Chapter 2

CHAPTER 2

The sun is out in the sky brightly today. Three days have passed since the first day of school and nothing has ever changed. Lila, Sasha and Nathan still have their own world apart from their classmates.

“Hi class! Today we will be having an activity in pairs.” Miss Santos wrote on the board the name of the activity MeasureTreasure. “As the name of the activity denotes, today we will be focusing on measuring. I have listed here the things that you need to measure and mind you, these are not easy to find. It’s all around the university; thus, the name treasure. You and your pair’s task is to find and measure these things before our class ends. Got it?”

“Can we choose our pair, Miss?” A student raised her hand and asked the question. The voices of the other students filled the room. “No guys.” Hesitations arose due to the professor’s answer. “Wait, you have to stay calm,” she laughingly exclaimed. “But Miss, we still don’t know one another so how can we work efficiently?” Mara asked, causing other students to agree. “That’s the point! From this activity, you will not just learn how to measure accordingly but after this, you will also gain one friend, which is your partner. Look at the brighter side; it’s going to be fun!” Miss Santos cheerfully explained to the class. Some of the students agree with her statement but there are still few students who are whining.

“I have here a fish bowl full of numbers. Since the total number of students here in our class is 30, I placed numbers 1-30 here in the bowl and duplicated them. Whoever picks the same number will be partners, okay? Changing partners is not allowed or else I’ll give you the lowest score.” Miss Santos shuffled the papers inside the bowl. “Oh and since Lucas is still not here, I will be picking his number. Maybe he’s just late.” She shuffled the papers once more and picked one paper. “8. Whoever gets the other paper with 8 written on it, will be Lucas’ partner. Okay, let’s start.” After knowing what number Lucas got, almost all the other girls inside the room exclaimed that they wanted to get the other paper with 8 written on it, except Lila, of course. “No, I know number 8 is designated for me so stop wishing, you guys.” Aryan rolled her eyes as she mumbles those words. It made the other girls silent; she’s the leader of the IT girls after all.

The picking of numbers started from the back. It was Aryan’s turn. She was clearly hoping to be paired with Lucas so she closed her eyes and picked a number. Without hesitations, she unfolded it immediately. Disappointment was evident in her eyes, and she told the class that the number she picked was 7. The picking continued until it was Nathan’s turn.

“Oh guys, I wish I could pick the same number as either one of you picks. Pray for me.” Nathan took a deep breath and picked a paper from the bowl. It was number 17 and someone has already picked the other number, Nicole, a member of the IT girls. Knowing his partner, Nathan looked at Nicole sitting at the back who rolled her eyes with an instant. Now, it was finally Lila’s turn. A sigh escaped from her mouth as she mumbled, “Anyone will do. It’s fine.”

She shuffled the papers and picked the one at the bottom. Surprisingly, it was number 8. “Okay, you and Lucas are partners. I think he’s just late, just wait for him okay?” Not knowing what to do, Lila simply nodded her head. Sasha, on the other hand, lightly nudged her and raised her eyebrows while smiling like an idiot. “I’m happy for you, friend,” she whispered before she picked her own number. Sasha picked number 3 and was paired with James. “Ah, my crush! Thank you Lord”. Sasha giggled after knowing who her partner was.

“Since all of you have pairs now, I urge you to work fast. Okay? The first three pairs will have a reward. You already have your measuring materials so here is the list and once you have it you may already begin.” Miss Santos instructed the students and immediately handed out the lists.

MeasureTreasure

1. The only blue bench at the Butterfly garden
2. The Philippine flag hidden at the Science Laboratory
3. Lewis Anatomy and Physiology Book at the Library
4. Drum Stick at the Music Room
5. Shoes of Rizal at his monument
6. Length and width of Math room floor
7. Longest paintbrush in Art Room

8.The only black door at Henry Sy’s building

9. Blackboard at the gymnasium

Nathan and Sasha already went to their respective partners just like all the other students. Since Lucas still hasn’t arrived, Lila was left with no choice but to scan the list alone. She contemplated whether to complain to their professor or not. “Never mind, I can do this alone anyways. I’m a strong independent woman after all,” she whispered to herself as she stood up and took all the measuring materials on her desk.

Lila is never a fan of complaining. As much as possible, she wants to finish all assigned tasks to her accordingly and as fast as she can. Unbothered by doing the activity all alone, she started walking out of the building. The sun kissed her skin as she walked towards the school park. This is where the monument of Rizal is located at. She decided to go here first because her strategy is to go to the areas no one would go first and since it’s hot outside, she was right. It only took her 3 minutes to measure the shoes of Rizal. “Aha! One down, eight more to go,” she smiled as she checked number 5 on her list.

Her next target is the blue bench found at the butterfly garden so she went there next. After measuring it, she wasted no time and went from one place to another. Lila was able to accomplish the task easily. She’s almost done and yet, Lucas is still nowhere to be found. For Lila, it doesn’t matter anymore because she is also enjoying doing the activity alone.  The only left on her list is the longest paintbrush at the art room which is located closest to their classroom. She knew that everyone would go in the art room first given that it is the closest and she was right, everybody was already done measuring the paintbrush. Upon entering, she immediately measured the paintbrush and listed it on the activity sheet. She looked at her watch; it’s already 9:30am. 30 minutes since the activity has started and she’s already done.

“Hi Miss! I’m done.” Lila handed her activity sheet to Miss Santos who was surprised with how fast she was able to accomplish the task. “Really? Wow, that’s fast! Did Lucas arrive?” Lila shook her head as a response which made her teacher more surprised. “What? And you were able to finish it all alone that fast? You’re amazing.” Astonished, Miss Santos tapped her back and a shy smile was plastered from her face. 

"Since you were able to accomplish it alone, do you want to remove Lucas from your group? He wasn't able to contribute anything," Miss Santos asked curiously. Without thinking much, Lila answered immediately, "No, Miss. It's fine, maybe he has an emergency." Miss Santos nodded and smiled with what Lila had answered back. 

“You really did great, Lila and congrats because you are the first person to finish.” Miss Santos handed an envelope to Lila which seems to be the prize she was mentioning to the class earlier.  Lila thanked her and opened the envelope right away. It was a P500 peso voucher to their school cafeteria that made her stomach rumble.

As she was about to leave the room to have breakfast, Miss Santos stopped her. “I have seen your grades from first year to third year and you have been a consistent A+ lister. I actually have a proposal for you.” With a furrowed eyebrow, she looked back. “What is it, Miss?” Curiously, Lila went nearer to the teacher’s table. “Two weeks from now, we will be having our Annual Quiz Bee King and Queen; I am planning to place you and Nathan as our representative. I know and I believe both of you will ace it.” Dumbfounded, Lila wasn’t able to reply immediately. “I know it’s not an easy decision to make but it’s still two weeks from now. You can take your time to decide but I’m hoping for a positive response. I heard P10, 000 is the first prize plus a full year scholarship.” Miss Santos whispered to her which shocked the hell out of her. It’s P10, 000 and a full year scholarship. Who wouldn’t want that? “Thank you, Miss. I’ll think about it and I’ll tell you immediately when I have my final decision.” Lila bowed and left the room.

All alone, she decided to go to the cafeteria to wait for Sasha and Nathan. The words of her professor kept playing inside her mind, Annual Quiz Bee King and Queen. “Am I ready for that?” she whispered and took her phone out, she texted her mom.

“Hi ma!  My prof is asking me to join the Annual Quiz Bee King and Queen. What do you think?”

She let out a sigh and placed her phone back in her pocket.

Will she join? She still doesn’t have the answers.