The Reunion

 Summer, 2006 It was a scene like any other Wednesday. When they'd all gather in the playground that was their own definition of a jungle. Youth, especially early youth, had a way of making even the most ordinary places or objects come to life with a distinct feeling of importance. There's a reason why it's distinct, above all things. A distinct yet unexplainable feeling.The sky was dark, but twinkling in delight. Much like the children below. Dark, in a sense of not knowing what's to come ahead for them. But twinkling, for it was this exact ignorance and naivety that made them shine so bright unlike anyone else.Megan, who remained seated on the same bench for several minutes nearby, could only watch everything before her like a bittersweet television show. Her friends, lost in cloud after cloud of unrelenting joy. It almost felt surreal and far-off to her. But then, the mildly cool and salty breeze coming from the ocean just a few feet away swept her wavy hair natu

 “It could’ve been a high school reunion,” Zoe starts in a soft tone before suddenly taking it up a notch, “It could’ve been a COLLEGE reunion –”“Too early for that, hun,” Felicity quickly retorts, adjusting her thinly rimmed black glasses with much gusto.“It could’ve been ANY fucking reunion…” Zoe continues in a warning tone, now glaring at the youngest girl in the group, “And we would’ve been actually mentally and emotionally prepared. But no. It HAD to be this one.”Though she seemed calm about it last night, it only took a bit of time before Zoe had fully realized what the reunion meant. Reuniting with people from their past. All of them. Not handpicked ones according to their whim. There were awesome people from their childhood, but also condescending ones, who they had a bit of a fallout with. Sure, she isn’t one to back down from any confrontation. However, causing a scene at the reunion doesn’t sound very pleasant. She’d rather not go altogether than attend and pret

 Blindingly bright fluorescent lights, full-on blasted air conditioner, and complete silence.This always seems to be the case during her job interviews. If the HR didn’t want to see her right away, they would make her wait awhile before officially coming in and finally interview her. She had no idea whether this was some sort of mind game they played with potential employees, but nonetheless she went with it. But of course, it still doesn’t erase the fact that she’s completely terrified and wishes it would end soon. It doesn’t matter whether she’s gone to one or a hundred job interviews, they still continue to torment her. What, with some of the unexpected questions they ask according to the type of company they run.“Sorry, I hope I didn’t keep you waiting for too long.”Megan snaps out of her breakdown of a trance and looks up at the unfamiliar face before her. “It’s fine.” Different from the pleasant woman from HR minutes ago, a slim and somewhat attractive man stands

 Summer, 2016 “So, we’ll see you soon,” Jared says, sharing a small smile.He, Jacob, and Megan are standing just outside the restaurant to say their goodbyes. The Ocampo parentals, on the other hand, are busy taking selfies by themselves a few feet away from them.Lunch didn’t go as bad as Megan thought it would. Although there were moments when she and Jared would awkwardly meet eyes and try to start up a conversation of their own. And once in a while, Mrs. Ocampo would swoop in, attempting to salvage the overwrought exchange. Megan had no idea if it was on purpose, but by judging how sharp a Filipino mother’s instincts are, it was definitely deliberate.Jacob could certainly sense the tension between the two. Which he understood, since it’s been forever since they last talked. He knew that they drifted apart before Megan left for the Philippines, but he never got to know why. The only person who was completely clueless was Mr. Ocampo. He would hum in agreement e

 Between spring and summer, 2006 All she could see, or chose to see, was his incredibly dark pupil. But it’s been several minutes (she assumed), that she’s starting to wonder how the two of them got stuck in this situation. Though several thoughts ran through her mind, she remained still, not wanting to back down. If she was going to lose, she was going to do it gracefully.“Okay. How LONG are we going to be doing this?” Megan finally broke their silence, albeit refusing to break her stare.“Until you lose,” Jared answered in his usually cool tone. Deep down, he was actually close to giving up.Megan frowned at his seemingly solid resilience. “You wish.”Almost immediately, he blew towards her eyes.She instantly squinted and scoffed, “Cheater.”“I never said I planned to win fair and square.” He flashed her an innocent grin.“Har-har.” She made a face and rolled her eyes at his smug expression.“Okay. Can you two, for just one second, stop flirting?” Jacob prot