AT THE beginning of my first year in college, when I was enjoying my liberty yet missing my family, I met my best friend. Forging a close friendship in such a short time was definitely insane, but what?s more strange was how it happened.

A few days after our freshman class had our first meeting, I began receiving ?group messages? from one of our classmates. I soon found out that he was the tall, chubby, talkative, attention-seeking guy sitting in the far corner of our classroom who wanted everybody to know his name and recognize his intelligence. He was my exact opposite. I am thin and nothing drives me nuts more surely than noticing people looking at me and pressing their dim-witted judgments on me.

To my surprise, he began sending me personal messages. I replied to his questions simply because I thought it would be rude to ignore them. Sometimes he would chat with me, only to bombard me with proud stories about his childhood and his high school experiences, as if I would be interested in his tedious life. One thing he always mentioned whenever we talked was that he missed his best friends, who happened to be twins and who apparently had lost interest in him. I would then find myself offering words of comfort or assuring him that they were probably just busy at the moment and that things would work out well in the end. And he would say, ?Maybe.?

One day, after hearing the same old story, I told him I could be his best friend, an offer I had never planned. He said yes and from that day on, we called each other ?Bes.?

When our classmates asked why we called each other that way, we told them how we became best friends. And they would eye us suspiciously. Malicious people.

During our first year as best friends, we were called to the guidance office for an infraction we made during registration, we roamed around Makati for no reason at all, we laughed at things other people didn?t find funny, and we spent several memorable days in Cavite with some of our friends during the summer vacation, doing nothing but take pictures of ourselves having the time of our lives.

Now, 12 months after we first met, everything has changed. We who used to be inseparable are now apart physically and emotionally. We hardly see each other anymore. We haven?t spoken to each other for more than a minute. He does not call me ?Bes? anymore. Things are just no longer the same. Especially now, that he has found a girlfriend who happens to be my seatmate. But I am sure that he is delighted to have her around, because she is kind and thoughtful and never runs out of corny jokes.

Of course, she must be happier to have him too, because he has a talent for making others smile. I can still remember how easily he made me smile whenever I missed my family. I am so grateful that I met him and that we spent so many memorable times together.

All I can ask for at this time is that these two special persons in my life will be happy: the man who will always be a best friend to me, and the girl who used to be in my dreams.

Jervis Ogatis, 18, is taking up banking and finance at the Polytechnic University of the Philippines.