Chapter 2: Finding Jico

3063 Words
“What?” Three group mates asked in unison. Melissa grabbed my notebook and looked through it but I grabbed it back. “Nothing, I just remembered something shocking,” I lied. I closed the notebook and pretended that nothing was wrong but I’m sure that Melissa knew something’s off. Laurie, glared at me. I never liked her.  “Miss team leader, may we please see the plans so far as signed by our teacher last time,” she asked rather sarcastically. All my group mates had their eyes on me now.  “Ah, that is not a problem,” I said. “But right now, honestly, I don’t have that notebook due to an accident before I came here. I’m so sorry but I’ll do everything I can to have it back. “Why don’t you just admit that you lost it?” Laurie shot back, earning the stares of our classmates. “If you’re such an incompetent leader, why don’t you step down?” she challenged.  “Look, Laurie and group mates,” I said, holding back my irritation at Laurie. “Please allow me to explain. As you know, I was late this morning and that’s because of a little accident on the way.”  “You mean romance?” Laurie said, interrupting me. “What?” I asked infuriated. “Look, I was rushing here when I bumped someone. It was an accident.”  “You mean these?” Laurie interrupted me again, this time holding up her phone for our group mates to see. “Oh… MG!” Melissa whispered.  “What is it now, Laurie?” I hissed, controlling my rising irritation.  I had to keep my voice soft so that the teacher won’t notice the chaos we have now.  I snatched Laurie’s phone and looked at what was on the screen. It was a picture of a couple in a seemingly romantic embrace. Both of them with closed eyes.  The photographer was good because the photograph evoked much emotion in it. I was never interested in gossip so I didn’t recognize the celebrities on the phone. The guy looked familiar though, and the girl… wait… I squinted my eyes. She was wearing the same clothes as me. I looked at my clothes, then enlarged the photo… and looked again. What the? It was me. The girl was me. Upon realizing this, my face became hot. I looked at my group mates and they were all staring at me in disbelief, well, except for Melissa.  “It’s not what you think it is,” I said embarrassed. “I can explain.” I inhaled deeply and tried to compose myself. I returned Laurie’s phone.  “Look, please don’t jump into conclusions. Let’s be rationale here,” I started. “Whether it’s just a pictorial, an accident or a romantic moment, it doesn’t have anything to do with anyone in our group. Let me deal with my problem. So could we please focus on our project at hand?”  “It’s true that the photo is none of our business. Yes, Zynette, you are absolutely right but don’t you think that it’s because of that incident that affected our group output?” Laurie blurted out.  “Hey, Laurie, you’re going too far,” Melissa defended. The others agreed. “Look, I think Laurie’s concern may be about my notebook. Fine, let’s agree on this,” I said, looking at my group mates with authority. “As for my notebook, I can just go find that guy and ask him about it. I can reconstruct the plan with the notes from you and have it approved again by our teacher. So, you don’t have to worry about it.”  Laurie smirked and I rolled my eyes.  “I have a better proposal,” Laurie said, authoritatively. “Why don’t we give our leader time to find her notebook then meet up this afternoon at 5PM. When she finds it, then let’s continue with her as the leader.” Laurie looked at me sternly.  “When she fails,” Laurie continued talking then paused for effect, “let’s welcome a new leader plus penalize Zynette.”  “Fine!” I answered right away. “If finding my notebook settles it, then so be it. Let’s meet at the student lounge at 5PM.” The bell rang signaling the end of the class. As everyone left the room, Melissa stood and stood in front of me.  “You have a lot of explaining to do,” she looked at me expectantly.  “I know,” I said, grabbing my things and that notebook. We got out of the room and I told her about what happened. She squealed and looked at me.  “Oh my gosh!” she exclaimed. “This could be the start of a beautiful romance, my best friend!” she said then squealed some more and giggled. She brought out her phone and scrolled while I looked at the vast campus of Springville University.  “Guess what, Zynette?” Melissa excitedly said. I looked at her and frowned. “Your controversial photo is now viral in the university’s student site,” she announced dramatically. “Honestly, you two look like a perfect pair. A couple that’s so in love. I wonder who took the photo. Hmmm…  The photo is really impressive, awe-inspiring…”  “Stop it, Melissa,” I said cutting her off. “Thank you for your compliments but right now, there is a pressing matter that needs my attention. I need to find that… that handsome guy and get my notebook back. Where in Springville University will I find him?” I lamented.  We walked until we reached the the cafeteria. It’s a good thing that we don’t have a class after the first one. I have an hour to analyze where I might find Jico.  “Wait here,” Melissa told me, as I sat at a table near the entrance.  I need to be rational. I breathed in and out. I closed my eyes then opened them and the first thing that I saw was Jico’s notebook on the table. Okay, here we go. What do I have? The first clue I have is his name, “Jico,” and his notebook.  “Here’s your favorite cappuccino,” Melissa said, startling me. I was so deep in thought that I  didn’t even notice her coming back.  “Thanks,” I murmured. I sniffed the coffee and enjoyed the aroma before taking a sip.  When I put down my cup, I saw that there were girls approaching. There were seven of them. One of them saw me and whispered to the others and they all glared at me when they passed by our table.  “What was that?” I asked Melissa, who was busy with her phone that she didn’t see what happened.  “What?” she asked puzzled. “Jeez, you startled me.”  “Never mind,” I blurted. “Please help me to focus on how to find my notebook,” I begged.  “You mean, find the gorgeous guy?” she teased. I rolled my eyes.  “You know, you have a point there,” I said. “After all, we need to find that, yes, gorgeous guy, to get have our notebooks exchanged. By the way, I heard they call him, Jico.  “Jico?” Melissa asked, smiling. “That sounds like a manly name,” she said confidently.  “Gosh, how are we friends again?” I asked annoyingly.  “I know right?” she retorted. “I just said what I feel about his name, okay? I’m just trying to make you smile, at least. I’m getting worried about you. What if we can’t find him? Zynette, how are you going to face our group this afternoon? I don’t want another leader, especially Laurie.”  “Okay, I’m sorry,” I said, concerned. “You should relax too. Why don’t we analyze things first then maybe we can figure out how to look for him?”  “That would be great!” Melissa agreed.  I brought out another notebook and jotted down the clues we have. Then I opened Jico’s notebook. On the first page, down all the way to the last line read, “Jian Corbin Woo.” So, "Jico" is a nickname, more like a shortcut of his names. “Look, Melissa, I think I found his full name” I said and showed the notebook to her.  “Oh, wow!” she exclaimed. “Let’s head to the Registrar’s Office,” she suggested. “Let’s try. But won’t we be turned down? Would they give out information about students just like that?” I replied.  “It’s worth a try. Come on!” Melissa said, pulling me out of the cafeteria.   Ten minutes later… We got out of the registrar’s office, disappointed. I was right. Students’ information was confidential so they can not just give out information without a valid reason.  We sat at a table under a tree. From where we are, I can see the spot where I bumped or was bumped by Jico.     “Now, what do we do, Zynette?” asked Melissa.  “I’m trying to think what his course might be,” I replied. “Since he was headed in that direction, he was either headed to the College of Engineering or at the College of Music.  “I think that was a helpful assumption,” Melissa said.  “So, let’s try hanging out at the College of Music first. I think music could be his more probable course as shown in his notebook.  We headed to the College of Music but we didn’t know exactly how to start looking. There were some  students at the lobby and so we approached them. “Hi, I’m Zynette and this is my friend, Melissa. May we talk to you for a bit, please?” I said cheerfully.  “Hi! How may we help you?” A petite lady, with a friendly face replied.  “It’s really urgent. I’m looking for Jian Corbin Woo. Do you happen  to know him?” I said. “Oh, Jico. Ahh… he’s popular around here, you know,” she said.  “Would you happen to know his contact number or where he could be now?” I asked.  “Hey, are these fan girls pestering you?” asked a rude looking guy who just arrived. I was dumbfounded by his words.  “What? Me, a fan girl? Excuse me,” I whispered to Melissa.  “He’s just so rude,” Melissa whispered back.  “No, they’re just asking about Jico,” she said shyly.  “Excuse me, but we’re not fan girls, if that’s what you think,” I told the guy assertively. “We came here looking for the guy because he got something important from me and I must get it back, or else…”  “Sorry, I don’t have his number but he usually hangs out at the student lounge in the afternoons,” the girl said.  “Thanks so much,” I said to the girl. “Have a great day!”  Melissa and I hurriedly left them then headed back to our building for our next class.   The next two hours went by in a blur. I couldn’t concentrate on them. I was just relieved that there were no required recitations nor quizzes in the classes that we just had.  We then headed to the cafeteria to grab our lunch.  As we were eating, I kept looking around hoping to find Jico. I’ve never been so desperate to find a guy before. Now I’m wondering if taking the Laurie’s dare was reckless or stupid. I sigh in frustration.  “Hey, just eat up, okay?” Melissa told me, while patting my back. I almost choked on my food and she handed me a glass of water.  “See, that’s why I told you to eat up,” she scolded me. “After eating, we can continue looking, okay?”  “Thanks so much for sticking to me, Melissa,” I replied. “Don’t worry, after this mission, I’m going to treat you to your choice of special bubble tea. I think I’m going to get paid with my modeling job in a few days and my salary at the library will be out by tomorrow.”  “Hey don’t make me feel guilty here,” she blurted. “That is hard earned money so you should spend it wisely.”  “Correct!” I agreed. “And one way to spend it wisely is to enjoy some of it with a great best friend like you!” “Yipee!” she squealed like a little girl.  “Oh look,” I said, pointing to the corridor outside the cafeteria.  I saw Jico passing by. He was with several boys.  We grabbed our bags and phones then hurriedly got out the cafeteria to follow Jico. When we reached the corridor where I saw him earlier, he was nowhere in sight. We split in different directions only to be disappointed.  “Where could he have gone?” Melissa asked, panting.  “Did he just teleport or something?” I said in frustration. “What if he entered the men’s room there, then left while we were looking for him at the other side?”  Just then, the bell rang. Lunchtime ended and we have not found Jico.  Later in the afternoon, one hour before my deadline, I was already getting desperate.  “Melissa, you know what, it’s time for desperate measures during this desperate time,” I said seriously. “What do you mean?” she asked, puzzled. “Could you please help me by posting on the student site?” I asked. “You said our photo went viral this morning, so that could mean that there could be people out there who know where to seen Jico. Please send the message that I need to see him at the student lounge before 5PM. “Okay, no problem,” Melissa said, bringing out her phone.  “Wait for me at the student lounge, okay?” Instructed her.  “Zynette, where are you going?” she asked  “I’ll try my luck at the DJ’s booth. Maybe the DJ can help me,” I said then headed to the next building where the campus’ radio station is located.  I rushed up the stairs then walked towards the end of the long corridor, where the booth was located. I opened the door and waited at the mini receiving area. A dance music was playing so the DJ was free to talk. I waved at the DJ on board. He smiled and opened the door of the booth. He is also a student but I guess he is older than me.  “Hi pretty girl! What can I do for you?” he asked. He motioned for me to enter the DJ’s booth. We entered and he sat at his chair and motioned for me to sit at the opposite side of the table. “Hi! Thanks for accommodating me,” I said. “I’ll get to the point. This might sound crazy but I’m looking for another student. Our notebooks got switched so we have to exchange. It is extremely important that I get my notebook. Could you please help me out? Please?” I begged.  “I understand,” he said. “Do you know his name?” he asked.  “Yes, he is called Jico,” I replied. “Jico, Jico,” he murmured. “That mischievous guy,” he whispered but I heard it. Does he know him?  “Okay then,” he spoke louder now. “After the song, a short infomercial will be played. Then I’ll introduce you, say your piece then I’ll introduce the next song, I know a perfect one,” he instructed me then grinned.   After the infomercial…  “Hey, yo! Springville U, you’re still listening to Dark Claws here on Springville Radio. Before our next song, let’s listen to an appeal by pretty Zynette. Let’s go girl,” he said.  “Hi there,” I started. “To Jico, please meet me at the student lounge. It’s very important. You know who I am. To my fellow students out there, if you know Jico, please relay my urgent message. Thanks!”  “There you have it, Springville,” the DJ said. “Up next is a song dedicated to Jico. Here’s Need You Now by Lady Antebellum.”   When the song started playing, I thanked the DJ and hurried to the corridor because my heart was racing. I’ve never done this before. But I’m hopeful. I ran back down to the next building and to the student lounge. I found Melissa sitting at a table, checking her phone.  “Hey, I heard you,” she said as she looked up from her phone.  “Let’s hope our efforts would bring forth good results,” I said. I looked at my watch. It’s 4:43PM.  We waited agonizingly. Our group mates arrived. All except Laurie.

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