The last time I saw my childhood chums as kids, a bunch of the boys were hanging out by the bus stop. I walked by and they asked me to spend the afternoon with them. I asked what they were up to. They said once the next bus leaves, they would climb on the side and ride to the next town.
I asked how they planned to get back. They said they would wait for another bus to pass or walk. I said, maybe next time, and I went on my way. I don't remember where I was headed to. I regret saying to to them now. They probably would have jumped off after a couple of blocks anyway.
We were in the sixth grade at the time and I had transferred to a different school. I was back in town for the weeked. Apparently that's what they had been up to for a while, and they had done it before. I never expected that I wouldn't see them again for ten years.
There were other friends, of course, who had moved away before me and after me. One of them was Helen Back. She left in the fourth grade. Or was it the third? I kinda sorta had this little mini crush on her. I even admitted it to a friend once. I said, "Do you want to know a secret? The girl I like is Helen Back." He said, "No way. You like Carmen Getit." I said, "Nuh-uh." And we kept on playing.
Each grade had a folk dance group and a modern dance group, and they competed with the other grades. I was part of the folk dance group from first to fourth grade. Helen Back and I were partnered together because we matched up in height. Carmen was in the group, too, but she was paired with a taller boy. I didn't exactly complain about being with Helen though.
During one competition while we were in second grade, we danced out onto the stage and posed while waiting for our music to begin. I heard the audience laugh but didn't know why. Somebody whispered to me, and I looked around and found that I was about five feet away from where I was supposed to be. Meanwhile, I'm posing there with a big smile on my face like we were told to do. Helen and the rest of the group were way in the back of me. I just walked back to the spot next to her and she and the rest of the group stayed in their pose. We didn't win.
She moved away either in the third grade or fourth grade. I still have pictures of us on stage together. Connie and some of the girls exchanged letters with her, but for how long, I don't know.
I also have pictures of me and Helen Highwater on stage together. We were getting ribbons for making the Honor Roll that year. It was part of adjournment ceremony held at the school annually. (We also had a commencement ceremony at the start of the year.)
I mention her because when I returned to the Philippines after ten years, I found Helen Highwater very attractive. She looked good, and she was also smart (she made the Honor Roll, remember?) I wondered why I never paid attention to her in grade school. She came to our reunion late. Apparently, she was having issues with her boyfriend that day. I was amazed at how much she had changed and disheartened that she was already taken. I didn't tell her I liked her. I didn't have that much time either because she didn't stay long.
It was Christmastime, and everyone was busy in the days that followed. Then she had to go back to here college far away, in Manila, I think. I tried courting her via text message, which was - and probably still is - a popular thing in the Philippines, but she hardly replied. I went back there a couple of years later, and she had gotten married and had a baby. And then I felt bad for her because I found out that her husband was seeing another woman. She was separated, but she was still married. Well, I hope they've worked things out.
One other grade school friend that I'll mention was a neighbor of mine, Donna Thedead. I used to tease her all the time, and I don't really know why. We used to throw stones and garbage like fruit peelings at each other's houses. We yelled at each other, but it was all in good fun. I thought she was cute as well after seeing her ten years later. I asked her out to lunch, and it went all right, I guess. Then I asked her to dinner and she decided she wanted us to hang out with friends if I remember correctly. So I kind of thought that to mean that she wasn't that interested in me, but apparently I shouldn't have assumed things because Filipina girls are supposedly different, more demure and such.
Hm. I don't know why all these girls from grade school that I'm recalling turned out to be the ones that I liked later on in life. I think it's just a coincidence because I happened to see them again after ten years.
Here's one that I haven't met again. Her name is Janine Tonic, the smart one. Kids in the Philippines are grouped in classes based on a placement test in first grade, then by their grades through the subsequent years. (I'm not sure if it's like that in the States or anywhere else, but I don't think so.)
Not to brag or anything, but I was always in the smartest class. Grade 1A, 2A, and on until 5A. I think it was like that anyway, if I remember correctly. Janine was in a different class in first grade, and I think it was because she had to transfer in late from private school.
From grade two and on, we were in the same class together, and she always received the highest grade. I was always in the top ten in class, and my parents always wanted me to do better than her. It seemed like it was never enough to get good grades because Janine was always first. Part of it was that her aunt or great-aunt of some kind of relative was the sixth grade English teacher, while my mom was the principal. And they didn't always get along regarding school policy and budgets and all that stuff. So I always felt some pressure to outshine her.
So I guess throughout grade school, I kind of looked at her as competition, although I never competed very hard or anything. I kind of feel bad that I was guarded around her, kind of wary about befriending her. She was a very nice kid though from everything that I could remember.
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