Sweet Success

Way back in high school, I have a classmate who is bullied by everyone. A girl who’s in fact is very witty, very good in mathematics, fluent in speaking English, and much active in joining to extra-curricular activities. We don’t belong in top section 1 we are in section 2, but take note, there are fifteen sections in our school. Good enough to be in the second section, right?

She had a broken family. His father had his own new family, at that time she never speaks about her mother. She has two siblings, they were apart from each other, she lives with her grandmother who is a widower and always not in the house because of her work, so my classmate is almost left alone by everybody.

Though her situation is like that, she always excels in school, she always participated in all activities but most of the time, she didn’t come to school. She’s absent for like once or twice a week. We are all puzzled but if we asked them she always said nothing to worry about, that she’s okay.

Time flies so fast, we graduated in high school. We enrolled in different colleges that we never had enough time to keep in touch (cellphones are not that much available during our time). We seldom see each other and catch up for our activities until we didn’t see each other. Some graduated in college (but the sad part is I didn’t made it….. huhuhhu)

Until our 25th years after high school graduation came. We had a grand silver reunion. She confirmed that she will go back in Philippines to attend the said gathering. Many of us attended and of course we chat and chat almost all day and all night. We are all happy in sharing our own life experiences and know what? This is the time where she revealed all the things that happened to her in past. We all listened to her story for it caught all our attention. The story goes like this. The family that made by her parent tore apart. His father built his new family. Her mother was into drugs, this is the reason why she never speaks up about her mother during our high school. Her two siblings lived with their uncle and aunt and she, with her grandmother. The reason why she sometimes did not go to school is she had no money to buy for her food and allowance coz her grandmother is most likely not in the house. She once told by a teacher that she smells bad because her pair of uniforms is only one that she can’t laundry because she had no money to buy soap. She did not ride on a tricycle in going to school, she has no money for the fare, at times when she is walking in the streets to be able to go in class, our classmates who is riding in a tricycle yells her name. She had no allowance for recess, had nothing for lunch. One time she stole biscuit in the canteen and a teacher saw what she did, the teacher approached her and said don’t do that it’s bad, If you’re hungry, just go to me and I’ll give you food or money to buy something for your recess. She did what the teacher said though sometimes she is ashamed to asked her for her food and snacks. It happened many times. And the other thing is there is a batchmate who had packed lunch everyday because she lived in far place, so she didn’t go home during lunchtime. When she knew that this classmate of mine is not having lunch sometimes, she offered her, and she had 2 packed lunch for the both of them. My classmates and I cried so much upon hearing her story. She said that I will not go back to the country where I lived now until I didn’t look for the two persons who gave me much when I’m in times of need, “I will go to them and will give my personal thank you message and of course some stuff to say how grateful I am for having them in my life.”

She was graduated in college with the help of scholarship, and she is now a manager of a big company in other country, she had a dual citizenship and her own family raising one kid. She put her mother in a rehabilitation center and is now in her care. Her two siblings had their own family too and they all keep in touch with their father and his new family.