the story of the INVERTED

Lorenz:
This is an article from our high school official magazine Renaissance, written by JL Dajo (a good friend of mine). Actually, it’s a story rather than an article. It’s about his vision of the future of what had happened to all of us… ten years later! Parang si Hiro Nakamura ba. Ripley’s believe it or not, ‘each’ and ‘everyone’ in our batch is included in this short story! Buti na lang meron pa rin kopya si Louie nung magazine so I had it scanned yesterday. Nakakatuwa uling basahin. hehe’ Enjoy reading! =)

Nikka:
I have the word format! Enjoy peeps.
The OLSHians RENAISSANCE Vol 1. No. 4 (prolly feb or march 2003)
THE STORY OF THE INVERTED by Joselito Dajoyag
The mind is not a vessel to be filled but a fire to be kindled.

Jaymie:
kelan kya reunion? hehehe,,,

Idah:
galeng,, s0me pr0phecy,, (pr0phecy if i may say, is quite turning int0 reality)… ur n0w a registered nurse, mikhail is n0w a c0mp. engr. ..mark vil0ria electrical naman, like meeh.. hehe… hntayn na lan nten maging m0del cla jeni at r0nn,,hehehe

Nikka:
beh onga e. so happy talaga! the best si JL..

3rdee:
Hahaha… Yeah I love this story….. But nope, I won’t be a Math Teacher…. Hehehe

Ang Pinaka-Walang Kwentang Blogger:
(Sorry for snatching the comments)… Hehe, lorenz and nikka, salamat ha, natago nyo pa pala to… 3rdiee, jaymie, louie, ida miss ko na rin kayo… mag-organize na kasi… alam na kung saan, hehe… (saan nga ba?)

there might be no excuse for my inability to include some people here… nevertheless, ALL our batchmates were my inspiration for writing this. actually pag binabasa ko siya nakokornihan ako sa ginawa ko… pero, nakakatuwa pa rin kahit korni…

here it goes….

“C’mon dad, let’s go! I will be late for Mr. Deacosta’s mathematics class.”

“Ok son, don’t forget your math project.”

I drove my son to school… Our Lady of the Sacred Heart School, also my school from prep to high school. An institution full of childhood and teenage memories. Well, it seems that whatever I do, there’s always something there to remind me.

Yesterday, I received an email from a high school friend, Aaron Pineda, I was surprised to hear news from him, that he was promoted as manager of the multi-billionaire company he had served for years. He seeks advice from me if it would be okay to accept Jalyn Cueto’s proposal of a business partnership. I said that wouldn’t be a bad idea.

Also, I received a package. When I opened it, there was a PC CD-rom inside. To my surprise, its label was Villegasoft Doors beta. It was an operating system and is the Filipino counterpart of Microsoft Windows. I checked it out and found out that this software company is owned by the twin brothers Louie and Lawrence Villegas. They were my high school friends.

Heavy traffic built up while I was driving going to my office I turned on the TV and was quite surprised with the advertisement

“Regine Villamin – ‘Asia’s Songbird’ on a live concert with Apple Ting, the ‘Divine Diva’ and Lonida Young, ‘Asia’s Nightingale’. Don’t miss the Triple Diva Concert in Araneta Coliseum.” These names are familiar. Yes, they are my high school friends who used to entertain the class with their wonderful voices. Suddenly, GMA FLASH REPORT… Nakapili na si Pangulong Dave Perez ng bagong PNP chief. Siya ay si PNP chief Reygee Matanguihan. Sinabi ng bagong talagang opisyal na gagawin niya ang lahat upang masugpo ang krimen.. Ako po si Kcrizalyn Roudette Mapa para sa GMA Flash Report.” Whoah! They’re all familiar! Yes, those were all my colleagues.

While driving, I can’t keep my eyes on the road because of the billboards. I saw along Quezon Avenue, Jenny Lynne Lavarez and Joseph Ron Lee are now image models of a popular clothing brand. Wow! What an accomplishment. Sitting on my office chair, working on a case, a lady approached me and asked, “Atty. Dajoyag! Yes naman!” At first, I was surprised, but when I recognized her face, “Maricar Quisao? Maci! Hey what’s up?”

“I’m okay. Just want to invite you personally to our concert this April 14. I’m the production manager of the Triple Diva Concert.”

“Oh I know that! Yes, I will come to see you all there!”

“And guess what? Do you still remember Bernadette Dingal, Valerie Tocalo, Leslie Vergara, April Hugo, Carren Jakosalem, Karen Villespin, Wetzel John Foronda, Arnel Cataquiz, Joey Mendoza and JP Zabala? They will be the backup dancers. Whew!”

“There’s more! Noodle’s Cradle will be the guest band. Y’know Jethro Sugnan the drummer, James Notarte the guitarist together with Jobel Perez a.k.a. Noodle.”

“Gosh! That would be the best concert that I will ever watch! There’s no stopping of me to watch it.”

Then she left after giving me tickets and we bade goodbye to each other. Remembering my business appointment this lunch, I drove myself to a 5-Star Restaurant in Makati. I met Senator Rumbaua there and I was surprised because she even got more beautiful since the last time we met in high school. While we were seated at a table, I called the waiter for the menu. Instead, a guy with a coat that’s not of a waiter’s approached us and said.

“Excuse me, Senator Rumbaua and Atty. Dajoyag, if I’m not mistaken?”

“Yes, what is it?”

“I knew it! Is that really you, Vita, JL? I’m Angelo Ambrosio, the manager of this 5-star super elegant restaurant!”

Gosh! Another high school colleague! Then, he also introduced us to his assistant manager and master chef, Jobelle Sabado. We are now four at our table. At the middle of the conversation, there was someone singing on stage, and again, I was mesmerized because I knew that signature pose and style. That’s him! He sang ‘Just Once’, and after singing, we invited him to our table and we introduced ourselves. I learned that Adrian Mariano has become a highly-paid wedding singer.

Senator Rumbaua and I were supposed to talk about a legal case, but instead we just sat there, the five of us, and reminisced our high school years. We talked about our batch and where they are now. I learned from them that Mayette Makalintal, Nikka Lucena, Nirvana Castro, Gladys Landicho and Jayson Mariano are now registered nurses. Rose Marian Garcia and Mark Peralta are now Dra. Garcia and Dr. Peralta. I also learned from them that Mikhail Pido, Remo Aries Montoya and Jaymie Mendoza are now computer engineers. Corelyn Arrofo and Rhea Bermudez are now professors at University of the Philippines. Chona Elstow now runs a comic workshop and is the owner of a top rated magazine. Mark Viloria and Rayjohn Sandoval are now certified engineers. Bryan Guarin, Eruel Ramos, Ivan Pabelonia and Louie Serafica are now CPA’s. Wow! I was quite ecstatic knowing that my colleagues achived success. We talked for hours there.

Going home, I passed Sto. Domingo Church and met Fr. Michael Ventura. Once again, traffic built up. I was bored and saw a newspaper boy. I called him and bought a newspaper, but when I opened the sports page, I was surprised, “RK Lina… PBA MVP of the year.” That name was so familiar, and yes he was our popular varsity player of our school. He was my classmate when I was still in high school.

Upon arriving home, I kissed my wife and I saw the television was open. And to my surprise, I saw again popular faces on the TV screen. Yes, they are Jeremiah Geronimo and John Ayotte. I watched the show and it was a very funny sitcom. It was so funny that it relieved me from my stress and fatigue. I found out that its title was “John and Miah”. Pretty catchy, huh? I was about to turn the TV off when…

“Announcement: Calling all graduates of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart School batch 2002-2003. We will be having our grand reunion this March 29, 2013, at Brannigans. For your inquiries, please call Dra. Lumabas at 7122212, Engr. Chavez at 4156790 or Atty. Nicolas at 6325050. Thank You.”

Then came the much awaited day. The grand reunion! We were situated on the exact place where we also stood on our graduation ball. Although the place has evolved and it undergone impressive changes. Still I could feel that memorable night exactly 10 years ago with the same people I’m with tonight. The moment I entered the room and saw the faces of my high school colleagues, I felt something which I couldn’t explain. I think it is a feeling of joy because I saw my former classmates and all of them are now successful individuals. Who could ever predict that my friends who were known for gimmicks, gossips and kalokohans are now executives and professionals? It was something I never expected, but hoped for. And I’m very thankful to God because we were able to overcome all the hardships, trials, and hindrances. To my excitement, I forgot my being professional and I hurriedly ran to my friends. We group hugged each other, when suddenly I slipped on a banana peel and fell off the building (remember, our venue was open air).

Am I dead? Does it end like this? It’s unfair! Am I really a soul departed from my body now? Why are you all staring at me? Why aren’t we celebrating? This is supposed to be a celebration…

Ouch! I felt my head aching. Oh no! Was that a dream? I fell off my bed, not off the building. I didn’t know what I would feel. If it would be a regret or joy. But then again, there’s nothing I could now. I really don’t know if that was a prophecy or not. But at least, I have something to look forward to in the future.

Stigmatized*