Inside your backpack

     Hello there!!! This is the story of how I auditioned for "Inside your backpack", our school paper. Did I qualify? Read on.

      This story would begin on a day not so far away. June 19, 2015. Friday. While we were having class, a voice from the paging system was heard. A voice from the broadcasting club began to speak and said that there were auditions for Journalism, Photo Journalism, Cartooning, and Broadcasting later at 4 p.m in the publishing office. I began to think. Am I really going to audition for Journalism? Will I have fun? Would I even qualify? Would I be at least a little bit close to becoming an author in the future? My questions and curiosity again felt endless. 

       During break time, my adviser told me to go to the publishing office and audition for Journalism if I didn't want her to put me in another club. She also said that I should go with Elyssa, my classmate who was joining as well. After that short conversation, Candy as usual, approached me. I told her to join in the Journalism club as well since I really wanted us to become club members at least. The bell rang and the final agreement was that we would be auditioning later. Since it was a Friday, and I was part of group 5, we were the cleaners for that day. It was already dismissal and I was still stuck in that classroom cleaning. I wasn't finished yet, but I knew that I had to go. I approached my adviser and asked permission to go to the publishing office already. Luckily, she allowed me and even said that I should go now since I might be late. I went out the door and left my bag inside the classroom while my other group mates continued cleaning. I speed walked going upstairs. I saw Candy who was about to go up. I went to her and surprised her with a big "Hello!!!". Once me and Candy finally arrived to the publishing office, I saw Elyssa inside the room with a few students from the cream section. She asked me of I was auditioning. I said yes, of course. Then I asked her if she was auditioning too. She said no and said that she was already a member since she auditioned for cartooning during the summer. I found out that my classmate, Fred was auditioning for cartooning since he told Elyssa earlier, but Elyssa ended up roaming around the school looking for him. There was a teacher inside the room of course. I figured his name was Mr. Harris because of our Circular folder the day before. He asked me if I was auditioning and what I was auditioning for. I said Jounalism, then he pointed to the topic on the board. 

                                          AUDITIONS

                     Journalism-"A Writer and His Pen" 

There were more stuff written on the board, but the other stuff were for the other auditions. The teacher then pointed to a pack of long bond paper next to his table. I got one and began thinking of possible words which would make it a master piece of art. I was just about to start, but I forgot that I left my bag inside the classroom. Me and Candy went back and got it. As we went back upstairs, we saw Fred with some of his friends. We called him and told him that the auditions were today. He said he would follow us, then we went up. As I finally had my pen with me, Candy told me something. She said that she wasn't ready. She wouldn't qualify for the auditions since she wasn't good enough but she badly wanted us to be club mates. I understood her. Me and Candy were really close friends just since last year. We only became friends last year, but it seems like we've known each other since birth. I knew that Candy wasn't very good in writing and she wanted to become a part of the dance club at school. I kindly replied. "If you don't want to join, I won't force you. I know that you want to join a different club and we won't become clubmates. But we'll still see each other right? We'll still be friends." It was really tempting for me to join the dance club at school since me and Candy would be clubmates, but I for a fact, am very bad in dancing. 

      What happened next you ask? Candy said sorry, since I might be thinking that she wouldn't want us to become club mates, but I nevre thought of that. She was too nice to act like that. Candy left after a few minutes, and the Upper School's dismissal was conducted. I had already wrote two long paragraphs, but I did the unexpected. I crossed it all out. I wrote a new one. I went outside to sit with Fred who was very concentrated in his drawing. I have also asked permission to my school service that I wouldn't be joining the first trip. I turned the paper and once again wrote; "The Writer and His Pen." I cannot tell you the exact words I have written, for my piece was not returned to me. The only thing that I wrote, which I clearly remember was "It is an Unseperable Relationship." A few minutes later, Fred wore his bag and said bye. I was slow. I tried to do my best. Once I finished, I passed my paper to Mr. Harris who was mad at some high school students for some reason. I said bye to Elyssa and at the exact time, the backrider of my service came. I rode the school service with the noisy High School Students and thought. "I think I may not qualify. That wasn't my best. I was too pressured. I was out of inspiration."

     June 24, 2015. Wednesday. We had free time and all my classmates were talking to each other. I was just looking at my back. Nothing to do. Nothing to say. No more Candy at my back, No more Amelia in front. I turned around and saw Elyssa. (I am going to be using tagalog to say the exact words she said.) "Athena, part ka na ng Emblem. Maganda daw sinulat mo."  Fred, who was sitting behind me, qualified too. But sadly, he just backed out since he realized that it was a big responsibility. I was so happy since she said that I qualified! I wasn't even trying, yet I qualified! The only problem now was that there wasn't any confirmation from a teacher. I waited for the next few days.

      July 1, 2015. Wednesday. 1st Club Meeting. The bell finally rang. Since Elyssa told me that I qualified for the Emblem, I went with her to the classroom of 6-Carnation, where the Journalism Club room was. We got inside and saw Ms. Wells who was our Language teacher. She was the Moderator of the Journalism Club. We came to the part where she asked us to do Feature Writing. She explained that Feature Writing was writing anything you want. You were free to write anything. I thought of a story for a loooonnnnggggg time. Then Elyssa who I was sitting next to me, finally said we should go out yo get some fresh air. I agreed with her. I badly needed to get some fresh air. We walked around the school. Classroom to classroom, Hallway to hallway. We went back to 6-Carnation then began writing. I thought of a story name "The Miracle Maker". It was about a girl who had nothing exciting in her life. She was a nobody. She has no friends. She was always bullied. She was from a rich family, but that beautiful priceless smile from a child was never seen on her face. Each night, she cried herself to sleep, resulting to her having puffy eyes the next day, resulting to her classmates teasing her again and again. There was only one reason of why she was never happy. She never prayed. My story, of course, had a happy ending. I wouldn't dare making that poor girl even poorer. The girl ended up having a bad school year, but summer came. Each night, she prayed. One thing was never forgotten to think of whenever she prayed. "Please. Just one friend. That's all I ask for. During the next school year, the girl didn't make a friend, but a whole group of friends. The End. The story I wrote was based on my previous school year two years ago. We weren't rich, and I wasn't teased. But I never had a friend, and I never prayed. I passed my paper to Ms. Wells. After a few minutes of checking, Ms. Wells called me and another club mate and said "Athena, are you a part of the "Inside your backpack"?" I was so stupid that I forgot, so I said No. Elyssa corrected me and said yes. Ms. Wells told the other girl, who wasn't part of "Inside your backpack" that she is suggesting she should join. Since I was already a part of the school paper, and Ms. Wells wants me to join if I wasn't part of the emblem, I think that would mean that she liked my work and it was emblem-worthy!!! :) :) :) What's going to happen next? Let it Unfold.

       

School So Far...

   It's been a very long time since I was able to write in my blog. It was very hard to fit in all my school work, malling with my family, reading books and chatting with my friends in a short period of time. School so far, is alright. Nothing bad, but still, I haven't made any new friends except for Mary who is my servicemate and Candy's classmate. On the bright side, I've made small talk with some of my classmates like Pepper, Dina, Elyssa, and Scarlette.

     A lot of things have happened these days. Me and Holly sit together during lunch and recess, me and Candy still see each other during dismissal, the old Language teacher quit and was replaced by a teacher like Ms. Jane who is a total Swiftie as well, I have a gay-like classmate sitting behind me at class and is crazy to be with, Me and my BFFA Amelia who is at Japan still talk to each other, My new school service driver always talks to me since he says I'm quiet, I auditioned for "Inside your backpack" (School Paper), qualified and became a part of the Journalism Club and last but not the least, for the first time on forever, I started reciting.

     Because a lot have happened, I could not describe how I actually feel. Not super busy, but busy. Not as sad as two years ago, but not as happy as the year ago. Not as quiet as now, but not as talkative with Candy like before. There are only three super simple words to describe what I want to happen next. Let It Unfold.

    

First Day of Classes ('15-'16)

   Yesterday was totally crazy!!! Lots of words could be used to describe how I felt. A few of them were shy, nervous, excited, fun, and memorable. As the title says, yesterday was the first day of classes. Want to know more? Read on. 

    Like all of my other posts, this story would begin with me, waking up. It was about 4:30 am, and unlike last year and every other year before that, I woke up early without giving nanny a very hard time. I figured that maybe it was just because it was the first day of classes. I ate breakfast, took a bath, and my hair was tied classically just like last year (It had a bit of hair which was put on to the side). I felt a bit nervous at this point. I saw myself dressed in my tidy uniform with a long red checkered skirt and my new black shoes. Once we were in the car, I didn't say anything else but an "I'm nervous." There was nothing else to be said. Once we arrived at school, my mom helped me with my stuff while my dad parked the car. My bag was seriously heavy. It was full of books, which really doesn't have any difference from rocks if you tried it. Me and my mom walked towards the classroom. I leead her through the stairs, went to the left and stopped at the second classroom. The label above the door said "Rosal". I put my bags down in front of the classroom since the door wasn't open yet. I told my mom that she could go, then I kissed her with a goodbye. I was the fourth to arrive. I saw my classmate, Danica from last year. I immediately said that we should go down to see our other classmates. We weren't very close, but we walked together anyway. We saw our old classmates, but no sign of my old friends. Not one of them was to be seen. From my seven closest friends, I knew that only three were going to be staying in our school. As my classmate saw her old friends, she walked with them while I was left alone. That was one of the reasons why we weren't very close. I went back upstairs while Danica followed and we put our bags inside since the door was already opened. We went outside again and as I looked to the classroom next door, I ran to my left with very happy feelings. I felt like I was going to conjure a Patronous Charm. Two of my best friends, Anna and Violet stood in front of me. I hugged them with a priceless smile. We talked for a few minutes, we went down to check on our other classmates, and we spent time together. It was good while it lasted. I went back to the classroom and sat down with the very quiet crowd of new classmates. Minutes passed and quite a short girl entered the room. She wore a gray and blue uniform and glasses. She didn't say anything, but of course I knew that she was our adviser.

      Danica finally came back. She sat on the seat on the right seat in the back. She saved a seat for her friend while I saved a seat next to me for Holly who was a bit of my friend last year. I did nothing but stare out the window and daydream about every detail last school year, good and bad, happy and sad. The class increased more and more until the Morning Routine (We do this every morning at school) was nearer and nearer. I began to lose hope that Holly wasn't coming. But, I was wrong. Holly came in the door and walked forward. She didn't seem to notice me. I called "Tris!!!" (her surname) in a modulated voice with my hand held up high. Danica, who was closer to the back called her and pointed to the seat in front, which was the seat next to me. I could tell by her face that she was relieved when she saw me with me pointing to an empty seat. She put her new orange Jansport bag next to my pink floral Jansport bag and sat next to me. We began talking in low voices until the bell finally rang. Just like the two years ago, we went out in front of the classroom and formed a line by height. As usual, we went back inside and began the prayer, national anthem, blah blah blah. We sat down and our adviser was Ms. Bay. She started the orientation and we organized our school supplies. Once we finished, the second part I hated about the first day happened. "You better enjoy your seats right now, since I will be arranging you into your proper seats later." Ms. Bay had said. And now was the later. Us girls were the first to go to the seats. We were arranged by height and I was in the second row in Group 5. I began to say this to myself in my mind; It could be anyone. Anyone. I saw that Holly sat in her seat just like last year. Lucky for her. The boys were finally grouped and guess what? My last year classmate, Vinn who is very arrogant was my seat mate. But wait, there's more. We were also seat mates last school year. Nothing changed. Pure torture. 

      The bell finally rang and it was recess. Me and Holly sat on the two chairs with tables on the right side. The others sat on the table part which was very hot. Me and Holly talked a little and then she went to her old friends. A few minutes after that, we walked going to the canteen. Then, another Patronous charm (if there weren't any dementors) would be made. I saw Candy. She was walking with Leanna. I ran quickly but quietly. Then, with a very great feeling, I surprised Candy with my two hands. Then I said, "Hiiii!!!!". We walked around the school with such happiness. But everything has its end. The bell rang and all of my schoolmates went to their classrooms, me and Candy said Bye to each other. 

     When we got back to our classrooms, Ms. Bay gave us our name tags. The first part I hated about first day happened. "I will be giving you your name tags, but to get them, you must introduce yourselves first." The introduction was always making my temperature chilly. A lot of my classmates finished introducing theirselves. Then, teacher said, "Athena". Of course, I felt super duper queasy. I went to the front. Whenever there's something I feel nervous about at school, I always try to look confident. I show my classmates that I'm not shy. I always do. But whenever my classmates would tell other people about me, or I would just eavesdrop, these are exactly what I always hear.; My teacher called me and I didin't know the answer. I would hear "Hay Nako si Athena nahihiya nanaman." I had a cold and I was honestly coughing and my voice was different. My teacher would say "Lakad palang nahihiya na eh".  I answer my teachers when I am called, only if I know the answer. I present my work whenever we have homework and I always tell myself that nothing bad is going to happen if I present it. My classmates don't see that. They still go with the past and think that I'm the shy and quiet girl at school. They think I don't change. Anyway, going out of the personal issue, I said "My name is Athena Cat I'm **** years old My birthday is on Novemer **, ****." And, yes I didn't use periods in my sentence. My teacher gave me my name tag and clarified my birthday. I sat down and waited patiently. 

       The bell rang. It was lunch. Same things happened. The bell rang again. It was dismissal. Our teacher dismissed us and another adventure had began. I arrived at Gate three and it was very very very very crowded. Each day at school was always crowded, especially when the students haven't gotten home yet. I looked for my new service and asked the guard, Ate Emily if they were here yet. They weren't. I talked to Candy and she told me that she and Danica were going to find her crush. I talked with Holly as well. After a few minutes, my new service came. I went out with the new back rider, Kuya Jayce. As I walked through the hot, sunny, and wide parking lot which served as a playground for some of the students. I rode the new service which was also an Escapade van painted in yellow. I was the second to arrive. The first one was a small grade four girl with short hair and glasses. I sat down quietly on the second row of the van nearest to the window. The driver, Kuya Rocky told me to write down my mom and dad's name to enter the gate of our subdivision. I wrote it down and by the time I finished, we were about to go. Each window was closed. The key was turned to the right. I felt a slight elevation. My face began to feel the icy freshness from the cool air conditioner. The doors were closed and all there was left to do was say "All aboard". I enjoyed the rest of the day and knew that this was another piece of wonderful history.

*Written on: June 9, 2015

       

A Visit From Grandpa

     Last night was a very special night. I got a visit from my grandfather. He died on Christmas eve and getting through it was not very easy. (Read "Is this Really Christmas" in my April posts) Think about having such a happy occasion yet being very sad because of a loosing someone you love. You wouldn't be able to see him ever again. You wouldn't be able to see him again. You won't be able to talk to him again. You won't be able to hug him again.  But last night, I think I did.

     I was with my nanny outside. It was night time in our backyard and to make it worse, rain was pouring down with thunder. We sat on the table set outside which overlooked our pool. Me and my nanny were arguing because she didn't put nail polish with nail art on me correctly. Then the doorbell rang. My nanny smiled then exactly said "Nandyaan na si Jong." Just like in real life, whenever someone rang the doorbell and I would get all crazy. I ran and laughed and smiled then went up the stairs where our biggest window was located. Surprisingly, the window was elevated but the view was like the window wasn't. Another surprising thing was that The front of our house was completely sunny. It was so sunny and so colorful and it was very unlike our backyard. I saw my grandpa outside the gate with my nanny about to open it. At his back was his old van he used to drive, Sportivo. (My grandma still uses it :) ) I couldn't remember what happened next, but what happened was that we ended up in my mom and dad's room. They were both asleep including my dog.  I sat on the bed with my legs moving back and forth. Grandpa was staring at me. At first, I didn't think it was a dream. It was the clearest dream I ever had. Even though I got a visit from my grandpa when he just died and I was just eight, this one was the clearest dream I've ever had. His face was so clear and in my dream, his face was the one thing I'm sure I wouldn't forget. He hugged me and I hugged him tightly with a big smile. Then from a very far world, I teleported back to my bed sweatier like always.

6-Rosal

    Today was the biggest day of May. It was even bigger, more awaited and more nerve wracking than the wedding last Saturday. I woke up earlier than usual. Today was the announcement of sections. Two words. Nervous. Excited.

I was finally awake and my i pad was the first thing I touched today. I couldn't believe that it was today! My heart skipped a beat as the seconds slowly passed. If me and my friends were classmates, what a feeling I would feel! I tapped on the safari in my i pad and immediately searched for my school's website. I tapped the section assignments and waited without patience. I looked at it with a small amount of disappointment. My i pad showed something like this.

                              

                           SECTION ASSIGNMENTS

                                      SY 2014-2015

       If you can't find your name, please call the Registrar's office.

               

                            Search: Student's Name

The sections for this year weren't posted yet. I refreshed the page and surprisingly, the numbers 2014-2015 disappeared and the numbers 2015-2016 appeared. Out of excitement, I immediately searched my name. The page loaded and my eyes grew as big as an owl's.

                               SECTION ASSIGNMENTS

                                     SY 2015-2016

         If you can't find you name, please call the Registrar's Office.

   

                   Search: Athena Cat

                                       Not found...

I refreshed the page again. I looked at the page again. I breathed of relief. They changed the way to search for the names. Instead of searching for names, the school website requested for Student I.D numbers. I entered my I.D number and waited for the results to come out. 

           Full Name         Athena Cat

           Section             Rosal

            

Without a moment to waste, I searched for my friends'. It was quite hard since it required ID numbers, but luckily I knew what year they got into school and as I searched for the first two numbers, surnames were already included. Bailey; not found. 😖 Violet; not found. 😖 Anna; Rose. 😖 None of them were my classmates. My heart raced and hoped and prayed that Candy would be my classmate. Candy: Carnation. I felt alone. I felt like someone was betraying me. I felt like crying. To make matters worse, two of my friends weren't going to my school anymore. Amelia's at Japan and Phia went to a new school. I felt that if I was ice cream, I would quickly melt into liquid and become sadder, more bitter and if I was to be eaten, I think that I would make a kid run away because of my taste. I know that I could just make new friends, but since we wouldn't be able to see each other, we would just rip apart and become strangers to one another. I planned to search for the sections of my classmates later. I lay down and stared at the ceiling. Then I began to think. Would I really have friends who make me happy just as they do? Would I really have a friend who likes Ever After High as much as me and Amelia do? Would I ever have a friend who I could have an adventure with around the school after class like Bailey? Would I have a friend like Candy who I could talk to anytime and like Hello Kitty and Taylor Swift? Would I really have a friend who is as crazy and fun like Violet? Would I really have a friend who is as sweet like Phia? Would I really have a friend who is as kind as Anna? Would I really have friends who I love just like them? Could I ever be able replace them? The questions in my head were endless. I felt like I had an unsolvable problem. 

    Minutes which felt like centuries passed and I was back searching for the sections of my fellow batch mates. I only had very few classmates from Sanggumay. I had messaged Candy screen captures of our sections on facebook and we both felt very sad yet we joked about her imaginary grave because we weren't classmates. While chatting on facebook, I heard my phone vibrate and play Mean by Taylor Swift. I got it and saw that Candy called me. We went offline on Facebook and talked to each other while we searched for the sections of our schoolmates. Once me and Candy finished talking for about an hour, I searched for some other classmates. I searched the girls of Sanggumay. Holly was my classmate. We were a bit of friends too. We used to practice in last year with Anna since we competed in a spelling bee contest at school. Maybe we'll become closer this year. 

    All I hope is that God will listen to all of my prayers. I prayed that me and my old friends wouldn't rip apart and that we would still be the best of friends. I prayed that this year would be just as fun as last year.

Written On: May 25, 2015