June, The Perfect Perfect Time To Be A Junior

Part 2 : Junior Takes Two

Here's a rough recap of this week :

1. Monday - Schoolwork day. All work and no play makes school a dumb place. Nothing is worse than the word 'schoolwork' but 'schoolworkS'.

2. Tuesday - You-Make-Me-So-Crangry day. Cranky + Angry = Crangry. Lacked hours of sleep due to the caffeine the night before, I was certainly not in my best behavior.

3. Wednesday - Stomach-Flu day. I had a mean stomach flu the whole day. Promise I didn't gas up the room! Honest!

4. Thursday - Class-Elections day. Missed 3/4 of the double period Chemistry in the morning. The note-catching-up part, not my thing.

5. Friday - Sbarro-Starts-The-Weekend day. My brother and I decided to spend all the money we saved up that week for a huge slice of pizza. We deserved it.

MONDAY - SCHOOLWORK DAY

It was as if the teachers were making up for the time they lost in giving us some over-the-weekend schoolworks that Friday when we were all sent to go home due to the storm, we were having a taste of the post-cyclone attack. If I remember it right, in every subject, we had to do something school-related. There was something to do for Chemistry. And for Geometry. And Computer. And Filipino. And History. And English. CLF and Chinese. Hello? Overload? I was hyperventilating after I took down each task in my assignment notebook. Seatmate Camille told me I was overreacting and that there was no pressure. I disagree! I should really start bringing a paper bag in case that happens again.

TUESDAY - YOU-MAKE-ME-SO-CRANGRY DAY

I am usually a very happy and positive person. I always tell people how wonderful and beautiful the new day is and on some days, I even feel like I'm a walking bowl of sunshine. But on those days, my classmates and friends just think I'm in school high instead of high school.

Not in my best behavior on this particular day, though. So I'm really really really sorry. I blame it on the caffeine the night before.

WEDNESDAY - STOMACH-FLU DAY

I saw the world from behind a washing machine. Everything was spinning. My ears were ringing. And my stomach was hurting like crazy. That was the day I realized how bad a stomach flu was. The same one Mike Newton had in The New Moon. Only he was too much of a wimp so he had to puke. And puke and puke.

Despite all that, I was in a better mood. It was a good thing I didn't let it get the best of me because our group leader, Camille, had to be absent and we were having our CLF phantomime play on the Washing of Feet that day. It was a success. Minus the time I spilled water. It was Kenneth (aka Jesus) 's fault! Naw. Who cares? It was hilarious. Oh hey, why don't I tell you about it right now? Flashback flashback flashback >>>

Monday afternoon, Brother Chester, our CLF teacher, grouped the class into two for the first class role play of the year. We were assigned for the Washing of Feet while the other group was assigned for the Last Supper. Lucky for them, they had until Thursday when we had to have Wednesday. Pressure pressure pressure. Camille took the role of the leader, me the director, Rae took down the very important notes and volunteered to bring the minimal props needed. Character assignment time. William became our narrator so we had to have Nacey be one of the 12 apostles. She was John the Beloved. James played James and Campo played Thaddeus (his second name's also Thaddeus). The main stars were Simon Peter and Jesus Christ. I suggested that Jared should be SP and Lucero be JC. They took the roles promptly.

Thankfully, the music and the props were ready by Wednesday but we needed a dry run on the presentation on Wednesday recess. Only 20 minutes and it was the first real practice we had. More pressure. God blessed us so we finished. Until CLF time came, I was crossing my fingers. We were give 5 minutes of preparation. I filled the pitcher with some water and we helped out in arranging the chairs and setting up the music.

SUCCESS! There were positive reviews from our audience. Lucero didn't feel very comfortable making hand contact with Jared's feet. I was his assistant. Not that Jesus needed an assistant. We had to raise up Jared's foot a little for the audience to see clearly. There were 2 parts I loved the most. Abigail playing devil and seducing Gerard (Judas Escariot of course) into temptation while the Pink Panther theme was played. And the introduction of the apostles while Mariah Carey's Touch My Body played. I was so happy.

Stomach-Flu day has got to be my favorite day of the second week of school. I loved all the goofs and minus the mean stomach flu, it was actually pretty awesome.

THURSDAY - CLASS-ELECTIONS DAY

All members of the Student Council was given the 'privilege' to miss the first period of class in the morning. But I didn't think it was a privilege at all. I love Chemistry. Or at least, I don't want to miss a single discussion of it in case I miss something important. But a year rep's got to do what a year rep's got to do.

William and I teamed up for facilitating the class elections of the freshmen year and Piccola and Chad in the other wing. It was my first time and it was quite interesting. William did the talking and I did the writing. And the mispelling. After that, I got to help tally up the results. One freshman section and my own section, Kostka.

In case you were absent for the week, say, Jethro, pay attention to our classroom official results. President Kean Prudence Romero, Vice-President Rhea Leanne Patalinjug (and possibly first lady hehehe), Secretary Rae Sharlene Legaspi, and Treasurer Walton Royce Tan.

FRIDAY - SBARRO-STARTS-THE-WEEKEND DAY

There's nothing like a gigantic slice of pizza to start the weekend you so well deserve. And you know it. For some reason, I get to save up more quickly than my little brother so I agreed to lend him some money to buy a pizza. But we didn't have enough for drinks so forget about that. I looove the pizza there! Who doesn't?

That's a wrap! Second week's over and I'm anticipating the third. I just hope that it won't be thrice the pressure. Thrice the mess-ups. And only about a month to go until the Breaking Dawn Philippine release date. Pressure much?

June 16, 2008, Monday.

I couldn't sleep. I couldn't breathe.

I was too hyperactive, overenergized, and overexcited.

Only a week ago did we have our Student Council LTS and I have gathered enough information to last me a lifetime. So Mdm. (dot dot dot) is a really nice person but don't you dare cheat in her class. Fine. That's cool. I don't cheat. Unless it's Math. Sometimes ...

The following Friday, I was forced to go to Ayala with younger brother Lyle and our helper (we fondly call her yaya) to help them with the purchasing of school supplies. It was not really as tiresome as I'd thought. I just kept on picking on Lyle and how long it took him to pick a pencil case, an eraser, and everything else. And you know what, the day turned suddenly brighter.

I used up the last hundred bill in my wallet for a plate of Dip n' Nachos at Don Henrico's, with the knowledge that we still had enough spare change for a jeepney ride home. That was when I got the message that I was still going to have the same set of classmates. I swear I almost threw the bowl of cheese on yaya's face. Lyle thought I was just overreacting but in my defense, I love my class. I love my classmates. And I so much loved the misadventures and misforturnes we'd gone through last year. Who wouldn't want another set of those again this year?

Kostka. Got it. My admission slip was safely buckled in my assignment notebook's plastic cover and my new pink pencil case never failed to fascinate me. Everything nice and new always fascinates me. Typical teenage girl, you might say. I hung the most recent keychains I got on my minnie mouse bag and everything was ready that Monday morning.

I woke up at 3. Which brings us back to the very beginning again.

I couldn't sleep. I couldn't breathe.

I was too hyperactive, overenergized, and overexcited.

Since cousins Rhea (who's now in La Salle) and Mark (Lord knows where he is) have graduated from Sacred last school year, the last of the second generation Legaspi's left in Sacred Heart are me, fellow Junior year cousin, Rae, and sixth grader Lyle. I don't think anyone else would dare wake up early for education's sake in this generation.

So it was between Rae's dad and my dad to decide who'll bring us to school every morning. And the usual M-W-F T-Th schedule was followed. Dad managed to convinced Rae's dad to bring us to school on the first day. Unfortunately, we got late. Because the transpo run out of gas in the middle of that jammed and blasted flyover area. It was terrible. We had to ride a cab and the traffic was absolutely unbelievable and so was the meter. In the end, all 3 of us arrived in the campus at 7.45 giggling and joking about how we made history and how beautiful we decided to start the school year.

We took the ramp right across the kindergarten building and help Lyle scan for his section in the list. He was a Gonzaga-n this year. After that, Rae and I marched to the hallways and into the classroom, only to be welcomed with a great applause. It was not in the least embarrassing. Even a little flattering. Familiar faces were smiling and waving and whooting and everything was just as it should be.

Our III-St. Stanislaus Kostka-n advisor is Mdm. Villacrucis and she's also our Chemistry teacher. Chemistry. Pssh. The real scary thing about third year is Geometry. And not even Mr. Dumasis' grim humor can lighten up the subject. His advice is to 'visualize' everything before coming up with an answer. Sounds easy but it's not. Geometry, as early as now, is a mean and hellish subject.

After 2 periods with Mdm. Villacrucis, we met Mr. Dumasis who made us choose partners for the usual first-day-introduction. Margreth and I had no idea what to tell the others of our special abilities so we settled for cooking. Me? Cooking? Yeah right. At least the others bought it. Recess followed shortly after that and everyone filed out of the room and into the hallway outside.

Everyone was exchanging pleasantries and we tried to bond as much as we could. The people who joined the educational tour to Xiamen all had interesting stories to tell us. Rumors flew and were verified true and false and the bell rang. We all went in anticipating the next period. Filipino. And it was still going to be our golden girl Gng. Panares teaching us this year.

We welcomed her with a huge round of applause. Our second year class advisor! And she was still going to be our teacher! Sure, Gng. was not the saint-iest of all teachers last year because we certainly were no angel students but we liked the idea of having her again. At least, I did. I'm not a fan of big changes anyway. After Filipino was Social and again, a second year teacher was rejoining us this year. The crowd favorite Mdm. Torres. If she was fun last year, she's fun-er this year. Window shopping-'mamalit ug bintana'. Lolz.

I had lunch with the usual lunch people I went with last school year and for afternoon classes, we had Bro. Chester, our CLF teacher and also SC moderator. He was not as crazy as he was in the LTS training-pretending to be his female alter ego and sporting that freaky laugh that gets stuck in your head for days, though. Mdm. Mananay! Mdm. Mananay! Some guys in class wanted Miss Toledo to be our English teacher this year but Mdm. Mananay was also our English teacher last year and she was pretty cool. So glad to have her back again this year.

And Lin Lao Shi is our Chinese teacher this year. She was okay. She loves speaking in Chinese really fast and she loves to not call me and Camille (who happen to be seated in the very front of the class) to answer her questions. But that's okay. I always get nerve-wrecked when I have to speak in Chinese. I'm so bad at it-don't you make me speak it unless you understand English or the dialect itself! Hmph!

Ending the week was rather blissful. The typhoon called Franc or Frank or whatever came Friday morning cutting off the afternoon classes. A lot were pretty happy about it and I was one of them. Not entirely blissful but 'rather' blissful. I had a whole Friday afternoon to sleep and with the beautiful stormy weather, I was just sooo happy to catch some time to sleep.

Rae's mom, Aunt Shirley, picked us up from school at around 1 or 2 yesterday with young Renzo and Ralph with her. After Ralph caught his short afternoon snooze, he was all about getting off his sister Rae's lap and playing with me and Lyle. He drooled in the empty Mentos plastic and played with my bag keychains and talking about nonsense. No. They made sense. Kidding. He's a smart kid.

That's my first week of school. In my POV. Heh.

Me!

You don't believe me?

Fine.

Check out the link yourself.

http://twilighters.org/stephenie-meyer-scrapbook-project/?nggpage=2

There.

Click it.

It will only take you a sec.

Did you see it?

Did you see it?

Did you see it?

Top that!

The only Philippine-based fan who made it to the final scrapbook.

Where's the scrapbook now?

No one less than Mrs. Meyer herself!

My ears have now gone to the calmer shade of pink.

A little while ago it was crazy red.

My dad thought I was possessed or something but this is something HUGE!

Honestly.

I mean, at least I think so.

You can stop reading now.

I've made my point.

This made my day.

Extremely.

Unless you want to keep reading, fine.

Sure.

Here goes.

A few months back I decided to visit Twilighters.org.

I think it was a few days after Kellan and Nikki and Kristen and Rob announced the official name for Twilight fans.

Twilighters.

So I got a little curious.

I created an account and so on.

Clicked on lots of buttons on the hompage until I found the peculiar scrapbook project.

Sounds too good to be true.

I sent an entry.

Didn't get my hopes way up.

I didn't expect to get a space.

Even a little.

Even more, a picture that I submitted.

Heads up and thanks to Mr. Carlos Q. Tabada who made the picture wonderful and worth a second a glance with photoshop.

I am truly grateful, Q.

Maybe it's the pic that really made me get in.

The note itself was not too witty.

It was simple.

It was your everyday I love you Stephenie note.

Nevertheless, I made it.

And I'm so up now.

Up.

High.

I love everyone at Twilighters.org.

Although I'm not as lucky as Laura over there at Kellmet Happens who got a surprise visit from Rob, I still feel blessed.

This is so awesome.

I guess we can all say that good things come to Twilight fans.

Twihard.

Twilighters.

I especially identify myself a fang girl.

Whatever.

I'm a fan who got lucky.

Hehe.

Hehe.

Hehe.

I'm going mad.

Byee guys!

I wonder if they'll ever post that notice any time today or the next day? Probably not. To them, I was just another Stephenie Meyer girl who just wanted a "The Host" copy. But instead, I became a joke ten seconds after I approached the counter.

Everything was going swell. My brother and our helper (upon the urge of my dad who didn't like the idea of us taking a jeep alone back and forth. geez dad, I'm like 15! Lyle's like turning 12 this year!) and I rode a jeep to SM. Saves a lot of money compared to the regular cab. We picked up a birthday gift for dad in about 30 minutes from arrival time. That was a record breaker. It's a good thing he's a big coffee fan. And then, after we paid for the cup, I told the two to go and have some fun while I pick up the book-if they had the book already.

And boy did Powerbooks have it. I love that store. It's a bookworm's heaven. Anyway, I saw the copy and quickly grabbed it and dashed for the counter. I handed over the money-without counting-to the cashier. Why didn't I count it? I obviously prepared that money for what? Weeks now? Yes. Weeks. Two weeks. But I obviously didn't count it right. So typical Math-dummie me. Dun dun dun. And I gave all my money to Lyle so I had to run out of the store leaving all the money I had to look for him.

It was a desperate situation. He wasn't in his favorite store (aka Toy Kingdom) and all I had was 10 pesos in my wallet. I needed load. And fast. Too bad I didn't know any shop there who would reload for 10 pesos only. Nothing registered. Except my cousin's store. Of course! I just wish he was there. Well, as fate had been horrible to me today, he wasn't. He left an hour ago and the restaurant people were not about to believe me even if I'd told them I was his cousin slash neighbor slash annoying friend. Their family driver was a major savior. He handed me 5 pesos so I could have 15-the minimum for the load. Bummer. And then Lyle and our helper passed by just like that. And we dashed back to Powerbooks to give the lacking amount and take the book home.

Well, that's my story. I thought I'd never have a face to show in that store again but it is still the only place that sells the new arrival books the earliest in this city. Breaking Dawn's out in August. That gives me a few months for them to forget my face. Hihihi. I don't have a choice.

And now that I think about it, I think it's a good story to tell my classmates when we see each other again. They would be like 'You haven't changed a bit! And you've grown a little fat.' Wahaha.

(warning : this is a survey. viewing may cause discretion due to highly lethal vanity to some sensitive people.)

Before classes start again, recall what happened last school year ...

1. How many were you in your class?

40.

2. Who was your adviser/teacher-in-charge?

Gng. Panares.

3. Did you love it in your class? Why or why not?

Yeah. The people were awesome and the teacher was niice.

4. Who is considered a "cutie" in your class?

I don't remember. Lots of different people, a lot more different opinions.

5. Who was the naughtiest?

The Mean Guys. The rendition of LiLo's The Mean Girls.

6. You must be familiar with mean girls, bullies, jocks, nerds, etc. Were there groups in your school? Yes or no?

Yeah but to others, we all belonged in a group called 'geeks'. We are not geeks, by the way. We blow the minds out of the audience during play competitions.

7. Who was your last seatmate for the year?

Walton and William. They were the best. They may have been smart but I swear I didn't cheat on them without permission ever. Okay, maybe Walton during Math time but not on quiz days. Just reg seatworks. Everyone didn't understand that lesson anyway.

8. Who often sings?

Frankie and Fitz. They're very good people, too. Everyone was good.

9. Who dances?

The boys. I liked that number they did for the Variety Show with the song "Gikumot-kumot".

10. Who is the teacher’s pet?

Not me. I don't know who exactly but I'm telling you ahead. Not me. Gng. always said I talked too much.

11. Where do you usually eat, at the cafeteria or in the classroom?

Recesses in the classroom and Lunches at the cafeteria. On some occasions, we eat at the square only to be threatened to be sent to the DOSS by the guard.

12. Have you experienced suspension during the whole school year?

No. I may have not been that good but I stayed out of major trouble.

14. Did you have tutorial classes?

No. But I ask help from my classmates. Does that count? Not often but I would never pretend like I knew the topic when I didn't.

15. Up to what time do you usually stay at school?

5 or 5 something. Mark and Rhea were always the late comers. Seniors ... Fortunately, they're in college now.

16. Ever got into a CAT fight this school year? yes or no.

Oh my goodness, I am not very lady-like but I know that's just way beyond my limits. And obviously, it's a no.

17. Do you bring your cellphone in school?

Yes. Because it's allowed.

18. What was your favorite subject?

I really liked Social because Mdm. Torres is awesome. And English was so cool with Mdm. J that I don't feel so sleepy by the end of the day anymore.

19. Who was the cleaning freak in your class?

Everyone turned into clean freaks because of that one single incident. Haha. Gng. Panares sure did throw a fit on that one.

20. Who often changed seats?

Everybody. We changed seats every quarter.

21. Who was often late?

Richard. Haha.

22. Was there a foreigner in your class? Yes or no.

No.

23. Was there a strict English policy in your school?

There was. At some point in history, every time we spoke in the native dialect in English, we'd have to pay a fine of a peso. But it got abolished somehow.

24. Ever fell asleep in front of your teacher?

Yes. Oh my gosh. Mdm. Flores, forgive me. Maybe that's why my CLF card grade decreased. I was sleeping in a reg size Smurfs pillow on my desk and woke up drooling. Haha.

25. Is girlfriend/boyfriend allowed in your school?

No. If you're lucky, you don't get caught but it's better to be safe than sorry. Besides, I'm too happy being single and I love my friends to be my friends only forever.

26. Did you have any crush in school this year?

A strange one. I had a crush on one of the Japanese exchanged students. Taku. Lolz. It was crazy. And towards the end, I had a crush on a book character. Eeedward. Because boys in books are just way better. That's all, I guess.

27. Where did you study in the school year 2006-2007?

SHS-J.

28. What year/level were you there?

Freshie.

29. Did you have any love interest there? Yes or no.

No.

30. Who?

I didn't!

31. Was there detention in your school?

I don't know. Maybe. But I didn't get to have it so there.

32. Did you love P.E.?

I only liked PE when it was singing and dancing with Mdm. Alguno and Mdm. Seno. I hated jumping rope and everything else.

33. Was this year’s camp the best?

The best I had so far. I was in a tent with my best gal pals, our next-tent neighbors were also our gal pals, we played truth or dare and gossiped the night away. And we had to eat food-from-the can for majority of the meals. It was simply the best. A lot of other girl scouts didn't like it, though. It was quite hard to adjust with everything, we had our fights sometimes but we quickly made up anyway. That's the beauty of it.

34. How do teachers rate you?

The lowest I got was a B+. That's for Math. What can I say? It's such a cheating-prone subject.

35. What bugs you every morning when going to school?

Those red spots that suddenly appear on my face, my impossible eyes, my frizzy hair ... and the homework I forgot about. It's hard cheating on a moving car.

36. How often do you meet the principal/school director?

I always think Fr. Javier's still the principal in the high school department. He's such a nice guy, always mingling with the students. Fr. Velandria's not like that. He wasn't even present all throughout the school year. And then there was the sub, Mr. Ong. He was a good guy. Great teacher. I was a horrible student and I kept picking on him. Haha.

37. What was your least favorite hour while in school? Why?

Computer-Math. First 2 subjects in the afternoon. I would literally die.

38. Were you an athlete of the school?

No. I like sports but I'm not good enough for the team. I don't know. Never did try out anyway.

39. Do you usually go into other classrooms?

No. I stay put inside my classroom begging for food or reading a good book during recesses and lucky absent-teacher periods.

40. Ever cried in school this year?

Did I? I don't know. I don't think so.

41. Were you always early in the morning?

No. It's my other cousins' fault. They're boys and they act like freaking Mary Sues.

42. What do you do by the time you reach school?

I greet my seatmates a good morning and tell them a full recount of last night's funniest events.

42. Who were you always with?

I was kicked out of the lunch table halfway towards the end of the year but I was lucky enough to be welcomed into Fitz' table. They're the best guys. Frankie, Fitz, Nacey, Abigail, Lui ... did I miss somebody out? Please no. Anyway, I love them. They're true friends always sticking out for each other.

43. Who always answers the teacher’s question?

Depends on the subject but I distinctly remember Lucero raising his arm (pits) in every single question. I only answer the question when I see that nobody else knows. And when I'm in the mood. Not every question must be answered, anyway.

44. During examinations, do you review in the night or early in the morning?

Both. Always both.

45. Are you close with the teachers?

I don't think one of my teachers hate me. I mingle with them sometimes, fool around, do my part, and stay out of their way.

46. In your teachers, who can you run to?

I don't run to anyone. I didn't even tell Ms. Armada about my problems which were quite serious. And they were not high school teen romance love dilemmas either. So much more darker, deeper, and more intense. But I sorted them out myself. That's me. Ms. Independent.

47. Was your class wild?

For an honor's class, without a doubt. We were the worst honor's class my teachers had ever seen.

48. Who likes writing on the board?

Me. I loved to draw doodles, too.

49. how did your uniform look like?

Knee-length navy blue skirt. White polo with navy blue collar and awesome tie with the school seal. It was one of a kind. And everything would all go down to the shoes. There were really people who would insult your shoes and it was terrible. They were boys! Fashion critic boys?!

Welcome. Hii and Heyy to the launching of my nothing-too-special Twilight Teaser Trailer Blog Response. I call this one ...

THE CHUBBY FANG GIRL

response edition.

-chiching-

Have you seen the Twilight Teaser Trailer yet or have you been living in a rock for the past few hype-filled months? Fine, I decided to forgive you if you didn't watch it from my site. No hard feelings. None at all. (sniffs). Okay okay, down to business now. The triple T. I just love saying it-Twilight Teaser Trailer. Twilight Teaser Trailer. Twilight Teaser Trailer. Say it with me. I'm practically hyperventilating here. Yee yee yee. Can't breathe. Okay, I'm just making a fool of myself. Let's start everything one-by-one. Yes. That way, we can breathe at the same time and not have to fall off our chairs. So, hmm, Twilight huh? Yes! Twilight. Rejoice all you Twilighters, Twihards, Twilightmoms, Fang Girls, or simply Twilight fans out there. This should be made into a legal holiday, don't you think? Catherine Hardwicke is ... (does Paula Abdul's signature clap-head down and hands up in the air) she's a genius. Spectacular spectacular. I was like awe-whoah-OMG! And I almost cried. That's right. I maybe a drama queen but that-that touched me in ways I can't describe. Tears were welling up but then 1 minute was over and I got a hold of myself again. And then I played it one more time and another and another. If I wasn't such a camera-shy person, I would've made a video commentary about this. You would've been laughing your butts off at my facial expressions and all. Moving on ... I just would like to say that the chemistry is waaay beyond the limits of my sanity. It was literally worth swooning over. When Rob looks ito Kristen's eyes-that was not just acting anymore. There were suppressed feelings-of passion. Rob stared at her I imagined Edward to have stared at Bella-sometimes even better than my own imagination. Looove. And when Rob smiles?! The real mystery to me is if Rob looks better when he looks like the bad boy or when he flashes his crooked smile or when he says his lines without the Brit accent. That accent was so hot already but I just realized how fiery he is without it. He looked oh so good. And Kristen's just beautiful. Only she could totally pull off the simple headband look and still look gorgeous like that. Effortlessly gorgeous. They so made a great job at casting these guys. Kellan (Emmett) was there in the trailer, too, but other than that, none of the other casts were featured yet. Continue to bite the insides of your cheeks. From what I've heard, in 3 days, another teaser's coming up. Ah, yes. If they keep this up, I could possibly live through December. Nice. Okay, okay. I think I've said enough. For more randomness, anticipate another "The Chubby Fang Girl : Response Edition" as soon as the next teaser is up. Until next time! (I suggest you watch the TTT again...)

THE STORY BEHIND THE PICTURES

.blogging about my usherette-ing experience.

It's been a long time since I wrote a real blog. I've been busying myself for the past few days by tidying up my room a bit (I still didn't finish) and also write some new chapters of my made-up stories. I sometimes go out of the house to play badminton with my cousins-but I seldom go out during the day. We play during the night when the wind is cool and the sun is out. I enjoy scaring them as well. When the moon's up, they get even more gullible.

Before I left school after the bell had rung signaling the start of summer vacation, I committed myself to another school-related activity. Along with my classmates, we met up with Mdm. Mananay who told us about the grade school graduation and that she picked us to be ushers and usherettes. I was hesitant at first but since I didn't have anything to do anyway and the graduation's going to be held at CICC, I jumped to agreeing with the terms even without asking my dad first. I was sure he'd be happy about it. He knows he can trust me. I don't ditch out for no reason.

Speaking of the terms, we had to wear formal attires and for the girls-some light make-up and high heels. I loved make-up shopping. I searched through the stores offering the cheapest cosmetics. My skin really isn't that delicate anyway so I could try on anything without putting myself to risk. I borrowed a dress from my cousin, wore leggings under it. I fixed my own hair and put on some make-up. Nothing bothered me as much as the heels. They were killing me. By the time I got home, my feet was aching and I had some nasty blisters.

I arrived at around 2.35. My dad drove me to CICC and told me to be home as early as possible. I just nodded and made my way through unfamiliar faces. By the time I went up, I found some familiar faces of my batchmates and I asked them where the other ushers and usherettes were. They told me they were inside the hall and sure enough, they were there. Miss Buhay, a grade school teacher, helped me pin a sash with U-S-H-E-R-E-T-T-E written on it neatly. It was awkward to just come up to parents. Fortunately, Lui was my partner and he was being extra-helpful. He came up to them smoothly while I staggered with my heels. They were torturing devices.

Most of the parents were really nice but there will always be exceptions. Some parents-particularly mothers, complained about the airconditioner. It wasn't turned up until 3 and they were complaining because of the heat, their make-ups being ruined and all. Some guests weren't very nice, too. Some were mean and they just snobbed our "Good Afternoons" and "How may we help yous". It was terrible. I remember one skinny woman who refused our help. Even raised her head up high and then came up to William because she got lost. There you go.

There were only 9 ushers and usherettes in all-William, Lui, Charles, Alphonse, Fitz, Francesca, Rejzl, Abigail, and me. We all looked very formal and we complimented each other. We still couldn't get used to our new looks. After we had everyone settled, we all went outside and sat on the steps of the stairs. We took the time out to catch up on each other's summer experience. We didn't have much to share. Either that, or none of us was too smug to tell us about it. I really didn't have anything to say so I just sat down and played brickgames.

We took lots of pictures-the story behind the ones in my album (yes, the ones I grabbed from William's site)-in CICC and outside. With the fountain and all. We planned other hang outs-we even considered Pod5 that night. I was cool about not going home early-dad wanted me to get a cab home anyway. I can fake the whole traffic excuse. But that would have meant Frankie and Abigail missing the fun since their sibs were grads. They also needed to celebrate. So we thought of rescheduling. Who knows when. We were planning all sorts of stuff-like watching Narnia 2 : Prince Caspian which will not come out in about a month. And even the Berchmans reunion by the time they get back home by May 25.

So, to wrap things up, we were bad ushers and usherettes. No. Kidding. We did our jobs. We helped out lots of parents and guests but we just didn't stay inside for the whole ceremony. But we did pretty good. No chaos at all. Maybe, if I'd be called again to be an usherette next year, I'd definitely go. It's fun. The pictures. And hanging out with friends in executive outfits. That was pretty awesome.

You know...

when you say school's over...

you make it sound like it's such a good thing...

or make it sound it's got more ups in it than downs...

well...

I know it doesn't make sense but...

I'm still trying to swallow everything with one big gulp...

Fine.

School's over.

But was that just it?

One whole year all gone down the drain?

I was quite vocal about expressing my joys yesterday...

I was like yeah...

in a matter of minutes I'll be out of here.

I'll be anywhere but near my books.

And I can do whatever I want without worrying about schoolworks.

I had been looking forward to it all week...

all the month of March even.

Last week had been killing me.

Literally.

I had to in increase my level of caffeine intake.

I had to forgo some nights of sleep.

Biology...

last year, I looked forward to it but I didn't know it had to be that difficult.

Complicated.

Maybe complex is the right word.

And Advance Algebra.

These two subjects had given me shivers down my spine.

So that was it.

I studied pretty hard.

And pushed myself just a wee bit beyond my limits.

I don't even have the guarantee of getting good grades out of that tough finals.

Set those aside now.

It's over.

Everything is.

Even ...

My classmates, friends...

they all flew to Manila today...

this morning...

for Xiamen.

I can't get over it.

Maybe if I tried to talk my dad into allowing me to go...

fat chance!

The poverty's unbearable these days.

Even if dad did allow me to go...

allow himself to work harder than usual...

I'd be haunted by the idea...

my family starving...

because of my petty high school dreams.

I'm going to miss those guys...

they'd be back on May 25...

hey...

anytime now...

(ha!)

For the mean time...

I'll be stuck here...

at home...

unless my cousins would want to go out...

you know...

we don't think of it as a family reunion...

just your everyday barkada outing...

but with some people who's your own flesh and blood...

that's really something!

Just this afternoon...

my cousin paid for my haircut...

at Benchfix...

I know!

It's great to have a cousin like that...

she's got a job...

she pays for almost everything...

she gives you a lift around town...

I mean yeah...

you've gotta admit...

that's awesome!

So that's how my summer started...

And...

maybe I'll just make something out of all this freetime.

I can...

write stories...

I've been posting them at fictionpress.

www.fictionpress.com/~neecholettee

heehee...

sorry about that...

Maybe...

I can have some yoga sessions...

download yoga songs from the net...

squat down and wait for serenity?

Meditation...

pilates...

all those hooplas?

I had been planning to clean my room anyway.

Big big mess.

Yep.

I should really clean up!

After...

the high school student council general meeting this Tuesday.

And the elementary graduation at CICC on April 7...

wow.

I guess schoolwork isn't over just yet for me, huh?

I don't mind at all.

Summer...

summer...

summer...

Okay...

that's it.

Might as well celebrate.

Family Portrait

(Take a few seconds to read my latest poem. It's about our family portrait-me, my dad, mum, and little brother. It's really simple. Only about 4 stanzas-16 lines. But it's special anyway. And it rhymes.)

I am a talking picture of a little girl.

I live in this frame embellished with silver and pearl.

Everyday my world is small and square.

But it's warm and cozy and nothing can compare.

This nice looking fellow who looks so glad.

He's the boss, the provider, my dad.

Many lookers say I got a lot of things from him.

My face, my eyes, and my not being proper and prim.

My little brother should've been at dad's back.

He must have gone out to grab a snack.

You'll be amused whenever he smiles.

He doesn't mean to do it but then again, he loses his eyes.

This is my mum with that smile of hers that's coy.

Illuminating how she feels about our family, her pride, her joy.

She always seems to know what's best for everything.

She may fail at times but she lets her heart do the guiding.

See through our eyes and find that love at its best.

Smiles captured forever in this beautiful nest.

We're just a family portrait for you, for show.

We might get seperated as the years pass but we'll hold on and never let go.