“HEY! ARE YOU GOING HOME NOW?” A man shouted outside.
“YEAH! WHAT ABOUT YOU BRO?!”
“I’M HEADING HOME TOO.. HEY, DID YOU SEE WHAT HAPPENED EARLIER?”
“I DIDN’T. BUT I’VE HEARD OF IT.”
“You should have seen it.. It was like a cock fight!”
“Please be seated..” The woman spoke to the microphone from the choir’s seating area. Sounds of movement resounded in the walls of the church. Every minute sound was magnified tenfold. The cup the priest was holding was clanking each time it was bumping against another item. Several kneelers slammed against its front pews. A few babies cried. A toddler threw a tantrum. A baby was mesmerized by his voice echoing, testing it every so often. A person sneezed so hard, one would think his nose would fall off. A person having a fit of cough. Another yawned, followed b
They had just finished having their meal when suddenly there were voices outside. “HELLO! ESTELA! IT’S NITA.. ARE YOU HOME?” The four of them looked at each other in shock. They didn’t expect a visitor to come by. All the more they didn’t expect to see that neighbor so soon. They had just seen each other earlier after Church. “Is she here to drop off the invitation? That was fast..” Since it would be a conversation between adults, Estela told Dawn to go to her room and prepare her stuff for school.
The two wordlessly walked all the way to the bus stop. They didn’t know what to talk about. It got even more awkward when the neighbors saw them walking together. “Giancarlo! Where are you off to?” “Uh.. Nowhere. I’ll be back in a bit.” “Oh.. wait, you’re with Dawn?” Dawn glanced at another teenage boy. She nodded at him stiffly. “It’s okay, I can g
Dawn was having a fun afternoon with them. They basically only strolled around, stopped by at a food stall, ate, then strolled around again. They only eat, walk and repeat. Until it was close to sunset, Dawn bid them farewell, not wanting to get home late. Valerie and Aria were surprised at this. Before, this girl was the one who wanted to stay out late. She didn’t want to go home so soon, only to spend the time in solitude again. Even the parents of Aria and Valerie were surprised that they went home early. “
Her heart skipped a beat.She glared incredulously at her own chest.“Ahemm..” The teenage boy cleared his throat.She lifted her head. He was looking expectantly at her. Her brows furrowed.“Excuse me? Can you repeat what you said?”“I said, we’re friends now.”She blinked at him in confusion. Her eyes were downcast as she tried to remember who that person was and why he said those wor
Some students were still scribbling on their paper while Marcelo Reyes went around the room, collecting the papers. “I’ll give you five more minutes, turn in your paper by then. We’ll be electing our class officers, so start thinking about whether you’re interested in a position.” He then wrote the word PRESIDENT on the board. Since he didn’t have to do anything else other than wait for them all to turn in their papers, Marcelo Reyes sat down on his chair at the front. He skimmed through their papers and stopped when his gaze landed on a familiar name but unfamiliar handwriting. Dawn C. Salcedo
Keenan Alegre. Senior male student, candidate for valedictorian of their batch, most popular boy in the campus. ‘No, scratch that. HE IS THE MOST POPULAR BOY among students, teachers and parents who have school-age kids in the city. He was probably the ideal son any family could ever wish to have. It was said that he has been a consistent first honor student since the time he started to go to school. There was never a time when he was second. Always, his batch, he would have the best grades. Even if the top students from other schools would compare grades with them, he would still be the first. How would they beat a student who consistently scores a hundred every time? Try as the teacher may to take out a point, they would be haunted by their conscience since they know that they were already given the best answer. They couldn’t t
Within the city, her parents owned a couple of properties, one of them is in the downtown area. It was only a couple of blocks away from Trinity Institute. She could even walk all the way there but to save time and conserve energy, she would ride an auto rickshaw. The house located in their property was now where her sister’s family lived. During school days, she would stay there to have lunch so she didn’t have to travel all the way to their house in the suburbs as it would make her late for school. Her mother also thought it was better for her to have home made meals as it would be healthier. She would also be able to rest there before going to class in the afternoon. “How was your first day back at school?” Tara is Dawn’s second older sister
In the La Cocina de Mamà restaurant, Dawn’s family and relatives gathered around. Aria and their other friends were also there–except for Alvin and his group. Keenan’s parents and uncle were also there, as well as Blake. They reserved half of the restaurant to host a party to send her off. This was also a birthday celebration for Dawn as she turned sixteen years old. “Everyone–thank you all for coming. Please enjoy tonight. And I hope that everyone will help me pray for my daughter’s safe travels and well-being abroad.” “Of course!” “Congrats again, Dawn!” “Visit us, okay? Don’t forget your friends here..”
Days turned to weeks.It was finally time for the teachers to submit their final grades after the final exam ended.Susana, the class adviser for Dawn’s class this school year waited in excitement.But when she saw the grades reported by Cyrus, she had to do double, triple checks.She couldn’t believe what she was seeing.It showed that Dawn had scored less than a hundred in some of her quizzes and exams.“Impossible.. Less than a hundred on the subject of History and of Religion?”If this was two years ago, she wou
Four boxes in different sizes. One contained a jewelry set of diamond necklace, earrings, bracelet and ring. Another box contained an iPod with songs already downloaded. Another box was an iPhone. Dawn could still not get over how she was holding two items that were already phased out back in her previous life. “Whoaaaa—These are all expensive!!!” Tara exclaimed. Dawn nodded. “I thought he’s only there to study..” “He took a part-time job..” Dawn smiled. “Whoa–he c
When Mallory announced this, Hugo panicked. “Wait–I promise I can do it..” He said to Mallory. “Practice your lines first.” Mallory sighed. “Okay. I will.” He nodded vigorously and went to the side to practice seriously. Jason heard what was said but still tried his best to deliver the lines. Dawn appreciated that Jason took it seriously, not wasting everyone’s time. Moments later, Hugo approached. “I’m ready, ma’am..” He said to Mallory. The latter thought it over
Dawn missed Keenan very much. She could only distract herself by preparing to apply for scholarships for College. She also wrote more books and consistently scored perfectly in all quizzes and exams. It was her way to not think about the time and distance away from Keenan. She had finally reunited with him but soon had to bid him farewell. She didn’t go with them to the airport to send him off since his parents would be going with him to help him get settled. Both of them knew that it would be hard to say goodbye, so they spent a whole day together and the next day, Keenan left with his parents. He only gave her a call thirty minutes before he boa
As the girls gathered around, the boys also had their own circle.Keenan beckoned to Blake.The latter had been eyeing Aria.“What’s up?” Blake asked him.They sat by the shore of the beach resort, a distance away from the others.“I should ask that.”“Eh?” Blake blinked up at him. “What do you mean?”“You and Aria–”Blake’s brows pulled together, he pursed his lips. “Aren’t you with Dawn?&rd
The High School students finally get to enjoy their summer vacation.Dawn and her friends have long planned to meet up during summer and go to the beach.Alvin and his friends joined the planning of course.Back then this was the same group who would make plans together for summer as well.But this time, there were additions to their group.Now, there’s Cierra who is Alvin’s girlfriend. And there’s Keenan and Blake too.They didn’t know that Blake would join them as well, and he also didn’t make such plans before. But when he came to visit Keenan in his house, that&rsq
After Alvin danced with Dawn, Hugo walked up to her and invited her to dance.She thanked Alvin and went to dance with Hugo.But like Alvin, their dance was not so romantic either.‘Why is Ma’am Susana the one choosing the songs?’ Hugo thought glumly.There really was no chance to act sweetly with Dawn with the choice of songs for this event.The song ended and Hugo had wanted to dance one more time especially when the romantic song finally came on.“Ahemm. Ahemm.. May I cut in? Dawn, can I have this dance?” Keenan interjected.
The gymnasium was decorated with clear balloons, flowers, draperies and lights. It was a theme of white and gold, and the venue looked luxurious.As the prom began after the regular classes of other students ended, everyone queued up, waiting to enter the gymnasium as the music played through the speakers.The students who had not gone home yet were now watching as their schoolmates entered the gates and queued up with their partners.“HAHAHA look at that! Is that dress for prom or for salsa dancing? Why is it so short?”“Where? Where?”“Over there!” The student pointed. “She’s wearing brown.. It had tassels a