ROOM 7
Chapter Ten: The Trip
---
The announcement came on a Friday afternoon.
Jay was at the common table, pretending to study. Keifer was across from her, pretending not to watch her pretend to study. The rest of Room 7 was scattered around the room in various states of productivity— or lack thereof.
Lyra was painting her nails. Alex was reading beside her. Mica and Calix were cooking. Care and Cole were arguing about something academic. Freya was editing photos. Erdix was filming. David was doing a crossword puzzle. Yuri was gaming.
It was a normal Friday.
Then the email came.
Dear Students,
Due to necessary maintenance, the university will be closed for the following week. All classes are cancelled. The dorms will remain open, but we encourage students to use this time to rest and recharge.
Enjoy your holiday.
The room went silent.
Yuri was the first to speak. "HOLIDAY?"
"One week," Lyra said, staring at her phone. "One whole week."
"No classes," Mica said.
"No exams," Calix added.
"No anything," Care said.
Cole looked at her. "No arguing?"
"Did I say no arguing? I said no classes. Arguing is eternal."
Cole smiled. It was small. It was quick. But everyone saw it.
Yuri jumped up. "WE HAVE TO DO SOMETHING! WE CAN'T JUST STAY HERE FOR A WEEK! WE'LL GO INSANE!"
"You're already insane," Jay said.
"INSANE WITH EXCITEMENT! THIS IS A GIFT! A BLESSING! A SIGN FROM THE UNIVERSE THAT WE NEED TO—"
"Breathe," David said calmly. "You're turning red."
Yuri took a breath. Then another. Then: "WE NEED TO GO ON A TRIP."
The room went quiet again.
"A trip?" Lyra asked.
"A TRIP! A REAL TRIP! OUT OF THE CITY! AWAY FROM SCHOOL! NO CLASSES! NO EXAMS! JUST US!"
"Just us?" Mica said.
"TWELVE PEOPLE! ONE WEEK! ONE HOUSE! SOMEWHERE WITH A BEACH! OR MOUNTAINS! OR WHATEVER! I DON'T CARE! I JUST NEED TO GET OUT OF THIS ROOM BEFORE I LOSE MY MIND!"
"You lost your mind months ago," Jay said.
"THEN I NEED TO LOSE IT SOMEWHERE ELSE!"
Keifer looked at Jay. "He's not wrong."
"About losing his mind?"
"About a trip. We've been in this room for months. We've been studying for weeks. We haven't slept properly in—"
"Ever," Freya said.
"We haven't slept properly ever. A break would be good."
Jay looked at her phone. The email was still there. One week. No classes. No exams. Nothing but time.
"What about our families?" she asked. "My mom will want me to come home."
"Your mom will want you to come home with Keifer," Percy said from the doorway.
Everyone turned. Percy was leaning against the doorframe, holding a bag of chips, looking like he'd been there for a while.
"Percy," Jay said. "What are you doing here?"
"Visiting. Obviously. Aries is coming later. He's bringing pizza."
"Aries is bringing pizza?"
"Aries is always bringing pizza. It's his love language."
Jay looked at Keifer. "Your brothers are going to want you to come home too."
Keifer pulled out his phone. He read something. His face went through several expressions— confusion, surprise, resignation.
"My mom says we should go on the trip."
"What?"
"She says she and your mom already booked a spa weekend. They're going to Baguio. With my dad and your dad."
"Your dad and my dad are going to a spa?"
"They're getting matching massages. It's a whole thing."
Jay stared at him. "Your mom and my mom planned this."
"The email went out twenty minutes ago. They already have accommodations. In Baguio. For the whole week."
"Our moms planned a holiday for our dads so we could go on a trip."
"They've been planning this since the semester started. My mom told me. She said 'you're welcome.'"
Jay buried her face in her hands. "I'm going to kill her."
"You can't kill your own mother."
"Watch me."
Percy walked into the room. "So where are we going? I'm coming too. Someone has to supervise."
"You're not coming," Jay said.
"I'm absolutely coming. Someone has to document this for the family archive."
"The family archive is not a thing."
"The family archive is very much a thing. Freya sends updates every week. Mom has a folder."
"I'M GOING TO KILL FREYA!"
Freya raised her camera. "You've been saying that for months."
"THIS TIME I MEAN IT!"
"Your face is red."
"IT'S THE HEAT!"
"IT'S DECEMBER!"
"GLOBAL WARMING!"
"You said that before."
"IT'S STILL TRUE!"
---
Part Two: The Planning
The planning session took three hours.
Yuri wanted a beach. Lyra wanted mountains. Mica wanted somewhere quiet. Calix wanted somewhere with good food. Care wanted somewhere with Wi-Fi. Cole wanted somewhere without Wi-Fi. Freya wanted somewhere with good lighting. Erdix wanted somewhere with good cell service. David wanted somewhere with a kitchen.
Jay wanted somewhere without people.
Keifer wanted somewhere with Jay.
"I found a place," Alex said quietly.
Everyone turned. Alex never spoke during planning sessions. Alex observed. Alex listened. Alex stayed quiet.
"What place?" Lyra asked.
Alex turned his laptop around. "My family has a house in Tagaytay. It's big. Twelve bedrooms. A view of the volcano. A kitchen. A garden. No neighbors for a kilometer."
Yuri stared at the screen. "That's— that's perfect."
"It's my family's house. We don't use it much anymore. My grandmother bought it years ago. It's just sitting there."
"Alex," Lyra said. "Are you sure?"
He looked at her. "I'm sure."
"Your family won't mind?"
"My family would be happy someone's using it. My grandmother always said houses are meant to be lived in."
Lyra's face lit up. "Then we're going to Tagaytay?"
"We're going to Tagaytay."
The room exploded.
Yuri started dancing. Lyra joined him. Freya started taking photos. Erdix started live streaming. Mica and Calix started planning meals. Care and Cole started arguing about who would bring what. David started making a packing list.
Jay sat at the table, watching the chaos.
Keifer sat down across from her. "You're not excited."
"I'm excited."
"You're sitting very still. Your face is neutral. You haven't thrown anything at anyone in three hours."
"I'm conserving energy."
"For what?"
"For the trip."
"You're going to need energy for the trip?"
"Twelve people. One house. One week. No escape." She looked at him. "I'm going to need all my energy."
He smiled. "You're going to have fun."
"I don't have fun."
"You had fun at the mall with my brothers."
"That was different."
"How?"
"I was being nice to Keiran."
"You were being nice to me too."
"I was tolerating you."
"You bought matching shark slippers."
"That was Keiran's idea."
"You wore them."
"I was being polite."
"You smiled. In the photo. You were smiling."
Jay didn't answer.
Keifer leaned forward. "You're going to smile on this trip too. I'm going to make sure of it."
"You're going to annoy me until I smile?"
"I'm going to annoy you until you laugh. Then I'm going to annoy you until you throw something at me. Then I'm going to catch it. Then you're going to smile."
"That's a very specific plan."
"I read the book."
"The book is about strategic thinking, not annoying your roommate."
"The book is about knowing your opponent. I know you, Mariano. I know exactly how to make you smile."
She looked at him. "Is that so?"
He smiled. "That's so."
From across the room, Yuri shouted, "ARE YOU TWO FLIRTING OR PLANNING?"
"PLANNING!" Jay shouted back.
"YOUR FACES SAY FLIRTING!"
"OUR FACES ARE NEUTRAL!"
"YOUR FACES ARE THE OPPOSITE OF NEUTRAL!"
"YURI!"
"JAY!"
Keifer laughed. Jay tried not to smile.
She failed.
---
Part Three: The Packing
Packing took two days.
Two days of chaos. Two days of arguments. Two days of Freya documenting everything for the folder.
Yuri packed seven shirts for a four-day trip. Lyra packed three suitcases for a four-day trip. Mica packed one small bag and everyone was jealous. Calix packed a speaker, a grill, and a cooler full of meat. Care packed textbooks. Cole hid the textbooks. They argued for an hour.
Freya packed four cameras and seventeen lenses. Erdix packed enough chargers to power a small village. David packed snacks. So many snacks. Everyone helped him carry them.
Jay packed one bag. Clothes. Toiletries. Her notebook. The book Keifer gave her. The bent highlighter.
Keifer watched her pack the highlighter.
"You're bringing that?"
"It's a highlighter."
"It's bent."
"It works."
"It's bent because I broke it."
"It works because I fixed it."
"You fixed it?"
"I bent it back. It's not perfect. But it works."
She put it in her bag.
Keifer smiled. "You kept it."
"I use it."
"You kept it because I gave it to you."
"I kept it because it's a highlighter."
"It's a bent highlighter. You have seventeen other highlighters. All of them are straight. All of them work. You chose the bent one."
Jay zipped her bag. "It's the one I use."
"You're impossible."
"You like it."
"I don't not like it."
From across the room, Percy shouted, "ARE YOU TWO DONE BEING CUTE? THE CAR'S HERE!"
"You're not coming!" Jay shouted back.
"I'M DRIVING! ARIES IS DRIVING! WE'RE BOTH COMING!"
"I THOUGHT YOU WERE SUPERVISING!"
"I AM SUPERVISING! FROM THE DRIVER'S SEAT! IT'S VERY SUPERVISORY!"
Jay grabbed her bag. Keifer grabbed his. They walked to the door together.
Percy was waiting. "You two are going to sit in the back."
"Why?"
"Because Aries is driving and I'm navigating and everyone else is fighting for the middle seats. The back is for couples."
"We're not a couple."
"You're holding hands."
Jay looked down. She was holding Keifer's hand. She didn't remember grabbing it. She didn't remember not letting go.
"We were—" she started.
"Walking," Keifer said.
"Walking together."
"At the same time."
"Same direction."
"Same speed."
"Hands sometimes touch when people walk together."
"It's physics."
"It's coincidence."
"It's not a thing."
Percy looked at them. "You two are exhausting."
"We're not exhausting," they said in unison.
Then they looked at each other.
Then they looked away.
Percy laughed. "Get in the car."
---
Part Four: The Drive
The drive to Tagaytay took three hours.
Three hours of chaos. Three hours of singing. Three hours of Yuri trying to start a car karaoke session and Lyra joining in and Mica pretending to be annoyed and Calix pretending to be asleep and Care and Cole arguing about the best route and Freya taking photos and Erdix live streaming and David passing out snacks.
Jay sat in the back. Keifer sat beside her.
They didn't hold hands. They didn't talk. They just sat there, shoulders almost touching, watching the city disappear and the mountains appear.
"You're quiet," Keifer said.
"You're loud enough for both of us."
"I'm not loud. Yuri is loud. I'm just—"
"Present."
"Present?"
"You're always present. Even when you're quiet. Even when you're not saying anything. You're always there. I can always feel you."
He looked at her. "Is that a bad thing?"
She looked out the window. "I don't know yet."
"You said you stopped pretending."
"I stopped pretending I don't see you. I didn't say I stopped being scared."
"Still scared?"
"Still scared."
"Of what?"
She watched the mountains get closer. "Of this. Of us. Of what happens when we get to that house and we're alone and there's no one watching and nothing to distract us."
"You mean when it's just us?"
"When it's just us. When there's no roommates. No classes. No parents. No excuses."
He was quiet for a moment. Then: "What do you think is going to happen?"
"I don't know. That's what scares me."
"Jay."
She looked at him. His face was soft. Too soft. The kind of soft that made her want to run and stay at the same time.
"What if nothing happens?" he said. "What if we get to the house and we're still us? Still stupid. Still arguing about highlighters and coffee and who caught who? What if nothing changes?"
"What if something does?"
"Then something changes. And we figure it out. Together."
She looked at him for a long moment.
"You make it sound so simple."
"It is simple. You're the one who makes it complicated."
"I don't make it complicated."
"You made a bent highlighter complicated. You made coffee complicated. You made holding hands complicated."
"I didn't make holding hands complicated."
"You analyzed it. For three days. You told me it was 'a physical interaction with no inherent meaning.' You wrote it in your notebook."
"You saw my notebook?"
"You left it on the table."
"I left it on the table for three seconds."
"Three seconds was enough."
She glared at him. "You're annoying."
"You like it."
"I don't not like it."
He smiled. She tried not to smile back.
She failed.
From the front seat, Percy shouted, "ARE YOU TWO KISSING BACK THERE?"
"NO!"
"YOUR FACES ARE CLOSE!"
"WE'RE TALKING!"
"PEOPLE DON'T SIT THAT CLOSE TO TALK!"
"WE DO!"
"THAT'S WEIRD!"
"YOU'RE WEIRD!"
"I'M THE NORMAL ONE!"
"YOU'RE THE LEAST NORMAL PERSON I KNOW!"
"THAT'S ONLY BECAUSE YOU DON'T KNOW YOURSELF!"
Jay threw her water bottle at him.
He caught it. "THANKS! I WAS THIRSTY!"
Keifer laughed. Jay laughed. The mountains got closer. The city disappeared.
And somewhere in the back seat, their shoulders touched.
Neither of them moved.
---
Part Five: The House
The house was beautiful.
It sat on a hill overlooking Taal Lake. The volcano rose from the water, gray and silent. The gardens were full of flowers Jay couldn't name. The air was cool and clean and nothing like Manila.
Twelve bedrooms. Twelve beds. A kitchen that Mica and Calix immediately claimed. A living room with a fireplace. A porch with rocking chairs. A garden with a hammock.
Yuri ran through the front door like a child. "THIS IS THE BEST PLACE I'VE EVER BEEN!"
"You say that about everything," Lyra said.
"THIS TIME IT'S TRUE!"
"It's always true with you!"
"BECAUSE EVERYTHING IS THE BEST!"
Lyra laughed and ran after him.
Everyone scattered. Mica and Calix to the kitchen. Care and Cole to the library— arguing, of course. Freya and Erdix to the garden. David to the porch with his snacks.
Alex stood in the doorway, watching everyone.
Lyra appeared beside him. "You okay?"
He nodded. "My grandmother would have loved this."
"She would have loved that you're using her house."
"She would have loved that it's full of people. She always said houses are meant to be loud."
Lyra looked at him. "Is it okay? That we're here?"
"It's more than okay." He looked at her. "It's perfect."
She smiled. He smiled. They stood in the doorway, watching their friends, not touching but close.
Jay watched them from the porch.
Keifer sat down beside her. "You're not exploring."
"I'm observing."
"You're hiding."
"I'm not hiding. I'm waiting."
"For what?"
"For everyone to stop running around so I can find the quietest room."
"You're going to hide in the quietest room for the whole week?"
"I'm going to read. And sleep. And not talk to anyone."
"You're going to last three hours."
"I'm going to last the whole week."
"You're going to last three hours. Then you're going to get bored. Then you're going to find me. Then you're going to annoy me until I annoy you back. Then we're going to end up on the roof or the garden or wherever no one else is, and you're going to pretend you don't want to be there, and I'm going to pretend I don't notice you smiling."
"That's very specific."
"I read the book."
"The book is about strategic thinking, not predicting my behavior."
"I know you, Mariano. I know exactly what you're going to do."
She looked at him. "Is that so?"
He smiled. "That's so."
She stood up. She walked inside. She found the quietest room— a small study at the end of the hall, with a window that faced the volcano.
She sat down. She opened her book. She pretended to read.
She lasted two hours.
Then she got bored.
Then she went to find Keifer.
He was in the garden, lying in the hammock, staring at the sky. His eyes were closed. His hands were behind his head. He looked peaceful. He looked like he was waiting.
She sat on the edge of the hammock.
He opened one eye. "Two hours."
"Two and a half."
"I said three. You beat my prediction."
"I always beat your predictions."
"You always beat everything."
She lay back on the hammock. They were close. Too close. She could feel his arm against hers. She could feel his warmth. She could feel his heartbeat. Or maybe it was hers.
"You're not reading," he said.
"I'm resting my eyes."
"You're lying in my hammock."
"It's not your hammock. It's Alex's grandmother's hammock."
"You're lying in it with me."
"The hammock is big enough for two."
"The hammock is exactly big enough for two. If they're close."
She didn't move. He didn't move. The hammock swayed. The volcano was still. The sky was clear.
"This is nice," she said.
"You're admitting something is nice?"
"I'm stating a fact. The weather is nice. The view is nice. The hammock is nice."
"And the company?"
She was quiet for a moment. "The company is tolerable."
He smiled. "You're impossible."
"You like it."
"I don't not like it."
She closed her eyes. The hammock swayed. The garden was quiet. His arm was warm against hers.
She didn't move away.
She didn't want to.
---
Part Six: The Night
That night, they sat on the porch.
Everyone was inside. Mica and Calix were cooking dinner. Care and Cole were arguing about something. Freya was editing photos. Erdix was helping David organize snacks. Yuri was trying to start a fire in the fireplace. Lyra and Alex were on the couch, pretending to watch TV.
Jay and Keifer were on the porch, watching the volcano.
"It looks different at night," she said.
"It looks the same. You just can't see it."
"You can see the lights. The town. The boats on the lake."
"You can see the stars."
She looked up. The sky was full of stars. More stars than she'd ever seen in Manila. Thousands of them. Millions.
"It's beautiful," she said.
"You're beautiful."
She looked at him. "That was—"
"Honest."
"You can't just say things like that."
"I can say whatever I want. We're on a porch. In Tagaytay. No one's watching."
"You're always watching."
"Only you."
She looked away. Her heart was pounding. Her hands were shaking. She was supposed to be the strategist. The planner. The one who never did anything without thinking it through.
But there was no strategy for this.
There was no plan.
There was just him.
"Keifer."
"Jay."
"I think—" She stopped. Swallowed. Started again. "I think—"
Her phone rang.
She stared at it. Her mother. Of course it was her mother.
"Don't answer it," he said.
"It's my mom."
"Don't answer it."
"She'll call back."
"Let her."
"She'll call Percy. Percy will come out here. Percy will—"
"Jay. Don't answer it. Not right now. Not when you were about to—"
"About to what?"
He looked at her. Really looked. The way he'd been looking at her for fifteen years.
"About to say something," he said. "Something you've been running from for a very long time. And I need you to say it. I need you to say it before you talk yourself out of it. Before your mom calls again. Before Percy shows up. I need you to say it when it's just us."
Her eyes filled with tears. "Keifer."
"Jay."
"I'm scared."
"I know."
"What if I say it and everything changes?"
"What if you say it and everything stays the same? What if you say it and we're still us? Still stupid? Still arguing about highlighters and coffee and who caught who? What if saying it doesn't change anything except that we stop pretending?"
She looked at their hands. They were close. So close. She could reach out. She could hold him. She could stop pretending.
She opened her mouth.
"JAY! ARE YOU OUT HERE? YOUR MOM IS CALLING! SHE SAYS IT'S IMPORTANT!"
Percy's voice. From the door. From the worst possible moment.
Jay closed her eyes. "I'm going to kill him."
"I'll help."
"He's been doing this since we were kids."
"He's very consistent."
"He's the worst."
"He's the absolute worst."
Percy appeared in the doorway. "JAY? ARE YOU OKAY?"
"I'M FINE!"
"YOU SOUND WEIRD!"
"I ALWAYS SOUND WEIRD!"
"YOUR VOICE IS DOING THE THING!"
"WHAT THING?"
"THE THING WHERE YOU'RE PRETENDING YOU'RE NOT FEELING THINGS!"
"I'M NOT PRETENDING!"
"YOUR VOICE IS AN OCTAVE HIGHER!"
"PERCY!"
"OKAY! OKAY! I'M GOING BACK INSIDE! BUT YOUR MOM SAYS TO CALL HER!"
"I'LL CALL HER LATER!"
"SHE SAYS NOW!"
"TELL HER I'M BUSY!"
"BUSY WITH WHAT?"
Jay looked at Keifer.
Keifer looked at Jay.
They were close. So close. A breath apart.
"Tell her I'm busy," Jay said.
"WITH WHAT?"
"With—" She looked at Keifer. "With nothing. I'm busy with nothing."
Percy was quiet for a moment. Then: "NOTHING?"
"Nothing."
"YOU'RE BUSY WITH NOTHING?"
"Yes."
"ON THE PORCH?"
"Yes."
"WITH KEIFER?"
"Yes."
"IN THE DARK?"
"PERCY!"
"OKAY! OKAY! I'M GOING! BUT MOM SAYS TO CALL HER! AND ALSO TO WEAR A JACKET! IT'S COLD OUTSIDE!"
"THANK YOU, PERCY!"
"YOU'RE WELCOME! ALSO, KEIFER, YOUR MOM SAYS HI! SHE'S IN THE GROUP CHAT!"
The door closed.
The porch was quiet again.
Jay stared at the door. "He's going to tell everyone."
"Everyone already knows."
"He's going to tell our parents."
"Our parents already know. They've always known."
She looked at him. "We almost—"
"I know."
"If Percy hadn't come out here—"
"I know."
"We were about to—"
"I know."
She looked away. Her heart was still pounding. Her hands were still shaking. The moment was broken. The spell was gone.
But something was still there.
"We should go inside," she said.
"In a minute."
"It's cold."
"I know."
"We'll freeze."
"I'll give you my jacket."
"You already gave me your jacket. On the rooftop. In Manila. Twice."
"I'll give it to you again."
"You can't give me your jacket every time I'm cold."
"I can give you my jacket every time you need it."
"That's not— that's not sustainable."
"It's sustainable for me."
She looked at him. He was looking at her. The same way he'd been looking at her for fifteen years.
"You're impossible," she said.
"You like it."
"I don't not like it."
He smiled. She smiled. They sat on the porch, in the dark, in Tagaytay, watching the volcano and the stars and the lights on the lake.
They didn't kiss.
But they almost did.
And that was enough.
For now, that was enough.
---
End of Chapter Ten