Later Than Never

03

Clearance 

Dumating na ang araw ng Lunes. Normally, most of the students hate Mondays, and I am one of them actually. But as I reach the end of the school year; heto ako ngayon at nagpapasa na ng mga requirements which is yung mga libong paperworks that is needed to be hand written! Lintik na clearance kasi 'yan! As a good student, I have no option but to comply, comply, and comply!

Ang totoo ay mahilig lang akong magreklamo pero takot akong bumagsak. Pakatapos naman nito ay magbabakasyon na rin ako sa Bulacan.

Nandito kami ni Dovan, who's also my classmate, sa small canteen. Besides eating, obviously, the canteen also serves as a hanging spot for students. Malakas at presko kasi ang hangin dito dahil napapaligiran ng mga puno. 

You can see here a group of friends chatting, some with their instruments—jamming, and some are just literally eating. The canteen is also just beside the elementary department, so you can see kids playing from the distance.

But not me. Not us.

Kung sila ang hawak nila ay kutsara't tinidor, ako naman ay ang iba't ibang kulay ng ballpen para panulat at pandisenyo. Our table instead of food is scattered with a pile of papers readying to be compiled. It's that time of the year again.

"Tangi, 'wag mo ng lagyan ng design kung ako sa'yo." Pakialam ni Dovan sa aking gawa.

Sinamaan ko siya ng tingin.

"Can you stop minding my work? Hindi ko nga pinakialaman yung pangit mong sulat, eh!"

This work was really supposed to be done yesterday. Kaso nga ay hindi ko inasahan ang biglaan naming pag alis kahapon. Kaya ang ending, I left it at my study table after I decided I'll just finish it tomorrow. 

Magiliw kong sinulat ang buong pangalan ko sa itaas pagkatapos, 'Katarina Udele Noves' right under is my grade and section. Hindi ko rin kinalimutan ilagay ang petsa sa kanang itaas na bahagi nito. '10-Integrity.' 'May 3, 2021.'

"Nakikita mo ba 'to Sir Gomez? Ito ang gawang unang tingin pa lang, pipirma ka na!" I said in the air.

"So...are y'all going to pretend that I'm not here?" Si Chessie.

Maingat kong nilapag muli ang aking gawa sa lamesa. Most of the things inside our bag are spread into the table. So, in that way, we can easily spot and grab what we needed. Kaya naman inabot ko ang malaking puncher sa kabilang dulo ng lamesa ng akin na itong gagamitin. And...I believe its not mine. It's Dovan's. I don't bring big things in school unless it's a major project.

Last year. It was also the time of the year when our clearance for our TLE subject was to make our costume for our Ati-Atihan dance. Iyon ang unang pagkakataon na nagdala ako ng gamit na walis sa school para idisenyo sa aming mga costume. Nagkataon pa na kailangan kong mag commute that time for whatever reason is. That was the moment I asked myself 'Why bringing the project to school is so embarrassing?'