A Silence In The Chaos

Silence 2: Apartment Owner

"Magandang umaga po, ma'am Ysabelle," he greeted with the most genuine smile. It's contagious, and it somehow helped lessen the tension.

My heart fluttered upon hearing how he addressed me. I'm officially a teacher now.

Bago pa ako makalayo ay dinig ko pa ang pagpigil niya sa studyanteng walang suot na school ID.

Ang mga studyante sa elementary ay naririto sa grounds. May mga naghahabulan, habang ang iba nama'y nagkukwentuhan sa benches. I wish I had this childhood. One where I enjoyed my student life.

Pumasok ako sa canteen ng elementary department na mayroong backdoor. Ang back door na 'yon ang maglilead sa junior high school building.

Nang makalabas ako sa back door ay tiningala ko ang junior high school building na kaagad na bumungad sa akin. The buildings are painted in blue and yellow.

Nakasarado ang mas malaking gate kaya dumaan ako sa mas maliit na gate kung saan nagbabantay ang isa pang body guard.

"Good morning, ma'am Ysabelle," bati ni ate guard.

Tinanguan ko siya't nginitian. "Good morning din po."

Everything about today so far seems calm, with good energy. What could possibly go wrong?

What if all these joyous atmosphere around me would turn into a complete disaster later on? What if the worse awaits for me? Maybe fates are just giving me the leisure of experiencing a normal morning.

"Ma'am Ysabelle!" comes a nowhere near soft spoken female voice.

Nilingon ko ang studyanteng tumawag sa aking pangalan. Her hair is styled in two French braids. She beamed widely.

I've seen her in the student's orientation. She must be one of my advisory.

"Jastine Mabilangan po, grade nine Bonifacio po. Advisory niyo po ako," pakilala niya sa kanyang sarili.

Not wanting to make her feel bad, I greeted her.

"Good morning, Jastine. Mukhang excited na excited ka sa first day," komento ko habang umaakyat kami papuntang fourth floor.

"Mga ilang araw lang po ma'am, magrereklamo na rin ako sa school works," humalakhak siya. "Tin na lang po ang itawag niyo sa akin. Ang haba ng Jastine eh."

Tumango lang ako. Her talkative behavior kind of overwhelms me. I never have the most interesting responses. Most of the time, I don't have any at all. Kaya ko lang makipag usap sa ibang tao kung kasama ko si Thelma. Her excellent conversation skills compensates so much for my lack, that my awkardness is hardly ever noticed by the people we're talking with. Kung hindi ko nga lang katabi si Thelma noong orientation ay baka hindi na lumayo pa ang usapan namin ni sir Allen. After two exchanges, it will be dead air between us, had it only been me he's conversing with.

Ngiti at tango lamang ang reaksyong naibigay ko sa mga studyanteng bumabati sa akin. Nang makarating kami ni Tin sa room ay pareho kaming hinihingal dahil nasa pinakataas na floor kami.

I expected an almost empty room dahil maaga pa lang naman. But almost half of the chairs are already filled with my students.

"Good morning grade nine," bati ko habang inilalapag sa table ang aking bag.

"Hello po ma'am!" sagot ng mga studyante.

"Grabe ang ganda ni ma'am noh."

"Saka parang mas mabait si ma'am kaysa adviser naten last year."

"Ayos! Mas magugustuhan ko yata ngayong school year."

Their initial impressions comforted me, yet bothered me at the same time. Sooner rather than later, they may have entirely different opinions of me. Though I may be kind with them, they'll surely criticize the way I teach. My confidence level could only take so much.