Lupe and The God of the Turbulent Seas (Original First Draft)

Chapter 1

Chapter 1

"Lupe, you need to go!" Auntie Didit called out as she closed the great pugon brick stove oven shut. "We can take it from here! Male-late ka na! You'll be late for school again. Did you finish your breakfast?"

    Lupe took off her hair net and hung her white apron after placing the last tray of freshly baked pandesal unto a rack. "I already ate, kanina pa po. I'll be going now!" Lupe said, frantically waving to her small and plump aunt, Auntie Didit, the old kasambahay female helpers Aling Belen and Aling Maria and the male bakers Kuya Buboy, Kuya Kulot, and Kuya Ume.

    "Ingat!" Everyone responded in unison, hardly able to look up at Lupe since the whole crew was trying to wrap up a big order of baked goods for some corporate office in Makati that morning.

    Lupe's friends Junette and Melody have just finished the last bite of their biskotso when Lupe appeared from the back kitchen. "Tara na! Ma'am Estrella will have our heads if we're late again!" Lupe cried as she drag her friends by their hands.   

    "Takbo na!" All three yelled out giggling, running past neighbours who are tidying up and watering potted plants on the front of their homes and sweeping the side streets. It's the fourth day of school and so far all three have yet to experience hearing the first stanza of the Philippine National Anthem during the school's morning flag ceremonies. Mrs. Estrella, their homeroom teacher, doubled as the gatekeeper during flag ceremonies. Tardy students not making it for the seven a.m. ritual had the unenviable task of sweeping and picking up trash around the school grounds as punishment. For the first school week so far, the school grounds' cleanliness could be partly credited to Lupe, Junette, and Melody's efforts.

    Lupe met Junette in fifth grade and Melody in seventh grade and it's been their habit to always meet up at Lupe's Bakeshop which was a fifteen-minute walk from school. The girls always prefer to walk since it's usually a hassle to ride a jeepney during the morning rush hour; Manila's rush hour traffic is notorious for being hopelessly bad. Having breakfast at the bakeshop and walking with her friends to school was probably Lupe's most favourite thing in the world and she'd rather not change a single thing. That routine has never changed since elementary school and it didn't get disrupted even when Lupe's mother and father tragically passed away just before summer. Vivian, Lupe's mom, always prepared breakfast for the three friends. Lupe started helping out in her namesake's bakeshop in the middle of summer. It's in the bakeshop, particularly the kitchen, where Lupe felt at home; she'd sleep in it if she could get away with it. Lupe's mother and father poured their hearts and souls in Lupe's Bakeshop and Lupe's Auntie Didit, her mom's younger sister, tried to pick up the mantle of running the artisanal bakery. Lupe's parents' untimely deaths were a huge loss and Lupe summoned all of her courage to not break down the first time she put on her mom's work apron. It wasn't like Lupe was lazy before, her parents would rather she does early morning catch-up studies rather than help out in the kitchen when she wakes up with the rest of the household everyday at three o'clock a.m.

    "It'll be easier to understand and remember things in the wee hours of the morning, you'll see." Lupe's mother, Vivian assured her since Lupe sometimes struggled with school work. And to her surprise, Lupe's mother's pronouncement proved right. Hence, Lupe developed the weird habit of studying at three o'clock in the morning at the bakeshop's cafe while everyone prepared the baked goods.

    There's also another reason aside from her studies why Lupe wakes up everyday at three. Her family had this other routine. Or one might call it a ritual. The routine entailed preparing a tall glass of water and salts on a small side dish and reciting a short old Tagalog incantation supposed to be for casting away bad luck. After the recitation, the reciters must share a drink from the glass and throw a pinch of salt over their own heads and sprinkle the remaining water and salts by the thresholds of their home. Both Lupe and Auntie Didit have been faithfully doing that ritual ever since Lupe's father taught them the incantation when Lupe turned thirteen. Lupe's father insisted that the tradition be observed, arguing that it was a custom that was passed down to the Magda family line for generations. To herself, Lupe was somewhat struggling to believe in and even accept the importance of the tradition. If it were truly an incantation for casting out bad luck, how come the untimely death of her parents then? But Lupe, with the insistence of her Auntie Didit, have faithfully kept up with the routine.

    "Ms. Penelope Magda, Ms. Junette Ledezma, and Ms. Melody Sacramento, why am I not surprised that you guys are late again?" Mrs. Estrella said with her usual stern tone.

    Lupe's homeroom teacher was a short and very thin and frail looking woman, but one could easily catch the unmistakable strength and determination in her voice. Lupe usually felt like she would lose control of her bladder every time Mrs. Estrella admonishes her.

    "I think I'll have a little chat with your Aunt about your consistent tardiness this week, Ms. Magda," Mrs. Estrella warned while Lupe was about to dump some litter from her dustpan into a trash bin. As usual, she, Junette, and Melody were hard at work sweeping up trash.

    "You know that you can talk to me. Right, Lupe?" Mrs. Estrella's voice softened once seeing the look on Lupe's face. "Is everything all right?"

    There's a certain heaviness to the teacher's query and the uncanny ability of Mrs. Estrella to sniff out emotional turmoil unnerved Lupe. Mrs. Estrella had been Lupe's homeroom teacher before and the educator has a knack of sensing troubled students. It's that ability, or it's the teacher's  use of Lupe's nickname that caught her off guard, she couldn't quite decide. Extremely touched with the warmth of her professor, Lupe summoned all her strength not to cry.

    "Everything is all right at home Mrs. Estrella." Lupe said unconvincingly.

    "Look, manage your morning schedule, Ms. Magda, since Ms. Ledezma and Ms. Sacramento's attendance are also being affected." Mrs. Estrella said a little firmly while putting a gentle hand on Lupe's shoulder. "Tell your friends to finish up, I'll see you in class."

    Lupe wiped the corner of her eyes.

    "What did Mrs. Estrella say, Lupe?" Melody asked.

    "Dalian daw natin. We need to hurry and finish up." Lupe said, completely skipping the part that the strict yet kind teacher touched a nerve.