Today is another great day in school. I aced two biology tests and then I decided to try out for the school paper. Since it is my senior year in high school, I just wanted to live my last year to the fullest and make myself useful by joining as many school organizations as possible.The applications were after dismissal time, and I thought that things would just go quickly, just like last year. But then, I did not expect at all that it would take an hour, which is long enough for the school bus to eventually leave me. The parking space where my school bus usually stays is now empty. The entire bus area is almost deserted, save for a few buses that I don't ride in.
My mood changed from being high to nervousness. My mind was in such turmoil that time, and I had this strange feeling of adrenaline running through my veins. I panicked and wondered how I will ever go home. Since it was not really my habit to bring my mobile phone to school at the risk of losing it, I just used the school payphone to call my dad so that he can pick me up from school that day, but that answering machine seemed screwed up to me. It said, "Welcome. If you know the local number, please press 9, then the local number." I was sure that I pressed the correct numbers, but it was practically an infinite loop. The machine did not redirect me to my dad, but it just repeated itself.
"Fuck you," I said silently as I hung up on the phone when the credits ran out, thus wasting the few bucks I have spent just to try to call up my dad. I then called my house. My house helper answered and she said that my mom was not home. I got even more tense as I do not even know my mom's mobile number. I've always been poor at memorizing sequences of numbers, to the point that I have not even memorized my own cell phone number.
I walked around school, hoping that I can find someone who will help me go home. I came across my classmate who also was about to go home. Just like me, she also rode a school bus. I asked for help from her. I hitched a ride in her school bus after a few heated arguments as to where I am to be dropped off, because their bus only had some designated ares where they would take on their route until we made a compromise that instead of dropping me off to the gates of my neighborhood, I would be dropped off by the nearby mall where the house helper would pick me up at the main entrance. As a matter of fact, it was actually a lot more fun there than back in the school bus where I usually rode. I even got to know a new friend who shared a common interest with me: The Biggest Loser, a reality show we both watch. As I got dropped off in the nearby mall, I looked for my house helper but I couldn't find her. There were just too many people.
"It looks like I'll have to do this the hard way," I said to myself. So, in the middle of the crowd I went, and I walked up to the overpass that leads to where I would go home. Because I thought she was not there to pick me up just yet, I hoped that by walking home, I might meet her halfway. Literally. But before I was even able to step foot on the overpass, a voice called me over.
"Tanya! Wait for me!"
I looked back to see that it was my house helper. She held my arm tight as we passed through the crowded overpass which was made even more cramped by the vendors that litter the way. We went down, and when we hitched a ride through the jeep nearby, I was already starving and so took my sandwich. I was already sweaty by this time and quite tired, and yet still pumped. Perhaps it's because of all the things I've been put through just to go home today.
But fortunately, I still got home safe and sound. I have learned even outside the four walls of the classroom, beyond that genetics activity I aced and this experience is something I will remember better than anything I will actually write for the school paper I signed up for. This is what most students and even employees have to go through everyday, especially those who don't even have enough money to afford the luxury of having an air-conditioned school bus, although the bus I actually rode was air-conditioned. This one hell of an adventure was actually a learning experience that I need as a springboard for what I will go through in my college as I near the end of my high school days. I knew that I needed to learn how to go out and about on my own.
When I went home, it looked like no one was there. So much to the relief of me and my house helper as we laughed our asses off. But I was surprised to see my mom there. The house helper then related the funny story of my adventure to mom, and how I looked like such a nimrod in a sea of people who all seemed to be walking in one same direction, how it was so obvious that I still haven't mastered the dance steps to the rhythm of life. We had a good laugh about it for quite some time, but I eventually got lectured for it after dad got quite mad at mom for even having to go to school just to pick me up when I'm not even there.
Without me even knowing it, I tangled several knots and things became problematic. The bus manager responsible for the school bus I usually ride in was dead worried about where I was, my dad was in school looking for me, and my mom ended up getting all the blame. Even my classmate must have been so worried about me that she called up and asked me where I was. It was here when I felt like I got hit so hard in the head about the importance of communication and mobile phones. Unlike most teenagers now, I'm actually not a texting addict. There are even some days that I don't touch my mobile phone at all except to press it when it rings in the morning as my alarm clock.
Today has been such a long day, and I'm thankful that I'm home safe and sound with the help of my friends and my house helper. Sure, this day may have had its ups and downs, but it's still a great day. Now to seize tomorrow.
My mood changed from being high to nervousness. My mind was in such turmoil that time, and I had this strange feeling of adrenaline running through my veins. I panicked and wondered how I will ever go home. Since it was not really my habit to bring my mobile phone to school at the risk of losing it, I just used the school payphone to call my dad so that he can pick me up from school that day, but that answering machine seemed screwed up to me. It said, "Welcome. If you know the local number, please press 9, then the local number." I was sure that I pressed the correct numbers, but it was practically an infinite loop. The machine did not redirect me to my dad, but it just repeated itself.
"Fuck you," I said silently as I hung up on the phone when the credits ran out, thus wasting the few bucks I have spent just to try to call up my dad. I then called my house. My house helper answered and she said that my mom was not home. I got even more tense as I do not even know my mom's mobile number. I've always been poor at memorizing sequences of numbers, to the point that I have not even memorized my own cell phone number.
I walked around school, hoping that I can find someone who will help me go home. I came across my classmate who also was about to go home. Just like me, she also rode a school bus. I asked for help from her. I hitched a ride in her school bus after a few heated arguments as to where I am to be dropped off, because their bus only had some designated ares where they would take on their route until we made a compromise that instead of dropping me off to the gates of my neighborhood, I would be dropped off by the nearby mall where the house helper would pick me up at the main entrance. As a matter of fact, it was actually a lot more fun there than back in the school bus where I usually rode. I even got to know a new friend who shared a common interest with me: The Biggest Loser, a reality show we both watch. As I got dropped off in the nearby mall, I looked for my house helper but I couldn't find her. There were just too many people.
"It looks like I'll have to do this the hard way," I said to myself. So, in the middle of the crowd I went, and I walked up to the overpass that leads to where I would go home. Because I thought she was not there to pick me up just yet, I hoped that by walking home, I might meet her halfway. Literally. But before I was even able to step foot on the overpass, a voice called me over.
"Tanya! Wait for me!"
I looked back to see that it was my house helper. She held my arm tight as we passed through the crowded overpass which was made even more cramped by the vendors that litter the way. We went down, and when we hitched a ride through the jeep nearby, I was already starving and so took my sandwich. I was already sweaty by this time and quite tired, and yet still pumped. Perhaps it's because of all the things I've been put through just to go home today.
But fortunately, I still got home safe and sound. I have learned even outside the four walls of the classroom, beyond that genetics activity I aced and this experience is something I will remember better than anything I will actually write for the school paper I signed up for. This is what most students and even employees have to go through everyday, especially those who don't even have enough money to afford the luxury of having an air-conditioned school bus, although the bus I actually rode was air-conditioned. This one hell of an adventure was actually a learning experience that I need as a springboard for what I will go through in my college as I near the end of my high school days. I knew that I needed to learn how to go out and about on my own.
When I went home, it looked like no one was there. So much to the relief of me and my house helper as we laughed our asses off. But I was surprised to see my mom there. The house helper then related the funny story of my adventure to mom, and how I looked like such a nimrod in a sea of people who all seemed to be walking in one same direction, how it was so obvious that I still haven't mastered the dance steps to the rhythm of life. We had a good laugh about it for quite some time, but I eventually got lectured for it after dad got quite mad at mom for even having to go to school just to pick me up when I'm not even there.
Without me even knowing it, I tangled several knots and things became problematic. The bus manager responsible for the school bus I usually ride in was dead worried about where I was, my dad was in school looking for me, and my mom ended up getting all the blame. Even my classmate must have been so worried about me that she called up and asked me where I was. It was here when I felt like I got hit so hard in the head about the importance of communication and mobile phones. Unlike most teenagers now, I'm actually not a texting addict. There are even some days that I don't touch my mobile phone at all except to press it when it rings in the morning as my alarm clock.
Today has been such a long day, and I'm thankful that I'm home safe and sound with the help of my friends and my house helper. Sure, this day may have had its ups and downs, but it's still a great day. Now to seize tomorrow.