Memoirs of a Retired Fly Girl

High School in the 80's

In June 1987, I started my senior year of high school at an exclusive all-girl school ran by strict nuns.

My friends and I haven't seen each other all summer because back then, cell phones were non-existent in our world, the internet was not yet invented and the only way to communicate with your friends is to pick up a big clunky landline phone and call them or actually visit them in person.

There were 10 of us in the group and consisted of : Maridel (my BFF since kindergarten), Mimi and Judy (sisters we bonded with during our sophomore year), Marivic (our star basketball player who is a self-proclaimed tomboy), Katie (an International student from Oregon who is spending her senior year of high school with us), Romichelle (yes, Hollywood actually made a movie years later called "Romy and Michele's high school reunion"), Ela (I met her freshman year and we became inseparable), Antoinette (aka "the Cure Girl", because she loved the New Wave band called The Cure and despite being a girl, styled her hair the same way as the lead singer of the band-Robert Smith), Michelle (another friend from elementary school) and me (also named Michelle but preferred the nickname Free Girl).

The girls and I were scattered in different sections of the senior class and we usually get together on our lunch break in the cafeteria.

Maridel told us she spent the summer hanging out at Greenhills Mall and developed a crush on this cute guy she saw in Green Lanes playing billiards and started following around the mall. She couldn't stop talking about how cute he was but disappointed she never got to meet him.

Cure Girl shared her summer vacation story spent with her family in the U.S as usual. She always spent summer vacations abroad and showed us videos of her trip when we sleep over her house. She was well off and even had a personal driver who chaperoned us to our girly events such as soirees, mall outings, parties and mini-golf. All 10 of us miraculously fit in her small blue Escort car which we fondly call the Wonder Car.

Katie was our exchange student from Portland, Oregon and stood out from everyone. She was about 5'10 and Caucasian. Hanging out with Filipino girls averaging a height of 5 '4! I met Katie when she was first introduced in our class, she was very shy and blushed easily. I knew she didn't know anybody in the senior class since she was a visitor to our foreign country so I invited her to hang out with our group during break times which developed into a lasting friendship.

Mimi is short for Mirella. She is the exotic, sophisticated, socialite in our group who only dated the cute, rich Chinese guys from Xavier School. I don't think she meant to be picky but it just so happened that these guys were all attracted to her. She was dating a handsome fellow named Jeremy that time. Mimi and I became close in Sophomore year and she literally helped me change my awful apple-style haircut which my grandma insisted I get when we go to her hairdresser...hahaha. I thought it was the only hairstyle back then and had it since I was a child! Mimi took me to a salon called "The Looking Glass" in Greenhills and they styled my hair the same way she had it...I loved it! Finally I didn't feel like a kid anymore! This was back in Sophomore year and thank goodness I've evolved as a teenager for the last 2 years before entering my senior year of high school!

Judy was Mimi's sister. They're not twins but they were in the same grade level in school for some reason. I think Judy was a year older than Mimi but I never asked why they were in the same level. Judy was the smart, level-headed girl in our group. She was the voice of reason behind our schemes and was very articulate.

Romichelle was a free spirit like me. She had cool parents who would let us have sleepovers at her place and bizarre as it may seem now, I remember innocently having a slumber party and showering with my friends at Romich's house without any malicious thought at that time! Imagine, my girlfriends and I "yapped"'so much that three of us showered together just so we can continue "yapping and gossiping" about boys and fashion?! Again, the nakedness didn't even bother any of us, we just wanted to continue our yapping without interruption. Romich's house was a haven of teen magazines, perfumed scratch'n'sniffs, information on La Salle hotties, fashionable Benetton clothes, Tretorn shoes and imported chocolate bars galore. We were in teen heaven.

Sheila was the quiet, petite, lovable girl in our group. She was the smallest girl in our group and I became close to her in Freshman year because she was hanging out with Louella, whom I know from elementary school. Sheila and I bonded since then, and she is one of the few friends who had sleepovers at my place and she just felt like a sister to me.

Marivic was the b-ball player of our group. She is definitely an athlete and styled her hair like a boy and I think she really felt like a boy stuck in a girl's body. She did not hang out with us much for sleepovers or outings, only on occasion for lunch breaks and mall get-togethers. Marivic was also close to another clique of girls who shared her interest in sports.

I told the girls about my summer encounter with Thunder and described him as a tall "chinito" and very cute boy. They were all excited for me and wanted to meet this mystery boy.

That chance came when La Salle (an exclusive school for boys) had an open house for their basktball event. The girls and I attended and Cure Girl was dressed in her Robert Smith attire which shocked everyone, but then again it was the 80's and everyone was into New Wave genre.

Thunder attended too with some of his friends. When Maridel met Thunder, her jaw dropped in disbelief because he was the cute guy she was stalking around Greenhills that summer! What a small world indeed. Who knew it would be the same guy I met?! Since Thunder was also "chinito", Mimi and Judy approved of him too. The girls were thrilled for me. A boyfriend just in time for my final year of high school. How exciting!