends had already noticed his changes. He always thought that he was still acting normally. But he was wrong. First of all, the Cubic Meter already knew. M and Matthew were not saying anything because they were waiting for Mario himself to tell them. They know he has a reason why he hasn't told them what's causing his troubles and they respect that. They will just wait for him to be ready to open up.
* * * * * *
"Let's have a drink. I was so drained by the exam," M invited his friends.
Mharc and Aki's eyes lit up at what they heard. Aki doesn't know what M was saying but she thought it sounded fun.
"You can't join. It's only for Cubic Meter," M immediately said when he noticed that the two women were interested.
"Too bad."
"Let's just have a drink on our own, Sis. What do you want? Juice?"
The two women just talked while the three men left to buy something to drink and eat. They were not used to going to bars because of the three of them, Mario was the only one who had the assets and guts to spend on such a place. Another thing was that they prefer to be alone together unlike in a bar that was so chaotic and crowded.
At half past seven in the evening, the two young ladies, Aki and Mharc, were in the living room. They were watching a movie which had a storyline that piqued their interest. And they were planning to watch a few more movies while the men were out in the yard drinking.
The three young men had been drinking for a long time and they had talked a lot. Just like the pranks they did together—breaking out, running away from class, betting on girls, and many other group activities they reminisced about.
"The f*ck, Bro! I thought you were serious about Flor. It turns out you're still not!" said Matthew laughing at his friend's prank on the girl.
"Shut the f*ck up! How can Mario be serious about a girl? Love is not in his vocabulary. He only took a long time with Flor because she was acting so hard to get. She took a long time to give in," M butted out. They were still laughing loudly at Mario's roguishness.
"But Bro, I thought Flor would be the one to destroy your reputation. Thinking back, it took her too long to give in!" He turned to Mario who was just laughing along with them.
"F*ckers! Flor was not the likes who can destroy a Mario Legazpi!" Mario replied arrogantly before drinking from the bottle of beer he was holding.
"Oh, wow! How arrogant…" / "What an conceited Motherf*cker!" Matthew and M said respectively.
The three friends all had big grins and their laughter was loud. But the joy they were displaying in front of each other didn't reach their eyes.
"But Bro, I'll bet. There will be a woman who can tame you."