"All right," said Mr. Muzon, "anything else before we end the class?"
"Sir...can you tell us why Mr. Casimiro doesn't seem to be around?" asked a student.
"I know you'll ask that," Mr. Muzon replied. "He went with Sister Elise to pick up your new classmate."
At that, the whole class shook with the voices of the students yammering at the same time. "NEW CLASSMATE??" "And they'll have to pick him up?" "What is he, some kind of bigshot?"
Mr. Munoz knocks the table to quiet down the class. "Okay, okay, everyone. Your new classmate just happens to be an exchange student from Japan, and now is in a hotel, since he just arrived yesterday. He really wants to get to know this school and this class ASAP, so he first thought of dropping by here first before he finally goes to his host family."
As the class murmured, albeit a bit more quietly now, Vivian said, "Wow. A Japanese exchange student."
Letty, all sparkly eyed, went "EEE! I hope he looks like Jun Hirano(1)!!"
"Who doesn't speak a word of Tagalog." muttered Vivian.
"Quite the killjoy, huh?" said Letty, "If that's the case, I'll just say 'Konnichiwa! Watashi wa Leticia Lozano desu!'"
"You don't even know if it's really a guy(2) or he's handsome, and there you go with your boy crazy antics." said Vivian.
"I just know it, it's a guy! My hunches are never wrong!" Letty insisted, as Vivian heaved a mushroom-cloud sigh. Just then, there was knocking at the door, and it slid open, as a man peered in. "Looks like you've told them?"
"Yep,and it looks like they're all too eager to see that new guy."said Mr. Muzon. Turning to the class, he said, "Looks like Mr Casimiro has brought him here."
"He's there!" said Letty, "Can't...wait...can't...wait...". Vivian just heaved another mushroom cloud sigh.
"Okay then," said Mr. Casimiro, who walked into the room, "since Mr. Muzon has told you everything, I won't waste anytime in introducing him," turning his head to the door, he said, "You may come in."
Everyone held their breath as Sister Elise walked in together with the person that they were eager to see. The room was filled with the suspenseful air of seriousness and thoughtfulness as the aforementioned faced them in a view that is close enough for scrutiny.
"Ladies and gentlemen," said Sister Elise, "This is the newest beneficiary of the cultural exchange program of St. Athanasius College. Let's welcome, Mr. Asuka Tsukishiro."
The class murmured among themselves as Letty went, "EEE! Told you my hunches are right! He's a handsome guy!"
Vivian, unimpressed, said, "Hmp. If not for the uniform and the short hair, he can pass off as a girl. He even has a unisex name, to boot."
"Why do I ever listen to you?" said Letty, "He's hot, period."and she continued to swoon and gush at the newcomer, who was notably a bit flustered at everyone's scrutiny.
"Okay then," said Sister Elise, "I have to get back to the office. Take care of him now, okay Casimiro?" Mr. Muzon also said his goodbye and the two of them went out of the hall."
"All right then..."Mr Casimiro began, "Why don't we start by telling us a bit about yourself, Mr. Chu...Chshuk..."he sputtered as he struggled to pronounce the newcomer's last name, eliciting a few giggles.
"It's okay. Just call me by my first name. That's how it is here, right?"
"EEE!" said Letty, "He knows how to speak our language!"
"That's expected. He's in the Philippines, after all," said Vivian.
"Okay...Asuka, can you tell a little something about yourself?"
"Yes sir," turning to the class, he started, "Now, where will I start? Hmm...like you, I'm your typical seventh grader."
"Seventh grader?" asked Letty.
"If we're studying in Japan, that's where we should be in now," Vivian answered, "before high school, you see, they have the middle school or junior high."
"I'm from Hinobori Academy, right in the heart of Tokyo. I come from a more or less ordinary family, but I'm sure they're happy that I had a chance to study overseas. I'm not used to speaking Tagalog for long stretches of time, so please bear with me." saying this, Asuka did a traditional bow of politeness.
Mr. Casimiro turned to the class and said, "Okay. Anyone of you who wants to ask him a few things before we begin our class?"
The whole class again began talking all at the same time."How did you learn to speak Tagalog like that?" "Do you have a girlfriend?" "Are you watching TFC(3)?" "Can you be my boyfriend?"
"Whoa, one at a time," said Mr. Casimiro, as he rapped the table. "He's not a multitasker like Windows. But there's a good question. Where did you learn to speak Tagalog? You're good."
"I know you'll ask that,"the brunette replied. "My father always makes his business overseas, and whenever he's around, he always has his associates with him, and most of them are Filipinos. One of them regularly comes to our house and for some weird reason, I've kinda fallen in love with your language. So that person would always take his time to teach me. In addition to that, I've taken up Tagalog classes alongside my entrance exam reviews, although in secret."
"Oh, so you're a pasaway too!" Gary piped up. "Gary!"a seatmate said warningly.
"Pasaway?" asked Asuka.
"It means a hard headed, disobedient person" said Mr. Casimiro.
"Oh. Like I said, I'm not that good yet. But It's not that I'm being disobedient: My mother just doesn't like me wasting my time in stuff she thinks is useless, like the Tagalog classes. But it's a good thing she was wrong; since it all came in handy when I was chosen for the program and was brought here."
"That's good," said Mr. Casimiro, "Okay class, looks like you have to ask him you other questions some other time. Asuka, you can sit in this class, but you don't need to participate. After all, this is just your first day here and you still don't have our books.. You can choose your seat."
"Thank you sir." Saying that, the brunette walked into one of the aisles, looking for a suitable place. As he did this, the girls eyed him and made themselves look pretty, in an attempt to get him to sit beside them. But to their chagrin, he chose the seat beside Vivian. "Can I sit here?" he asked her.
Vivian looked up, a little surprised, but casually said, "Okay." As Asuka took the chair beside her, the girls threw dagger looks at Vivian, who in her usual nonchalant manner, ignores them. "Hey, I'm just curious. Why beside me?"
"Why? Don't you want me to?" "No, it's not that. I mean, there are plenty of seats out there. Why the one beside me?" "Well..."Asuka huddled closer to Vivian and whispered, "I don't like the way your classmates stare at me. They give me the willies."
Looking at the lot of jealous girls, Vivian rolled her eyes and said, "Yep, I know how you feel. They're like predator eyes set on the prey."
"Why did he sit beside that lowlife hussy of all people?!" hissed Viveka.
"Vivian,..."whispered Letty, "How can you be so calm while everyone seems to want to kill you?"
"Hey Inigo," said Gary, "looks like someone's about your crown...hey?Dude?"
Inigo stared at the newcomer intently, and let out a wry smile. "Looks like things are going to get interesting around here."
Footnotes:
1) Jun Hirano was one of the contestants in the local franchise of the reality search "Pinoy Dream Academy". He's part Filipino, but unfortunately, he doesn't speak a word of Tagalog.
2)The original language of this fic is Tagalog. The third person pronoun such as he and she in the Tagalog language is gender neutral. So Vivian and Letty don't have an idea of the newcomer's gender, even as it is inevitably explained in this English translation.
3)The Filipino Channel; an international channel owned by CPI, a sister company of ABS-CBN Broadcasting Corp.