It was the wee hours of Friday morning. I was in a deep sleep inside my bedroom when a dream sequence began to flood my mind.
I was a high school freshman back in the day. It was the first day of the school year, and some new students were about to arrive.
One of those students entered school in style. She sported long brown hair and possessed light brown skin.
But what made her stand out was her outlandish image. She showed up wearing heavy makeup throughout her face, a violation of our school policy that no one noticed.
We lined up for the assembly and began singing the national anthem. Meanwhile, the lady simply stood with her arms crossed, unwilling to participate in the activity.
"Who cares about the anthem?" she thought to herself. "I can't wait to start school, so why bother."
As the entire class walked to the classroom, the young girl began to feel anxious and tense.
"Would you please hurry up?" she shouted at the class. "Or else I'll make you suffer."
"Hey rookie," I retaliated back. "Shut the hell up!!! You're just new here yet you're becoming a prick."
"What did you say idiot?" the new student responded harshly. "You know what, I'll see your near-sighted and ugly face later in class. You'll regret your own damn words, I promise."
"I can't believe this," I said to Michelle and Ella while shaking my head. "Here she is in her first year, yet she was getting on my nerves."
"Let's leave her alone," Michelle advised us. "Someday she'll mellow down and realize her mistakes."
Inside the classroom, the teacher began a roll call. One by one we stood up and promptly introduced ourselves.
When it came time for the newbie to present herself, she did the unthinkable.
"Good morning students," the student cockily announced. "Ladies and gentlemen, my name is Bianca and I am the best pupil ever in this class."
"What an arrogant fool," I silently wondered.
"I came from the most famous family in the country, and I aspire to become an award-winning actress one day," Bianca continued. "Witness the future star in the making, right here in this classroom. Give me a round of applause."
Unfortunately for Bianca, no one bought in to her boasts and gave her the silent treatment. She then ripped each of us for disrespecting her.
"You think this is cool?" Bianca shouted furiously to us. "I rightfully belong to showbiz royalty. You better respect me or face the consequence."
"That's enough Bianca," the frustrated teacher yelled. "You've said a lot. Can't you be more humble for once?"
"Sorry madam," Bianca apologized.
Bianca sat down but her condescending ego persists. Never before in my young life did I encounter such a cocky new lady with lots of expectations given to her.
Later on during lunch, Michelle, Ella and I were eating our meal when we ran into Bianca. Her eyes narrowed, she angrily stared at me and stomped on the table.
"Hey you near-sighted freak," Bianca shouted at me. "Don't you dare cross the line with me or will face the consequences."
"What's the matter with you?" I harshly criticized Bianca for her unacceptable actions. "From the start it was clear you were the one crossing the line. You claim to be better than us? Then prove it in class."
"I don't need any more proof," Bianca boasted. "I already graduated a summa cum laude in my previous school. That means I'm the best student in class."
"You haven't proven anything yet rookie," I sternly warned Bianca.
"Did you say rookie?" Bianca screamed before grabbing my uniform. "You better take it back or will suffer the consequences."
"We'll see about that," I shot back.
Bianca made one last menacing stare at me before heading back to the classroom. Meanwhile, I became upset at her actions.
"Michelle, this girl is going to be a thorn on my side," I commented bitterly on Bianca's aggressive demeanor. "I fear she might slap me for trying to make some sense out of her."
"Christine, just disregard her," Michelle earnestly advised me. "Like I said Bianca will eventually regret everything she claimed today."
A few months later, Bianca flunked three exams during the first quarter: English, Filipino and mathematics. Upset at failing her tests, she tore off the papers and blamed me for getting to her head.
Bianca forcibly escorted my body to the restroom along with her cohorts. They forcibly held both of my arms while she clutched her palms on me.
"Do you think this is hilarious?" Bianca furiously shouted. "Do you think this is funny?"
"What were you talking about?" I answered back. "You should blame yourself for your personal shortcomings."
"Only one person is responsible for all this, and it is you," Bianca screamed at my face. "You're causing me so much trouble from the beginning and now it's time for me to get some payback."
Bianca slapped my face relentlessly and then poured a bucket of water on me. They left me battered and bruised with tears all over my eyes.
I suddenly woke up from this horrible nightmare and screamed so loud that Charissa was able to hear it from her bedroom. She approached me in the middle of the night and cradled my head to her chest.
"You had another bad dream, didn't you?" Charissa asked me.
"Sorry mother, I couldn't receive a good night's sleep with all these horrible flashbacks," I explained to Charissa.
"Just forget about them, okay?" Charissa promptly informed me. "Better go back to sleep especially now that you don't have class tomorrow."
"I hope nothing else happens," I assured Charissa. "Good night dear mother."
After a little kiss from my mother she turned off the lights and I fell asleep. No further incidents occurred after that.
The following morning, I resumed writing on my blog. The latest entry had something to do with the first week of school, in particular Ella's encounter with Amanda and my horrible dream about Bianca.
Upon looking earnestly at the door, Charissa left a message for me to read. It said:
"Christine, Karina is going to visit our room this afternoon. Prepare us some lunch today."
Michelle's beloved mother is about to pay a visit. But I am not yet certain if Michelle will come in as well.
Either way, this should be an interesting Friday afternoon coming up.