The first days of the week in the University was filled with endless orientations, meetings and submissions of whatever.
“What class are you handling?”, Sam asked me while we are walking to the Dean’s office for the class assignments.
“I’ll be handling STEM A1, how about you?”, I replied and asked him the same thing.
“HUMSS A1.”, Sam said.
“How is it like to be an adviser again? Haha. It has been a while since I handle an advisory class.”, I asked, joking.
“Haha, for the recent years, we were in College. We didn’t handle advisory class.”, Sam rode at my joke.
“Does that mean we have to do those forms and papers like they do?”,
“Exactly!!”,
Our drop by in the Dean’s office didn’t take long. After the assignments were given to us, we went to the library to borrow manuals and references for the subjects that we will teach.
Beep…beep…beep, my phone beeps from my pocket.
“We are in the library. Silent you phone Dennis.”, Sam whispered on my side.
“I’m sorry.”, I hurriedly snatch my phone from my pocket and turned it to silent.
“I told you to block him already, didn’t I?”, Sam commented while browsing to the book he was holding. I threw a sharp look at Sam. It is very clear who is he referring to. It’s like we read each other’s minds. After silencing my phone, I returned to reading the book in front of me.
***
“Good luck to your class for today Den.”, Sam smiled at me while leaning in front of my cubicle.
“Thanks. You too. It seems like you are more excited than your students huh.”, I noticed.
“Haha, do I? I am just feeling the excitement every time there is something new. I love the new painted faculty room and these new cubicles. And of course, new sets of students. Do you think we have new hires this year?”, Sam asked then he looked around for any new faces.
“Oh my goodness. Here we go again. You really haven’t change Sam.”, I commented.
“Hey what do you mean? as if we don’t have the same likely, do we not?”, he snarled at me while smiling. “If my memory serves me right, who between the two of us had hooked up with a minor?”.
“You’re a moron, keep your voice down. And for your information, he is not a minor. He is twenty years old.”, I reminded him.
“Whatever you say, that kid is still younger than us. You are still more terrible than I am haha.”, Sam continued to mock me.
“Fine. Whatever. Now, can we just change to topic. There might other professors here who hears us.”, I sharply whispered to him.
In a few minutes, the first class is about to start. We both gather our books and we head toward our respective classes.
“See you in a while Den.”, Sam called out to me as he took the corridor to his class.
“Yeah, see you too. We’ll have lunch together right?”, I replied to him and gave me a thumbs up to confirm.
The rooms of the STEM classes are on the second floor at the left wing of the building. The HUMSS classes are on the third floor at the right wing side of the same building. As I walk along the corridor, there are students who are greeting me “good morning”. Most of them were my previous college students and some are those who’d already seen me on the past semesters.
I can still feel the looks of interest of some students at me. I am used to it already. Even if they do, it is very unlikely that I entertain them. I have one and very strict policy about flirting, NO STUDENTS ALLOWED. I don’t want to risk it. I don’t want to compromise the years I had spent in building this career that I have now. I had been receiving such attention for quite some time now. And if only these students know that I have no interest at them at all even if their skirts are above knee in length.
I just enjoy the feeling of being admired at and got interest on.
After several steps, I reached the classroom of STEM A1. This room is just beside the stairs if I take the path on the far end of the corridor.
“GOOD MORNING!”, I blew a loud greeting to the class upon my entrance.
“Good Morning sir…..”
“Toledo. Mr. Dennis Toledo.”, I continued as they do not know what my name is yet. “Eveybody, please sit down.”
I started my first day with my usual orientation, ground rules and subject expectations. I verify their registration to my class by checking the masterlist given to me in the dean’s office. I also told them how I manage my class. And part of it is arranging their seats alphabetically which gathered a lot of negative commentaries.
“Sir, why do we have to do that? We are senior high already. Why can’t we choose where we want to seat?”, one of the student asked which had seconded by other students.
“Want to know why? Well, I do have a bad reputation of remembering names. I can certainly recognize your faces but definitely not your names. Now, if you don’t want your grades to scramble and receive the grades your appropriately deserve, you will sit on the chair where I will assign you to sit. Am I understood?”, I explained in a firm and indignant voice. No student objected on my reason for doing so. “Seems like everybody agrees and no complaints, you may now stand and head at the back for now as I arrange you alphabetically.”
Reluctance is obvious on the faces of the student but no one resisted. They all stand up carrying their bags and proceed at the back side of the room. This is one of the first lesson I instill in the minds of my students, learn to follow.
I pulled out a folder in my bag that contains the names of the student in this class. I started calling out their names alphabetically while pointing at the seat where they’ll sit. The chairs are arranged in five rows with ten chairs in each row. I place all the boys on my left while the girls on my right.
I started calling the boys first and point at the chair closes to the entrance. “Abad, Gerwin. You sit there. That is B1.”, I called to the first boy on my list. A chubby jolly looking guy walks in front and head toward the chair I pointed.
“Next, Acosta Jerson. Sit next to Abad. You will be B2.”, I called to the next which hurriedly sit beside the first boy.
“Abueva, Edwin. B3,
Benito, Ralph, B4,
Bernardo, Emerson, B5”
I called out the names of the boys continuously until I reached the last name. I then continued calling out the names of the girls and pointed the chair at the first row on the opposite side of the room for G1. The last chair at the back is occupied by the last girl, G22.
“Is everybody set on their seats?”, I called out after I finished my roll call. Everyone looked around to check the others. “Why is there a vacant seat?”, I asked when I notice that there is one occupied chair on the side of the boys. “Who should be sitting there?”
I get back to my list and identified that the vacant seat is B13.
“Does anybody knows Mr. Ledesma?”, I asked the class. The students looked at each other but it seems like no one knows who the missing student is.
“Sir, maybe he is late.”, one student responded.
“It’s your first day. Why would anybody be late on the first day? Well, if this Mr. Ledesma come to your next class, tell him to come and see me in the faculty.”, I firmly requested the class.
“Yes Mr. Toledo.”