JANUARY 18, 2023・WEDNESDAY・8:23
Maya stares at some of her classmates recording a Tiktok dance video in front of the classroom. She gets a notification from her phone. It's Noel.
NOEL: GOOD MORNING, GWAPA
MAYA: GOOD MORNING!
NOEL: I WOKE UP LATE! STILL ON MY WAY TO SCHOOL
MAYA: I'M ALREADY HERE 😛 BYE AND GOOD LUCK ON YOUR FIRST PERIOD
NOEL: HAHAHAHA LOVE YOU
MAYA: LOVE YOU TOO MWAAA 🥰
"Hi."
Maya looks up to see that it's Mariz, catching her breath and hanging her backpack by the straps on the front seat. "Hi," she replies.
"Gago, kulbaa nako uy. Abi nako'g late nako." She turns around. "Hi, Rosie! Good morning!"
"WHAT A FUCKING RELIEF. I THOUGHT I WAS LATE."
Maya creases her eyebrows in confusion.
Mariz looks at her and chuckles a bit. "What if mutubag siya no? Maya..." She puts on a weird voice. "Nganong wala ka nag 'good morning' sa ako?"
"IMAGINE IF SHE REPLIED. MAYA..."
"WHY DIDN'T YOU GREET ME 'GOOD MORNING'?"
Maya laughs and covers her face, a bit embarrassed.
"Nakabuhat ka atong performance task sa bio?" Mariz asks.
"WERE YOU ABLE TO MAKE THE PERFORMANCE TASK FOR BIO?"
"Wala pa. Ikaw?"
"NOT YET. YOU?"
"Wala uy. Kapoy. Mental health break gani no. Dapat dili maghatag ug performance task."
"ME NEITHER. I GOT LAZY. BESIDES, IF IT'S A MENTAL HEALTH BREAK, THEY SHOULDN'T EVEN BE GIVING PERFORMANCE TASKS."
"Diba?"
"RIGHT?"
The girls in front have finished recording their Tiktok. They huddle around, excitedly reviewing their footage. Mariz notices and asks, "Nag-unsa to sila?"
"WHAT ARE THEY DOING?"
"Tiktok."
"Ingon ana ta ko ka confident uy."
"I WISH I WAS THAT CONFIDENT."
"Naa ka'y Tiktok?"
"DO YOU HAVE A TIKTOK?"
"Wala uy. Dili man pud ko hater. Mahadlok lang gyud ko maadik."
"NOPE. IT'S THAT I HATE IT OR ANYTHING. I'M JUST SCARED OF BEING ADDICTED."
"Lage. Mas ganahan pa akong mama ug iyang mga amigo anang Tiktok. Mao nang nagalikay na lang pud ko kay ifollow na pud ko niya didto."
"YEAH. MY MOM AND HER FRIENDS LIKE IT A LOT. THAT'S WHY I AVOID IT TOO. I DON'T WANT ANOTHER ACCOUNT WHERE SHE CAN FOLLOW ME."
She smirks. "Kacute."
"AWWE. SO CUTE."
Maya realizes there's an opportunity to ask her about her follow request. "Erm..." She hesitates. "Instagram? Naa ka?" She immediately swallows, worried about looking overly desperate.
"DO YOU...HAVE AN INSTAGRAM?"
"Actually, problema kaayo na nako run." She scratches her head. "Nakalimot ko sa akong password." She takes out her phone and leans in closer to show it to her. "Awa." She types in her password and presses the Log In button. It won't let her sign in. She sighs. "Abi nakog parehas lang tanan passwords sa akong account dili man diay."
"ACTUALLY, THAT'S ONE PROBLEM I HAVE RIGHT NOW."
"I FORGOT THE PASSWORD."
"LOOK."
"I THOUGHT IT WAS THE SAME AS MY OTHER ACCOUNT BUT TURNS OUT, IT WASN'T."
Maya tries to hide her relief. "Unya? Unsaon mana nimo?"
"AND? WHAT WILL YOU DO ABOUT IT?"
Mariz shrugs. "Ambot. Okay raman pud kay wala man kaayo to'y post nga account. Magbuhat nalang guro kog bag-o."
"I DON'T KNOW. HONESTLY, I'M FINE WITH DELETING THE ACCOUNT. I DON'T HAVE MANY POSTS ON THERE ANYWAY. I'LL JUST MAKE A NEW ONE, I THINK."
"Maya." She flinches, surprised. She turns around to see who it is. It's Aljun.
"Uy, Jun. Unsa man?"
"OH, JUN. WHAT'S UP?"
He looks like he's in a hurry. "Erm...Naa ka'y one whole? Naa man gud mi'y quiz unya dili manghatag akong mga classmate. Mga dalo."
"ERM...DO YOU HAVE A SHEET OF PAPER? WE HAVE A QUIZ AND MY CLASSMATES DON'T WANT TO SHARE."
Maya quickly unzips her backpack and checks if she has paper. She doesn't. Before she could say anything, Mariz rips a piece of paper and gives it to Aljun. They both smile at each other.
"Salamat...erm..." He adjusts his throat.
"THANKS...ERM..."
What follows is just Aljun awkwardly staring in silence and smiling at her, and Mariz looking all confused.
Maya purses her lips, trying not to laugh at them.
Suddenly, the teacher for the first period arrives and everybody gets up. "Good morning, ma'am!"
This snaps Aljun out and he immediately walks away. With one last look at Mariz, he smiles and mouths, "Thanks," again as he waves the now creased sheet of paper she gave. He walks to out of the classroom to some chuckles from the other students and a shake of the head from the teacher.
"Okay class, good morning. Sit down."
Maya and Mariz share a glance as they take their respective seats.