Not Into Her

IV - The Introduction

Mrs. Estose looked at her students and realized we're not what she expected. She expected of us to be more bright, smart, intelligent and wise. But she got just dumb, noisy, crazy-assed students. But she just let her patience increase up and smiled at us.

"Good morning, class, and welcome to Section, St. Therese of the Child Jesus." she said at us. "I'm Ms. Brielle J. Estose. And I'm your class adviser for the whole year."

The class became quiet and they all heard our adviser's introduction. All ears are listening to the adviser's instructions and all eyes on her as she speak.

"You know all the school's rules and regulations, right? So I advise all students to strictly follow those rules and regulation to avoid expulsion, okay, class?"

"Yes, Ms. Estose." me and my classmates said.

"Okay, then." Ms. Estose said as she took her class record book named CLASS RECORD, written in white, and opened it on the table at the front. She looked at the class and immediately called the first student on her list. "Mr. Acero!!"

A boy raised his right hand up and stood up. He's sitting on the middle-left corner of the room and he's standing about five-six, almost my height. He's wearing the same uniform, as what one of the school rules have to say. He walked to the front desk, grinning his lips while looking at the windows, and faced his fellow classmates.

When he faced his classmates, Acero, as what the adviser called him, I noticed his hair is a little bit wavy, facing up, wide eyes like an eagle looking for its prey, and a smile on his lips. He never guessed that he have to introduce himself to all this young guns who were looking at him with great smiles.

"Hello!" he greeted. "I'm Piolo Angelo Acero, 16, and lived in Sasa, Davao City. As what you see, I'm tall and strong. That's all what I can say to you all."

Piolo walked down the wooden stage on the front and walked back to his armchair.

"Thank you very much for such a nice introduction, Mr. Acero." Ms. Estose chuckled.

The class laughed at the joke and sudddenly stopped.

"Next on the list is----" the adviser said as she looked back to her class record book. "Mr. Amit."

I was surprised when Ms. Estose said Kris's name. And I was surprised that Kris immediately stood up and walked to my side.

"What should I say, Alex?" he whispered on me, looking at the blackboard on the front.

"Just say your name, your age and your interests in life." I replied at him, still looking at Ms. Estose. "Relax and tell them who you are."

"Okay." he pleased.

"Don't mention it." I said. "Just go and have fun in introducing yourself."

Kris walked to the front desk, climbed the stage and faced our classmates.

"Hi!" he greeted, still didn't know what to say and got so nervous than before. "I'm Kris Amit, 14, and what you can see, I'm small. Not like the other guy who first introduced himself, I'm the opposite of him. I'm a geek, not like what you can see here, and very proud with it."

After introducing himself, Kris walked down the stage and walked back to his chair. He sat down and relaxed himself from the nervous.

The introduction is very lame and very bored but, with this introduction, we can easily recognize ourselves when we saw each other in other places. This day may not be the proper start of the study days but the day of recognizing ourselves. Three of my classmates didn't came in from earlier and the adviser immediately marked them absent for the day.

Then suddenly, my last name called out. Ms. Estose must've introduced the boys from letters A to C and among them is Karl. I didn't know what to say first when I raise my right hand and stand. In my group, I'm the scared cat and very nervous in introduction. But, when summer came before this school year, I prepared for introductions.

I stood up from my armchair and walked to the front with my hands on my pockets of my khaki pants. Karl and the rest of my friends looked at me and noticed the gesture change on me. They didn't know that I changed a little bit, not like what they usually see on me, with the hands on the sides and walk like a stiff statue.

When I reached the front, I climbed to the wooden stage and faced my classmates with a smile on my lips. I looked around and noticed the same number of students looking at me, including Karl and my friends.

"Hi!" I said at my classmates. "I'm Alex de Castro, 14, and standing about more than five feet."

Then Piolo looked at me with a grin. "Geek!!" he whisperly said at the class, as he always called to other guys like me.

The class laughed at the joke and Ms. Estose ordered them to stop.

I looked at Ms. Estose and gently shook at the woman. Ms. Estose nodded and sat back on her chair on the front. I looked back to the class and smiled.

"As what that boy said, I'm a geek." I defended. "Oh, yeah. I didn't call myself as a geek but a not-that-intelligent boy, smart boy perhaps. As you can see around, to our fellow classmates, I'm the only one who uses glasses to see through. But with these glasses, you can say that I can think different persona or anything that you can imagine."

Jethro Donio stood up. "And what did you offer us?" he asked and sat back.

I looked at Donio. "Well, you can ask whatever you want. About Mathematics, Schematics, Algebra, any Sciences that you have in mind, and I can also tutor you, if you have any problems in any aspects you have."

"Wow!" the class said, looking at my confidence inside me. they can see it through my eyes.

"Now, back to basics." I said at them, to stop their wandering at me. "If you ask me, my idols are Isaac Newton, Benjamin Franklin, Scientist Albert Einstein and Former President Abraham Lincoln. My favorite books are all James Patterson books. You can ask me whenever you want, if you're gonna be my classmates who like friends like me before the school year ends. Thank you for listening and have a pleasant day to all."

I walked down the stage and walked back to my armchair. I didn't hear any insults. I didn't hear bad gestures around me. My classmates must've notice my change in attitude and they applauded me with my introduction.

"That was the greatest introduction I heard from a student!" the adviser cheered. "No huss, no fuss. Just the perfect introduction with a direct confrontation for an insult."

I smiled at Ms. Estose's reaction. Karl and my friends looked at me, with amazed faces. They didn't know that I just keep the bullies shut their mouths up.

"How did you do that?" Daniel whisperly asked.

I leaned my head back. "What?" I asked back.

"The one that you just did to the bullies." Karl continued.

"Oh, that!" I said, realizing the incident that I did to the bullies, which I just won. "I leaned my head to an Internet computer and some books I just read and found out what to do when I find myself with the same incident last year. I found some tips, that's all."

"Ahh." they said together. "That's why."

I and my friends looked back at the front, looking at our other classmates to introduce themselves. After a few minutes, the girls had their chance in introducing themselves to the class and they all wished they have more friends as this school years gone by.