I've always been curious of how real boyfriend-girlfriend relationships work. Especially so because I've never been in one before. Wondering about relationships can only take me so far though.

I remember a conversation I had with my blockmate Leika San Juan. Our Anthropology professor was listening to other blockmates of mine reporting on different theoretical orientations of anthropology...stuff which doesn't stoke my fancy. It so happened we were seated next to each other. In time we talked about a lot of things. The conversation casually shifted to that of Leika asking, "May girlfriend ka na ba?"

I said no. "Never."

She was incredulous and bewildered, as if I wasn't normal. I raised my eyebrows. "Uh, what's so wrong with that?"

She simply couldn't believe that a guy like me had never been into a relationship before. True, I'd had crushes on so many girls, but a relationship? Never.

At that time, Leika had broken up with her boyfriend. She talked about how deceptive relationships could be. It's the usual thing that every high school guy or girl wants. I think she admitted to getting into a relationship simply because everyone else was doing it. At first it was nice, conveniently having someone to watch over and be mindful of her. Slowly, however, things turned sour. (I'd rather not get into the details.) The last thing that she told me on the subject was to avoid relationships, at least for now. They're not worth the trouble.

I'm eighteen years old, turning nineteen in February. Leika is currently sixteen and she's had one failed relationship. At first I was embarrassed, making my way into college without even having a girl to call my lover. After our conversation, though, I feel sort of...lucky.