TAYLOR
With the school brochure at hand, she stood in front of the gates of Athena High School. She read the signage at the gate once again. The name of the school was written in big blue capital letters. The school logo with the image of the Greek Goddess posted on the side.
The school picture on the brochure looked much better. The photo must have been taken a few years... or decades ago, when the school was newly constructed. The brochure also stated that the school had been running for twenty years already. This explained why the school looks so much older in real life.
Taylor was thirty minutes earlier than she was expected to be, but she have decided to come this early to give time to search the place. She made the right decision though, as students were also starting to come in school, with their schoolbags and a few projects at hand. Students of different grade levels were overtaking her, taking out their ID with badges, and swiped their way through the gates.
Unlike them, it is her first day in school. It had been three months since the school year started, and her parents have enrolled her only last Saturday, five hours after they have touched down Manila. By Monday morning, she wore her brand-new but not so well-fit uniform and black school shoes bought last night. She wore her hair in a simple pony tail and had very light make-up. Unlike the other students, she only had a small bag containing a notebook and pen amongst others, because she doesn't have any book yet. She didn't even have an ID.
She went to the guard and introduced herself, explaining that she has no ID yet. The guards were expecting her, and welcomed her into the school. She was to go straight to the Principal's office, in which the lady-guard gave her directions.
After taking a few steps, a girl went to her.
"I heard you need to go to the Principal's office." This younger girl started. "You must be new here. I'm Ariel."
"Taylor." They shook hands.
That moment she didn't feel so lost anymore.
ADAM
He kept looking at his watch. Only five minutes to go.
Knowing that there are only a few minutes before the class starts even worsen his ability to understand his lesson. Suddenly, all these sines and cosines were starting to jumble up his brain.
He slammed the book shut. What's the use? He decided he would just have to do with "stored memory".
Seated in his classroom, he noticed that his other classmates are starting to get inside their room, also with their Trigonometry books in hand. Most of them were looking anxious, like him.
Well, they always were when there is an exam. Though usually, he has the look of confidence. But today, he was not prepared. He spent his sister's birthday at the province and, despite taking his book with him, he did not feel like studying.
The bell rang. The students have settled down. The teacher arrived, with the dreaded test papers at hand. The class took their morning prayer (in which the class prayed extra sincerely today).
But something different happened first. Mr. Berlarmino called someone from the outside. It was only then the class realized that there was a new student outside, who was being aided by the principal. Greetings were made. She introduced herself in class, where she came from, etc. He barely listened, still having his thoughts on the exam.
Not being ready for a 50-item Trigo test was not something he was used to. But at least he was confident that he would still do better than the others.
TAYLOR
Her heart pounded wildly. Long test on the first day? In Math? I barely know anyone!
I don't even know where to seat!
The teacher told her clearly that she wouldn't take this exam as a part of her grades. Since everyone else was taking their exams, might as well take it with them to get a "feel" of the lessons they are taking. Mr. Belarmino have seen the panic in her eyes. He told her calmly that tomorrow he would help her "catch up" by giving her the lessons they took. He would even personally help if she had any questions or lessons that she do not understand. She just needed to give him an extra day to prepare the documents for her.
Five minutes after everyone else have started (as he was explaining this to Taylor), she took her seat at the back. She took a deep breath and turned on her test paper.
"What is the measure in degrees of the angle A = 7π/6?"
She prayed a little "Thank you" and "Please help me" as her confidence finally set in. She took an almost similar exam two weeks ago back in her previous school and she did very well. The lesson was still fresh on her mind.
ADAM
As soon as Mr. Belarmino left, most of the students swarm towards Taylor, the new girl, to ask for help on their math.
He felt a pang of jealousy... for two reasons.
A week ago, Taylor astonished everyone for having a perfect score in the exam, despite being the most surprised person in Philippine history for a math test, in Trigonometry none the less. What surprised everyone, too, was she gained a higher score than Adam, by one point.
The second reason was the reaction it had made in the class. The not-so-good in math students asks help from her, while the so-good in math students, or the so-called "geeks" want to be friends with her. What made this reaction a sensation is that no other person in class have had this effect.
To make things worse, she seemed to be very good in the other subjects in class, though math is where she genuinely shines the brightest.
He was still lost in his thoughts when Ryan called him. He suddenly remembered that the reason why the teacher ended the class five minutes early was so that he could talk to the "Wizards".
Wizards, as the team is called, is a team of Math "geeks" who consistently train for the inter-school competition every middle of the school year. Naturally, he was a part of it.
As soon as this group of five students were complete, Mr. Belarmino told them that he would like to invite Taylor to be part of the team.
Everyone cheered in approval and excitement. Well, everyone except Adam, who was still in shock, and have no idea how to protest.
"But, but... She's new!"
"I know she had not been training as long as you guys", He said, "That is why I need your help on this. You have seen how she had been doing in these past few days. You all have a few more months to help her catch up. I have not talked to her about this yet, but I get your support on this, do I?"
The four of them cheered. The only girl became extra excited knowing she finally have a girl with her on the team.
They were all too excited he had to hide his disappointment.
YOU ARE READING
Adam and Taylor
Cerita PendekAdam, the current top of the class, was suddenly threatened by Taylor, the new girl in school. Eventually they learned to embrace thier healthy competition, until they faced their ultimate threat... and its not even alive. Cover Picture: My photo o...
