03x34: Bouncing Back

Austin, with a newfound addiction in books (still milder than movies), also tries to sort out whether he has developed new feelings towards someone else or not.

BOUNCING BACK

 

     That Monday, as a perfect way to start the first day of the rest of his life, Austin began reading The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe. He had already finished The Magician’s Nephew yesterday.

     Jasvir was super early that day for some reason but other than that, it was a really typical morning.

     When Sr. Geck arrived, he demanded that Austin write a quote. He had grown fond of the quote of the day so Austin stood up and thought of a quote while he discussed some artistic matters with Ibarra.

     “Guys, any suggestions?” he asked.

     “ME! ME!” Owen said.

     “Yes, Mr. Cantillas?”

     “Karla likes ducks!”

     “What?!” Karla exclaimed.

     “Great idea!”

     Austin wrote on the board in true meme style: “Karla lieks ducks.”

     His handwriting was a bit messed up in the word, “lieks”.

     “Austin! Change it! It looks like ‘Karla licks ducks’,” Karla said.

     Austin erased everything and cleaned up his handwriting. Everyone in the right side (Sean, Marise, Clutch, Owen, Pat, Kristina, Giannina, Jericho) were chuckling as he wrote the ultimate quote of the day: “KARLA LIEKS DUX”

     “BWAHAHA! Karla! The truth will set you free!” Owen said.

     Sr. Geck finished his talk with Ibarra and Ibarra snuck a peek at the quote, letting out a chuckle. Sr. Geck “analyzed” the quote for a few seconds before replying with a perfectly deadpan, “Okay then…”

 

During Math class, Sr. Geck made Sean recite again but segued into a separate discussion.

     “Sean, don’t you have a second name?”Sr. Geck asked.

     He did not reply.

     “What is his second name?”

     They murmured.

     “Was it… Poldric?”

     “Damn…” Sean said under his breath.

     “That sounds like a knight’s name, Sean. We should call you… Sire Poldric.”

     “SIRE!” Jib exclaimed.

     Some of the students saluted him.

     “Anyway, back to the question…”

     Sr. Geck roamed around the room while discussing but noticed something peculiar while passing by Pat’s aisle.

     “Pat, no need to hide your phone…”

     Pat’s face immediately morphed from a “happily texting” face to a “oh s**t, I’m screwed” face.

     She dished out evasive maneuver number 1784 as Sr. Geck initiated the appropriate counterstrike.

     “Austin, please lift her bag.”

     Austin did as told and placed it to his left side.

     “Also the paper bag.”

     He lifted the bag and placed it by his left.

     “Kick it! Kick it away!” Jericho said.

     “This little boy, teaching her bad deeds. Now move her chair to the aisle.”

     Austin couldn’t force a lady’s seat elsewhere.

     “Fine, Froilan, Jeffrey, do your job.”

     The two of them stood up and pulled Pat’s chair to the aisle. He phone remained neatly tucked under her shoes.

     “Now, Sean, please retrieve the phone.”

     Sire Poldric stood up like a knight in shining armor, only this time, he was not going to save the Princess.

     He went under his table and reached to Pat’s feet. She did not resist. He took the phone and handed it to Sr. Geck., It was a Blackberry. Sr. Geck looked at it. Pat was merely laughing.

     After observing it for a while, Sr. Geck made the first conclusion.

     “Okay… I now know that Blackberry phones do not have touch screens.”

     “Sir…” Pat squirmed.

     Sr. Geck went through the messages. Finally, he noticed the timestamps.

     “These texts are fairly recent. Which means…”

     Sr. Geck stepped out of the classroom and headed for Sultan Kudarat. CV stood up and cheered as one of the most epic confiscations was now taking place.

     Pat was, oddly, laughing. She quickly stood up and ran towards Sr. Geck.

     Austin joined in the fun, cheering on before grabbing his book and reading a few paragraphs.

     Sr. Geck came back with another Blackberry of the same color. Pat was now in tears as they continued the lesson.

 

During Recess, Austin continued to give Janella the cold shoulder. He hung out with Ernst, Johan, and Bianca in DDN until Joel approached him. It was almost time so he bid the three farewell and headed to the CV Room. Joel followed him.

     “Janella told me you were not minding her.”

     “What of it?”

     “I couldn’t help but notice you aren’t minding me either.”

     “And?”

     “Are you mad at her?”

     “Maybe…”

     “Why?”

     Austin stopped marching right in front of the back part of CV. He turned to face Joel and looked him in the eye.

     “Look, Joel. You two have caused me more misery, indirectly or otherwise, than anything else in my entire fourteen years, one month, twenty days, twenty minutes, and fifty-eight, fifty-nine, et cetera second of living! Simply put… get the f**k away from me!”

     Austin went in and nonchalantly sat down in his seat.

     Later that lunch, while they were eating, Jack passed by.

     “It’s Mister Amistad!” Bianca said.

     “What? Why?” Austin asked.

     “Well, we were watching the aforementioned movie,” said Ernst, “when Cinque stood up and shouted ‘GIVE US, US FREE!’. Jack was so inspired by said scene that he stood up at the back of the AVR and said the same thing. Glorious…”

     The last interesting even that day was at the last two periods. They were introduced to their substitute TLE Teacher for the fourth quarter, Sr. Norvin Depra.

     A few of the boys said that he looked like Jovit Baldivino, champion of Pilipinas Got Talent and quietly sang Journey songs while he was not there. Aside from this, they also sang Too Much Love Will Kill You.

 

The next day, Austin, inspired by Jack’s actions, made the quote of the day, “Give us, us free!”

     Austin was reading The Horse and His Boy that morning. When Ibarra arrived, he and Austin went off to look around the ground floor. Jasvir was early again and as they walked down the stairs, they were able to hear Jasvir’s sneezing. Other than that, it was another typical morning.

     They had a quiz during Science. Austin was able to answer it and he placed the paper in his compartment. He grabbed the Narnia Collection and continued reading. The others were reading Mag-Anak na Cruz by Liwayway Arceo.

     “And Katy Perry’s songs are kind of senseless, but still catchy. ‘I want to see your peacock! I want to see your peacock-c**k-c**k!’ Right?”

     CV was laughing at this moment.

     “Austin, what is that? Are you reading the Bible?!”

     “No, sir. Chronicles of Narnia.”

     “And the others… Liwayway Arceo? During Science Class. This reminds me, Arceo was my professor back in College. He would always demand that we speak in Filipino. If we spoke in English, be prepared for a world of hurt.”

     Sr. Jojo told them about Prof. Arceo. It was rather unbelievable but it sounded real. Apparently, Froilan did not think so.

     “And them one time…”

     “Weh?” Froilan said. (Weh meant “you must be kidding me?” or “no really?”)

     “Wow, Froilan. I felt your respect there!” Sr. Jojo said jokingly. “Is that how you answer your parents. If they say, ‘Froilan, go back to your room!’ you say, ‘Weh?’”

     The entire class was laughing now.

     “When you’re playing basketball and the referees says, ‘Rabaria, Foul!’ do you say, “WEH?!?!?!’”

     Luckily, it was a quiz day and minutes of precious lecture were not wasted.

     “If you’re dating a girl and she finally says, ‘Froilan, I love you!’ do you say, ‘WEH?!??!?!?!?!?!?!?!’”

     If only they were in a less formal environment, they would have been rolling on the floor now at the rate they were going.

     And there, anew in-joke of CV was born. Ladies and Gentlemen, I present to you: “Weh?” by Froilan Rabaria.

 

During Lunch, Austin spoke to Sr. Mike, Sr. Chris, and Sr. Anton about his Rental service. Sr. Anton immediately asked for Inception. Sr. Chris asked for the Home Alone movies.

     As for his classmates, The Social Network was transferred over to Marise.

     During Filipino, they were tasked to write a composition about family. Austin was not able to write because he was busy marketing his service to Ms. Becky.

     In the end, she rented the first two Terminator movies.

     Also, in AP time, Austin found out that Sr. Leo does know about him and Janella. He couldn’t really care less and he went off as that was the last period.

 

The next day, Austin, along with other students, had a contest in the Philippine Science High School.

     A lot of DVD's were going to be returned that day. HE also had homework in English and Math. Austin tasked Ibarra with the DVD’s and his English homework. Johan was already there and just accompanied him upstairs.

     Since Ibarra had a lot to do for him, Austin had to leave his Math homework to someone else. Immediately, the first person to come to mind was: Marise Madlangbayan.

     He wrote a note (Math was the second period) and left it in her compartment. He did one last thing and that was the quote of the day. It was from The Green Hornet: “It's not dying that you need be afraid of, it's never having lived in the first place.” He then departed with Johan.

     They waited for the other contestants under the bridge. Among these were Lance Abais, Basti Gumapas, Job Balayan, and some students from the higher levels.

     The boarded the bus and headed to PhiSci. It was a long drive from there but finally, they arrived.

 

They made camp in one of the benches a few meters past the entrance. Austin was reading Prince Caspian now. Basti met up with one of his friends and went off.

     They went to the top floor to the auditorium. He saw some nifty exhibits around there. They entered the auditorium and waited for the elimination to start.

     After the test, Austin headed back to camp. Ms. Rose and Sr. Alan were there. Sr. Alan was playing a card game (Pusoy Way). After a while, a security guard asked them to put the cards away. Sr. Alan followed but commented that, “They think cards are only for gambling when in fact they can be mind boggling.”

     Ms. Rose and the others were entertained by a substance in a baggie that seemed liquid but when you touched it, it would turn “solid”.

     Austin, Basti, his friend, and Job went for Lunch. They saw a student there who looked like Basti and they had a little fun with that. Afterwards, they went back to the bench.

     Then, the most interesting thing happened. Austin was reunited with an old friend from Elementary, a student of 6-Albay. Joshua Kalaw.

     “Josh? Is that you?!’

     “Austin! HEY!”

     “Miss, may I?”

     “Go ahead,’ Ms. Rose said.

     Austin and Josh walked around the gigantic campus of the Philippine Science High School and they talked about their experiences.

     “So you turned into a psychopathic psycho ravaging the streets of New York?”

     “Well, it wasn’t New York to begin with. It was Makati, then Pasig, then Tallahassee, and then I went to the Big Apple.”

     Then they passed by another familiar sight: Noel Sarrosa. He was with a girl, presumably his girlfriend.

     “We shall not interfere with the affairs of the up-aboves. Right No�" HI NOEL!” Josh said.

     Noel waved back and he expressed surprise in seeing Austin again. Austin waved and he waved back again.

     “I’m hungry. What can we eat?”

     “You’re in luck. It’s the Science fair today and they have some food stands here. Let’s get our coupons.”

     Coupons here were like Chits in Seton only they were only useable in the fair. While they were in line, there was a relatively large girl with an open suitcase. She approached Austin.

     “Hello, please contribute money for my liposuction.”

     Austin acknowledged her presence for courtesy but got his coupons and went off with Josh.

     “Was she serious?” Austin asked.

     “You do not want to know.”

     They bought some Oreo milkshakes and a friend of Josh’s soon joined in their conversation.

     “Austin, I’d like you to meet Spock. We call him Spock due to his Spock-like haircut.”

     Josh gave him the Vulcan Salute as Spock saluted back.

     “Well, Austin, don’t be rude.”

     He panicked and gave him the Vulcan Salute.

     “Live long and prosper!” he said.

     “Isn’t he funny?” Josh asked Spock. He gave a solemn nod.

     “Anyway, Spock has a theory on the fourth coming of the Anti-Christ. Tell him, Captain.”

     “Well, the first coming was Napoleon Bonaparte, the second was Adolf Hitler, the third was Osama Bin Laden, and once he passes, the fourth will come in the form of…”

     Spock and Josh looked at each other, nodded, and said it at the same time, “Justin Bieber.”

     “Oh crap… I agree. We must hoist the colors!”

     “Anyway, what do you do for fun?”

     “Have you seen (500) Days of Summer?” Austin said, remembering the pain for a short moment.

     “No. Why?”

     “Alright, it’s called the Penis game. We say the aforementioned word and try to say it as loud as we can. I’ll start: Penis!”

     “Dude!”

     “What? Too scared?”

     “PENIS!” Spock ejaculated.

     “Good work, Captain. Josh, your turn.”

     “Oh for the love of�" PENIS!” Josh said.

     “Excellent work. PENIS!”

     They were in an open field. People did not mind them.

     “PENIS!’ Spock shouted with gusteau.

     “I DO NOT KNOW THESE MISCREANTS!” Josh exclaimed.

     “PENIS! Come on, it’s fun!” Spock said.

     “Hey, that was my turn.”

     “I’m innocent!” Josh said.

     “PENIS!” Spock said again.

     “Spock, you can stop now. Let’s do something else.”

     They went up the stairs to the exhibits Austin saw earlier. This was actually their project. Josh also talked about Scott Pilgrim.

     Eventually, it was time to go to the awarding.

     Austin bid Josh farewell and went back to the bench.

 

On the way there, they encountered a Rubik’s Cube Solving robot. It was cool. They continued to the awarding and they pretty much lost to the Xavier School in San Juan, Philippines. Austin merely snickered since they were technically the “Xavier School”. Oh, the irony.

     They headed back to the school as they encountered a hellstorm of traffic. They went for McDonald’s on the way.

     It was a very long trip. On the way there, Austin spoke to Johan.

     “You know, I think I’m falling in love again…”

     “Really? Who?’

     “Well…”

     “Was it that girl?”

     “What girl?”

     “The one you left your Math Homework with?”

     Austin now had to answer yes or no.

     “…”

     His face said it all. It was dreamy, much like when Austin made a new discovery. It was an epiphany of epic proportions. Unfortunately, another epiphany came. It was that he was still unsure. His mind was a mess in terms of romance at the moment so he did what all sane men do, grab his iPod and scare the crap out of everyone.

     They were driving down a long dark road. It was around 6:30. Austin played the Shower Music from Psycho as everyone in the van jumped except for Sr. Alan and his mate in the front seat.

     They drove down the road with the music blaring through the speakers. Maan’s sister comforted herself with a Katy Perry song. Austin then laughed with himself as he remembered Sr. Jojo’s amazing performance yesterday.

     They finally reached Seton and Austin went to the CV classroom. He found the DVD’s there as well as his Math homework. It turns out Sr. Geck said it was optional. Austin didn’t mind and stuffed everything in his bag.

     He headed home, still uncertain…