3 is an Odd Number

Prologue

Once upon a time...teka uso pa ba yun? This isn't your usual fairytale, kasi pwede rin mangyari sa'yo ito.

Samantha here...

First day of class--3rd grade

New school, new life...

My mom transferred me to St. Claire Elementary-- a private school in Biñan, Laguna.

As I walked along with the other students to the gates of the school, I kept remembering why my mom transferred me here. She told this after she got a phone call from someone a month ago. I was happily playing with my stuffed animals in the living room.

My mom placed the phone down on the kitchen counter and slowly made her way towards me. I noticed her but I kept on playing.

"Ms. Chikee, would you like some more tea?" I offered to my cow stuffed animal. Mom was now standing to my right side. I looked up to her face and asked "Mommy, would you like to join us?" she didn't answer but instead, my mom dropped to her knees hugged me and started to cry. I coudn't see her face, but I can feel her teardrops soak my shirt.

"Mommy, why are you crying?" she didn't stop crying and hugging me for a whole five minutes, when she finally did. She sat upright and wiped all the remaining tears from her reddish eyes with the back of her hand. After breathing in a big gulp of air.

"Samantha", a long pause and another wipe of a tear, she can't seem to sob back the tears. "Your dad...he's...gone" she started crying again and I did too.

With that simple statement my whole life changed, I had to bade goodbye to all my friends from the international private school I attended, I had to quit my ballet lessons, we had to give up our beautiful two story house and lastly, I'll be stuck in this public school for the rest of grade school. It's not that I don't like it, but i'll really miss my old life -- my friends, classmates, home, and especially my dad.

I'll miss all the days I had with him -- when we played with the water hose, we'd be all wet and mom would get mad at us, and the times when he'd drive me off to ballet class every Saturday. Those days are over now.

My mom and I moved to an apartment complex near town which was a block away from school because she can't afford living in our old house anymore, since she was just a preschool teacher. I don't blame her for that though. It was an hour and a half away from Metro Manila where we once lived.

Passing through the gate of the school, someone ran into me and I fell to the ground with a thud causing my left elbow to be injured with a light scratch. It took me a second to get back to reality and shouted. "Ouch, that hurt!"

Examining my elbow, a cute boyish voice spoke "Ay sorry. Okay ka lang ba?" He sounded so concerned, I didn't want him to feel so guilty about what happened to me.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just a little scratch." I didn't bother speaking in Filipino cause we don't use it much at home. My dad, he was American, my mom is a Filipina but she's a great English preschool teacher, so that make me a Fil-Am and I came from an international school where every student should learn how to speak a foreign language.

I'm not really used to speaking in Filipino but I understand it ng konti because mom usually talks in Tagalog whenever dad's not around due to his work. He's an Engineer in a telecommunications company back in the metro and he always work overtime.

"aba, inglisera" I heard the boy whisper.

"I heard you, you know." I looked up to him and that's when I saw his chubby face with glasses.

***** 

Ako naman si Jerome...

Nagtatakbuhan kami ni Francis papasok ng school nang bigla akong may nabangga.

"Ouch, that hurt!" sigaw nya.

"Ay sori, okay ka lang ba?" tanong ko sa kanya. Hindi ko naman sinadyang banggain sya eh.

"Yeah I'm fine. Just a little scratch" naku, mahihirapan akong kausapin to, pero may alam din naman ako sa ganyang inglesan kahit papano. First honor yata to.

"Aba, inglisera" bulong ko sa sarili ko na mukhang narinig din nya.

"I heard you, you know?" narinig nga nya. Tinignan tuloy nya ako ng masama. hindi naman ganung kasama kasi maganda sya eh.

"Come on, I'll help you up." inalok ko ang kamay ko sa kanya para makatayo na siya kasabay ng isang ngiti.

*** 

Francis naman ang pangalan ko...

Naabutan ko si Jerome na may tinutulungang tumayo na babae.

"Anong nangyari sa kanya?" tanong ko kay Jerome.

"Hinahabol mo kasi ako eh. Nabangga ko tuloy sya." sagot ni Jerome habang pinapagpag nung babae yung palda nya. Hindi pa sya naka-uniform -- naka suot sya ng white-collared shirt at bulakalaking palda na may belt tapos may suot syang puting sapatos na may kasamang puting medyas, siguro bago lang sya. 

"Kasalanan ko pa?" sabi ko kay Jerome. Sya talaga yung nakabangga dun sa babae pero sa akin nya sinisisi at siya rin lang naman ang nakaisip na maghabulan kami. Bigla nya kayo akong ginawang taya.

"Dalhin na lang natin sya sa clinic pwede?" sabay utos sa akin.

---tutuloy ko pa ba? wala naman ata nagbabasa...pero introduction pa lang yan. Wala pa dun sa pinakamalalim na part ng story...haha