Richard's Standard

Chapter 4 - Meeting Mom's Other Business

It's Monday today, so basically, it's my first day as a student at the University of Surigao.

It's been two days since I last met up with Dona 'cause I'm still not feeling okay about the word she taught me last time.

Kaagad na akong tumungo sa paaralan dahil baka mahuli pa ako sa klase. I was a little bit excited to experience a different school, new classmates, and a new horizon.

As usual, agad na napako ang kanilang mga tingin sa akin as I parked my motorcycle. I didn't have my uniform yet, but for sure, the guards would let me in 'cause I'm the President's son.

I looked like an actor, wearing a plain black tee with a leather jacket and airflex stacked skinny jeans paired with speed knitted sneakers. I'm really cool. It's hard for them to take their eyes off me.

Tumuloy ako sa room 306 dahil ang first subject ko ay Major 13 - Cell Biology. Alam ko na ang daan dahil tinuruan na ako ni Mom sa direksyon kahapon noong binisita ko siya.

I went inside the room and they were all startled and amazed. Some girls seemed to be expecting me while those boys at the back were just smirking. I decided to sit on an available chair at the front, parang ni-reserve talaga sa akin.

I could hear them murmuring, giggling, and laughing, but I didn't mind them until the teacher arrived.

They stood up, so I did, and we greeted the teacher.

"Good day, Mrs. Coengco."

Alright, she's Mrs. Coengco and I'm going to remember her name para 'di ako malito. She was shocked when she saw me.

"Ow, we have a new family member. By the way, class, he's our President's son."

"Lage ma'am, ayahay kaayo. Pwede ra mag gara-gara," one of the boys said sitting in front row, ande everyone started laughing. Well, I may not understand him now, but next time, I will.

"Silence. Let's proceed to our discussion. But before we proceed to cell communication, let's first discuss Genomics. Who can give an idea about it?"

Wasting no time, I stood up and answered. "Genomics is the study of genomes, which involves the sequencing and analysis of genomes. It is also concerned with the structure, function, comparison, and evolution of genomes."

They stared in awe as the room fell completely silent, but the teacher broke the silence. "Okay, that's right. So, you talked about sequencing. What's DNA sequencing?"

"DNA sequencing is the process of determining the precise order of nucleotides within a DNA molecule. And if you ask me about the four types of bases found in DNA molecules, they are adenine, cytosine, guanine, and thymine. Adenine and guanine are purines, while cytosine and thymine are pyrimidines."

Still, they were all silent, and Mrs. Coengco commanded me to sit down.

"Thank you for answering, Mr. Ventura," our instructor said.

The teacher continued the discussion, and I was just listening. She also explained the importance of genomics in helping researchers and scientists find better ways to improve health and prevent disease to modify plans of lowering the onset of many diseases, such as type 2 diabetes.

I was actually fond of Science, but today, I was a bit sleepy. That's why I didn't actually get the whole topic. No worries, I'll just research and study it again.

The class was finally done, so I arranged my things to head to Mom's office to take a break.

Some of my classmates talked to me, and I responded with just a smile. They were good to me, maybe because I'm so hot and they liked me so much.