I entered the classroom the next morning forcing my eyes not to shut as they pleased. The case, plus school work, had been stealing some of my supposedly peaceful hours of sleep.
At first, I thought I was just imagining things, but as I walked to my seat in the fourth row, I could feel Yana’s gaze fixed on me. Challenging my senses, I looked at her and confirmed that she was indeed staring at me.
I immediately ran my hanky to my face and neck, worried that I might have looked like an espasol (a kind of sticky sweets covered in flour). It usually happens whenever I put on face powder while my skin wasn’t completely dry, leaving white specks later on. To my relief, she just gave me a wide smile and so I returned it, although a bit awkwardly. She was still looking at me though, so I didn’t know what I should feel, until she jerked her head forward in my direction.
Huh? What does that mean?
My classmates started to giggle as others tried to contain their laughter. Wait, what’s going on? I was beginning to feel like I was being made fun of when I heard a quiet voice nearby. “The board. Look at the blackboard.”
And so I did. And I almost died in shock.
“HAPPY BIRTHDAY, IRENE!” it said.
Geez. I forgot it was my birthday, and I felt so embarrassed for not noticing the huge greeting right away. My classmates started to sing me ‘Happy Birthday’ and I couldn’t help but to feel grateful, although still embarrassed. I thanked them after sitting awkwardly for a few seconds and made a note to myself to treat them to ice cream at recess.
This day was, how should I put it, different but in a good way. I usually preferred my birthday on a weekend so I could excuse myself from awkward social gestures. But seeing how my ‘kid’ classmates enjoy the snacks I gave them, I thought it wasn’t bad after all—being able to spend this day with them. (Well, giving food to everyone has always done the trick.)
I thought there were no more surprises after that until Yana asked me to wait for her later after class. I was happy enough for her to initiate the class greeting, but I was happier to know we were going home together afterwards.
“Um, we’re going to meet later, right?” one of my new classmates, Tessa, said to me during our class activity in Algebra.
It had been weeks since the new school year started and apart from group activities, we hadn’t really talked that much yet—except when Yana was there to initiate the conversation. Talking had never really been my thing to begin with.
To be fair, my new classmates seemed pretty nice. Tessa was the type who chooses her words carefully and tends to get embarrassed easily, while Kira was louder and more expressive than Tessa. Both of them looked like they came from wealthy families and I think it was one of the reasons why they could come off as intimidating for some.
“Sure, we are!” Kira replied in my stead, her joyful energy making up for my lack of enthusiasm.
Honestly, I didn’t know they were going home with us. But it was Yana who invited them so it was okay, I guess.
At lunch, Yana and I went to the garden where we used to spend time last year.
“Ahh, I miss hanging out here,” she said, stretching heartily while taking deep breaths.
“You used to eat quickly now back in the room,” I remarked as we opened our lunch boxes.
“Yeah, so I could do homework in advance.” She picked the mushrooms from her bistek (beef steak) with a spoon and placed it onto my lid. “You like it right?”
I nodded in reply. “That group study of yours is taking too much time, you know. You could’ve taken a nap instead,” I added as I removed the green peas from my mechado (a kind of tomato stew) and gave it to her.
“I still don’t get why you don’t eat this. It’s yummy!” She took the peas and ate them right away as always. So cute.
We still had time after eating so we just chatted some more. Yana told me what they usually do in the Student Board and it was mostly encoding files and doing reports concerning troublesome kids. In my understanding, teachers were handing off work to them to lessen their load.
“I don’t know how teachers can tolerate those kinds of students. So much unruly behavior in a week.” Yana sighed. “I even handled five reports for one student. Unbelievable.”
Up close I could see she was more tired than usual. “They sure are keeping you busy up there, huh.” I sighed too, getting annoyed to see her stressed like that.
“Ahhh, Rin.” She sighed once more and rested her head on my shoulder. I patted it lightly. “Your shoulder is always comfortable. Can I take it with me?”
It was sweet but I didn't give in. “As if,” I said to her, and we both laughed afterwards.
Yana then perked up suddenly, surprising me. “Oh, I know! You can come over to our house some time,” she said.
Really now…
“We can also invite some of our classmates.” She was beaming; her energy back in an instant.
The concept of house visits had always made me hesitant, but this time I felt it would be a waste not to give it a try.
Looking at her, I returned her smile. “Okay, I’m in.”