A video is being played, accompanied by music from the speakers on the side of the stage. The video showcased the school, presenting its history, mission, vision, and more. It provided a tour of the entire campus, highlighting various facilities.
The video is 10 minutes long. It wasn't dull at all; on the contrary, it turned out quite enjoyable to watch. It featured pleasant music and an entertaining approach to discussing the topics. Not only that, but it felt more like a fun fact video.
Watching the video presented to us, no one dared to utter a single word. It could be to avoid displaying disrespectful behavior or disturbing others; apart from that, it could also be that some just took an interest in the presentation.
After a while, the music subsided, and the light from the projector faded away. Following that was stillness. Breaking the silence, the host spoke.
"That's the thing to know about Bonifacio High. Isn't this school wonderful? Consider the way the school constructed and its long-term goals."
Upon hearing that, the crowd nodded in agreement. Bonifacio High is truly remarkable, as everyone knows. Given the school's popularity, there is undoubtedly an entrance exam.
The exam posed a challenge, yet it was never impossible. While luck may have played a part, it was not the sole factor in our success; effort was equally vital. Plus, we chose this school knowing it has an entrance exam and limited slots.
Furthermore, there are benefits to attending this school. Graduating here can guarantee enrollment at JRU, the university that most of us aspire to attend.
As I think that, a voice snaps me from my thoughts.
"Now, it's time to introduce the teachers for the first-years who might become your advisers."
Once again, it was the host who spoke. She was talking about introducing the teachers to the first-years.
As she called their names to the stage, one by one, they came up. She organized them by category, grouping them based on their subjects.
The ratio of male to female teachers favored women; there were more women teachers than men. Throughout my years of studying, from kindergarten to junior high, this pattern has been to persist. In the education field, especially in the Philippines, there is a notable presence of women who become teachers. However, according to the adults, this is different for most universities.
'So when it comes to kindergarten until senior high, there are more female teachers? Then as for college, it's the opposite where there are more male teachers?' what I thought.
"Okay, those are all the teachers set to teach you in your first year at this school."
Oh, crap.
Without realizing it, the introduction for the teachers had already ended.
I didn't pay much attention to the introduction as it didn't interest me, so I did not know a single name.
I tried to look at their faces to remember how they looked. That was the plan, but unfortunately, I missed that chance when they left the stage.
"Hey, do you remember the names of the teachers?"
"Huh? I haven't. Since I've lost interest."
I asked Adrian about the teachers' names, yet he's in the same boat as me—not paying attention.
I let out a long sigh, knowing how useless we are.
"Now, let's take a breather from the information you all have received and enjoy this another performance prepared by the students of this school."
The host spoke, suggesting a break and hinting at another performance. The crowd eagerly anticipated what was about to happen next.
Waiting for the performance to begin, no one expected that sudden appearance. Suddenly, a young man emerged from the crowd, holding a microphone. At first, he was unnoticeable because he blended well with the crowd, but when he stood up and spoke, every eye immediately focused on him.
"Eh? Who is that?"
"He spoke out of nowhere."
Whispers circulated among the crowd, indicating genuine surprise at the sudden appearance. What startled them even more was the realization that the person had been in the crowd all this time.
This person was uttering some unusual phrases. His tone was poetic, pacing his words in rhythm. Everyone knew what the young man was doing, as they had experienced it before. He was reciting poetry.
His poem's content revolved around youth and education. Proudly reciting his verses, he walked to the front and looked at us confidently.
After concluding his words, he suddenly halted, leaving everyone with the impression that the performance had ended, and a sense of disappointment settled in. "Is that all?" they thought.
The performance is short. So, I understand what the crowd feels like.
"A youthful life is held in your hands."
As I pondered this, a voice suddenly snapped me out of my thoughts. It, too, was articulated like poetry. Glancing towards where the voice originated, to our surprise, it wasn't the young man's voice; instead, it was coming from the stage.
The one now reciting poetry was none other than the host. I didn't expect that, to be honest. It was the same for others, given that they reacted similarly to mine.
Her poetry is slightly different from the young man's earlier. Her phrases are more direct, speaking to us.
She talks about us being the youth carrying our country and more.
The poetry doesn't end there; the young man from earlier also begins phrasing his verses. They take turns delivering their lines. While it may seem as if they're engaged in a poetic dialogue, it becomes evident that the performers' words support each other.
As the performance unfolds, the initial disappointment that lingers in everyone's mind dissipates, and they begin to savor the poetry.
Thus, what was initially a short-lived performance transforms into a lengthy and captivating one.
After their poetry performance concluded, the orientation continued—or that's what I wanted to say. But what came next was shocking; it was nothing like a presentation or discussion. The host informed us that we could freely roam around the campus. However, they only allocated us 30 minutes for this.
After making that announcement, everyone is now free to leave the facility we're in.
As always, I'm hanging out with Adrian. First, we nosed around the spot where the orientation was happening. Then, we ventured out and unexpectedly discovered a charming garden. From there, we headed to the building where the students had classes.
As we travel inside, nature suddenly calls, compelling me to find the nearest bathroom. After finishing my bathroom break, I realized Adrian was nowhere to be found.
He sends me a message on Messenger, saying he's taking a solo stroll.
"That Adrian... leaving me like that," I mutter, feeling a bit peeved.
I reply to his message, "Okay. Let's meet at the entrance."
Now, I find myself walking solo down the hallway.
While they gave us the green light to explore the campus, some areas still restricted us from entering.
I could see youths wearing their uniform and on standby. They're probably students of this school, and you could see them around the campus even though they're on vacation. Their task was to prevent us from straying too far inside the campus. So, they act as both guides and guards.
Fortunately, I can freely explore this building. I could enter one of the rooms, but there are some exceptions, such as the lab and more.
The clinic is also accessible, where I can see someone lying on the bed. Upon confirming their identity, it turns out to be the guy from earlier with dark circles under his eyes.
"So, this is where they brought him," I thought.
He seems to be sleeping soundly–as if this is the first time he had a restful sleep in who knows how long.
"Hmm? Did you need something?"
All of a sudden, I heard a voice coming from the door. Almost reflexively, I turned and saw a petite girl with glasses and dressed in a lab coat.
She can't be a nurse at this clinic, considering she's wearing a school uniform underneath her lab coat. 'Is she perhaps a daughter of someone working at the school clinic?' I wondered.
"...um, where's the doctor?" I awkwardly asked. I don't know why I said that, but I feel bad talking about her in my mind.
"I am in charge of handling this clinic for today," she said, then asked, "Do you need something? Have an injury? Flu? Or perhaps want to lie low, just like the guy over there?"
"No, I don't have any business in the clinic."
"Then why are you here?"
"Well, they gave us time to stroll around the campus, and I just happened to come across this clinic."
"Oh really?... But then, why are you looking for Nurse Anna?"
"Ah!? Eh…." a cat got my tongue; I didn't know how to explain myself.
She looks at me suspiciously, scanning me from top to bottom.
"Are you Nurse Anna's son or something?" she asked with doubt.
Eh? Son…., she said. How come she got that conclusion?
Upon reflection, I realized I had done the same thing to her. Now, she's doing it to me.
I feel bad.
But wait, at least I didn't tell her directly. She, on the other hand, said that to my face.
However, it's still not good to secretly talk about others. Is that what getting gossip feels like?
As to not cause misunderstanding, I immediately deny it.
Her doubt still didn't vanish as she asked me again, "So why are you looking for her?"
She questioned me again with the same premise, but this time I could answer. I have an alibi.
"Since I'll be a student at this school next week, I thought I should try familiarizing myself with the surroundings at least."
"Hmm… is that so?...."
It wasn't a strong alibi, but I wondered, did she buy my reason?
After a brief moment of silent scrutiny, she abruptly averted her gaze and sat on a chair near the nurse's desk.
"Well, too bad Nurse Anna isn't here. She assigned me to handle the clinic for this occasion."
"Oh, that's unfortunate then," I replied, feigning disappointment.
"Just save that greeting for the first day of school."
"...yeah, I'll do that…." I softly said as I slowly walked to the door.
Just as I thought I had finally escaped this predicament, she suddenly spoke before my feet could pass through the door.
"Cecilia," she said.
"Huh?!"
In shock, I replied, not understanding what she had just said.
"That's my name," she explained.
"Okay…."
"You, what's your name?"
At first, I hesitated to tell her, but realizing it might cause another misunderstanding, I eventually gave her my name.
"Nice to meet you, Jose."
"...yeah same."
After exchanging pleasantries, I could finally leave the clinic.
You could argue that it's disrespectful to leave abruptly, but the person wasn't bothered by it as she began to fidget with her phone.
So there's no issue after leaving.
Exiting the clinic, I continued my stroll through the building. Since the clinic was on the middle floor, I went up further, exploring more rooms.
And when I thought I had concluded with the situation in the clinic, I stumbled upon another interesting one.
I saw three people in the hallway: one was a teacher, and the other two were students.
Those two students looked stiff, straightening their backs as they replied, "Yes, ma'am" and "Aye, ma'am" to the teacher.
And when they got dismissed, they marched in sync.
It was amusing to see.
Witnessing this exchange, suddenly, the teacher's eyes met mine.
I reflexively turned the other way and walked, hoping to get away. However, the teacher didn't let me have my way.
"Hey you, stop right there," she said.
What now? I worried.
I know she's calling none other than me, so I halt my feet and turn to face her without hesitation.
The teacher approaches me and looks at me from top to bottom.
"You're a new student, right?" she asked.
"Yes."
"Alright then, do you know who I am?"
"No clue, ma'am."
"Hmm? Didn't you listen to the orientation earlier? I was one of the teachers introduced to instruct the first years."
"Is that so? I don't remember all the names, but I do recall the faces," I lied.
In truth, I neither know their names nor their faces.
"Oh really?" she is probably doubting.
She kept staring into my eyes as if trying to read my mind.
To steer her away from uncovering the truth, I make an effort to shift the conversation.
"Um... ma'am, which subject do you teach?"
"Oh, what's this? I thought you had memorized our faces?"
"Well... The subject part was a bit blurry in my mind, so..."
"I see."
Did she buy it or not? I can't tell.
"I taught many subjects, but this time, I'm teaching Disciplines and Ideas in Social Science."
"Uh huh…."
With her answering that, what now? I can't think of anything to talk about. I don't know much about what subject Disciplines and Ideas in Social Science entail. It didn't have that in our old school. Or is it only a thing in senior high? Probably something like that.
"Alright, I have something to do, so I should be going now. Oh, by the way, before I go–what's your name?"
"... it's Jose."
"Full name?"
"Jose Batungbakal."
"So, Mr. Batungbakal, see you on the first day if I happen to be your teacher, whatever class you're in."
With that, she left the hallway.
Your sentence is already well-structured, but for a slight improvement:
I feel relieved that I managed to escape without receiving any scolding.
However, it's regrettable that I didn't learn the teacher's name before she left.
The only thing I know about this teacher is,
"What a cheerful teacher," I thought.
With that done, I continued my walk through the facility, entering a few more rooms until, at a certain point, I came to a stop.
The time allotted to us was finally running out, so I went down to the first floor, messaged Adrian, and waited for him at the entrance.
With just a minute left before the free walk ended, Adrian was still not there. He might have already returned to where the orientation was. However, that's not the case since he replied to my message earlier about meeting here at the entrance.
"Where the heck is that guy?" I complained.
The minute has already passed, completing the 30-minute interval, and Adrian is still not here.
I tried calling him before, and it rang, but he's not answering it.
"Where the hell are you?! The orientation is going to resume." I was frustrated and sent him a voice message.
"Um…."
Suddenly, I heard a voice behind me. I turned around, thinking it was Adrian, but to my disappointment, it wasn't him.
"Excuse me, it's time to return to the court," he said.
"Oh, right, sorry."
After being notified, I hurriedly left the place and returned to the court.
In the end, Adrian didn't show up. Where could he be, I wonder.
Now that you think of it, I never saw or came across him in that building. Did he go to a different location? Or he probably has already returned to the court. Even so, he should at least inform me about it.
So, I headed straight to the court without any delay.
Returning to the court where the orientation is, I took one of the seats and sat at it. Everyone did the same.
Since there's no specific order for the chair, I could be seated anywhere. And it makes sense that the people beside me are strangers, not Adrian. It's like first come, first served.
Despite being here now, my worries remained unchanged; I'm still unaware of Adrian's whereabouts.
I don't know if it's just that crowd, but I couldn't see Adrian anywhere. Furthermore, despite messaging and calling him, he remained unresponsive.
The orientation continues with another speech from the principal. It said that his speech would be the finale for the orientation.
"Hey, where the heck are you?!" I messaged Adrian again.
"~~~~~"
Amid my worry, I could hear noises coming from the stage.
Looks like the principal has already started speaking. And I haven't been listening because my mind is elsewhere.
As I wandered my eyes among the crowd, I didn't know how long it had been since the principal spoke or if it had taken long to finish, but it was already too late to notice.
Snapping me from my thoughts was a voice that differed from the principal's. Looking at the stage, the one standing there was already the host, and the principal was nowhere to be found.
"Thank you, Mr. Principal, for your last wonderful speech. It resonates with our youthful hearts as we embark on this journey," the host said, glancing at the principal. She then shifted her gaze to the crowd and added, "And I sense that every freshman here feels the same way."
"Moving forward, huh?" Under the guise of youth, what can I accomplish?
Having fun is also a part of youth. But we will soon surpass that stage. Since senior high only lasts for two years, it marks the peak of our high school life. After that, we will be entering the world of adulthood, grappling with concerns about college, part-time jobs, and eventually full-time employment.
"I probably should start getting serious from now on," I mumbled.
The host continues her words to conclude the orientation. She offered a few words of encouragement before dismissing us.
"And so, that's going to be all for this orientation. Once again, we welcome you to Bonifacio High. Hope you all have a wonderful stay," she said.
After confirming that we could leave now, everyone stood at their seats. And to not make things get chaotic, the students there guide us our way out.
"Wait, where is he still?" I just remembered.
I opened my phone again to try calling him, but it turned out unnecessary when I saw a message notification.
It's from Adrian, saying he's at the entrance gate.
"What are you doing there?" I replied.
It didn't take a second before he answered back.
"Come here, and I'll explain," he said.
Reading his message made me sigh.
"Well, I'm heading there anyway."
Since the entrance and exit of campus are the same, I went there along with the crowd.
Upon arriving there, I saw Adrian standing in the middle.
"You, why haven't you returned? The orientation is now done," I didn't hesitate to ask.
"About that... I stumbled upon this lost child, so I'm trying to help this little girl find her parents."
What the heck is he talking about? Is he seriously making me believe that?
"What little girl?" I asked in confusion and a bit irritated.
"This little girl beside me…eh?"
As he pointed to his side, he let out a shocked expression.
"Where did that kid go?" he asked himself in confusion.
"You're not being honest, are you? Why not just admit that you wanted to skip the orientation?"
"No, for real. I came across a lost child," he insisted.
"Then where is this kid you spoke of?"
"She was just right here a while ago! But she probably found her parents."
"Without notifying you, and just left?" I ask in doubt.
"Believe me, I truly helped a lost child."
"..."
I'm skeptical if he's telling the truth. However, scanning the area, I didn't spot any child beside him. So there's nothing to support his statement, though I could be mistaken.
So I sighed, letting this slide.
"Alright, alright, I believe you," I gave up.
Since what he did cannot be undone, I can do nothing about it.
"Let's go already," I added.
"O-okay."
We finally left the campus. While we walked, as if to change the topic from earlier, Adrian asked a sudden question.
"Hey, what did you guys do earlier?"
"Earlier… you mean the orientation after the free time?"
"Yeah…."
I look him in the eyes, and he looks back.
"Alright then, here's what happened."
I can't disclose everything to him because I haven't been paying much attention.
"It's nothing important. The principal just gave one final speech, that's all," I said.
"Really? Is that all?"
"Yep."
It's not the whole truth, but it's not a complete lie either. And for sure, the speech was brief and didn't drag on.
So that's it. I can't tell you anything more than that. It's simple and short; don't ask anymore.
Not listening is one thing, but it's his fault for not returning. That's right.
Anyway, setting aside that, I tried to change the conversation.
"Hey, let's put the orientation aside. How about heading to the timezone with me?" I suggested.
"..."
Hmm? What's wrong with him? Per observing his demeanor, he looks different compared to earlier.
He usually agreed to it–since we're always like that. But today, he exudes a serious demeanor around him.
"Hey, Jose, I'll be serious this school year," Adrian said out of nowhere.
That's unexpected.
Although I also thought that way. But I didn't expect that he also thought that way.
During junior high, we didn't bother with serious matters. We were more like carefree students back then.
"So… we're not going to Timezone for now?" I asked.
"I'm not going for now. But you, you can go without me."
Yeah, I can go by myself, but seeing him having the same resolve. I can't be the one who would be carefree as always.
"Nah, I'll not go as well."
"Oh, okay."
Huh, that's all? You're not going to ask me why. Or why do I even offer you that idea?
Seeing that's the case. I decide to say it instead.
"I'll be serious from now on," I added.
"I see…"
What? Just a glance? What a weak reaction.
Well, can't be helped. Adrian is already absorbed in his thoughts, contemplating deeply.
He is genuinely serious about this.
"Hey, let's go home already," I remind him.
Since we're not going to the Timezone, we might as well just go home. Since our house was somehow in the same direction, we always went home together, same during junior high.
Adrian nodded in reply. And so we continued our walk to go home.
Thinking about what happened today, I let out a sigh of exhaustion.
At first, I thought attending the orientation would be bothersome and dull. But going through it, I didn't expect it to surpass my expectations. The thought of a boring orientation changed into an enjoyable one.
A lot of things happened. Many performances took place, and I thoroughly enjoyed each one. Honestly, I learned a lot during the orientation, and it was shocking that I did. Well, there's that, the teachers' names and principal's last speech that I never heard. But regardless, there are things that I learned that made me realize I need to take things more seriously.
Adrian held the same sentiment as I did–taking things seriously and improving ourselves. Changing is good and all, but I can't help but ponder about this thing. I heard university students have less time for their selves. Being focused means less time enjoying life and gradually drifting away from others, whether family or friends. So I wonder what kind of changes will we experience while staying at this school? Is it going to change my relationship with Adrian? Or is it a situation where we lose our friendship, label each other as acquaintances, and simply move on?
I don't know. Things are a bit of a stretch from that. I have friends ending like that. There's just someone new you'll find, and there are also people who'll leave soon. But for us, Adrian and I, I don't know what the future holds. The only thing I'm sure of is that we will still be hanging out–for I don't know how long.