Case 35: Cashier/Registration (19)

Open eyes. Stretch. Get up. Get towel. Open door. Walk. Enter bathroom. Turn knobs. Shampoo. Soap. Rinse. Brush teeth. Dry. Exit bathroom. Walk. Close door. Dress up. Yawn. Walk. Enter. Sit down. Username. Password.
Alt+Q. ID#. Click. Alt+C. Alt+P. Click. Alt+A. Receipt#. Click. Alt+A. Click. Check#. Click. Type. Alt+V. Alt+S. Alt+R. Enter. Ctrl+P. Enter. Rip. Sign. "Next, please." [Repeat sequence 20-30 times] Leave. Walk. Order. Sit down.
Bite. Chew. Swallow. [Repeat until all food is consumed.] Drink. Stand up. Throw trash. Walk. Return.
Alt+Q. ID#. Click. Alt+C. Alt+P. Click. Alt+A. Receipt#. Click. Alt+A. Click. Check#. Click. Type. Alt+V. Alt+S. Alt+R. Enter. Ctrl+P. Enter. Rip. Sign. "Next, please." [Repeat sequence 20-30 times] Encode. Balance. Print. Stamp. Cut. Tape. Staple. Write. Punch. Clip. Roll. Submit. Leave.
Enter. "Good Evening. Welcome to Jollibee." Queue. "May I take your order?" Order. "Thank you, Sir. Enjoy your meal." Sit.
Eat. Talk. Talk. Laugh. [Repeat until all food is consumed.] Walk. Talk. Talk. Laugh. [Repeat until reaching dorm.] Close door. Remove glasses. Lie down. Curl. Close eyes.

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Case 34: House/Sleepover (18)

I. Wary Invitation
Eat, eat, eat. This is all you are going to do. I am not sure if you can sleep though.
II. Some Meeting
Great, you found your way here. As you can see, this mall can give both a headache and a footache.
III. Intricacies of Lime
We should have not eaten lunch there. Perhaps we could watch the compilation before we dig in? The sherbet is almost ready.
IV. Digression
This is probably revenge.
V. Rise and Depart
Thanks for lunch. Have a safe trip.

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Case 33: Seminary/Visit (17)

Boxes of pizza and cans of Royal.
Issues of the school paper.
Riding the right jeepney.
Fear of getting lost.
Several minutes of waiting.
You really brought food.
Yes.
Come up.
Rows of rooms with no ceilings, doors with no knobs.
Bed, books, fan, table.
Discussion.
He might hear you.
View from the window.
Quick trip outside.
Showers, cafeteria, stage.
Snacks with new and familiar people.
Costly pedicab ride.
Home.
Few seconds before midnight.
A text message.

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Case 32: Beach/Tripping (16)

I never liked the beach. I never liked the sand, the saltiness, and the sunburn. I guess it was a moment of weakness when I could not turn down your invitation, even if you would not care. I might learn a thing or two from this, I thought, as I sat silently in the car. Indeed, I did pick up a few insights.
*Being the outsider in the group has its advantages, as the guys tend to overcompensate in trying to make me feel welcome that half of them kept engaging me in conversation while the rest ignored me almost completely.
*The 'history of alcoholism' excuse should only be used a number of times, as well as 'allergic reaction to alcohol'.
*For people like me who still cannot swim, instead of bowing down, a more fun way to wet one's hair is splashing water at each other.
*Talking at a bonfire is quite an eye-opening experience, especially when there are two transvestites groping one of your classmates.
*A videoke machine is a potential source of conflict, heartache, and a few tears.
*Do not assume a girl is easy even if she went in a room with a guy a couple of hours after they met. The farthest one's urging can get him is a little dance number and quick trip to the washroom.
*Hangovers only happen if you slept the night before.
*When people say what goes on in here stays in here, do not believe them.

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Case 31: Town/Blackout (15)

[Something happens when one turns fifteen that makes one rebellious, cynical, or just plain depressive. It is all part of the grand teenage melodrama.]
[5:00am] I woke up and got ready for school. I wore the new shirt. My mother asked me what was the occasion and then remembered what today was. I arrived at school twenty minutes before sunrise.
[8:30am] It was drizzling and nobody paid attention to the United Nations Day celebration onstage. The massive blackout in town also did not help during the program.
[12:00nn] Generators made it possible for us to eat at Jollibee for lunch. We decided to hang out at your place afterwards. Through a practical joke, I got separated from you. I went back to the town plaza while you went the opposite direction and looked for me at a friend's house.
[3:30pm] While sitting at the Church I saw another friend. The clouds were getting gloomier and with nothing else to do we decided to go to their place and hoped the electricity be back once we got there. We planned to play but ended up talking about Resident Evil instead.
[7:00pm] It was totally dark when I went home. My mother was able to salvage a piece of roast beef she cooked for today. I had a lonesome candlelit dinner and slept a bit earlier than usual.
[The melancholy becomes subsequently silly, but seems nonetheless necessary.]

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Case 30: Mountain/Trek (14)

One girl came tumbling down the stony path, another slipped and dived unto the shallow stream, and yet another almost drowned. It seems girls were common casualties in the most exhausting but eventful field trip we ever had in high school.
To be honest, I was not even looking forward to this trip because we already went to Mt. Samat in Bataan in fifth grade (The real reason was I would be missing an episode of Evangelion). However, since this was supposed to be 'educational', we were tasked with a project for our Biology class. This means each group was bringing along with them several vials to collect samples (soil, plants, water)from the site. For some, this alone already sounded fun.
After climbing 200+ steps up the Mt. Samat cross (not counting the innumerable steps just to get to the base)and getting a nice view of the rest of Bataan, we went down and proceeded to Dunsulan Falls. This is when the interesting stuff happened. From our buses, we had to traverse a long winding path as the sun burned our napes. A couple of teachers were wise (and old) enough not to join us. The trek was anything but pleasant and all of us were wishing for a payoff. We were almost at the waterfalls when suddenly girl victim #1 rolled down the steep incline followed by her water jug. Though full of dirt, at least she ended the hellish trek more quickly.
At the Dunsulan Falls, a handful of my classmates decided to swim (This was preplanned, of course, as one of them even brought a beach ball) while others had their lunch. The water was not really inviting since it was green and probably full of algae. I just finished eating when we heard a cry. Girl victim #2 was sinking down and another girl swam towards her to help. Then we heard another cry. There were now two girls drowning. While the rest of us stared blankly and thought, "Huh," our Health teacher swiftly removed his shoes and dived for the save. It was advised later on not to swim with a full stomach, since it makes you more susceptible to cramps (I made up this one).
That incident could had prompted us to return to our buses and go home, but fortunately, we decided to stay adventurous. Some students found a rocky stream and were climbing up to its source. The younger teachers joined us, their curiousity simply too much to bear. Climbing up from one rock to another without getting wet was tricky (I did not bring extra clothes) and a bit perilous. The rocks were slippery and I had to cling on thorny vines. And you can see how girl # 3 met her demise. The trouble was well worth it, as we had discovered another falls (we called it the Secret Falls afterwards), its water much cleaner and clearer than Dunsulan Falls, until thirty students and a few teachers swam in it.
And yes, all of us did not do anything with our samples afterwards.

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Case 29: School/Exams (13)

Multiple Choice. Use CAPITAL letters.
13]On this day in Philippine history,
a)Three servicemen were killed in Clark Air Base.
b)The Philippines was named after the Crown Prince Philip II of Spain.
c)Last Sunday of August was declared National Heroes Day.
d)You were born.
The nice thing about exams was that they were taken in the morning so that we were then free the whole afternoon. After the grueling tests, I got to celebrate (more heartfully) my first day as a teenager. Yehey.
The food was nothing fancy, just spaghetti and sandwiches. I was tasked to deliver some to our neighbors (I hated this because I should not be working on my own birthday). Despite the hassles, I managed coming off as cordial and polite.
The day was filled with relief, and a little excitement. I kept asking, will the next seven years be interesting enough to be memorable? (This is what happens when you start your teenage life with routine academics. Everything seemed insane afterwards.)

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Countdown to the End

After almost two decades of existence, I am beginning to wonder whether the days are getting shorter or I am merely getting more sleep. Everything seems like a blur, and unluckily for the two of us, I am the one with the better memory.
I have barely a recollection of what happened during the last few years. Before my age leads me to senility, I will try my best to pay tribute to the craziest time of my life--that of being a teenager.
I wish I can explain the big deal about being a teenager but sadly I am not an expert. Perhaps it is the time one can take advantage of his youth, when he can feign maturity from facial hair and blame his foolishness on hormones.
And now, in a matter of days, it is coming to an end. That can only mean two things: I am nearer my impending death, and without the angst to put up with, I can take a stab at happiness.

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