Dear Katharine

December 12, 20xx

Dec. 12, 20xx
5:35 p.m.

Dear Kath,

                    Today, I had to go to school to practice for the play on the sixteenth. Our class is divided into three. Our group will be performing Oli Impan by Alberto Florentino where Rob will play the boy who has a prostitute for a mother while I will take on the role of an innocent little girl confused about the demolition of their illegal houses a few days away from Christmas. The other groups from my class will perform another drama by Alberto Florentino called The World is an Apple while the other will perform a Filipino dula called Sa Pula, Sa Puti by Francisco Rodrigo II.
                     I hate my uncooperative groupmates! Since I'm the leader, I get to designate the roles of my classmates under my team. I intended to be the director so not to disgrace myself during the play, but everyone thought the same way I did and wanted to be hidden as well. So I was left no choice but to prepare for shame. Even Rob hates the role I gave him. He threatened not to go to school on that day but I warned him that our friendship will end if he could not deliver all his lines during the performance. I never thought how much he valued our friendship when he came to the practice today and memorized none of his lines! I threw a fit alright.
                    “We have four days to go and you haven't memorized a single line.” I began my lecture with a calm voice but with an evident disappointed expression on my face. “Not a single one?”
                   “No, now that I think of it, I know my first line: 'Huh?' That's all I know,” he said trying to be funny.
                   “Rob, this is no joke! Your next line is, 'There is no fire.' Then you have to keep on playing with your toy made out of can wait for me to say, 'I think there's a fire.' Then you say, 'I told you there's none.'”
                    “This is stupid,” he said bluntly.
                    “This is not stupid. This is for grade. Come on Rob, 65 more lines.” I tried to persuade him. “ Don't worry your last 7 lines are just wrong lyrics of Silent Night. You just have to mispronounce them. It ain't that bad.”
                    “Why can't Chris play my part instead? This is torture,” he continued to complain.
                    “Luh, ayoko nga,” Chris replied to him.
                     “Well first, I don't trust Chris.  Second, he is terrible at memorizing. And last, he doesn't want to.”
                     “I'm terrible at memorizing too and I don't want to play the part either,” he argued. “Please, Claire, it's fine to get a 75 in your report card. Who needs the extra grade?”
                      “I do! I very much do,” I told him.
                      “I thought you told me you only wanted good grades to please your parents. You hate your parents so you don't have to please them anymore.”
                     “I don't hate my parents! I want good grades for myself not for them.”
                     “Then that's good. Leave me out of this,” he replied annoyed by me.
                     “Rob, please! I want to make peace with my mother.” He didn't answer.
                     “How about we'll put Manila paper on the back of the curtains or we'll have someone hold them up for you so you could just read your lines. Will that do?” I bargained with him.
                    “You don't get it. I don't want to be on stage.” Rob still disagrees even after I already cut his work for him.
                    “Why? It's just 5 minutes of your time, Rob, please! I'm begging you.”
                    “Why don't you just do a doble-cara? You could memorize all of the lines naman eh,” he suggested.
                     I got irritated and let Rob have his way. “Chris, come here. You'll take the part.” I told Chris he only needs to read his lines and not memorize them. Thank God,  he agreed. We don't have a good chemistry and he is terrible at delivering his lines but at least I'm not alone on stage.
                    I ignored Rob for the duration of our practice and vowed to ignore him for as long as I could. I don't think he cares anyway, but I don't care either. I have learned from you already, Kath. I'm starting to assert myself, although, I still have to learn how to get my way.
                   I'm a little tired. I have to sleep. I'll write again soon.