by Ralph Angelo Ty
"Alabang Station. Alabang Station. Kindly hold onto the bars and handles while the train is in motion. Maaari lamang pong humawak sa mga bars at handles habang umaandar ang tren. Maraming salamat po!”
The cool, disembodied female voice woke Jowell up. He had been dozing off in the last twenty minutes of the trip. Looking and feeling disoriented, he got off the train and proceeded to the exit. Long queues have already formed behind the machines. Looking ahead, he saw a similar build-up of commuters behind the ticket booths. He remembered his college years, when he would also squeeze through throngs of commuters in the MRT stations.
But despite the familiarity of the scenario, it still felt alien to him. He suspected that it’s because this station, and this new MRT line that connects the South Metro to Laguna, had not been part of his past. Years ago, Alabang was just a chaotic corner of the Metropolis—sidewalks strewn with vendors and trash, streets always clogged with traffic.
Three days ago, Jowell arrived in the country for the first time in many years. His return had been unplanned. One day his boss just informed him that their company will be doing three new projects in Asia, in three different key cities. Manila had been the natural choice.
“WATCH IT!” an irate driver from a speeding car shouted at him. He hardly noticed that the traffic lights facing his side of the intersection had turned to red. Overhead, a new train arrived at the station. He had been lost in his thoughts. As if rousing from his dreamy state, he rubbed his eyes and shook his head. This is the now, he said to himself. And past is past.
The truth is, Jowell had not been able to keep in touch with his old friends all these years. As soon as he graduated from college, he flew to the US and started working. In fact, there had been only two instances since graduation when he had met an old classmate. One was almost a year ago, when he went to New York to attend a conference. Keisha Perea was the manager of the hotel that hosted the event. She was already married and has two kids. The other one was more recent. He met Fides on his flight back to Manila. She is now a stewardess. He managed to take a picture of them together, but that was all.
Nostalgia started to fill him in, but he shrugged it off. The crowd has started to move. The traffic lights are green again. As he crossed the street, he couldn’t help but think about how much the city has changed. On his first night back, he couldn’t believe that the clean, brightly lit streets that snaked their way through tall, glass-and-steel structures were the same streets that the jeepneys from his past used to ply. The sidewalks were now lined with trees. When he was young, a certain Aldrin San Pedro was the mayor. He wondered who could be the mayor now, and if he or she has brought all these changes.
Several feet away, he heard a young boy cry to his mom that he is hungry. And he realized that he himself has not eaten for hours. He made for the nearest fast food chain and quickly got in line for the counter.
The person before him in the line was a school girl. He was distracted as the girl keeps on swaying on her feet. She also seemed to be fidgeting with something in her chest. Jowell figured that it must be the ribbon in her uniform. Suddenly, she turned to him and motioned for him to take her place in the line.
“I forgot what my companion wants!” she giggled, and then she smiled politely at him. He noticed that the girl’s uniform was familiar. Her checkered skirt of blue, white, red and green was undoubtedly that of MunSci!
Jowell watched where the girl would go, and who could her companion be—a parent, perhaps, or a boyfriend?—but he was surprised to see that the girl sat opposite a woman in uniform. The girl is with a teacher. “Tita Mikka,” he heard the girl say.
And Jowell suddenly realized that the teacher was Mikka Elviña, a classmate from high school. Forgetting that it was already his turn to order, he excitedly rushed to their table.
***
“I’m hungry Mommy!”
Kim Caroline’s son was now throwing a tantrum. She had to carry him, along with her heavy shopping bags, to get across the street.
“Hush, Maki Jr.! Or I’ll tell your dad about how you wet your pants this morning at school!”
This seemed to shut the boy up. Kim knew very well how her son doesn’t like to be made fun of. She smiled to herself and kissed the sobbing child on his cheek. They’re very near to their car now; he’ll have his cupcakes in a minute.
Maki Sr., Maki Jr.’s daddy, and Kim Caroline’s husband, will be late tonight. He had called earlier to inform her that he will be doing research work at the Jona Riza Espiritu Library. His husband, after finishing his IT course, decided to take management courses at night. He really wanted to pursue another degree. You’re killing yourself, she once told him, but Maki just smiled at her and said that everything he’s doing is for their future anyway. Kim Caroline, herself an IT specialist, is very happy and proud to have such a hardworking husband.
The Jona Riza Espiritu Library is located at what used to be the Bayan area. The establishment was named after her classmate, Jona Riza, who donated her entire collection of books to the library. She is an accomplished engineer now.
She made for the parking lot where the old city market used to stand. There aren’t many cars now. When she got to her car, she discovered that she forgot to lock the door. But she wasn’t surprised to see that none of her things are missing. Muntinlupa is a very safe place now. Its streets are now free of snatchers. Nowadays you couldn’t even find vendors of pornographic materials. Ever since Attorney Dudley Flores and Engineer Michael Calites became mayor and vice mayor, the city has been a model for many other developing cities in the country.
Kim has always been proud that the top officials of the city had been her classmates in high school. She’s proud, in fact, that many of her classmates have made it big in their different fields and are now household names. There’s Mark De Mesa, CEO of De Mesa Holdings, Inc.; there’s Jill Buenaobra, the most awarded journalist on TV; Jan Miguel Narciso is renowned for his creation of the Yahggle, the biggest social networking site in the world; Donuel is a member of E-Monsters, probably the most popular band since the Eraserheads.
Kim’s reverie was broken by her son’s renewed wails. She totally forgot about her son. Guiltily, she brought out the home-made cupcakes she always carry with her for times like these. After gobbling up two, his son became silent again.
Suddenly, he blurted out, “Tee-sher Kim never let us go ‘ungry! We eet when wee want to! When wee want to!”
He broke off into laughter, then yawned, then started to doze off.
Tee-sher Kim is Kim Solivio, one of Kim Caroline’s old classmates as well. She owns the daycare center Maki Jr. attends. Every kid there loves dear, sweet Tee-sher Kim.
Stephanie, who is now a mathematician-lawyer, also has a daughter who attends the daycare. Dariel, who owns a big grocery store just across the street from the center, walks his son to and from it everyday. Sometimes when Kim Caroline would fetch Maki Jr., she would see them and they would have merienda together. They would catch up on each other’s lives.
It is through these merienda sessions that she would hear about what has happened to her other classmates. Lisette became a successful computer specialist. Heide became a manager of a top company. Princess became an advocate of animal rights and welfare; she is now the head of PETA. Maylene and Roanne are both in Australia. Roanne is an engineer there and very busy with work; Maylene is a very rich businesswoman. Aleli became a nurse abroad, happily married with two kids. Niel Lopez is the only MunScian to ever become a priest.
Every year, the Neriza Saligao Foundation, the charity wing of Neriza’s own company, together with Kim’s daycare center, hold a reach-out program for special children. They would gather together and donate to the Foundation. Last year’s was especially memorable, for it was when Arien Cañete proposed marriage to his beautiful girlfriend. Everybody was invited to their wedding three months later.
Remembering all these things, Kim Caroline couldn’t believe that they used to be classmates in high school. So much has happened. It seems just like yesterday when they were still teenagers, lazily hanging out in the school corridors, exchanging gossip, copying each other’s assignments, laughing to their hearts’ contentment.
***
Jowell couldn’t believe that he just had dinner with a high school classmate. As they went through their meal, they exchanged stories about themselves and about what they know about their other classmates. He was surprised to learn that their adviser, Mrs. Amion, has become the Science Coordinator at Muntinlupa Science High School. Mikka is now a Physics teacher herself there. In fact, her niece, who was eating quietly and browsing through her notes all this time, is her student. He also learned that Acee became a star football player. Jonathan is now a CPA. Christine is now a nurse and owns the biggest boutique in the city. Joie is now a successful engineer based in Europe. Alexa is also based in Europe, married, with three very healthy kids. The biggest surprise yet was when Mikka pointed out to him the billboard opposit them, which has the faces of two women he knew so well—Kimberly Anacleto and Jowina Gonzales. They are now models of KABUKURU YFKÄ, Jason Jimenez’ fashion line. The KABUKURU brand, according to Mikka, is very expensive, and she mused that her own KABUKURU bag was worth three months’ savings. Kimberly is also an endorser of Victoria’s Secret, while Jowina is both a stylist and a graphic artist. Mikka was surprised that Jowell had not been in touch.
“Don’t you have a Yahggle account?” she asked.
“Yahggle? Err, no.” he meekly answered.
“My! Everyone’s on Yahggle! You should create an account, and you’ll see. Besides, you have a lot of catching up to do!”
“Yeah.”
“It’s getting late. We’d better go! Thank you for treating us to dinner!”
“Oh, that’s nothing. I haven’t treated anyone in a while, anyway. It was my pleasure. Sorry for keeping you this late. I hope your husband will not mind.”
At this, the girl, who was getting up her chair, smirked.
“Shut up,” Mikka snapped at her niece then turned to Jowell, “I’m still…err…single.”
“Really? Wow. I am, too.”
For a while they only stood there, looking at each other. Jowell felt something stir inside him. Mikka, on the other hand, suddenly heard in her mind the chiming of church bells. Only Mikka’s niece, who was looking at them with much interest, knew what was going on. She would be giggling later, playing the image of her aunt and her aunt’s old classmate in her mind, before falling to sleep.
In the end, Mikka gave Jowell her number. And Jowell gave his to Mikka. They were about to part ways when Jowell suddenly remembered.
“Wait! Here’s a book! I thought you might like it. The author is my favorite.” Mikka accepted it and thanked him. Looking at the cover, she saw a familiar name. She knew that it was just a pen name, for she knows who the author is. Ralph Ty had given her a copy of the same book on her birthday last year. It has since been their secret.
Jowell was just in time to catch the last south-bound train. He made a resolve to create a Yahggle account when he gets home.
Underneath the overhead railway, Kim Caroline and Maki drove through the now almost empty hi-way. Maki Jr. is peacefully sleeping on the backseat, dreaming of cupcakes, his teacher, and a weird group of people singing at his birthday party, which included his parents. He wouldn’t know who that group is, but her mother and father would know. It’s her mom and dad’s senior high school class: Pythagoras.
Music: Oh Pretty Woman - Roy Orbison
