Jarred: A Collection of Jahric Lago's Novelettes

If Tyron Banks

If Tyron Banks

For Cresencia Lago, my mom. You may not be perfect but you’re the only greatest mom I know. Thank you for everything. I love you very much.

Each one of us saves money. Even when we were kids, we used to have piggy banks or a bamboo-made alkansiya, just to save excess money from our daily baon from school. But have you ever think of why are you saving all those coins for? And how and where will you spend the money you kept? Will it be for your own joy? Or for others?

Tyron was a boy filled with enthusiasm and big dreams. He was a sixth grader in a not-so popular school, a public school in fact. His father died due to a hit-and-run accident. His mother was a tinapa vendor at morning and a balut vendor at night. He got an elder brother named Monty (a high school student should-be) but because of bad choice of barkada and drugs he got left behind and became another burden in his family. But living with the most unfortunate family, in the most underprivileged place in Manila didn’t stop Tyron from being ambitious in life. He wanted to uplift his family from poverty. Carry off his most beloved mother away from the shack (if someone could still call it a shack) they live in. They lived under a concrete bridge somewhere in Manila, surrounded by beeping jeepneys, thumping trucks, racing motorcycles and filthy dusts and pollution, though, that place was once called paradise by Tyron’s playmates. Well, what could they do? It was the only thing they could call “a paradise” of their own.

His only solution to pull his family out from the muddy pool they were in was to save money. He never wanted to be poor. No one ever wanted that. So, he saved five pesos from the ten pesos of the baon his mother gave him every day. His alkansiya was his bank and his hope in life.

***

A few more days to come and Tyron’s graduation day would happen. The announcement of the honorable mentions, salutatorian and of course, the valedictorian came one sunny morning in his school. Tyron was not like his elder brother who hated school and has many red marks on his card when he was still studying. Tyron was way different from Monty. I might not tell you yet but Tyron was a consistent top honor student in their class since the first grade, his rank always played on top two or top one. It became a natural business for him to take home medals and certificates of recognition. And because of this determination to always be on top and to always sharpen his God-given intellect his mother rejoiced with joy.

“…now our salutatorian.” the principal said, “Ms. Virginia Cortes”

Tyron felt very nervous, his heart beating fast, his sweating crazily. He still got his fingers crossed and wished to be the valedictorian of this school year.

“The moment we’ve all been waiting for, who will become our valedictorian?”

Everyone in the quadrangle stopped from what they were doing, paused their heart out as they waited for the name of the valedictorian to be called.

“Our smartest and most hardworking kid this year is,” the principal paused for a while as he looked at the grade sheet on his hand, “Miss…” he uttered.

When Tyron heard the word ‘Miss’ it felt like the world have fall apart on him. All his hardship would go to waste, all his night studies, reviews, and even those sharpening of pencils, erasing every wrong in his assignments would be gone in the wind.

Tyron was about to turn around and walk off when the principal fixed his eyeglasses and spoke, “Oh, I’m sorry.”

He returned to his place.

“It’s not a Miss, it’s a Mister.” the principal clarified, “our valedictorian is none other than Tyron of section one.”

When he heard his name he jumped with joy and hurried to the stage to give the school’s principal a big hug.