Prologue
“MA'AM Salceda, may teachers' conference tayo around 3 PM,” salubong sa’kin ni Ma’am Arani sa corridor. I gave her a nod before entering my 3rd class. My students immediately stood up and greeted me as soon as I reached my table.
“Good morning, Ma’am Salceda.”
“Good morning, take your seats,” I said and took a quick glance at them to check who’s not around before shifting my gaze to the attendance sheet.
“Mr. Taddeo is absent again,” I announced and shook my head out of disappointment, still looking on the attendance sheet and wrote a cross mark beside his name. The room was filled with deafening silence, no one dared to create even a short feeble noise. They know how much I hate absences, unless there's a fair and reasonable explanation behind it.
“Sinong malapit sa bahay nila?” I asked. Henry Gomez, the class vice president, raised his one arm. “Ako ma’am. We’re neighbors.”
“Send me his exact address after class,” I said to him and he nodded. I opened the book and checked where our discussion stopped yesterday. “Hmm,” I paused when I found the page and glanced at them. “Get your Intro to Philo book and continue reading pages number 108-113.”
I sighed heavily when I looked at the empty chair at the back where Kenji Taddeo usually sits. He failed to give me an update about his new place, all I know is that he moved in last month. Kung hindi pa sasabihin ng mga estudyante ko, hindi ko pa malalaman. He’s not even showing up in school for four consecutive days. I tried calling him and his mother but they didn't answered my calls. The head of this school would definitely question me about his absences since I'm his homeroom teacher, but that’s not really my top concern, nag-aalala ako for my student. What if he’s hanging on a clothesline with a lot of adversities?
I hope that's not the case.
“MA’AM, Nasagap mo na ba ang balita?” bungad sa’kin ni Ma’am Ignacio pagkapasok ko ng faculty room. “Anong balita, ma’am?” I curiously asked at naglakad papuntang table ko, agad naman niya akong sinundan.
“May bago tayong teacher.”
My brows furrowed. “Uh, okay?” I said, unsure.
Anong bago dun?
“At pogi!” dagdag pa niya.
Ma’am Corpiz suddenly appeared in front of my table. “Legit ‘yan ma’am, hindi fake news. Nakita ko siya kanina sa principal’s office, ang gwapo nga!”
Our other female co-teachers draw near to us. Hearing the term gwapo automatically captured their whole interest. Insane.
“Hay naku. Kapag talaga pogi, alerto kayo,” Sir Lopes said while heading his way to the printing machine.
“Ganyan silang mga babae, sir. Pogi lang ang hanap,” pagsali ni Sir Amora na kasalukuyang nasa table niya at nagtatype. The other teachers who remained on their seats laughed, aliw na aliw sa kulitan nila.
“Naku mga sir, ‘wag niyo akong simulan ngayon. Baka masabi ko pa 'yong sekreto niyo na pinagusapan niyo rin si Ma'am Salceda nung unang pasok niya rito kasi gandang-ganda kayo sakanya,” dire-diresto niyang sabi.
What she said made my eyes widen. Laughter filled the room. Napatingin ako kay Sir Amora at Sir Lopes who are currently sending glares to Ma’am Corpiz. When their gaze shifted to me, they instantly looked away. Sir Amora cleared his throat at umaktong busy sa pagta-type at patay-malisya namang tumingin sa taas si Sir Lopes while waiting for his papers inside the printing machine.
Agad na siniko ni Ma’am Ignacio si Ma’am Corpiz. “Sinabi mo na, ma’am.”
WHEN I entered the conference hall, some teachers were already comfortably sitting and waiting. 2:30 PM pa lang but we’re already here. No wonder they called us early birds, well, we just don’t fancy Filipino time.
“Good afternoon, sir,” I greeted Sir Aranda as soon as I took the seat next to him. We are sitting in front. Aranda knew me very well. Alam niyang kapag nasa likod kami, chances of focusing on the discussion would be low kasi dadaldalan ko lang siya. That's why he saved me a seat near the principal's table.
Lumapit naman siya sa’kin ng kaunti. “Good afternoon, ma’am. Sorry if I wasn’t able to eat lunch with you, tinawag ako sa principal’s office. Babawi ako, promise.” Nakaugalian na namin ni Sir Aranda na kumain ng sabay every lunch. Obviously, binigyan ‘yon ng malisya ng mga co-teachers namin. They suspect us having a thing. They would always ask me if we’re dating or if Sir Aranda is making his move, but the fact is, we’re just close friends. We are good friends since high school and we attended the same school in college.
I noticed that other teachers have arrived already. Kaya pala umingay na kasi kumpleto na kami and we were only waiting for the principal. I glanced at Liam and smiled. “Okay lang, nuh. Bakit ka nga pala pinatawag?”
“The principal appointed me to be the homeroom teacher of HUMSS 12.”
“Sino magiging faci ko?” kunot-noo kong tanong. If he’s gonna be a homeroom teacher, that means he’s no longer going to be my facilitator.
“The new teacher,” he answered, smiling in a silly manner. I was about to ask him if he already met the new teacher when the principal arrived which made me sit straight.
“Good morning teachers. Today’s meeting is be about the final exam for the first semester. You still have 4 weeks and 5 days. As early as now, I encourage you all to prepare your exams and make the students comply their missed activity a week before the exam. After—” he stopped when someone knocked and his secretary came in and whispered something to him. He nodded and shifted his gaze back to us.
“Right. Where are my manners?" he chuckled. "Let us give a warm welcome first to our new teacher, please come in Mr. Ocampo.”
Mr. Ocampo?
My heart raced in an enormous haste when a familiar figure entered the room.
“Good afternoon, I’m Ethan R. Ocampo."
Fuck. Why is Ethan here? My ex for the preciseness' sake!
I was afraid that he might hear my heart pound because he was just 5 steps away from me so I moved my chair closer to Liam's.
He was smiling but it gradually disappeared when his eyes landed on me. "Nice to meet you..." he trailed off, giving me a smirk before look glancing back to the teachers, "all."
Just wow! As if I was pleased to see him again after 7 long years!
A/N: I'm not a professional writer so you might encounter errors. I can't proofread my own story so I humbly ask for your help. If you see a mistake, do message me in private. Thank you!
Trigger warning:
Please be advised that this story contains mature themes and strong language that's not suitable for minors.
June 5, 2020
BINABASA MO ANG
Five Steps
Romance[ON-GOING] Diana Salceda was living a peaceful life as a teacher until she met her first love again after 7 long years which made her recall the years they spent together during college.
