02x30: 2010 Intramurals

The Intramurals are here and the Freshmen show off what they ahve been working on since the first week of January. Joel continues to keep the identity of his crush a secret.

2010 INTRAMURALS

 

          Wednesday, January 27 started out like a normal day. Austin teleported to school and went to the DDN classroom. The cheerdancers told him to go away so he waited outside. When the cheerdancers left, Austin went inside.

     After a few hours, the room was almost full. Sr. Leo came in and posted the game schedules and line-ups for the intrams. Everyone crowded in front, making it impossible for those at the back to see.

     Austin just looked at the schedule for chess. It was still tomorrow so he had the whole day off.

     “Hey, Austin!” Joel said.

     “Joel, what’s up?”

     “You won’t believe this, Janella’s in basketball…”

     “What…”

     It was a flat what. It was supposed to be surprising but for some reason, Austin wasn’t surprised. He went to the board to see the schedules and line-ups. After a short but difficult struggle, he saw that she had two games: basketball and futsal.

     He still went to Janella though, to ask her about it.

     “Janella, hey…”

     “Austin, hi!”

     “You didn’t tell me you signed up for basketball.”

     “Oh, that? That’s nothing.”

     “Don’t worry, it’s okay. I have no games today so I can watch.”

     “No, it’s okay if you don’t.”

     “Hey, I don’t think Joel has any games today, I’ll check with Ernst. He’s probably a stirrer anyway, haha. We’ll all go see your game.”

     “NO! Austin, it’s really okay if you don’t.”

     “Oh, okay. But don’t be surprised if I do show up.”

 

After a few minutes, they were all moved to the gym for the opening ceremonies.

     Just like last year, the torch lighting ceremony was enhanced with superpowers. Patrick wasn’t one of the runners anymore, though.

     “OKAY! So let’s get to know the teams for this year,” he announcer up front said. “The freshmen are, LAKAMPATI!”

     The Freshmen cheered for themselves, Ernst included.

     “The Sophomores are the DEMOKRATIKOS!”

     The Sophomores cheered louder than the freshmen.

     “The Juniors, KAPALARAN!!!”

     The Juniors beat the previous two levels in cheering volume.

     “And last but definitely not the least, the Seniors, BABAYLAN!”

     Predictably, the Seniors were the loudest out of the four levels.

     “Okay, now that we got that over with, it’s time for the cheerdance competitions!”

     Aside from the cheering competitions they have been rightfully suffering for, some select students were practicing for the cheerdance competitions.

     The four levels dished out their best. Too bad the results were going to be announced at the end of the intrams.

     After that, they went back to headquarters. Austin approached Janella again.

     “What about the futsal game? You joined that too.”

     “Futsal? I didn’t join that.”

    “Oh, come on. Stop being modest. I like you sporty”

     “No, I’m not kidding. I didn’t…”

     She went to the board and saw her name undoubtedly in the line-up.

     “What the hell?”

     “Hey, it’s okay. Just sit around, talk to the other players. Maybe you don’t have to play at all.”

     “I’ll just clear it out with Sr. Edmond…”

     Sr. Edmond was still mad at them as of the moment. The knowledge of this triggered a sad/scared look in her eyes.

     “I’ll come with you to Sr. Edmond’s.”

     “Never mind. I’ll just go down and…”

     “Yeah, I know…”

     Awkward silence followed.

 

There were a few hours before Janella’s basketball game. Austin dished out the Risk set and invited the guys to play. He controlled Red, Jianne was Green, Lance was Blue, Ivan was Black, and Ernst was Yellow, the allegedly flamboyant color.

     They were not able to finish the game however, Austin halted it 30 minutes before Janella’s game so he had enough time. He pulled Joel along and they went ot the Cardinal William Square Basketball court.

     It was still the Juniors vs. Seniors Girls-Division game. Joel and Austin sat near the Biodome. Unfortunately, they got bored.

     “You know, Austin, every year, my favorite pastime is watching the Girl’s Basketball.”

     “Why is that?”

     “I don’t know, I’ve just seen so much Shaq missing free throws, Bryant making the basket, Ernst missing it that I wanna see a twist.”

     “You mean in terms of gender.”

     “Well, yeah!”

     “Isn’t that kind of sexist?”

     “No, not at all. I find Women’s Basketball fascinating. You never know, some female B-ball players are better than some of the male players, like Ernst.”

     “One, he’s male? And two, He doesn’t even play basketball.”

     “Agree with the first, second is debatable.”

     “Hey, drinks on me,” Austin said as he took out a 50 peso chit from his wallet and handed it to Joel. “Go buy us some iced tea. I’ll take Icy Lemon. You take whatever’s left.”

     “Oh, cool, thanks dude!”

    Joel went off to buy the drinks. The Juniors vs. Seniors game was already running 2 minutes overtime.

     When Joel was back, the game was already 4 minutes overtime.

     “Come on! When will this game end?” Austin asked.

     “If only they’d stop tying with each other.”

     “There it is, the Seniors made the basket!”

     “Come on! End the damn game!”

     “Four! Three! Two! One!”

     “SENIORS WIN!”

     “Wait, this means one thing, Freshmen are in trouble tomorrow.”

     The freshmen girls’ basketball team had just arrived. There was a short break in between the games. Austin and Joel had already finished their drinks.

     Finally, the game started and Janella was in the first round.

     “What do you reckon is she in there?” Joel asked.

     “What do you mean?”

     “Center? Shooting Guard?”

     “I don’t know much about basketball.”

     “Oh, well, if you ask me, she’d be a real good point guard.”

     “What’s a point guard?”

     “Seriously, Austin?”

     “NO, I mean, I heard the term before, I play 2k3.”

     “It’s 2010 for goodness’ sakes!”

     “I don’t follow basketball!”

     “Anyway, a point guard is,”

     “Shhh, the game’s starting!”

     The referee threw the ball in the air and the Sophomores caught it. They headed for the hoop while the Freshmen defended. They had a surprisingly good defense but they still got past and got the two points.

     “Aww, man. That was sad,” Joel said.

     Austin went behind the Freshman’s hoop where some other spectators were resting and stood on the base. He then yelled, “GO FRESHMEN! KICK THEIR ASSES! RIP THEM APART! FROM THE ‘F’ TO THE ‘R’ TO THE ‘E’, ‘S’, ‘H’!”

     “Austin, get down from there! You’re making a fool of yourself.”

     “FRESHMEN! YOU CAN RIP THEM APART! FRESHMEN, YOU CAN TEAR OUT THEIR HEARTS!”

     “Austin, this is basketball, not Castlevania, GET DOWN FROM THERE!”

     The freshmen were still losing. Their basic tactic would be to screw up passes between the Sophomores and cause the ball to roll away. Didn’t help them much but it did prevent the Sophomores from massacring them too much.

     “BEAT THEM UP, TAKE THEM DOWN,  FRESHMEN, THEY WILL MAKE YOU… FROWN!”

     “Austin, one, we’re losing, two, ‘frown”? That’s the best you can come up with. And three? YOU ARE MAKING A FOOL OF YOURSELF!”

     Austin’s throat was starting to hurt but he did not stop cheering. “GO FRESHMEN!” He started coughing. It felt like a minute when it was in fact, five. The freshmen were behind by four points.

     Janella wasn’t in the second quarter. Austin rested for a while. What was amusing to watch was Napa pummeling the Sophomores. Well, actually, she wasn’t pummeling them but rather just equalizing their strength considering her body size compared to theirs.

     The real shock of the moment was when Jan de Guzman was passing by, saw her Jedi Master beating Sith Lords in basketball, and shouted out her trademark, ‘GO NAPA!!!”

     Third quarter was another rest for Austin since Janella wasn’t there. They were still down by four points.

     At the end of the third quarter, they were down by a whopping seven points. This was probably because Napa wasn’t there to equalize the two levels.

     They decided to bring in the best point guard possible for the fourth quarter. Austin went back ot his post and prepared to blow out his voice box. He should’ve used a sound amplification power like Anne Nicole’s or Bam’s but he had a vow to not use powers for this “relationship”. He was going to cheer for the girl of his dreams with his own voice and not some radioactive supplements.

     There it was, the ball in the hands of the Freshmen. The whistle blew and they rushed to the hoop. Napa did her equalization job and bagged the team two points.

     The Sophomores weren’t happy about this. They fought harder and got three points in. This drove Napa off the edge when they had the ball again. She started to get more aggressive and got an offensive foul. They didn’t take this well and targeted the easiest one to underestimate, Janella herself.

      Now, they didn’t tackle her, they just got a foul in. Austin wasn’t very happy about this.

     “FIGHT LIKE THE MEN YOU ARE YOU BEAP CHASTARDS!”

     “Austin, just stop. You’re going into spoonerisms now? Come on! Get down from there!”

     “COME ON LAKAMPATI! THUCK FEM IN THE ASSES!”

     “Thank goodness, ‘a*s’ isn’t taboo in here.”

     “Turla! Watch your language!” Ms. Ruby said as she passed by Joel.

     “D****t,” Joel said.

     “TURLA, LAST WARNING.”

     “Well, I’m sorry!”

     Ms. Ruby walked away.

     “MURDER THEIR DIGNITY, THEIR CHANCE FOR SURVIVAL. YOU’RE THREE YEARS YOUNGER BUT THREE TIMES STRONGER! GO FRESHMEN! GO RIP THEM TO SHREDS!”

     “That’s it! Lakampati gets a free throw!” the referee said after the Sophomores planted another foul on Janella.

     There she was, about to make a free throw.

     “What’s your name?” the referee, which was also the announcer, asked.

      “Janella Deabanico.”

      “Okay, Janella, if you make this free throw, you will be the first freshman in Seton history to do it.”

     “No s**t?” Austin thought. Was this guy bluffing? Was this guy serious? Anyway, Austin lied to himself and chose to believe him just so he can be proud of her when she makes it.

      Janella aimed for the basket, her eyes focused on the target when suddenly, her gaze went a little lower and she saw Austin. A look of shyness overcame her face but Austin gave her a reassuring smile. He mouthed “Go for it!” Janella took this in mind and shot the ball. It missed.

     “One down, two to go.”

     They handed Janella the basketball again. She aimed at the hoop again and shot the ball. It missed.

     “Hey, third time’s the charm.”

     Austin knew it. He just knew that she was gonna make the shot. It was the oldest cliché in the book but it didn’t matter. Three was his favorite number and this was some sort of inaccurate mumbo-jumbo that made Austin believe that, yes, she was going to make this shot.

     Janella aimed at the goal like a sniper aiming for its target. Like Austin predicted, she made the shot.

     “There you go, first freshman in history to make it!” the announcer said in such a deadpan manner that he might as just have announced that the molecule of air that just went in his nostrils was the first one he ever inhaled. Once again, Austin used the art of subconscious illusion to make him believe that this was not a bluff and she really did make history.

     Sadly, the freshmen still lost, 11 to 18.

 

The rest of the day was uninteresting. Risk Game number two was after lunch. Once again, Austin stopped the game early so he could watch Janella’s futsal game.

     Like she said, she was only gonna sit in the sides since it was probably a miscommunication. She was talking to Ivan and Jericho’s friend, the one way back in FS Night, Bianca Blanco.

     Austin approached them along with Joel and Ernst. They were the three musketeers again.

     “Hey, I see you’re having fun playing,” Austin said.

     “Hahaha, very funny,” Janella said sarcastically.

     “Straw?” Ernst said to himself.

     “So you are sitting on the sidelines.”

     “Yeah, that’s what it looks like.”

     “Well, have fun! Anything you want? Ice cream? Fries? Hotdog? Burger? Water? Iced tea?”

      “No thanks.”

      “Straw?” Ernst said.

     “I’ll get some anyway. Be back in zero point one three seconds.”

     “0.13 seconds?” Ernst asked.

     “Hey, Ernst, how’s Maan?” Joel asked.

     “Oh, right. You like Maan,” Janella said.

     There it was, triple, simultaneous, screech tease.

     “Hey, I’m back,” Austin said, French fries in hand.

     “You’re twenty-nine point eight seven seconds late.”

     “I know. But that doesn’t matter, you know what matters?”

     “What?”

     “I’m giving you guys, fries. Here you go, take as much as you want.”

     Bianca and Joel took some fries. When Ernst would take, Austin withdrew the fries. Janella wasn’t taking any though.

     “Come on, just take some,” Bianca said.

     “Nah, it’s okay.”

     “Come on, Janella,” Austin said.

     Janella reluctantly got some fries.

     “Thanks.”

     “Hey, no prob.”

     “Has Joel told you his crush yet?”

     “Nope,”

     “Do you mind asking him?”

     “No, not at all. Come on, Joel, interrogation time.”

     “No thanks, Ernst wants to go to the ping pong room so he can sleep on the table.”

     “WHAT?” Ernst asked.

     “Come on, over here,” Austin said, taking Joel aside to the catwalk. “I’ll do my favorite elimination method. I’ll say the names of the candidates, you just try to keep a straight face. One twitch and that’s it.”

     “Okay, you won’t get results from me.”

     “Okay, G5-15, let’s start. Deniece?”

     He kept the straight face.

     “Guen?”

     He started to laugh.

     “Okay, JANELLA! IT’S GUEN!”

     “NO, IT’S NOT! I just remembered Ernst’s reaction to Napa, that’s all.”

     “Oh, okay, next. Clara.”

     His face remained straight.

     “Janella?”

     Straight face…

     “Kat?” Straight face… “Aubrey?” Straight face… “Mary?” Straight face… “Kim?” Straight face… “Marinelle.” He cracked a smile

     “JANELLA! JOEL LOVES MARINELLE!”

     “SHUT UP! I just, let’s carry on.”

     “So it’s Guen or Marinelle, eh?”

     “CARRY ON!”

     “Queennie?” straight face… “and lastly, Justin Lubag.”

     “BWAHAHAHA!!!” Joel burst into laughter.

     “What’s wrong with Justin?” Ernst asked.

     “Nothing…”

     “JANELLA! IT’S JUSTIN LUBAG!”

     “SHUT UP!”

     “Okay, it boils down to three, Guen, Marinelle, or Justin.”

     “No, it does not.”

     “Well, your reaction was most subtle with Marinelle so that’s my conclusion.”

     “Ah, your methods are ineffective. I’m gonna get Ernst a straw.”

     Joel left and Austin resumed eating his French fries.

     “Is it still French fries when you purchase them from Uzbekistan?” Ernst asked. Austin stood up and got away from him.

     He went to the Futsal net to watch the game. Bianca was in the field. Suddenly, the ball was kicked upwards and was heading towards Austin. It looked like it was going to hit him directly in the head, decapitation was mildly imminent in the current situation.

     “So this is where it ends…” Ernst said.

     False alarm, the ball hit the net. No harm, no foul.

 

The rest of the day was dull. Sr. John was in pitch combat against Lui in chess. When Joseph kindly asked for a match, Sr. John agreed and Joseph’s reaction was comparable to a kid getting his first balloon. It was heartwarming to witness to say the least. He, what can you say? Sr. John was awesome. Then it hit Austin, he was going to be representing the team for chess tomorrow.    

 

Day Two of the Intrams was Austin’s Game Day. They had a practice that morning though so torture first, euphoria later.

     While waiting for the others, Austin saw Janella staring at someone dreamily behind him. Either it was him or someone behind him. When meditating on the first choice, he thought to himself, “Dream on…”. He looked behind him and in the direct line of sight, one of the drummers for the Lakampati, Miguel Sese.

     Three words rang in his mind, “What. The. ****.”

     Well, he knew better than anyone else at this point to not jump to conclusions. He looked back at Janella and she was still in the dream state. When she saw Austin, she diverted her gaze to the other way.

     After a while, Janella talked to Austin.

     “You okay?”

     “Yeah, of course. Why wouldn’t I be?”

     “You know who he is already, don’t you?”

     “Maybe…”

     “Tell me.”

     “Mr. Drummer. Not Michael, Not Eric.”

     “Go on…”

     “Initials M.K.S.”

     Janella let out a partly-depressing sigh.

     “Yeah, that’s him.”

     “Hey, cheer up. It’s okay.”

     Janella looked back at him.

     “As long as you’re happy, I’m happy. “

     RIIING!!!

     “Let the euphoria begin.”

     “What?”

     “The long bell has rung. ‘TIs time to return to the barracks. The angels have sung, and now, Ernst is something, something, rhymes with barracks.”

     Janella let out a soft chuckle as they returned to the HQ.

     Her basketball game was early that day. Austin and Joel headed there with Ivan Chan. While waiting, John, Ricardo, and some other guys sat behind them.

     First quarter, she wasn’t there. The team-tank, Napa was however and John decided to pull a prank on Sese.

     “Hey, guys. Let’s shout out ‘GO NAPA!’ at the same time,” John said.

     “Sure,” Sese replied, not noticing John’s winking at the other guys.

     “Three, Two, One, Go,” John said.

     “GO NAPA!!!” Sese shouted, all alone. The guys ran towards the other side of the gym. Hilarity ensued.

     At the end of the first quarter, they were down by five points.

     Second quarter began and Janella was in there. Austin didn’t cheer so much since his vocal chords have been worn out and he’s been sounding like a retard ever since earlier that morning.

     They were down by nine points when the second quarter ended. The third quarter started. To Austin’s horror, it was almost his chess game.

     It was inevitable. He had to leave the game.

     “Joel, I gotta go. Stay here, watch the game. Tell me the results. Tell her that I’m really sorry. Do not forget that.”

     “Sure thing.”

     Austin went down to the board games area.

     His partner in the Freshman Chess team was Ibarra Libosada, a member of the then unnamed, Mango Tree Gang. He was probably the best chess player the batch had to offer. Compared to him, he was a bulldozer and Austin was a screwdriver.

     The first game was against a Junior. He wiped Austin out in seven moves. Austin shook his hand. Ibarra won his match.

     His second game was against, Sophomore Chess Behemoth, Mark Nagrampa. He wiped Austin out in less than two minutes. Ibarra predictably won his match. Austin would love to see Ibarra face off against Mark.

     Austin was already eliminated. He headed back up and Joel and Ivan were there, waiting.

     “What happened?”

     “We lost. 13 to 26.”

     “****!”

     “SHH!!!, Ms. Ruby might be here, somewhere.”

     “Who gives a s**t?” Ivan said.

     “Chan, language!” Ms Ruby said as she had just exited from the other door of the main gym.

     “D****T!”

     “TURLA! THIS IS YOUR LAST CHANCE! SR. DAN IS NOT AS MERCIFUL AS I AM.”

     “Thank you for your undying mercy,” Joel whispered after Ms. Ruby left.

     There was another Risk game. This time, Austin didn’t have to stop it. Sr. Leo had bought hamburgers for the whole team paired with juice. It was safe to assume that, it was lunchtime.

     The Risk game lasted long. Austin was a completely different person when in a Risk game, or even Monopoly. Board Games will ruin your life. He barely noticed Janella while conquering Europe. He tried to get her to join the fun but she said it was okay.

     He had to stop the game at 2 PM because it was thirty minutes ‘til Janella’s second game of the day.

     He headed there alone. They were against the juniors.

     What resulted though was one of the most boring games he has ever seen. The Juniors were basically pacifists but they were still kicking Freshman a*s. It was depressing to witness.

     In the end, Freshmen lost, 27 to 30.

 

Later that afternoon, Sr. Leo didn’t ask for much, just one run of the presentation. For some reason, it was the worst run ever performed. Sr. Leo was furious but also tired and sent everyone home.

 

Here it is, the final day of the Intramurals. Austin was excited since they might finally finish a Risk game. No basketball for the day. No chess for the day. No interruptions at all.

     He was Red, Jianne was Green, Joseph was Blue, Ibarra was Black, Ernst was flamboyant, err…, yellow.

     They ganged up on Ernst the first round. Joseph allied with Austin. Ibarra allied with Jianne. Ernst quit and they conquered his land. Ibarra was next to go for Jianne’s ruthless tactics were an instant killer.

     Austin and Joseph’s alliance was abolished and Jianne decided to aim for him next, saving Austin for last. Joseph told Austin that he would always be on his side. He also told Austin to perform euthanasia on his army so he can have the whole world just between him and Jianne.

     Jianne was probably the smartest strategic planner out of them all for he wiped Austin out, cornering him in southern Europe. Man, some people take board games too seriously.

 

After the Risk game, Yu-Gi-Oh reared its ugly head once again. The new NaM cards were not used that much. In its place, Roey was searching for Dark Magician Girl.

     Finally, it was time. They have been preparing for it since the first week of January. The cheering competition.

      “Okay guys, this is it. The final straw. The final chance to prove our worth. I’m not going to make this speech too long. I just want you guys to know that all I want is for you guys to give the best performance you can! LAKAMPATI!!!!”

     “DINGGIN!”

     They all stood up and charged for the Cardinal William Square, barefooted and in all their glory.

     “Okay, High School students, parents, guests, welcome to the Cheering competition for the High School Intramurals 2010. Let’s start out the competition with the Freshmen, LAKAMPATI!!!”

     The crowd cheered. Austin could see Patrick on the third floor, along with the rest of the fifth graders, cheering.

     The drummers started drumming, their hearts started pounding faster, it was time.

     The cheerdancers pulled two giant pieces of cloth over the entire CWS. The freshmen then charged inside of it.

    When everyone was under the cloth and in position, the cheerdancers withdrew the cloth, revealing a globe formation.

     The drummers stopped drumming. Sese hit his drumsticks together thrice. This was it, prepare for awesome. Sadly, there will be no translation available.

 

Aming hiling, Lakampati… dinggin!

Sa daluyong ng hangin

Damhin aming awit

Hanggang tagumpay sa ami’y sumapit

Aming hiling, nawa’y dinggin, Lakampati!

 

Sa pagsalimbay sa hangin na tila sutla

Nagmamad’ling humalik sa lupa

Binhing niniig kay kalikasan

Yayakapin sa kanyan sinapupunan

 

Aarugain at kakanlungin

Balang araw pagyayabungin

 

     The cheerdancers went to the center again with the cloth, covering everyone as they changed formation. It was a simple box formation but they kneeled. As they ran under the cloth, they yelled:

 

Bumubulusok

Na pagtangis

Dingggin

Ang hiling

Dinggin

Lakampati!

 

     The cheerdancers withdrew the cloth revealing the freshmen underneath.

 

Aming hiling, Lakampati… dinggin!

Sa daluyong ng hangin

Damhin aming awit

Hanggang tagumpay sa ami’y sumapit

Aming hiling, nawa’y dinggin, Lakampati!

 

     Some people stood up, turning their hats to reveal the black underside. It formed a Rain pattern,

 

Takdang Panahon ngayo’y dumating

Ganap na handa sa pagsibol naming

Mga tanikalang sa ami’y nagpiit

Pangako’y kailanma’y di na sasapit

 

     Those standing knelt back down in preparation for the next verses.

 

Ngunit itong mga pakpak, na kahit munti

Pilit lilipad na tila bagwis

Kakampay sa himpapawid

Walang takot

O taglay na hinagpis

 

Lakas namin ay ang bawat isa

Tapang namin ay pagkakaisa

Sama-samang tatahakin

Tagumpay ay aangkinin

 

     More people stood up, Austin was one of them. They turned their hats over, revealing a Sun pattern.

 

Bagsik ng unos

Dagundong ng Lupa

Daluyong ng Dagat

Silakbo ng Apoy

 

     Now everyone stood up. Everyone’s hats were right side up again.

 

Ngayon tinakda upang subukan

Tadhanang walang kasiguruhan

Ambang panganib sa ami’y hatid

Susuungin kahit hindi batid

 

Aming kakayahan di kayang pantayan

Aming kapangyarihan ‘lang kupas at hangganan

Tangan-tangan palaso ng angkan

Kalasag ng tibay ng loob ang taglay

 

     Once again, the cheerdancers covered everyone with cloth. They were now worming a flower in a pot formation.

     The cheerdancers withdrew the cloth, revealing the formation, Once again, they yelled “Bumubulusok…”

     It was time for the final section of the cheer. This was it, one month has led to this.

 

LAKAMPATI DINGGIN!

AMING AWIT TUPDIN!

 

AMING ALAY

AT DALANGIN

TANGGAPIN

AT MARAPATIN

SA BIYAYANG

KALOOB

GABAYAN

O LAKAMPATI

 

Aming hiling, Lakampati… dinggin!

Sa daluyong ng hangin

Damhin aming awit

Hanggang tagumpay sa ami’y sumapit

Aming hiling, nawa’y dinggin, Lakampati!

 

     The cheerdancers covered everyone. The freshmen underneath the cloth left their hats there and retreated  out of the cloth while they were chanting, “Bumubulusok…”

     When everyone was out, the cheerdancers withdrew the cloth to reveal the flower in the pot, still there, formed by the straw hats. Then, they were met with what they were waiting for, applause.

     “Thank you Freshmen for that amazing performance. Up next are the Juniors!”

     It was resting time, they deserved it. They watched the Juniors, then the Seniors, and finally the Sophomores perform. They felt lackluster compared to the higher levels but one must not be a pessimist.

     Here it was, awarding time. Sr. Leo had ordered McDonalds for everyone in the batch, victory or loss.

     “Paging, Austin Fernandez,” the announcer on the stage said.

     Austin looked over and Saw Sr. Alan there. He ran towards the stage.

     “Austin, let’s train for the last time today. Your competition is tomorrow.”

     “That’s the individual competition right?”

     “Yes, let’s train in the Faculty Center.”

     Sr. Alan led Austin to the Faculty Center where they looked over inequalities and the like.

     After a while, there was a knock on the door. Austin didn’t mind it, expecting it would be another teacher. When Sr. Rommel opened the door, it was none other than Janella.

     “Is Austin here?”

     “Yeah, over there,” Sr. Rommel said.

     She was holding a McDonald’s Meal: Fried Chicken and a Regular Coke.

     “Sir, for Austin,” Janella said to Sr. Alan.

     “Who sent you?”

     “Sir Edmond.”

     This put a smile on Austin’s face. Sr. Edmond was back to normal. Or was he?

     Janella left the food on the table. Austin smiled at her and she returned it.

     Sr. Alan finally let Austin go and he went to Bukidnon’s line. He set down and ate his chicken. Clara went ot him.

     “Austin, have you seen Bruce?”

     “Nope, sorry. Speaking of seeing people, have you seen Ernst?”

     “Nope.”

     “Joel?”

     “I think they’re up front.”

     “Janella?”
     “Sr. Edmond sent her somewhere. Speaking of Janella, how are you two?”

     “Well, fate says she likes someone else.”

     “Just fight for the one you love. In the end, things will be alright. I can’t go love guru mode right now.”

     “Oh, sure. Thanks.”

     “See ya later.”

     They first announced the winners of the individual games. Janella didn’t win in basketball but her team won in futsal. They lost the chess area because they forgot to sign the score sheet. The announcements were relatively boring so Austin, Ivan, Jericho, Roey, Ernst, and Joel did what any sane man would do, throw stones and pebbles at each other.

     It was stone wars in the back. Straw hats were flying everywhere too. Someone snuck a rock to Napa, reliving the good old times.

     Finally, it was the cheering competition results.

     “Third place goes to, the freshmen!”

     Nine words entered Austin’s mind: “Holy. S**t. We beat one of the higher levels.”

     “Second place goes to, the Sophomores!”

     It was euphoria to the maximum, they had beaten either the Juniors or the Seniors.

     “And the First place goes to the Seniors!”

     The Seniors jumped up into the air from their Indian sitting position but like a dark angel, descending from the heavens to ruin the euphoric state they were in, the head of the MAPE Department, Sr. Gilbert, took the mic.

     “I’m sorry, there was a mistype. Here are the new rankings. 3^rd place, 1^st Year, 2^nd Place, 2^nd Year, 1^st Place, 4^th Year, and the Champion are the Juniors.”

     Austin imagined Freshmen and Seniors wanting ot get out a bazooka launcher and fire it at the stage. Hey, the man was just doing his job but unfortunately, his job was announcing the truth and truth hurts.

     Well, the freshmen were technically 4^th place. The Seniors, who had been 1^st place since their freshman year, were beaten by the Juniors. They wept and it was understandable.

     When they announced the overall rankings, there was no surprise since it was exactly the same. Freshmen were sad but no one was sadder than the Seniors.

     Austin didn’t want to be sad, he seized the moment.

     “YEAH! WE’RE FOURTH PLACE!”

     “Austin, rest your voice. You sound terrible,” Janella said.

     “It’s okay. I can handle it.”

     “FOURTH PLACE, B*****S!” Ernst yelled out loud.

     “De Vera, Language! From now on, I will no longer be giving any warnings.” Ms. Ruby said.

     “Way to break the pace. Come on everyone, live in the moment! We’re fourth.”

     No one joined him but the frowns turned into emotionless faces. Austin eventually got a grip and shut up. He sat down in silence.

     “And now, for a special announcement, the School President, Dr. Josefina V. Suarez.”

     She grabbed the mic and spoke,” I would like to thank everyone for making this event successful. I would also like to thank everyone for not littering too much and keeping the school clean despite the events that took place for the past three days. Because of this, I will grant everybody one free day"“

     Everybody jumped up and cheered. It took a full two and a half minutes for everyone to settle down.

     “"I’m not yet finished. As I was saying, everyone will have one free day on Saturday, January 30, 2010.”

     One word: Devastation. This was followed by another two words: Fooled ya’.

     “Just kidding. Your free day is on Monday, February 1, 2010.”

     The cheering resumed. After five minutes, they all stood up and sang the Seton Hymn. It was 6 PM already, they were one hour overtime.

     Austin bid his Janella, Joel, Ernst, Ivan, and all his other friends farewell.

     Well, it didn’t matter that they had lost the top three spots or on hour of their time. At least they won the fourth spot and ten hours extra free time. Two words: Twisted Optimism…