It was the week after Q.A.'s started. It was finally the start of the second quarter. The Monday was filled with everyone's relieved breaths. The weather was relatively nice too. The clouds were the perfect shade of gray. The light drizzles soaked the concrete field outside. It was the perfect balance of gloom and glad. Everyone's colors were back to normal too. The class finally didn't look like a transport truck filled with pandas.
"Good morning, class!" Mr. Flores greeted immediately after entering the room. The students greeted him back.
"I want to congratulate you all for making it to the second quarter of the academic year. Your efforts will surely pay off in your test scores. I am proud of all of you for making this far."
The class was uplifted. Everyone was clapping and cheering.
"I also have an announcement to make!" Mr. Flores interrupted. "As you know, it's still the month of August, and we can't forget what it is dedicated to."
"At the 31st, we will have our 'Buwan ng Wika' culminating activity."
The month of August is special for Filipinos. Buwan ng Wika in English directly translated to "Month of the Language." It was a month dedicated to all things Filipino: the costumes, the language, the food. At Ascension High, the culminating activity usually had competitions for every grade level.
"For you, 9th Grade students, there will be a folk-dance competition. I, along with the other advisers, have already drawn lots on what dance will be performed by each class – and I happened to be assigned to Singkil." Mr. Flores announced.
He then proceeded to show a video of the dance to the class. It looked difficult. It's a dance from the Maranao Muslim people of Mindanao. A prince and a princess are to dance while avoiding bamboo poles that men clap together at their feet. It was similar to the famous Tinikling, but the bamboo poles were arranged in a crisscross order.
"We have the whole period to assign who the prince and princess will be." Mr. Flores spoke. "Do we have any nominees or volunteers?"
Jake raised his hand. "I nominate Caden and Claire, sir!" he exclaimed.
"Are you crazy? I don't dance!" Caden looked at Jake and exclaimed.
"Come on, you two are probably the best couple for this. You're comfortable with each other anyway!" Jake replied.
"I'm too shy for this." Claire spoke.
The two tried to reject the nomination, but no one else was being voted for. It was a grueling 10 minutes for the two. Eventually, they had to submit.
"Well, that settles it." Mr. Flores
The other four boys, Jake, Theo, Oliver, and Tyrone were chosen to be the four men that hold the bamboo poles. Other girls were then chosen to be the "princess' maids" for the dance.
"Now don't worry. Your MAPEH classes would be giving their time for you to practice the dance, so you don't have to worry about missing time for rehearsing."
Mr. Flores then said his final reminders and went out of the class.
"Fu*k you, Jake!" Caden exclaimed.
"What?" Jake asked in shock.
Caden's eyes were stern. He was not happy. But he suddenly laughed because of the look on Jake's face. He didn't realize he looked so funny when faced with a different emotion.
"Didn't know you looked so ugly when you're scolded." Caden said in between his laughter.
"Heh." Jake hissed, hugging his chest.
YOU ARE READING
Those Damn Dimples (BL)
RomanceA lot of Caden's later years were spent with the absence of his father, a man whom he had always wanted to feel by his side. He longed for his father, to feel safe in his arms when he's in peril. The man was always abroad, working. Caden had conside...
