Animan(on hold)

Chapter 1 : The School by the Chipped Mountain

Visayas State University-

The school that provided quality education for the poor started its 90th year in service when classes resumed from summer vacation. A natural, clean and green school whose virtues uphold the protection of the environment and the lives within it.

Nature was everywhere with the place; seemingly more like a garden utopia with plants and trees in every corner. Its land was on a large mountain side that was eaten by time and weather. This gave it an impression of mystery , as if the school was placed over what was chipped away in the mountain to conceal what lies beneath the ground.

I took a deep breath as I made my first step in this school. This year would be different. I made far too many promises to my parents to turn back now.

I wore my bag and walked towards the school gymnasium for the freshmen’s orientation. I was shocked to see it jam packed with students my age. The bleachers were filled faster than I expected. With nowhere to sit, I grabbed one of the chairs in the corner and sat on it, only to see other students bringing chairs of their own towards the center of the gymnasium. Apparently, one of the facilitators noticed that all of us wouldn’t fit on the bleachers and told every other student to occupy the space in the center.

I found myself sitting comfortably in the near center of the gym and out of curiosity looked behind towards the bleachers. The students looked like ants, hundreds of them sitting and chattering about. The people sitting behind me gave me a hard time viewing the whole bleachers  because they were too many.

It felt like a market now. Everyone was talking here and there making it sound like a rally. I felt awkward and jealous during that time towards them talking. Awkward, because I had no one to talk to. Jealous, because  I was the only one who had no one to talk to, or that’s how it seemed to me.

VSU always did this to the freshmen, giving them the first day as an orientation. We needed to know what to expect and that is exactly what we were here for.

I actually wasn't supposed to take my college here since I passed the entrance examinations to the University of the Philippines last christmas. It was a big shot school in our country and everyone who graduated there were looked up as geniuses fit to the world. Unfortunately, the storm came and wiped the school clean off the face of the earth. Typhoon Yolanda even took out a few lives on the way,too. If it wasn't for the storm, I wouldn't be stuck here in this gym waiting for something that I felt would never arrive.

“Good morning VSU!”, came out the MC.

The freshmen replied with something that sounded like ‘good morning, too’ but it couldn’t be heard clearly because it was too loud and the gym echoed their voices making it more confusing.

The MC made an introduction and welcome remarks but I paid little attention. I found little interest in things like that. Everything else went pass my ear to my other. More people came on stage to talk about this and that, some of them had high ranks but I really didn’t want to listen. I just want the tour to start especially since the gym was starting to get hot with the people being crowded inside.

They promised to show us freshmen around the campus, which was the only the only reason keeping me awake in my chair. A few hours passed and it was finally over. We passed several buildings and later found our classrooms for different subjects where everyone made friends.

“And here is the Department Of Pure and Applied Chemistry, also known as DOPAC, ” said our leader as she pointed to the area. There were many buildings in the area and it was located on the upper part of the school, meaning that if you had classes here you would probably sweat gallons before you reach your room.