Umaasa (Ba Sa Wala?)

chapter i : first day of school

"Hi po, nice meeting you all! My name is Jeanne Yurikko S. Mendoza, 'Yurii' for short, currently 17 years old and a half Japanese, half Filipina girl. I grew up with no one else but my loving Lola beside me and my hobbies are..kaiyak, 'di ba parang masyadong simple?" Pag-aalinlangan ko sa aking sarili.

Great..first day of school nanaman.. The day where you meet and try to make new friends, the day kung saan iba pa yung personality mo as you're still trying na kapain ang personalities ng bago mong mga kaklase, the day where you try your best to make a good impression of yourself to your new professors and most remarkably, the day where you're required to 'introduce yourself' in front of the class.

Sitting sa may bandang hulihan ng klase as I continue to practice my line, I can't help but to look around our classroom as the feeling of uncertainty slowly seeps in within me.

Aaminin ko, as far as that of I can remember, I had always been that..lonely child that eats alone during recess time, studies alone sa loob ng library, listens alone to my headphones during vacant time..

It's not that I hate the feeling of having people around me but sometimes, being always on my own makes me wonder, ano din kaya yung pakiramdam na gumala with friends after classes? Ano kaya yung pakiramdam na may nagchachat sa'yo after classes tapos, wala lang, nag-uusap lang kayo ng kung ano-ano? The feeling na hindi mo lang siya 'friend' dahil may advantage ka na nakukuha sa kaniya at may advantage siya na nakukuha sa'yo..

At this point, let's all be honest, nagsasawa na kong na parang nakikisama ka na lang para may alam ka kahit papaano, what if, gusto ko na din ng 'friend', a true friend?

I let out a deep sigh as I break off from my deep thoughts. Pati ba talaga dito, Yurii?

Oh well, all that I'm wishing for is that sana, this school year, may magbago naman.. Sana maging masaya, makaranas ako ng bagong mga experience at sana, maging exciting at thrilling naman kahit papaano..

"Good morning po, Miss. I'm sorry I'm late.."

A panting, tall, moreno figure appeared all of a sudden, catching the whole class's attention.

"Mr. delos Santos..? Oh, don't be bothered about it. You're one of our transferees this semester, tama ba?" Tanong ng aming bagong professor, si Ms. Lunna, kay kuyang nakatayo sa tabi ng pasukan.

"Ahh, yes po." Nakangiting sagot ni kuya, before lumapit sa aming professor.

"Well then, nice meeting you. Class, I also want you to meet Mr. delos Santos, he's one of our transferees this semester meaning, he'll be joining your class from now on. You can introduce yourself to the class if you want to, iho.." Mahinhing paanyaya ng aming professor.

"Uhmm, hello po. I'm Vaughnn Axel C. delos Santos but you can call me 'Vaughnn' for short. I'm currently 18 years old and I like doing activities such as photography, playing some instruments and riding my motorbike from time to time. Yun lang po.."

Mhmm, Vaughnn.. May itsura kahit papaano..

With his black jacket and his backpack only hanging by his shoulders by one strap, he stood in front of the class with a somewhat unexplainable 'aura' around him.

Mula sa tindig hanggang sa ayos ng pananamit, I will say, marunong mag-ayos ang kuya, a very unusual sight to see lalo na sa isang Public School like this one.

"Thank you for that introduction, Vaughnn. You can already take your seat there. Take note 'di pa siya permanent since later, mag-aayos pa tayo ng seating arrangement ninyo.." Reply ng aming professor as Vaughnn finally took his seat, yung mga classmate naming babae kung makatingin sa kaniya, 'tila matutunaw na ang kuya.