Loneliness redefined

Wednesdays, I have Japanese class until 6:00pm. Usually, by 5:00, I would be so bored I would spend time cursing my wristwatch for being 5 minutes advanced. I would shuffle my feet under the desk, itching to check my phone for messages or missed phone calls since it usually vibrates anywhere from 2 to 5 times during that three-hour class. Invitations from friends for dinner, or a movie, or just to ask me to tell the teacher why they'd be missing class.

This Wednesday was different. No phone calls. Not a single message. Not even a stupid phone company ad. To make matters worse, I had forgotten to put it on silent mode, which, by virtue of Murphy's Law, should have had increased the chances of it ringing at inappropriate times (e.g., class time) by 500%.

After class, I eagerly check my phone, hoping I had somehow missed something. Nope. So I initiate contact and email my two closest friends inviting them to dinner. No response. I call one of them. He shuts it off mid-ring.

I go to dinner in the cafeteria, hoping to spot somebody I know. No one. I sit along side two Japanese guys, and I cannot even eavesdrop to their conversation. Two minutes pass and they leave the table. I find myself sitting alone in one of the longest table in a canteen that's packed.

I go home. The streets are dark, and my bike light is losing power. I meet no one on the road, not even a rock that would make me take spill on my bicycle, hurt myself and remind me I'm there. I reach my dorm, climb four flights of stairs (I met no one, by the way) to my room. I take off my clothes, lie on the bed, chug on lousy orange juice and take one of the best escape routes known to me: I sleep for 15 straight hours.