LET IT PLAY
Chapter One
Jonathan gave his dog, Survivor, a pat on the head as he was on his way out. He walked towards the street corner near his house where the jeepneys that passed by Holy Redeemer High School usually waited for passengers. When he saw one that wasn't full, he flagged it down, got in, paid his fare, and then leaned back in his seat. He closed his eyes and took a catnap. It was a habit of his; since he was a little kid, he always fell asleep in moving vehicles. Luckily, he never missed his stop.
He reached the school in ten minutes. Next time, Jonathan thought, he would try walking. He greeted the security guard, who waved him inside. He headed for the faculty office, passing students in the corridors. Some of them greeted him and he responded in kind. He bounced up the stairs and entered the faculty room whistling an old song that he liked.
"Well, you look happy," the teacher whose desk was beside his remarked.
"Good morning, Melanie," he said with a grin. "Where's Chris?" Chris Corpuz was his friend, one of Holy Redeemer's Physical Education teachers and also its basketball coach. Melanie was his wife; she taught general sciences and mathematics.
"He's at the gym already," Melanie replied. "He wanted to run a few new drills with the players before he started classes today."
"Oh. Okay." Jonathan opened up his backpack and took out a couple of books. He opened his drawer and took out his lesson plan.
"Something for your students?" Melanie asked, gesturing towards the books.
"Yeah," Jonathan said. "I figure they're ready for them." He handed them over to Melanie, who looked at them critically. She thumbed through one.
"There's profanity in these stories?" she asked.
Jonathan nodded. "I'll try not to put too much emphasis on it."
"Just make sure that Mr. Delima doesn't find out," Melanie advised him. "By the way, there's going to be a meeting today around lunch time. Don't be absent like the last time."
Jonathan made a sour face. "Do I really have to be there?" he asked. If there was one thing he disliked, it was meetings. During his last job, the only reason he forced himself to sit through business meetings was because it was his money on the line. Now that he was working at Holy Redeemer, he usually scheduled student-teacher conferences to coincide with the meetings that Mr. Delima, the principal, held with the faculty. The first and only time he ever sat through one, he nearly fell asleep. Listening the the principal drone on and on inanely was a complete waste of time, in his opinion.
"Yes, you do," Melanie told him. "It's for the annual fund raiser for the school."
Jonathan put two white board markers in his shirt pocket. "Fund raiser?" he asked.
"Yeah," Melanie said. "Every year, the school holds a fund raising event—it's a talent show, actually. The proceeds go to improving facilities and upgrading equipment."
"Oh, yeah? That's cool," Jonathan said. "Well, I hope it turns out okay. I've got to go to class now." He picked up his gear.
Melanie picked up her lesson plan, markers, and textbook as well. "I'll go with you. I've got an early class myself." They left the faculty room together. Melanie noted that Jonathan wasn't wearing a uniform like her.
Jonathan snickered. "Hey, as long as my excuse not to wear one is valid, I'm going to enjoy it." He never did enjoy dress codes; in fact, he hated them. The way he put it, he had to obey a dress code for the better part of his formative years so, now that he had the option not to, he disdained it. He explained it to Mr. Delima as part of his other job, which was a "correspondent" for a magazine. What he didn't say was that it was just a part-time gig; he didn't tell the principal that it was the kind of magazine that would've been banned from the school either.
"When are you going to grow up?" Melanie asked in mock disappointment.
"I am grown up," Jonathan replied. "I took this eight-to-six gig, didn't I?"
Melanie was about to say something but stopped when they ran into another teacher. "Good morning, Ces," she greeted her colleague.
"Good morning, Mrs. Corpuz," Francesca Francisco replied with a smile. Like Jonathan, she was new to the school. Her area was music. Most of the male students were already flocking to her like moths to a flame because she was young, gorgeous, and quite obviously sexy. Unlike Melanie, who wore slacks with her uniform, Francesca wore a skirt that was just a notch above the knees. Her stockings flattered the shape of her legs. Jonathan, however, kept his "seen-it-all" face on and showed no overt reaction to Francesca's looks..
"Ces," Melanie said, "I told you that you can call me by my first name. It's not as if I'm that much older than you." Jonathan pretended to clear this throat. Melanie threw him a semi-annoyed look and then said: "By the way—meet another of our new faculty members. This is Jonathan Castillo."
"Good morning, ma'am," Jonathan said, nodding slightly. "I'm pleased to meet you." Melanie cocked an eyebrow upward as she watched him.
"Good morning, Mr. Castillo," Francesca said, smiling at Jonathan in a way that almost made his heart accelerate for a few beats. "What subject are you teaching?"
"I was assigned to English," Jonathan replied. "And you?"
"I teach music," Francesca said. "My gosh, I guess now I can ask someone else to teach me English. I usually ask Mrs. Corpuz or her husband."
"Well, let's see if we can arrange our schedules, ma'am," Jonathan said. "But your English isn't that bad, you know." Melanie had to cover her mouth to keep them from seeing the smirk on her face.
"Oh, it's not as good as yours," Francesca said. "You speak like an American."
Jonathan smiled at her politely. "Yes, well, that was a product of ten years of Sesame Street."
"Oh, my goodness—it's time for class," Melanie interjected. As much fun as it was to witness Jonathan making a fool of himself, she decided it was time to cut the getting-to-know you session short. "We'd better go."
"Ah1 Yes! That's right," Francesca said. "The students will be waiting for us."
"I'll see you at the faculty meeting later, Ces," Melanie told her. She grabbed Jonathan by his sleeve before he could so much as say "Goodbye" and dragged him down the hall. He took one last look as she headed for the stairway.
"Well, that didn't go over so badly," Melanie told him. "I thought you were going to make her squirm."
"Huh?" Jonathan frowned. "What's that supposed to mean?"
"You weren't exactly being friendly back there," Melanie remarked.
"Force of habit," Jonathan said. "Sue me."
"Your force of habit got you in trouble the last time you followed through with it," Melanie reminded him—and instantly regretted it. She stopped and touched his arm. "Oh, damn, I'm sorry. I meant—"
Jonathan smiled at her. She could see that it was ninety-eight percent happy, which was something. "It's okay," he told her. "I'm over it. It's just water under the bridge."
Melanie thought otherwise but decided to give him the benefit of the doubt. "All right. I'm sorry."
"I suppose Ces going to be doing something for the talent show?" Jonathan asked, changing the subject.
"I guess so," Melanie replied. "She is one of the music teachers."
"Yeah, that would make it compulsory for her," Jonathan said. He stopped in front of a classroom. "Well, this is where I get off. See you later, Mel." He touched knuckles with her, Freebird-style. Melanie wished him well for the day and then left.
Jonathan entered his classroom, asked for his students to quiet down, and was about to start the day's lesson when he spotted two empty places in the middle rows.
"All right," he asked, "where are Nico and Kelly?" Nico Katindig and Kelly Montes were one of the longest-running couples in the school, according to Melanie. Nico was one of those bad boy/good boy types while Kelly was the studious, sensitive type with a hidden wild streak that only Nico could bring out. In class, though, they were bright and fair-spoken. Of course, Kelly often coached Nico during review sessions but that didn't seem to bother either one of them. Certainly, Jonathan preferred that to Nico cheating during exams.
"Sir, don't you know?" Lorna Puyat asked him. "Today's Kelly's due date."
"Due date...?" Jonathan said, puzzled. And then it came to him: "Really? So Nico's at the hospital with her?"
"Yes, sir," Lorna replied.
"Good thing you reminded me." Jonathan sat on the edge of his desk. "When are you ladies and gentlemen going to visit her?"
"Well, sir," Mona Patubig said, "it's going to have to be after class. And not all of us can go so we're going to give Nico and Kelly this card." She and her classmates passed a beautiful hand-made card to him. Jonathan recognized the artwork immediately: Janie Tolentino, Jessmar Buan, and Alyssa Gamez undoubtedly worked on the card together. There were watercolor flowers, glitters, and elaborately lettered greetings. The blank spaces were rapidly being filled by the messages from everyone who knew Nico and Kelly.
"You haven't signed it yet, sir," Baldo de los Santos said. "There's still space at the top." He pointed to am unmarked place on the card. Jonathan took out his pen and scribbled a short message and then signed it. Then a strange smile came to him. All of a sudden, it was like he was autographing an album or a poster or a cassette for a fan all over again.
"What's so funny, sir?" Janie Tolentino asked.
"Just a memory," Jonathan told her. He was about to hand the card back to Jessmar when an idea came to him. He'd get in trouble with Melanie but, then again, Chris wasn't going to the meeting either. He had practice for a game. Maybe I can ask him to cover for me, Jonathan thought.
"Tell you what, ladies and gentlemen," he said. "Finish signing this up and then let me take the card to Kelly so that you don't have to skip lunch—or classes."
"Sir, I thought there was a faculty meeting at twelve-thirty?" Alyssa Gamez asked.
"Faculty meetings take place everyday," Jonathan explained. "But not all of my students give birth everyday—or at least none of you will be giving birth for the rest of the school year."
"I wouldn't mind giving birth to your baby, sir," Regino "Regine" Sandico spoke up. The class roared with laughter.
"When it becomes humanly possible to do that," Jonathan said, "I'll let you know. For now, let me have the card."
"Ate Raquel, she's beautiful." Cielo Guzman stood beside Kelly Montes' bed in the Fabella maternity ward. She cradled her cousin's newborn daughter, Angelica Jasmine, in her arms, rocking her gently as she slept.
"Thank you, Cielo," Kelly said softly. On the table in front of her was her lunch which Cielo brought her. Cielo lived with Kelly and her parents since her own family was in Aklan. The two cousins were almost like sisters since their ages were relatively close to each other's. Kelly became Cielo's guide to high school life in Manila and her guardian whenever they were in school; Cielo, for her part, was Kelly's confidant and tutor. Cielo, in fact, had been there when Nico had come to their house to inform Kelly's parents of her pregnancy. The younger girl had been able to keep things from getting tense and even hostile. Now she was living up to her role as an aunt to Angelica Jasmine. Kelly smiled as she watched her cousin and her daughter. Cielo would undoubtedly play a significant role in bringing up her child.
"Her face is like a combination of yours and Kuya Nico's," Cielo remarked. "But her eyes are definitely yours." She wiped Angelica Jasmine's lower lip with the edge of her blanket. The she began to sing to the child.
"Excuse me, Ms. Montes," Kelly heard someone say, "shouldn't you be in school today?" She looked up from her lunch and saw Jonathan standing at the foot of her bed.
"Oh, hello, sir!" she greeted him. "What are you doing here?"
"I decided to go home for lunch," he told her, "and I thought to myself that since Fabella was on the way home, I'd drop by and see how you were doing." He looked towards Cielo and the baby. "Is that the kid?"
"Yes, sir," Kelly said. "My daughter, Angelica Jasmine Montes Katindig." There was an unmistakable note of pride in her voice.
"I thought today was your due date?" Jonathan asked.
"She didn't want to wait that long," Kelly explained. "She arrived almost before midnight last night."
"Reminds me of myself," Jonathan commented. "Mind if I take a look?" Kelly nodded. He went over to Cielo and peered into the blanket, pulling a fold down carefully to examine the baby's face. He took a playful sniff and touched it tentatively with a finger. After a few moments, he made his pronouncement: "Yup, she looks like a baby, all right."
"I certainly hope so," Kelly remarked. "I think it's no return, no exchange here too, sir."
Jonathan laughed. "Congratulations, Kelly," He hugged her briefly. "Here—your classmates wanted you to have this." He handed her the card. Kelly opened it and smiled as she saw her friends' work and their messages of love and support for her.
"This is so nice," Kelly said, tears coming to her eyes. "Tell them thanks and I'll be back as soon as my doctor tells me it's okay for me."
"No problem," Jonathan told her. "Don't think you're going to escape from me. I'll be waiting for you when you get back."
"Thanks, sir. I'll be ready then." She gestured towards her lunch. "Want something to eat, sir?"
"No, but thanks anyway, Kelly. I can get something on the way back to school." That was when he seemed to notice Cielo for the first time. Long, somewhat curly hair and cinnamon-colored complexion, eyeglasses...he asked her: "Pardon me, miss—aren't you in my freshman class?"
"Yes, sir," Cielo replied. "I just brought Ate Kelly something to eat, sir," she explained. "I'm going to go back to school for my afternoon classes. I just have to wait for Tita Meding and Kuya Nico to arrive." Tita Meding was Kelly's mother. Since she lived closer to the hospital than Nico's parents, she was the one who usually watched over her daughter and granddaughter.
"Cool, freshman," Jonathan told her, smiling. "I'll wait with you. When Nico and Kelly's mum shows up, I'll escort you back to school."
"Sir, her name is Cielo," Kelly interjected. "She's my cousin."
"Is that right?" Jonathan tried to remember if he'd ever heard her speak in class. He had, as far as he could recall but, generally, she was a quiet kid. "You're the freshman who aces my essay tests, aren't you?"
Cielo blushed slightly: "Yes, sir."
"You're as smart as your cousin," was Jonathan's remark. "You're also less noisy."
"I'm not noisy in your class!" Kelly protested, picking up her fork and pretending to throw it at her teacher.
"Oh, yes, that's right," Jonathan corrected himself. "You're just mildly talkative." The fork flew but he caught it. "Watch it—you might hit the rug rat." Before Kelly could follow up with her spoon, her mother arrived with Nico in tow.
"Well, hello, Mrs. Montes," Jonathan greeted her. He took the things she'd brought from their house from her. "Let me help you with that."
"Thank you, Mr. Guerrera," Mrs. Montes said. "You've come to visit Raquel?"
"Yes, ma'am." He set down the stuff that Mrs. Montes had brought from her home on a table next to Kelly's bed, arranging them so as to minimize falling and other breakage-causing events. Nico helped him. "She's doing fine but I wouldn't hurry her back to school just yet."
"That means my honey's still on maternity leave," Nico said, kissing Kelly on the cheek. He cooed and tickled Angelica Jasmine lightly.
"You're correct, Mr. Katindig," Jonathan remarked. "You, on the other hand, are returning to class with me and your cousin-in-law-to-be here."
"Yes, sir," Nico said. "Did Coach Chris tell you I would be here?"
"No, your classmates told me," Jonathan said. "But Coach wants you to report to his office as soon as possible."
"Why?" Kelly wanted to know.
"He probably just wants to know how you two are holding up," Jonathan said. "Now come on—it's time to go back to school."
Nico heaved Cielo's bag over his shoulder. "Come on, Ciel," he said. "We don't want you to be late."
"All right." Cielo handed the baby over to Mrs. Montes. She kissed Angelica Jasmine on the forehead.
"Be careful on the way home later," Mrs. Montes told her.
"Yes, Tita." She kissed her Ate on the cheek. "I'll come back after school."
"All right," Kelly said. "But eat dinner first and do your assignments."
Cielo nodded. "Okay." She followed Nico and Jonathan out of the maternity ward to the nearest jeepney terminal for the ride to school. Jonathan paid for the three of them. When they arrived, Nico and Cielo went to their respective classrooms. Jonathan, in the meantime, headed for the faculty room to get his things for the next class.
"Should I even ask where you went?" was Melanie's greeting when she saw him.
Jonathan tried to look and sound nonchalant: "Did I miss something?"
"Yes, you did,"Melanie said sternly.Then she grinned in a manner that gave Jonathan pause. "But of course, Mr. Delima said that he'd update you on what you missed personally."
"He can't do that," Jonathan protested."I've got class in a few minutes."
"He's talking to your students right now," Melanie told him gleefully, "so that won't be a problem."
"He can't do that—" Jonathan was about to say again when the phone on Melanie's desk rang. She picked it up, spoke to the person on the other end of the line briefly, then handed him the handset.
"Hello?" he said tentatively.
"Ah, Mr. Castillo, you've arrived," Mr.Delima said. "Would you please report to my office? I'd like to speak with you about something very important."
"Uh, sir, shouldn't I be checking on my junior class?" Jonathan asked."After all, they've got a paper due..."
"I handled that already, Mr.Castillo," the principal replied. "I'll be waiting. Please don't be tardy." With that, the line was cut. Jonathan handed the phone back to Melanie. "You'd think I was the only one who wasn't at that meeting," he remarked.
"Well, I guess I'll go find out what the chief wants." Jonathan buttoned up his polo shirt and ran a brush through his hair. "Do I look all right?"
"Presentable enough," Melanie said. "I'll ask the president of your junior class what happened. I know her anyway."
"Thanks, Mel," Jonathan said. "I owe you and Chris."
"You can pay for it with dinner later," Melanie suggested.
"You're on," he told her. "That way, I get a free ride home."
Melanie laughed. "No problem. Now get your hindquarters over to the principal's office."
Jonathan saluted her, tommy-style. "Yes, ma'am!" he said with a click of his heels.Then he right-faced and marched smartly out of the faculty office. When he got to the principal's office, the secretary told him to go inside.
"Good afternoon, Mr. Castillo," Mr. Delima greeted him. He gestured towards the chairs in front of his desk. "Please have a seat."
"Thank you, sir," Jonathan said, sitting himself down.
"You missed the meeting today, Mr. Castillo," the principal said. "I hope you don't mind telling me where you were."
"I was visiting Raquel Montes at the Fabella Medical Center, sir," Jonathan answered. "Today was supposed to be her due date but she delivered her baby the night before, actually."
"And how is Ms.Montes doing?" the principal asked.
"Quite well, sir," Jonathan replied. "Her baby is quite healthy too."
Mr.Delima looked at a document on his desk. "Ms.Montes was on the honor roll last year. I certainly hope she'll be able to make up for it next year."
"She will, sir." Jonathan paused. "Although I will be speaking with her about doing some schoolwork from her home."
The principal gave him a curious look. "Explain that please."
"Well, sir," Jonathan began, "I believe that Ms.Montes should be able to catch up with her classmates in a few days or so. My plan is to have her friends bring her the notes, exercises, and assignments for the day. She can e-mail it to me and I can check her progress."
"Do you think she can keep up with her academics that way, Mr. Castillo?" Mr. Delima wanted to know.
"There's a good enough chance that she can, sir." Jonathan eyed the principal squarely. "It's better than postponing her graduation. In any case, I'll be discussing it with her and her parents when I visit her again later. I think I can make a strong enough case for it and I think she can fulfill her part of the arrangement."
Mr. Delima thought about it for few moments. "All right, you can try this method, Mr. Castillo. But if it doesn't work, then Ms. Montes will just have to try again next year."
Jonathan nodded. "Thank you, sir."
"You're quite welcome." Mr. Delima changes topics: "Have either of the Corpuzes told you about our year-end activity, Mr. Castillo?"
"The talent show, sir?" Jonathan nodded. "Of course, sir. They said that it's the highlight of the school year or something to that effect." He smiled, hoping that he wasn't laying it on a bit too thick. He wanted to be out of the principal's office before his next class started.
"It is, Mr. Castillo. It's something that the entire school—from the administration down to the students, down to the maintenance staff, even—takes great pride in year after year." The principal leaned forward. "So I'm wondering what kind of contribution you might have in mind for the program. I asked the Corpuzes during the meeting but neither of them has any idea what you're planning to do."
Jonathan thought fast and came up with what he hoped was a solution to his dilemma: "I was thinking of covering the talent show, sir...for one of the magazines that I write for. It's a local music publication so I figure it might bring the show some publicity and maybe even some sponsors. If that's all right with you, of course."
"You plan to write an article—" Mr. Delima began but Jonathan interjected: "Maybe more than one, sir. I'll have to play it by ear, so to speak."
"Well, I think that's an interesting idea, Mr. Castillo," the principal said. "All right—you have my permission to cover the talent show from the preparations to the performance."
"Thank you, sir." Jonathan checked his watch. "Would it be all right if I left now? I've got to check on my students, sir."
"I sent your third year class to the library to do research for that paper you assigned them," Mr. Delima said. "You can find them there. Have a good day, Mr. Castillo. And thank you." The two men shook hands. Jonathan left the office, relieved that he had gotten away with his idea. Of course, he would cover the talent show; after all, there was always the possibility he might actually uncover some new talent over the course of the next few months.
He was heading for the library when he heard someone call his name. He turned around and saw Francesca coming up behind him.
"Hello, Ms. Francisco," Jonathan greeted her. He gave her his pleasant smile.
"Hello, Mr. Castillo," Francesca said. "You were absent from the faculty meeting today."
"Yeah, I know," Jonathan admitted. "Mr. Delima spoke with me about that. But he understood when I told him that I visited a student of mine at the Fabella Medical Center."
"Oh? Is everything okay?" Francesca asked.
"Yeah, she just gave birth," Jonathan replied. "She's okay."
"So she's a mother now?" the music teacher remarked. "That's wonderful. Where's the father?"
Jonathan said: "The father was also a student of mine. He's in class right now."
Francesca nodded. "That's very good. At least he's not stopping his education. How about your student? Will she be able to get back to school?"
Jonathan shrugged. "Maybe. I'll see what I can do to help her. I'll have to speak with the other teachers about it, though."
"Who is your student, by the way?" Francesca asked. "Do I know her?"
"It's Raquel Montes," Jonathan replied. "She's a senior."
"Ah!" Francesca's face brightened up. "Yes, I know Raquel. She's one of the students I was hoping would be auditioning for the talent show."
"Is she good?" Jonathan asked.
Francesca nodded. "Mrs. Bunagan said that she's one of the best singers in the school. She also knows how to choreograph dance numbers."
"Is that right?" Jonathan thought about that. "Well, hopefully, you'll be able to find a replacement for her."
"That's what I'm hoping for during the auditions," Francesca said. "There will be a lot of students so maybe we can find a lot of talents for the show."
"There probably will be," Jonathan agreed.
Francesca asked him: "What did Mr. Delima ask you to do for the talent show?"
"Oh, that." Jonathan shrugged. "I kind of volunteered to cover the talent show for the magazine I write for."
"Really?" Francesca was delighted. "Wow, you're going to be writing about us. That's great!"
"Don't get too excited yet, Ms. Francisco—" Jonathan started to say; Francesca interrupted him to say: "Please, call me Francesca or Ces. You don't need to call me Ms. Francisco."
"Okay, um, Francesca," Jonathan corrected himself. "Anyway, don't get too excited yet. It's not as if we're going to have major press coverage or anything like that. I also have to run it through my editor first."
"Run it through?" Francesca looked at him "What do you mean?"
"I have to tell him about my idea first," Jonathan explained. "Then if he approves it, that's the only time I can cover the talent show."
"Oh, I see," Francesca said. "Well, in that case, I hope he approves your idea."
So do I, Jonathan thought. I sure as hell don't plan on performing, that's for sure.