The Adviser & The President

i.

August is the month after June. Maybe it's the fact that August may be a tad bit special, but it's more likely that you do not know a whole lot of information on August to give an aesthetically pleasing and deeper meaning to it other than the fact that it comes after the rainy month of June. It's August. That in itself should speak for itself. (Now, we can go on a rampant discussion of why specialty in normalcy is the go-to route of those that aren't special, and is used to make life more beautiful but we should head on to this particular day in August. Less we argue.)
It was the 22nd of August, a week after classes have officially began. The clouds rolled on overhead in soft curls, chasing each other in the vastness of the baby blue sky. The sun rays created a heat that rippled and sizzled, punishing those underneath (and the crickets that 'cricketed'). Quite the hot day for the province of Pampanga, and quite a normal day for a school in the Philippines.

Mother Mary's (or MoMa for short) stood proud and tall with its blue and white paint, looking very much like it belonged to the skies. With six floors, it provided enough space for a large Saint Mary to occupy the front of the school, surrounded by cherubim at her side. The statue excluded care and grace, her love clearly felt from the way her hands crossed over her heart and the gentle smile on her face. She looked like she knew of the happenings that would happen at Mother Mary's. And from the way this story ended, she did.
This brings us to one of the classrooms, the 10th Grade Thrones-1. The soft droning of the voice of the man up front wafted through the room, and between the flapping pamaypays and the occational 'clack clack' of the bakyâ against the floor. Yawning students scattered here and there, influencing each other in the heat. Two students specifically, decided that now was the time to quip (as such was the way with teenagers).

"Even if we have to repeat it over and over again, the Philippines was recognized by the United States as an independent nation on July 4, 1946-" the man wrote the date on the board in chalk, "-which is a step to freedom, and thus it is why you can all eat your kwek-kwek and isaw in peace." They all chuckled at the comment. One girl leaned toward her friend to whisper: "I know another thing that he can eat." At the inappropriate intonation and suggestion of the quip, the poor girl who received it gave an unexpected snort. The man gave her a warning look (as far as what his gentle eyes could portray) to which she bashfully gave back.
". . .But before we gained independence, we of course went through hardships as a nation." He turned back to the blackboard. "We were colonized by Spain for 333 years."

Not knowing her lesson, the girl leaned to quip back: "Oh he can colonize me all day, especially in bed." This garnered the attention of the man as who could ignore the guffaw of a 15-year old teenager? Especially when the quip was heard by all and one turned into twenty-eight (twenty-eight teenagers guffawing is quite horrendous as it can be compared to screaming chickens).
The two girls cowered underneath the exasperated stare of the man, yet not a shred of regret could be seen in their eyes. If it was not for the school bell ringing, he would have berated the two for inappropriate conduct. (Though he did understand their teenage humor, it was still embarrassing to hear.) The students all stood up quickly and chatter immediately filled the room. Talks about what to eat and where to go and who to meet never left conversation.

The man packed his things. "Sir?" He turned. "We're very sorry sir. We didn't mean to hurt you with our jokes." The girls crowded him. "We certainly didn't mean for others to hear too." Even as the man knew that they really weren't feeling guilty at all, he simply nodded before smiling. Carefully, he told them not to do it again before resisting the urge to pat them on the head as comfort. Although it's to comfort, you can never truly control what others may think. The two beamed, thanked the man, before rushing off in excitement and in kilig.
There soon came a voice from the open door, "Sir, may I please talk to you for a second?" It was a colleague of his, his best friend since college. The teacher would nod and smile to those that greeted him. His small stature and singkit eyes would crinkle, and his professional way of speaking made the man smile in amusement. Though he noticed the strain in his lips. A bad feeling washed over him. (Something inevitable.)