Before going to class, I was fuzzing over the things I had to bring. We were leaving right after the 10 am classes, so packed lunch and the Wawa (the stainless steel water container) I can't leave and live without was mandatory. My interview outfit was a dress and shoes I couldn't commute in, so I had to change at the prospect school. My certified copy of diploma wasn't ready, as I forgot to request it, so I had to make do with the Certificate of Graduation I requested last summer for second degree application. I deliberately left all my school stuff at home, but there was that feeling that something was forgotten.
I rode Ikot to school like a real, live lady in lady clothes, and went straight to Main Lib Filipiniana to clear the mistake that penalized my ilib account with four pesos fine for books I returned on time. I met there an AP friend and classmate, so we went to class together.
It was a very cool class session; I participated in the discussion. We were discussing the end and entirety of Lazaro Francisco's novel, Ama. It's about a chivalrous farmer who worked for a ruthless, inhumane landlord. The class has been criticizing the underlying moral and social ideology of the novel since the first discussion on it, and I have been wondering for some time already why no one has brought up what I thought to be a very obvious comment on the novel, ever since I finished it. The narrative resembled Christianity. As soon as I pointed that out in my very brief speech, you'd hear them realize how evident it is. They were soon pointing out the parallels between the two narratives. 'Twas quite flattering.
I stayed after class to inform my favorite sir of all time that I won't make it to class the following week to pass the midterm paper. I was hoping he'd ask why and what would follow is the complicated story of my medicine plans, which would be awkward since he was the one who interviewed me for the second degree application. He didn't ask.
On the way to Educ, I was screaming His name in my head, the way little kids call on mommy when they deem evil unleashed on them. It was time. My sister and I rode Katips jeep in Vinsons, the way we didn't practice the night before. We discovered that the Shuster gate was closed in the morning, so the jeep passed a different route. Daddy called just as we reached Katipunan road because he could mysteriously make free overseas calls. Fifteen minutes later, we arrived at Katipunan station and rode the LRT the way we practiced the previous night. To amuse my self, I stood on the connection between the train cars. The previous night, I watched that junction with the theory of relativity in mind. We got off at V.Mapa and walked back to the prospect school, like real, live grown-ups.
Several interviewees were already waiting outside the administration building when we arrived so we went to the second floor comfort room to dress up. It was almost 1pm and it took long to change into "ladier" clothes and lady smell, so I gobbled up my lunch right then and there-- in the comfort room, standing in from of the mirror, while employees and students brushed their teeth. With the touch of lip balm, after brushing my own teeth, and without securing that my wee ponytail doesn't expose the road widening on my head, that is my diminishing hair quantity, we went back down only to find out that our peers, each with an interview slip, were already in the registrar's office, waiting to be called. My friend since nursery who photocopied my NMAT reviewers was there.
I never noticed before how annoying it is to have someone with the same surname in the same... um... class. What's more annoying than having to ask which girl is being called is being treated as one set. Because they knew we were sisters, they'd call the surname and expect both of us to come. That actually happened only once but it was so annoying we exaggerate the occurrence. I went first.
Our interviewer was Dr. Sison, from the preventive medicine department. He was mean and nice at the same time. He helped me further elaborate my responses by poking fun at them, because I forgot to say things and he was unsatisfied. I like him. He didn't allow me to answer in Filipino, so I spoke in fluent English the whole time-- which was perhaps only the second time I was ever able to pull it off, and the first time with a Filipino who understood Filipino. Since the last few months of last year, I've been thinking and writing and talking to myself in English. The only part I haven't practiced yet was talking to an actual person, because every time I was about to try, it felt awkward. So I imagined one of my new friends. "How does Hannah talk?" Effective.
My sister was called next, and I waited for her in the waiting room with the two other applicants, while I finished answering the essay sheet we've been given. There were questions from which we were supposed to choose one to answer. I chose How do you see yourself in 20 years? This was what I wrote, as far as I can remember,
In twenty years, I would be forty-two. I'd work in a remote community as a doctor. It's just one of the remote communities I've worked in. When I don't have patients, I tutor kids for free and I write children's stories that I share with the kids there.I added two more sentences describing my future lovelife, figuring it would be of interest to the panel. While coming up with that paragraph, I chatted with the two other applicants, Joyce and Lorraine Alexis. They seem to be my type of people, prospect new friends. Both of Chinese backgrounds, Joyce is a graduating student of the life sciences in a nearby school, while Lorraine Alexis is a graduating student of business administration in a business school at the urging of her father, though med is her long time dream. While chatting, my instructor texted he'd be late for class and I realized I was about to cut my 2:30 class, so I texted him I couldn't make it and I didn't.
After bidding farewell and wishing our prospect new friends well, my sister and I went back to the registrar's office to submit the interview slip. I tried to submit the Certificate of Graduation I brought, but as it was an original (I forgot to photocopy), they postponed taking it to when I am admitted as a student. It was then that I realized that what I had forgotten was my NMAT result. The staff were nice and pointed me to a computer shop beside the school, where I could just print the electronic copy I have in my e-mail, which they would accept so I wouldn't have to come back to submit that document. We changed clothes before heading to the shop. Upon taking the long due good glimpse at the mirror, I rebuked my sister, "Ang ganda ko pala. Hindi mo man lang sinabi sa'kin." Then like a normal person, we went to the shop, I rented a computer like I've observed people do, asked for assistance in printing, and then, submitted the document.
Before heading home, I wanted to check out National in the nearest mall in that area because there are these books I needed for class. My sister was hesitant though, because we were instructed to head straight home without any detours. But for goodness' sake, I'm old enough to decide that for myself so I coerced her to the mall. Like real, live young adults, we "malled" without parent-supervision. The National there had this neat OPAC for book search, which every bookstore should have. They had 5 copies of one of the books I needed, but after raiding the shelves we still couldn't find it. I would've asked for assistance if there was a personnel in their Customer Service counter, but I was too impatient to wait so we decided to go.
We headed home like we didn't practice the night before, because of several differences in our route. We went in a different entrance in V. Mapa station. When I bought the passes, I asked for two V. Mapa passes. The lady didn't find it funny and it wasn't supposed to be. We got off at Katipunan, and wrote Katips jeep to UP, like real, live, grownups. That jeep entered UP, unlike last night, so we got off at PHAN. I went to educ to, again, look for the books, while my sister headed to IB to wait. There still was these booksales at the lobby. One is of second hand books, the other of new Adarna books. My books weren't there nor where they in the library, so I proceeded to IB to meet my sister. After minutes of haggling whether to commute home or to wait to be fetched, we decided to commute.
All day I kept saying "We're [insert what we're doing]. Like real live grown ups!" It was fun!
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