Across the Seven Seas

Chapter 1 Part II

Semester at Sea is still 2 weeks away. For now, you shall ride the Nadine Eunice Lustre coaster of school terror.

I am student of Northvale Highschool. Northvale is an international school that follows the British curriculum. This school offers an international baccalaureate program to students who wish to challenge courses. Of course, I am an international baccalaureate student. (Didn't she say they're experiencing financial crisis? Why does she go to an international school?) My uncle happens to be the principal of the school so he gave me a scholarship. I have to keep all of my grades 90 and above with an average of 95 and above in order to keep my scholarship. Not easy at all.

I'm standing in front of Yassi's locker in the main floor. Yassi Pressman is in my Calculus IB and Physics IB class. When I first came to the school, she was the one who welcomed me and showed me around. Since then, we never left each other's side. She's a short girl with really long and straight brown hair. Her eyes are the colour of oak wood and whenever she laughed, her cheeks suddenly turns pink without her noticing. She's very intelligent in Mathematics or anything that involves equations and numbers. Although at times, she could get a bit mean, she's still really nice. Yas is indeed very beautiful inside and out. I would crown her as the prettiest girl I have ever talked to in my life. She isn't just gifted with looks, she is also gifted with 2 siblings, parents and a huge mansion. In other words, she is extremely rich.

"Ano ba Yas. Magne-new years na nandito pa rin tayo," I say as my attempt to hurry her up. "Ayan na lumabay na rin ang araw ng mga patay!"

"Teka nga muna kasi nawawala yung Physics notebook ko. Ay diyos ko pag minalas nga naman oh!" Jessica stressfully sighs and cusses under her breath.

"Hiramin mo na muna kasi notes ko. Sige ka mabe-beast mode si Mr. Barrett niyan." I started walking away from her.  She finally stops searching for the notebook and closes her locker as she walks side by side with me.

Physics is a very interesting branch of Science, but I really do not like it. We had a test today and I got a 94, dropping my grade from 99 to a 97. I mean, it's not bad but I really don't like seeing my grades drop. (In my school, we can use the internet to check our current marks, pretty cool aye?) Meanwhile, Yassi gets a 99 and still sobs because of that 1%. If there's something you need to know about Yas is that she wouldn't care if her mark was a 95, but it would bother her so much if she gets a mark of 99. Such logic.

In addition, my 97 in Physics, does not outweigh Yassi's 98. Why is she hella smart.

As we were walking to our physics class, Yassi was yapping about Bret. I hate boys.

"Nads, ang paasa mo naman. 6 months ka nang hinihintay ni Bret oh. Di mo pa sinasagot. Kailan mo ba sasagutin yun?" She asks while eating smoked chicken and fried rice for lunch. We're in the cafeteria, sitting on our usual spots facing the huge window that showcases the beauty of Northvale garden.

"Pag maging green ang dugo ko, sasagutin ko yun." I respond while rolling my eyes. "Alam mo kasi, Yas. Di naman totoo yang destiny na yan eh. Gawa-gawa lang yan ng mga tao na despirado para sa pag-ibig. Aral muna kasi," I pat her back and smiles in a fake manner. 

"Ampalaya for sale! Largest one in East Asia! 5'3 long," she teases.

"Edi wag ka maniwala! Pag umiiyak ka ulit wag kang lumapit kay Ms. Ampalaya kasi ang sasabihin ko lang, I told you so!" I teased. "Oh eh 'bat ikaw di bitter? Musta puso mo?"

"Excuse me lang ha, hindi ako magpapaka-emo para sa isang lalaki! Ang daming mabibili na isda sa palengke, 'bat double dead pa?"

I already told Jessica about the Semester at Sea result, and apparently, she got in too! Her Mathematics teacher was the one who introduced and helped her out with the application. She actually got two letters from the University. One said she was considered as of the moment and the other one said it's confirmed! This is so exciting! October 2nd, come faster?

"Hey, Yassi," a deep voice called out from my back. It's Lucas Dignos; he was the athlete of the year last year and I hear the basketball team is doing extremely well with the help of his leadership skills.

"May kailangan ka?" Jessica asks and you can absolutely detect the touch of rudeness in her voice.

"Gusto ko sanang ibigay 'tong notebook mo sayo. Naiwan mo kasi kahapon doon sa classroom. Nakita ko kaya tinago ko na," he smiles. He's actually cute. Ash-black hair, dark brown eyes and a perfectly structured jawline. Way to kill a girl in 3 seconds.

"Sus, sabihin mo nalang ninakaw mo!  Ipapapulis kita! Epal?" She drags me away from the table, leaving all of the garbage laying on the table. I'm sorry if I sinned against you today, Mother Nature!

We are outside, under the golden sun that burns my oh so sensitive skin. There are benches and lamp posts that form a huge hexagon. Inside the bench perimeter are flowers and fruit-bearing plants that decorated the garden.  From afar, I can see a green mango ready to travel to my stomach. The garden was peaceful until Yassi decided to drag me there and ruin the serenity of the place. She's picking up all of the flowers and crushing them on her hand.

"Ayan ganyan siya. Ipagpapalit ako sa chakadoll na Leslie na yun tapos nung nagsawa na si Leslie sa kanya, e-epal epal siya? Like excuse me, nagkandarapa ang mga lalaki sa kagandahan ko, ikaw talaga pipiliin ko ulit? TUMAHEMEK KA. Pigilan mo ako Nadine baka na lechon ko pa yun!" She yells and continues to destroy the flowers she could pick while keeping a straight face.

"Hoy, 'bat ang mga bulaklak ang pinaparusahan mo? Andun si Lucas oh, bugbugin mo yun, tapos ilechon natin!  Ako gagawa ng flavour, okay lang!" I grabbed the uncrushed flower on her hand and gently lays it down on the ground.

"Nakakainis yung mukha niya! Mas cute pa nga si Kokey eh!" she imitates Kokey's face. 

"Hahahahaha, ewan ko sayo, tara na nga magbe-bell na, male-late pa tayo sa klase ni Ms. Noval. Naku, si satanas yun!"

- - After class - -

Yassi and I ride the school bus home. We don't sit at the back, that's the troublemakers area. The middle is the "I will surely get hit by unknown flying objects" area. We sit up front, even though it's labeled the loser's area, We don't really care as long as we don't destroy our eardrums because of the continuous yelling  at the back or get hit with a dagger.

Yassi's sister, Jenelyn, invited me to dinner today because it's her birthday. Jenelyn has become like my sister too. It was June and Serena didn't leave until July 28th. 5 days after meeting Yassi, she brought me to her house because of a Physics project. Jenelyn baked us cookies and even cooked steak for us! (Best steak I have ever tasted, she needs to build a resto.) When you first look at Yassi and Jenelyn, they do not look like sisters at all, but if you actually look closer, the shape of their eyes and nose are similar. Serena's lips are very full and her eyes are the colour of the night sky. Her hair is dark brown instead black, but their height are pretty much similar. The fact that Jenelyn is like 19 and Yassi is as tall as her, embarrasses her. She's just too flawless for me .

Their house aka mansion is huge. I'm talking 5 bedrooms with bath and a walk in closet. Down at the basement, you will find billiards table, ping pong table and foosball table. The chandelier that hung overhead shines and reflects light that shines that entire room. The sofas that face the television are luxurious yet also very comfortable. Their television is 65 inches with a resolution of 4K! Vases are neatly arranged on top of a marble table. I could say a lot about this house! To sum up the description of the house, it is magnificent.

"Hi Nadine! Naku, nagmana ka ata sa akin ng kagandahan eh! Sisters ata tayo eh!" Yassi glares at her. "Ay joke lang sissy, tayo pala maganda hindi si Nads. Sissy kita eh." She fakes a hug to Yassi.

"Ah so ganon ipinag-kakahiya mo na ako? Nagtatampo ako sayo!" Yassi attempts to leave with a fake angry face.

Ate Jenelyn hugs her. "Sige na tayo na tatlo maganda. Pero mas maganda pa rin-" She was cut off by Jessica's mother, Tita Liezel.

"Si mother dear, diba?" It was silent for 5 seconds and then everyone bursted in laughter. Jessica and I approach Tita Liezel and asked for her blessing through mano.

"Sige na, upo na kayo dun sa sofa. Papunta na ang mga Richardsons at iba pang friends and relatives."