STRANGERS

Chapter 1 - I'm A Senior

It was the first day of senior high school and I felt lost. I entered the room filled with unfamiliar faces and I've realized that I'll be spending two years with them. I did not know anyone there. No one dared to go near me as if I was invisible. And just like what I've thought, everything was different from before. Should I approach them and tell my name or just find a place to hide my emotions? I am not that outgoing and my parents are strict which may be the reason why I'm like this.

By the way, I'm Andrea Santos, 16 years old from Primfield Village, Intramuros and I'm a new student here at Willow High School. I can speak English well because of reading, writing, and watching foreign movies. Although I am a Kapampangan, I can also speak Tagalog. That's why it's easy for me to communicate with others. I hope, it will not be hard for me to mingle knowing I'm just new here. We just moved here in Intramuros because my parents will run a business, which is why I transferred to a new school. Originally, we lived in the City of San Fernando, Pampanga.

As I was searching for a seat, I've noticed there was a vacant chair between two people; a boy and a girl. Both of them were doing something just to ignore the noisy students around them. I did not hesitate to go there so I quickly picked my bag and sat there. The girl on my right was playing games on her cellphone while the boy on my left was listening to music with his headphones on. I was too shy to talk to them but maybe it's time to have a new life with new friends so I decided to approach the girl first.

"Hi! I'm Andrea Santos. What's your name?" I asked politely.

"It's nice to meet you. I'm Stephanie Uy. You can call me Steph. Let me guess, you're a new student?" She said.

"Oh yes, I am. How did you know?" I asked curiously.

"Well, I'm new here, too. I just noticed you are absent minded a while ago." Steph answered with a smile on her face.

"Oh really? I thought I am the only newbie here." I stated.

"Actually, there are three of us. I'm a newbie, too." The boy on my left said.

Steph and I looked at him surprisingly and all of us laughed. Talking to them made me feel better and realized that I am not alone in this Class.

"What's your name?" Steph asked him.

"I'm Dale Garcia. And you're Steph, right? And your name is Andrea. I overheard your conversation." He answered.

"That's right! We better get ready before the teacher comes." I said.

All of the students settled down as the teacher walks in. He was a tall guy with a fair complexion and looks quite young for his job. But maybe not because he looks professional on how he dress.

"Good morning, Class. Before anything else, are the new students here?" He asked.
Dale, Steph and I raised our hands and smiled to our Teacher.

"Welcome to Willow High and to this section, HUMSS-A. I'm Sir Andy Arevalo. Please do introduce yourself to us." He said.

I looked at everyone and felt that it is nerve-wrecking. But then Steph looked at me with a grin on her face as she stood up and said,

"I'm Stephanie Uy, 16 years old from Rich Town, Intramuros. It's my pleasure to be here with you guys." She stated.

Steph revealed that she was from Rich Town which is a prestigious place to be. I also noticed that her cellphone was Iphone 6. A real rich kid. After Steph is Dale, after him is me. I really feel nervous right now.

"Dale Garcia. 17. And I'm from Primvillage here in Intramuros." He stated.

What? He's from our town? I'll ask him later but let me introduce myself first to the class. Here it goes.

"Hi. My name is Andrea Santos, 16. And I'm also from Primvillage but we just moved there because my parents will run a business here in Intramuros." I said.

"Okay that's good. Thank you, Steph, Dale and Andrea. I hope you guys get along with everyone well. So let's start with our lesson proper. Everyone get your Economics book and turn to page 35." Sir Andy said.

The class began and the class was attentive. Luckily, I managed to catch up with the lessons. Not that I'm bragging about it but I was one of the top achievers when I was in Junior High so it was easy for me to catch up with the lessons. We had a seatwork and I was able to answer the questions well. As soon as we finished, we took our lunch break after.

"That's all for today. Class dismissed." Sir Andy said.

The other students of HUMSS-A went out but Andy and Steph didn't. I asked them, "Where will you eat lunch?"

"I'm on a diet." Steph jokingly said.

"If you want, we can eat outside the campus. For sure, it's crowded in the cafeteria." Dale suggested.

"Okay. Come on Steph. We may run out of food." I said. 

"Let's go." She said loudly.

Steph put on some powder on her face before leaving. Girly but beautiful. We went to the canteen infront of the school. I remembered, I will ask something to Dale but right after having lunch. We ordered my favorite Sinigang since childhood.

"Dale, you're from Primfield also, right? How long do you live there?" I asked him.

"Yhup, I'm also from Primfield. I was raised there but I studied in Manila. I transferred to Willow High because my parents don't like in Manila. It was dangerous. How about you, you just transferred in Primfield, right?" Dale said.

"Ahh, yes. I'm still not used to it." I said.

"You will get familiar someday. People there are kind and friendly." Steph told us.

"He's right. If you need anything, don't hesitate, we're just here for you." Dale said nicely.

"Thank you guys for being so nice to me. :-) Done with your lunch? Let's go, it's time already." I said.

We headed back to our classroom and sat on our seats. First day of new school was not that bad after all. I wish everyday was like this. Hopefully, I'll survive throughout the year.

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Photo Credit:

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