From A to Z

I

Adam wondered what Zach meant when he said the word "price."

Actually, he was unsure whether Zach said "price" or "prize" because the two words sounded alike.

He wanted to ask Zach about it that same moment, but he was too shy to bother him since he was too immersed with what he was doing.

As far as Adam knows, their fraternity only agreed to give their media partner free publicity in their social media pages as well as free food and lodging during the event in exchange for their services. These "simple" compensations were, in fact, the reason why the school media organization was disincentivized to cover their event. They were baffled with the offering knowing that the members of Adam's fraternity were among the richest in their school; and to teach them a lesson, they backed out of the event at the last minute.

"Did Mateo offer Zach some amount because he was desperate?" he asked himself.

To which he himself answered: "But the two of them seemed close enough that Mateo can easily ask for Zach's help, and from how I see their relationship, it is Zach who is indebted to Mateo because of his kindness towards him."

Another question surfaced: "Or was it not a monetary reward but something else? Something that enticed Zach to work vigorously for that project?"

His mind began wandering. He thought of things, horrible things.

He smashed his study table; his penholder and its contents along with his lampshade were surprised and jumped. Adam was annoyed with Zach for leaving him hanging. He could not concentrate. He must settle this disturbance as quick as he can considering how minor it was.

He decided to ask Zach about it the following day. There was nothing wrong with doing so. If that "price," or "prize" whichever was correct, concerned his organization, the Alpha should know about it.

Unfortunately, he did not catch Zach in the library that day. He went there at the same time he saw him the previous day. He checked all the aisles in the library, but Zach was nowhere to be found. He saw the book cart at the corner; it was empty. It meant that Zach had already finished stacking the books back into their respective shelves. He thought of going to the Librarian's Office to check if he was there, but Mang Larry was not in his outside desk, which could mean that he was inside the room.

The following day, Adam went to the library again but at an earlier time. To his disappointment, Zach was still not there. He went back in the afternoon; still, he did not find him.

This irritated Adam further. It was as if the more he searched for him, the lower the chances he could catch him. More so, he was irritated with himself for wasting his time and expending his energy in finding him. But could he blame himself? Whenever he was doing something other than looking for him like studying for his exams or answering the questions of his exams, his mind could not stop thinking about the meaning of Zach's words. He could not stop thinking about him.

"Damn that price!" he cursed inside his head and pushed the doors of the library with his frustrated manly brute, not caring to check if someone was trying to enter the library and got hit by the door.

On Friday, four days after Zach went missing from his radar, Adam started his search early. He wanted to catch him that day because he did not want to spend the whole weekend unsettled, suffering, and thinking about that petty "price."

At five in the morning, he went to St. Joseph's Church, their school's church, and heard the morning Mass. He sought His guidance for his conquest. He prayed for the restoration of peace in his troubled mind and soul and wished that the Heavens would light up the path which would lead him to the only person who could save him from his agonizing grief.