The weather had been cold and wet for over a week now in Puerto Estrella. It was Saturday and I was sitting in the backseat of the car again habang papasok kami sa main campus road ng Puerto Estrella University. Si Pops mismo ang nag-ayos ng enrolment namin last month pa lang despite his busy schedule. Retired lawyer na siya pero he's a freelance worker at the Governor's Office as a legal consultant.
"Pops, do we really still need to join this orientation?" tanong ko sa kanya habang katabi ko siyang nagmamaneho. Kurt was in the backseat playing Wildrift again. "I mean, it's a freshman orientation at nasa junior high na kami ni Kurt."
"I know it's called Freshman Orientation," Pops started, "But this time, the school administration is also encouraging all the transfer students to join. It's not only to welcome you as new students," dagdag pa niya, "ngunit pati na rin maging familiar kayo sa historical background ng paaralan at sa mga rules and regulations."
Well, sa tingin ko wala na'kong magagawa. Nanibago lang ako kasi sa Manila kahit palipat-lipat kami ng school, never kaming sumali ng mga orientation.
Sumandal ulit ako sa kinauupuan ko and peered outside the window. I kept thinking that two days from now, pasukan na. Hello, junior high.
Sobrang laki ng PEU na malayong mas malaki pa kesa sa dati naming school sa Manila, sa Makati to be exact. Ahead of us ay may tatlong magkahiwalay na kalsada and there were three gigantic gates on the very far end, each road leading to one gate. We were driving on the middle road at 'yung gate na nasa dulo lang ang napansin kong bukas habang 'yung dalawang magkabilaang gate ay sarado.
The entire university looked like a majestic structure. Ang mga campus building ay gawa sa red bricks, limestones, at kulay puting mga pillars. It had a Roman-inspired design but at the same time, it also got the feeling na nasa Hogwarts kami gaya ng nasa Harry Potter movies. It was all because of the Indian pine trees na nakapaligid sa buong school and the green landscape.
Marami ring mga tao ang nagkalat sa campus kahit saan ako tumingin. They all looked busy and excited, mga estudyante kasama mga parents nila. Across the street, sa tapat ng isang building was a parking lot, and Pops maneuvered the Avanza into a space.
Kurt and I went inside the building habang iniwan naman kami ni Pops to join the Parent Orientation. A female student guided us to a room called Lucio Montoya Amphitheater. Hula ko, Lucio Montoya was our great-great-great-ancestor sa side ng mama namin. He must be a very big-time person noong kapanahunan niya kaya nakapangalan sa kanya 'yung room. Though wala ako masyadong alam sa family background namin, actually. All I knew was that Montoya and Vergara are one of the founding families of Puerto Estrella.
Marami nang mga estudyante ang nakaupo sa loob ng amphitheater and more kept coming. Para itong isang sinehan where all seats were placed higher than the seats immediately in front of them at may malawak na stage sa harap. Naka-boost din yata ang aircon sa loob to the maximum level dahil sa sobrang lamig. I crossed my arms in front of my chest after we found seats on the third row.
Suddenly, the entire room roared nung may dumating na mas marami pang mga estudyante, with all their cheering, chattering, and all that.
Nagsimula ang orientation after a few more minutes and it was conducted by the high school principal, Arthur Navarro. Mukhang kasing-edad lang siya ni Dad. He welcomed all of us to PEU, introduced to its history, school policies, general rules, the honor code and more. Binigyan niya din kami ng mga ideas kung paano sumali sa iba-ibang clubs at organizations na available sa campus: kung gusto ba naming maging part ng intramural sports, maging politically active, o di kaya magsulat para sa campus paper. I couldn't get my interest in anything that time. Titingnan ko muna kung magsu-survive ako ng first sem then we'll see on the second sem.
Before the orientation officially ended, the principal announced na magkakaroon ng party ngayong gabi sa school to welcome both the freshmen and the transferees. And the theme was 'Slumber Party'. Lahat ay nag-cheer sa saya pagkatapos nila itong marinig. Everyone looked very excited pati si Kurt. Parang ako lang yata ang dedma sa party.
"Don't forget. The welcoming committee is waiting for you outside for the campus tour," reminder ni Principal Navarro and then nagsilabasan na kaming lahat mula sa higanteng freezer.
Di pa rin maka-move on ang iba at pinag-uusapan pa rin nila ang Fresher's Welcome Party. I overheard one boy saying that he's excited to meet a girl tonight. The others were talking about what kind of pajamas they're going to wear. 'Yung isang girl naman nag-aalala at kelangan niya pang bumili ng bagong damit. Freshmen.
"Kat! Kurt!" Rita called us across the yard, waving her hands. Nilapitan namin siya agad ni Kurt and she was smiling at us while carrying a clipboard.
"Sa'kin na kayo sumama. I'm part of the Welcoming Committee for this year, remember? Kaya ako na magtu-tour sa inyo dito sa high school campus," sabi niya sa'min.
"Cool! " I said with a sigh of relief. Naalala ko, nakwento na pala niya sa'kin dati na kasama nga siya sa Welcoming Committee.
We waited for more students to fill Rita's bucket. They were advised na dapat merong ten to twelve na estudyante in each group. Halos kumpleto na kami and we're preparing for the campus tour to start when there were two familiar faces na biglang lumapit sa grupo namin.
They were two guys. Naka-undercut ang hairstyle ng isang lalaki. He had fair skin, high cheekbones and a determined mouth. At obvious ang kanyang flat-muscled athletic build dahil sa suot niyang body-fit na aqua blue polo shirt na naka-unbutton 'yung first two buttons exposing his chiseled chest. The other guy had a military haircut and almost had the same built and height as the other. He was wearing a green v-necked shirt and black jeans.
Sila ang mga bagong friends ni Kurt and they're both seniors already. The first guy was Jake Salvador and the other was the waiter-slash-heir of the Stellar Diner, Seth Buenavista.
The girls in our group immediately went giggling and some of them were even blushing.
"Hi, Rita," masayang bati ni Jake.
"Hi, Jake. Can I help you?" Rita asked.
"Sorry, pwede ba naming nakawin si Kurt mula sa group n'yo?" paalam niya habang nasa likuran niya si Seth. "Since Seth and I are also part of the welcoming committee, gusto sana naming kami personally ang magtu-tour sa mga new students who have the potential to join the Eagles. Okay lang ba sa'yo 'yun?"
"Uhm, of course!" sagot ni Rita without hesitation. "So far, I got ten students left naman sa grupo ko."
Jake thanked Rita and welcomed the rest of us at PEU, then Kurt happily left our group with them. Kinikilig pa rin 'yung mga girls and I even heard them asking each other kung sino sila. I was pretty sure that they were all freshman students at ako lang ang senior sa grupo namin.
Great, mag-isa na lang ako ngayon with all these younger folks, I thought. Buti na lang si Rita ang guide namin. At least, di masyadong awkward sa iba kong mga kasama at nalalabanan ko ng konti ang pagkahilo ko.
Rita started the campus tour right after she got all our attention. Nagsimula kami malapit sa entrance gate para makita namin ang structure ng buong high school campus. It was built like a huge inverted U-shape building with five storeys. Sa ground floor ay mga offices ang nandun like the registrar, faculty, principal's office, student government's office at iba pa.
And then mula second story pataas ay mga classroom na. One story for each year level. So that means nasa fourth floor ang junior high. Each story had between eight to ten classrooms with its own library, a locker room and a shower room. All classrooms looked the same with red hard plastic arm desks, a platform in front with a whiteboard and a rolled-up projector screen. Anyway, may option din na gumamit ng elevator when going to different levels.
Pagkatapos naming makita ang bawat floor ay bumaba ulit kaming lahat at pumunta sa likod ng campus building. There stood the Zaragoza Stadium. It was huge, dome-shaped, and was purely made with bricks and glasses. Sabi ni Rita, dito ginaganap ang lahat ng mga high school events gaya ng Fresher's Welcome Party that would happen tonight. Dahil dun, mas lalo pang na-excite ang mga kasama ko.
We passed the stadium at pinuntahan namin ang basketball gym kung saan nakita din namin ulit sina Jake at Seth kasama si Kurt at ibang mga boys sa grupo nila. The school's basketball team was called Aquila, the latin word for eagle. They waved at us kaya kinilig na naman ang mga girls na kasama ko. They were screaming and they got sad nang di kami huminto at pumasok sa gym. Dumiretso lang kami sa katabi nitong isang Olympic-sized na swimming pool habang nakakasalubong namin ang iba pang grupong nagtu-tour kasama ang mga guide nila.
We ended the campus tour back at the entrance, pero nasa loob pa rin kami ng campus. Before leaving, tinanong ako ni Rita kung pupunta ba'ko sa party mamayang gabi but I said I wasn't sure yet. Pero baka hindi. Siyempre, medyo nalungkot siya dahil aside from the freshmen and transferees, invited din ang mga official ng Student Government at ang buong Welcoming Committee which in fact, sila pala ang nag-organize ng party. Well, I didn't know until that time. The party was kept a secret at plano talaga nilang i-announce ito sa orientation as a surprise. So, I told Rita that I'd think about it.
She stayed in the campus for a meeting kaya nauna na kaming umuwi ni Kurt. Pops was already waiting for us at the parking lot while talking to some of his friends.
"So, it was announced earlier during our Parent Orientation that there's a Fresher's Welcome Party tonight," sabi ni Pops the moment we all got into the car. "Do you know that this is the first time the university will host this event? I'd love for the both of you to go. Gamitin n'yo na 'yung isang kotse."
Dalawa ang kotse ni Pops at 'yung kotseng tinutukoy niya ay isang silver sedan. Binibigay niya na sa'min ni Kurt 'yung sasakyan para gamitin namin papuntang school when the classes start. Both Kurt and I got our non-pro driver's license sa Manila last year.
"I'll go, Pops," sabi ni Kurt. "And no need na po ng sasakyan, susunduin ako nina Jake mamaya sa bahay after dinner."
"Oh, wow. Chief Salvador's son? That's very nice of him," sabi niya. "Kung ganun, si Katherine na lang gagamit ng kotse."
"Sorry, Pops, pero hindi po ako sure na pupunta," sabi ko sa kanya agad. Unlike Kurt, I'm the type who's not socially inclined at nahihilo ako pag masyado maraming tao. Masaya na'ko sa isang small circle. "I just like to get some rest."
"Uhm, okay. Hindi naman compulsory ang pag-attend," Pops accepted my alibi. "I just thought you guys might want to have some fun."