Provincia de Nueva Sevilla - A Short Story Collection

Acceptance

Tuesday morning. I sat upright at my desk, fluorescent light forming circles in my blurry vision. The ends of my curly hair had found themselves in my mouth, so I spat them out. My shoulders ached from the uncomfortable position in which I slept for two hours in. Stretching them, I noticed that the classroom was empty; I had probably woken up during break time. The ticking of the clock at the back of the classroom felt loud in my solitude. As I reached down towards my bag, I squinted inside of it – I needed my glasses. Without them, I'm blind as a bat navigating through sunlight. The black-rimmed pair which I pulled out of my bag was my highest-graded pair, with a grading of 2/185 on both eyes. Once I had them on, my eyes could finally relax. I looked at the clock hanging at the back of the room. It was already 9:48 AM; twelve minutes left for recess. I stood up from my seat to walk towards the back of the classroom, where the class schedule was posted. The school year has been going on for two months now, but I still don't remember what class comes after the break during Tuesdays.

As I left the row of desks where I was sleeping, I felt my foot nudge an object on the floor. Looking down, I noticed the brown pants of a male student. Like a corpse, the boy was splayed out on the small aisle between two rows of desks. Initially, I didn't know who it was, but the brown scarf around the boy's neck was a dead giveaway.

"Will, what are you doing?" I used the tip of my shoe to prod at the boy's side. Receiving no response, I made my way to the back of the classroom and checked what I needed to. AP came after the break, and the class after that was English. My mouth let out a sigh of relief before I went back to the guy on the floor. The scarfed boy was William D. Jimenez, the class president, and a classmate of mine for a consecutive ten years. Every day, William changes how he wears the school uniform. Though the school I attended allows plenty of options for uniform customization, most students stick to one style. William here doesn't. Yesterday, he was wearing a sleeveless violet vest over the standard long-sleeved yellow polo, but now, he was wearing a violet coat with the school's logo embroidered onto the front, above the left breast. Only one thing stays the same with how he dresses up, even when not in school: his scarf.

Vague, but clearer than my vision, was my memory of how William got his scarf. It was during a party before Christmas break started six years ago, before I needed glasses. That day, my parents made me wear a yellow dress that I thought was silly. My little sister tied a blue ribbon to the side of my head before I left home, which I didn't remove because I thought it redeemed my appearance at the least. Before I even reached the classroom that day, I saw William coming out of the comfort room. He was wearing a buttoned shirt, gray in color, and a pair of denim pants. Back then, his hair was cut clean like my dad's, because that was how boys had their hair cut back then.

"An!" He called out to me upon seeing me, waving at me with a box in his hand. An was short for Anastasia, my name.

"Merry Christmas, Will." I greeted him as he approached. "Is that for who you picked for the gift exchange?"

With an open palm, I gestured at the box that William held, but I was surprised when he grabbed my hand. He grinned as he folded my fingers around the box and wrapped his arm around my shoulder. "It's a gift for you, An."

After that, I thanked him verbally and nodded. I don't remember how I felt after he said that, but I must have been elated. That's how I feel now whenever I remember it, anyway. We walked to our classroom, his arm on my shoulder all the way. There, I separated myself from him and sat down at the side, near where a jacketed Harry Chikiamco was sitting down with a box on his lap, itching to give it away. Other students were flocking in with presents in hand, ready for the gift exchange. William sat at the other side of the room, talking to Erin Valdez and Oberon Guillermo – two boys that he's still friends with up to today. I was too far to hear what they were talking about, but the tall Ron was pointing at me, and Will was shaking his head at him while Rin, a short boy, was chuckling beside Ron before he leaned in to whisper something to Will. However, I didn't know what his reaction was because our adviser and mathematics teacher, Ms. Dyan, had spoken at the front of the classroom, announcing the start of the gift exchange.