‘I survived one week in this freaking school. Hurray!’, I thought to myself. I stuck like glue to Charm and Val, so I didn’t have to go around alone in the unfamiliar old building. We were slowly getting ourselves acclimated to the new school and its studentry. I wore our new uniform: a white blouse with a maroon school logo on the chest, maroon ribbon tied around the collar, and a skirt. One beautiful girl named Izzie lent me her book in Science and toured me in some parts of the school. Noah went with us and we had a blast going around as they made funny remarks about some teachers and students. I also got to meet the boys behind us, Archer, Jon, Enzo, Ira, and Raoul who were a bubbly bunch. And of course, Lance. He would always greet us each morning before joining the bubbly boys. This group would usually hang out along the benches under the trees, checking out girls, talking about basketball and other stuff. They seemed oblivious of the glances thrown at them by groups of Sophomore and Freshman girls, each trying to get their attention. I was still a bit wary of the rest of my classmates, though. Most ignored me, but still tagged me as that New Girl. Izzie told me it was just normal. They knew I came from an exclusive girls’ school and their first impression of me was that of a snooty transfer.
One morning we were talking near the grotto while waiting for the flag ceremony to commence. A group of girls passed by and one tall girl intentionally bumped into Charm. Charm dropped her bag and glared at the girl. “Ups, Sorry. I didn’t see you there.” The other girls snickered. Charm fired back, “What’s your problem, girlie?” The other girl opened her eyes wide and said “Nothing. What do you mean?” The other girls came closer and one butted in. “Hey transferee, don’t be too bold with us. Don’t you know us?” Val took Charm’s hand and said “Enough. Let’s go now, Charm.” The leader came closer and said to Val, “I do think that’s rude. We are not yet done talking. These three musketeers must be thinking we are pushovers here.” she glowered back at us. Suddenly, the bell rang and we all fell in line. The group of girls belonged to Section II-3I and kept gaping at us. We pointedly ignored them and Charm looked at them back, raising her left eyebrow. “What is their problem?” whispered Val. I shrugged and looked at Charm. “I think they’re jealous of Charm’s beauty.” Charm said dispiritedly, “ I guess the tall one is the girlfriend of someone I dated before.” Val and I looked at each other. “What? She stole your ex?” Charm gaped. “Excuse me, they were still an item when I dated the guy. It was me who stole her guy. Not the other way around. Hmmph.” I was confused. Then the National Anthem was played and all of us stood in attention. Afterward, the principal spoke and reminded us of school guidelines. He also briefed us of the Quarter calendar of activities. One thing resonated with me - the different club activities happening within the month. I would like to join the volleyball team. I turned to Val and Charm, “Do you play volleyball?” “Yes. Let’s join those clubs.” I smiled. At least, something interesting. I skipped and went inside the room. I bumped into Lance who was going out. I almost lost my balance but he quickly pulled me back. “Watch it!”, he exclaimed. “Sorry! I didn’t see you.” I was so embarrassed by the incident, but he smiled. “No problem. Be careful next time or you might get hurt”. Then he stepped outside. I quickly took my seat. I was assigned the back row as my surname ends in Z. We were called the 5th Row Girls: Me, Charm, Izzie, Ayene, and Len. We were seated across the bubbly boys.
Lunchtime. The cafeteria was packed. It was pretty small for a big school and so our group had to patiently wait in the long line to get our lunch. The bubbly boys were already seated and having their lunch on one of the long tables. Along came a group of boys and girls from another section. They were a bit rowdy as they pushed each other around, bumping on other students. One of the boys, a tall one with thick eyebrows, approached Jon at their table. “Hey Shorty, that’s our table. Leave now.” He was snickering and put his hands on the table. Jon looked up casually and said “Dude, we just got started with lunch. And there is no reservation here, you know that.” Archer, Enzo, and Ira stayed put and just quietly went on with their lunch. The girls giggled and one whispered to the tallboy. He backed away and acted as if about to leave. One of the girls intentionally tripped and fell on Archer. “Cups, sorry. Someone pushed me,” and smiled sweetly to Archer. One of the boys pulled back the girl and shoved Archer. “Hey!” Archer exclaimed. The boy again shoved Archer and said “So you like her? You like my girlfriend, eh?” Archer was incredulous and muttered, “What? I don’t know her.” The tall boy again walked over to their table and pulled Archer’s collar. “So you want to fight it out, Pretty Boy? Do you think you look so cool that you can take our girlfriends away from us? Is that it? Come on. Let’s settle this. “ Archer and the rest of the boys stood up and faced their nemesis. Val, Charm, and I were dumbstruck. ‘How stupid, I thought. That group clearly initiated it and looked so fearless just because they have the edge in number. Archer, Jon, Enzo, and Ira were my classmates and I felt irritated with the other group. Clearly, they were spiteful towards my classmates because of their looks and popularity. The tall guy collared Archer and the others barred Jon, Enzo, and Ira from coming near. The tall guy had the nerve to hit Archer’s forehead. Archer stood his ground while swapping the hand of the other guy off his collar. I looked around, then without thinking, I quickly approached the group. I intentionally bumped on the tall guy and acted as if I was about to lose my balance. I shrieked and let my arms flail. One of the guys held on to me and supported me. Everyone’s attention now diverted, I went on with acting as if hurt and delicate. “I’m so sorry. Someone pushed me.” My little skit succeeded in diverting the attention of the two groups. I quickly sashayed towards Jon and Archer.``Hey, these are my classmates. May we join you for lunch?” Jon was too flabbergasted to reply, but Ira was quick to catch on to what I was trying to do so he responded enthusiastically. “Sure, Nia. Come on, join us for lunch.” I turned to smile at that guy who caught me and said sweetly, “Thanks! You’re so nice. Would you like to join us for lunch here?” The guy stuttered, but the tall one pulled him back and said “No, thanks. We’ll look for another table.” He then pushed the boys in the other direction. Val and Charm quickly approached us. “Just what were you thinking, Nia?” Val whispered. I quietly responded “Trying to save our friends. I would not want those bullies to hurt them.” My knees almost gave way, but I sat down carefully and placed my tray on the table. All the bubbly boys were looking at me, speechless. Then Archer said “You don’t have to worry. They are just like that, throwing their weight around and bullying people. They’re all bark but no bite. Their leader is Manny and he's been like that since our Freshman Year.” He smiled. Enzo said ”Well, Nia just saved your ass. Thanks - that was brave of you.” Then they all laughed and we enjoyed our lunch.
The incident was seen by many students. When we returned to our room, our other classmates approached me and asked, “Nia, were you hurt?” “You’re so brave, and we were trying to ignore them!” “How did you feel?” I tried responding but Val decided to step in. “OK, let’s chill. Nia was unhurt, our pretty boys were saved, everything’s fine now. No harm done. Let’s go back to our seats, people!” Noah and Izzie smiled at us. I was really amazed at how the near-brawl changed their view of us. Lance walked up to me and said “Hey Brave Girl, I heard about what happened. Please don’t do that again. Those boys might hurt you.” I shook my head and said, “I don’t think so, they still seem to be nice towards girls in general.” “Still, be careful.” He left to join the bubbly boys. I sat there, trying to answer Izzie’s query on what really happened. Noah also joined the discussion noisily and only left when the teacher called him out for sitting in the girls’ section.
After that, my relationship with the rest of the class improved a lot. I was finally accepted. Some would even ask me to join their clubs or project teams. I lost that “New Girl” label and I started liking my new school. Talk about hitting back with my best shot. And I gained new friends. It will be the start of a very memorable High School Life.
As I was walking towards the girls’ locker/restroom to change into our PE Uniform, Charm grabbed me. “Hey, watch it!” Charm giggled and said, “The volleyball tryouts will be held this afternoon. Let’s go for it!” I gasped “But I don’t have a spare shirt!” Val squeezed in and said “But we do have our PE shirts and sneakers on, right? I think we’re good.” We went to the registration table and signed our names. We sat on the bleachers’ area and watched as the PE Teachers conducted tryouts for the AM and PM volleyball teams for Freshman and Sophomore. The Juniors and Seniors would have theirs in the afternoon. I saw a lot of girls trying out in their old volleyball jerseys. ‘And all I’m wearing is this crappy P.E. t-shirt.’ I badly wanted to run to the store to buy another shirt but I don’t have spare cash at the moment. Even Val and Charm were wearing other volleyball jerseys in amazing colors. I bit my lip. The teachers were calling the name
Monday. Mica was still in the shower but told me I can go ahead. I quickly put on my uniform, brushed my still wet hair, put on powder, and grabbed my bag. I do not want to be tardy and the jeepney rides usually get full before 6:30 a.m. I asked Nanay for my weekly allowance then said goodbye.I walked quickly to the jeepney stop and lined up. I was daydreaming and yawning when someone tapped me lightly on the shoulder. It was Lance. He was so cute and as usual, impeccably dressed in spotless polo and well-ironed pants. He had his blue backpack with him. I gaped and said “Hey, you’re here. Shouldn’t you be at Kamias St.?”“I told you we are going to school together, right? So it means I have to be here instead.”“Why? You walked blocks away from
Val approached me at the cafeteria and pulled me out of line. “Hey! I was almost near the food display!”I nearly screamed at him. Val ignored my protestations and whispered, “Have you seen our dear old friend Charm?”“Not really, she bolted out of the room as soon as the bell rang.”“And you did not bother following her?”“Why should I? Maybe she’s going to meet someone. And I need to buy snacks. I’m starving.”Val rolled his eyes and said, “That intense girl whats-her-name from Section 3 and her gang followed her to the restroom and I heard a screaming match!”I gaped at him, “Really? I didn’t know. Let’s go find
Browsing through the book rack, I was engrossed in the books of Stephen King. He was really a prolific writer and his stories contain both horror and humor of sorts. I really like him, and he belonged to my favorite circle of writers and novelists. Roald Dahl, C.S. Lewis, the list goes on. It was a quiet Saturday, and I decided to go to the National Bookstore in Quad, Makati. I was just alone, and I told Nanay I will be back a little after lunch. I only intended to buy some school supplies and t-shirts. I looked around the store and felt inundated with books. As there were new books displayed, I got so immersed in browsing through the synopsis and the first few chapters that I forgot the time. It was already past 1:00 pm when I finally left the store with my purchases. I felt the pangs of hunger. I was thinking of whether to buy something to eat or just go home when I heard my name called.
Charm was waiting for Val and me so eagerly when I came to school. I noticed she had a new hairstyle, slightly wavy and shorter. She looked so pretty. “Good morning. Why do you look so edgy today?” I sat on the bench beside her. “Let’s wait for Val first,” she breathed. Pretty soon, Val arrived and immediately came to us. “So, what’s up? Charm, I can sense that you are about to burst with some news. If it is good, go ahead and tell us. If not, I am leaving.” Charm frowned at him, then said, “I have a new boyfriend.” I looked at her. “Again?”“What do you mean again? He is my first one here in our school. His name is Gio, our senior from Section 15.” I can see how proud she was. After all, Gio was our senior and may have enough popularity points to gain her attention. “Congratulations! At least you&rs
Friday. Val and Charm were both looking at watching a movie after class. I told them I cannot go. I promised myself to devote my time reviewing for the next two weeks before the Finals.“We still have time to study. You can do that tomorrow, Saturday.” Val said. We were going to the ladies’ room as Charm wanted to change into civilian clothing before leaving for the mall. Val already changed into his plain, black shirt and tucked his polo inside his bag. I was just tagging along, ready to go home. “I know, but every minute counts. Remember we need to get an average of 88% to maintain our class ranking and stay with Section 1.” I sighed. I was getting anxious. Val was thoughtful, then said “I think my average is between 86-87% at this point. I only need to get a 90% on 3 subjects with the quizzes next week and get the same on our Finals.” I grumble
I was late coming in that Monday. Traffic was heavy and I had to wait for Mica so we could go to school together. I sneaked past the guard who was busy accosting some students not wearing IDs. I rushed over to our line and made it just before the flag ceremony. I breathed in a sigh of relief. I looked at Charm and Val, who were chatting in the middle of the line. I squeezed in to join them. “Hi. So, did Lance call you?” Val asked. I was astonished. “Why?” Charm giggled. “I told you last Friday night, right? We saw them with some pretty girls from that exclusive school in Makati.” Val raised his eyebrows at me. “Oh, yes, I talked to him. He came to our house last Saturday. We spent the afternoon studying. One of the girls was a cousin of Jon,” I said casually. I giggled at their expression. They looked so comical. Val’s mouth was agape, while Charm’s eyebrows were furrowed. Lance suddenly came over and sai
Finals Week. The culmination of months of preparation and sacrificing weekend jaunts or gimmicks with friends. The final countdown. I massaged my forehead and stretched my arms after I completed answering my last test paper. I did what I could, and I will just have to wait and pray for positive results. I glanced at Charm and Val. Their heads were still bowed down, furiously answering the questions on their respective papers. I looked around and saw Izzie, Lance, Archer, Jon, Noah, and about half of the class were still not done with their tests. The last subject was Reading and Comprehension, my favorite. Our teacher Ma’am Decena shooed me out as I handed my paper. I grabbed my bag and stepped outside. I saw Dahlia, Len, Julie, and Ayene outside, comparing notes. This was the Honors circle, and I was pondering on why I was in the same group. Len saw me and shrieked, “I knew you would finish up early. Those questions and essays were just a