3: A Scroll to Remember part 3

She snapped herself from asking such a silly question in her mind, as no one knows who could answer.

But that didn’t stop her. She typed the words: Drino Montezales girlfriend

Her thumb hovered over the search button and pressed it. The screen lit up with results. Her pulse quickened as she scrolled.

“Who are these women?” she muttered.

There are pictures and videos of Drino smiling, laughing, standing close beside a girl… and then another. Different faces, different settings, different times when he posted, and the women he was with tagging him.

A strange heaviness settled in her chest. She wasn’t sure what hurt more—the thought that he might be with someone, or that she cared enough for it to sting.

Still, she couldn’t find a strong answer, not until she read a comment thread of a specific post about Drino.

Commenter 1: Drino is so hot! I wish I were her gf

Commenter 2 replied to Commenter 1: He’s NGSB, girl! I bet he’s gay, though

Commenter 1: Awww huhuhu

Commenter 3 to Commenter 2: LOL! There’s no way he’s been single since birth.

Commenter 4 to Commenter 3: True. If so, then he’s rare. Or maybe he doesn’t want to commit to anyone right now? He can be a playboy, y’know.

Commenter 2 to Commenter 4: Right. He doesn’t really share his romantic life. He’s so private about it. He could have a non-showbiz partner right now, but no one knows who it is.

Commenter 5 to Commenter 2: No, he had a girlfriend in college. They were dating at that time.

Commenter 3 to Commenter 5: Guessed it right. He’s not NGSB hahaha.

Commenter 1 to Commenter 5: Oh nooo! Who is the luckiest girl???

Commenter 5 to Commenter 1: I forgot her full name. It was during their last year in college. From what I heard, it wasn’t a serious thing anyway. It probably lasted for less than 6 months.

Ashmille twitched when she read the last comment. The fifth commenter must be referring to her unless Drino dated anyone aside from her in college that she wasn’t aware of. But as far as she knows, it was solely her. Not that she seems conscious of the possibility of the other girl or girls Drino has dated in college, she just wanted to confirm if it was indeed her that the fifth commenter was hinting at.

She is wondering who this fifth commenter is. So, she checked his profile, but he’s not familiar with her. He might be their batchmate or a schoolmate from another program. She shrugged it off.

She tapped the comment bar to reply to Commenter 5 to clarify things. She is typing this:

No, false news. We dated, but it was never official. That’s it.

She was about to enter her reply when she suddenly noticed that she shouldn’t do it because:

1. She’s using her real social media account with her real name on it.

2. This might spark rumors and unwanted attention to Drino and to her about a current nobody who used to date a current somebody.

3. This might ruin Drino’s reputation, and she doesn’t want that.

4. She might get bullied by obsessed fans of Drino, who are delusional and irrational enough to hurt her virtually and in person.

She deleted her typed words and declined to reply to him.

Upon reading the comments again, the people have random assumptions about him, like they actually knew who he was. A part of her wanted to jump in, to type out a defense, to tell them they were wrong.

But does it really change anything? Maybe Drino wasn’t a playboy and had no girlfriend before, but what if he changed? She no longer knows the new Drino, so why should she bother?

After two hours of scrolling through Drino’s social media page, she wanted to follow his page. Aside from wanting to know more about Drino, his online content is interesting enough for Ashmille. But once again, no, because she’s using her real account. She worries he might notice it.

But does Drino have the time to check all his notifications and new followers?

She pushed the thought away and put down her phone on her bed, facing down. She stood up, forcing herself to move. Her arms stretched above her head, and her legs followed. She did these to shake off the heaviness that had settled in her chest. A long sigh escaped her lips. Maybe a warm bath would help her to wash away the noise in her mind after another exhausting day at work.

She went to the bathroom. The sound of running water filled the bathroom, soft steam curling around her as she let the warmth ease her shoulders. For a few minutes, she closed her eyes, letting the quiet hum of the water drown out her thoughts about Drino and her.

After her bath, she wrapped herself in a towel and padded back to her room to put on her nightclothes. The night felt unusually still. She grabbed a bag of chips from the kitchen downstairs and settled back into her room. She pulled out her bamboo laptop bed table. She set it neatly on her bed before lifting her laptop from the desk.

When the screen flickered to life, a familiar folder caught her attention. It is a single word that seemed to pull her in with a folder name, College. Her heart gave a small, hesitant thump. She clicked it open.

Dozens of photos filled the screen. There are laughing faces, classroom snapshots, and random group selfies under bright campus skies. Her lips curved faintly. Those were the days, she thought, when everything felt simpler.

Then, she scrolled down and found another folder. It was a folder containing images and videos of her final year in college. The atmosphere in the photos shifted. It became more serious, more sentimental, more… fleeting. And then she saw the single picture she had with Drino.

The sight made her pause. For a moment, it felt like time was pulling her back to that day. The old versions of them became frozen in a single frame.

In the picture, they were standing side by side under the old acacia tree near the campus library. Drino had his usual half-smile, looking relaxed, confident, effortlessly warm. She looked at her younger self in the photo with bright eyes and a carefree spirit. They looked happy.

Ashmille leaned back against the headboard, the laptop’s glow softening against her face. Where did all that time go? And why does it still feel like a part of me stayed there with him? she wondered.

Her fingers traced the touchpad absentmindedly. She continuously hovers over the photos. The questions lingered quietly in her mind, where no one could answer.

*social media notification sound*

Her phone received a notification. She opened her phone to check what it was. She slid the notification tab and read it.

Drino Montezales followed you back

Ashmille’s world turned upside down when she read the notification on her phone screen.

A certain memory core ignited, which takes her on a short journey to reminisce.