"So—how does your niece look like?"

Cielo and her two best friends, Gina Homobono and Shira Dimaano, were in the school canteen, taking advantage of a short break between classes. They were eagerly plying her with questions about her Ate Raquel's newborn daughter. Kelly knew both Gina and Shira because they were the first two people from Holy Redeemer that befriended Cielo. Gina was about Cielo's age and was a consistent presence in the honor roll. Her mother was a teacher in the elementary level of Holy Redeemer. Shira, meanwhile, was more the "bad girl" type—a little rebellious and wild but a good person deep down. Her mother was paying for her education by working in a small hotel in Japan. The three girls met one another during enrollment while waiting for their documents to be processed. Cielo liked both of them immediately; Gina and Shira took a shine to her in return. When it turned out that they were in the same section, they grew even closer. Now they were practically inseparable. Cielo even introduced them to her Ate, who approved of their company after getting to know them during their visits to Kelly's house to do their assignments with her cousin.

"You mean Ate Raquel's baby?" Cielo said.

Gina nodded. "What's her name?"

"Is she big or petite just like you?" Shira wanted to know.

"Her name is Angelica Jasmine," Cielo told them. "I think she's going to be as tall as Ate Raquel—and just as beautiful too."

"Is that so? When can we see her?" Shira asked.

"Well, I'm going to visit her again after school once my assignments are all finished," Cielo replied. "You want to come with me?"

"We can do our assignments together," Gina suggested. "That way we don't have to wait too long for one another."

"Let's do it at my house," Shira added. "That way, we can try out the new PC that my mother sent me."

"You've got a PC now?" Gina asked.

"Well, it's a laptop but it works just as well," Shira said. "I also have an Internet connection at home now. But I don't have a printer yet."

"That's all right," Cielo said. "We can have it printed somewhere else."

"All right, so we're going to my house after school then." Shira looked at her empty bag of Nova chips and said: "I think I'm getting another one. You girls want anything?" When the others declined, Shira stood up and went to the nearest concessionaire to get some more junk food.

"By the way, Ciel," Gina asked, "will your ate be back in time for the auditions for the talent show?"

Cielo thought about it. Given the time needed Kelly to recover and to adjust herself to taking care of Angelica Jasmine, she didn't think her cousin would be able to return to school for three weeks or so. Her reply was: "I don't think so but I'm sure she'll try. Why do you ask?"

"Well, last year, the older students said that she was the star of the show," Gina told her. "I'm sure she wouldn't want to miss performing this year."

"I know," Cielo remarked. "I saw the pictures and the videos that Kuya Nico took while she was performing. I wish I could watch her this year."

"Well, if you want...why don't you audition with me and Shira?" Gina beamed happily at the thought of the three of them performing together. "Shira and I were planning to get Talina and Kaye to make a dance group. If you join us, we can do a song and dance number."

"Why me?" Cielo protested. "You and Shira dance well. I don't know how to dance."

"We can teach you," Gina said. "It's easy. Besides—you've got a good voice. I've heard you sing whenever we're at Mass. You can sing and we can back you up."

Cielo was still hesitant about making a decision. "I don't know, Gina...I've never performed in front of a lot of people before...I don't know if I can do it."

"You can't," a new voice spoke up. "You're a first year and first years can't carry a show by themselves." Cielo and Gina looked and saw Barbie Viceral standing by the table they were occupying. She was flanked by her two friends, Rita San Carlos and Brenda Katipon, and her face had that haughty look that everyone in the school was familiar with on a daily basis. Barbie was a senior just like her Ate Raquel and it was no secret that she and Kelly had an ongoing rivalry that stretched back to elementary school. It grew more heated when Kelly had auditioned for the talent show in her freshman year and was accepted; more than that, she became the hit of the show and the talk of the school. No matter how hard Barbie tried, she usually got relegated to supporting status—something that had gone on for the past three years.

"That's not true," argued Gina. "Cielo's Ate did it when she was in first year—"

Barbie cut her off immediately: "That was the past, as if you didn't know. But now that your dear Ate got herself pregnant, I'm going to be the star of the show."

"Is that so?" Gina retorted. "Well, when Cielo, Shira, and I audition—"

Barbie cut Gina off again: "The three of you can do whatever you want. I'm still going to be the star. I can dance better than any of you and I can sing too."

"That is so true," Rita remarked. "Barbie has such an angelic voice," Brenda chimed in. Barbie nodded as if in approval of her friend's comments.

"Hah!" Shira said, causing Barbie to turn and confront her.

"And what's that supposed to mean?" Barbie demanded. She had her hands on her hips and was glaring at Shira as if her eyes could shoot lasers.

"It means that I'd put my money on us, if we were allowed to gamble," Shira explained. "We can dance better than you and Cielo is just as good as her Ate—maybe even better."

"Wait, that isn't true," Cielo tried to say but Shira continued: "You and your two friends here can audition if you want but so are we and we're going to be picked for the show—which is more than I can say for the three of you."

Barbie's glare turned from haughty to furious. Spots of color began to appear on her cheeks. She tried to say something witty but couldn't. So she resorted to her favorite taunt for Shira: "You Japayuki! How dare you—"

"What did you just call me?" Shira said, her own voice turning from nasty to deadly. "You'd better take that back if you know what's good for you, Barbara."

"Why should I?" Barbie demanded. "That's what your mother is and that's what you are. You should just drop out of school and go work as a Japayuki just like your mother!"

"All right—that's it!" Shira was almost in tears with anger. "I'm going to kill you—" She advanced menacingly on Barbie. Rita and Brenda backed away immediately, cringing in fear behind their leader, who didn't look all that willing to face Shira herself.

"Shira, stop it!" Cielo and Gina stepped in between their friend and her foe quickly. Gina told Barbie: "Back off, okay, Barbara? Just back off and leave Shira alone, all right?"

"Let me go!" Shira yelled. "I'll rip her hair off her head and stick it into her filthy mouth!" Cielo held her ground and kept her friend from moving any closer towards the three seniors. With neither Barbie nor Shira cooling down, however, hostilities were about to escalate. Fortunately, a cooler head prevailed in the form of Charlie Gonsalves. He was another senior who was working in the canteen as part of an agreement negotiated by Jonathan with Mr. Delima in order for him to say in school. Charlie used to run with one of the "fraternities" outside Holy Redeemer. After one scrape with authority too many, he was in danger of being expelled. Jonathan, however, stepped in and kept him from being kicked out.

"What's going on here?" Charlie asked.

"Charlie, that nasty girl is trying to hurt me," Barbie said, latching onto Charlie's arm. "She said she's going to kill me. Isn't that right, girls?" Rita and Brenda nodded in agreement.

"You started it!" Shira said. "You called me a Japayuki!"

"Look," Charlie said, extricating himself from Barbie's grip, "if you two want to fight, do it outside the canteen. I don't want to have to clean up any broken glasses or anything like that, okay?"

"Aren't you going to protect me, Charlie?" Barbie asked. "That girl might try to hurt me."

Shira threw her a disgusted look. "I'm not going to hurt her. I'm going to kill her—" Her anger, however, was dampened by Jonathan's arrival. He took a sip from a bottle of mineral water and asked nonchalantly: "Is this a private party or can anyone join?"

"I think these girls were just about to leave, sir," Charlie said. He fixed both Barbie and Shira a stern look. "After all, they aren't about to make a mess of the canteen while I'm here."

"I'll take the freshmen with me," Jonathan said. "After all, they've got a class with me in a couple of minutes."

Charlie shrugged. "Go right ahead, sir. I'll shoo these three out."

Jonathan gave him a polite nod before turning to Cielo and her friends. "Come on, first years. It's time to go." He walked towards the main door of the canteen, looking back only once. Cielo, Gina, and Shira took the hint and followed him silently.

Barbie watched them leave with a smug sense of satisfaction. Their English teacher was also hers; if she knew him correctly, he would probably give them a scolding that would sting them to the core. With that little matter taken care of, she refocused her attention towards Charlie. He'd turned his back on her and was clearing one of the tables. She approached him with her patented charming smile.

"Charlie..." she began. When he didn't respond, she said it a little louder: "Charlie...!"

"What?" he replied, his face showing more than a little annoyance.

"Thanks for protecting me from that little Japayuki," Barbie said. "She was really going to hurt me, you know. She's like that—she doesn't have any breeding—"

Charlie turned around and looked Barbie in the eye. "My ate is working in Japan," he said evenly. "I guess that makes her a Japayuki too, huh?"

Barbie blushed and stammered: "Oh, uh...I didn't know...I..." Before she could say anymore, though, Charlie went back to what he was doing. After a while, Barbie left the canteen with Rita and Brenda in tow.

"Um, that didn't go so well, did it?" Brenda commented tentatively.

Barbie wheeled around, skewering Brenda with her eyes. "Oh, really? Tell me something I don't know, stupid!" Then she stomped off angrily. Some students actually moved out of her way.

"Nice going, Brenda," Rita said. "Now Barbie's even madder. That was real smart."

"How was I supposed to know?" Brenda protested. "And besides, you would've said the same thing—admit it."

"Not out loud," Rita told her. "And not while Barbie's upset."

"Are you two coming or not?" Barbie summoned them from down the ground floor corridor leading to their classroom.

"Coming!" Rita called back. Then she advised Brenda: "Just shut up for now, okay?"

"Okay, okay," Brenda said. "Now come on before she yells at both of us." They ran to where Barbie waited for them. She glared at them for delaying her but said nothing. Both Rita and Brenda breathed a sigh of relief at that.

Jonathan was at home, grading test papers in his study when he heard the doorbell ring. He tied Survivor to a post near the garden and then went outside to let Cielo, Gina, and Shira inside. He'd asked them to come over, ostensibly to help him with some work but, in actuality, to deal with the fight that had nearly broken out between Shira and Barbie. Letting his students come to his house was something he didn't think he'd ever do while he was on substitute-teacher duty but, apparently, there were more than a few of them who were often forced to cram when it came to reviewing for tests or doing assignments because they couldn't do it at home. He set some inviolable conditions for those who dared to come to his house, though: no alcohol or drugs; no weapons; no frat or gang allegiances; no sexual intimacy; no hogging of resources; and no questioning his authority. Those who objected could find another place to do their schoolwork. Surprisingly enough, those students who did show up obeyed his rules to the letter. Cielo, Gina, and Shira were among the more frequent visitors to what he began to call the "Holy Redeemer Study Annex".

"Good afternoon, ladies," he said. "Want some meryenda or something to drink?"

"Maybe later, sir," Shira replied, sitting down at the table near the window closest to the garden. Jonathan looked at Gina, who shrugged. He took the hint.

"I'm glad you came here." He began to pass out some test papers to them. "Help me check these. Leave the essay part to me." Gina distributed the papers among herself and her friends evenly. They began to check them using the answer key that Jonathan gave them. They finished in less than an hour. Jonathan took back the papers and put them in separate folders. "Thank you," he told the three girls. "Are you going to visit Kelly at the hospital?"

"Yes, sir," Cielo replied.

"Do your homework first." He pointed towards the PC on the desk of his study. "Use that if you need to go online to research but no chatting. Take turns and do your own homework."

"Thanks, sir," Cielo said. She and her friends took out their textbooks and notebooks, buckling down to their assignments. Jonathan left them and went to the living room to make a couple of phone calls. When he was done, he went upstairs, grabbed his journal, and sat in the living room to work on one of his personal projects.

"Hey—look at this," Gina said. Shira and Cielo were at the table near the window, writing on sheets of yellow pad.

"Gina—stop looking at porn sites," Shira said jokingly, not looking up from her work. "Mr. Castillo will get mad at us."

"I'm not looking at porn," Gina said. "It's a bunch of photos of Mr. Castillo. I clicked on the My Pictures by mistake when I was trying to access what I saved for us from Wikipedia," she explained. "I saw something called Private Pictures. This is what came out."

"You naughty girl," Shira chided her. "What did you find—nude photos of our teacher?"

"No, Shira. Something else," Gina said. Her friends joined her at the PC and saw several photos of Mr. Castillo playing guitar onstage in what looked like a bar or a club of some kind. He was wearing a white t-shirt with some kind of logo on it, torn jeans, and combat boots. With him were the members of The Edge Of The Horizon, one of the Philippines' best rock bands.

"What's he doing?" Gina asked.

"What does it look like?" Shira said. "It looks like he's playing guitar for those guys. God, their vocalist is so good looking, isn't he?"

"I didn't know Mr. Castillo was with the Horizon," Cielo remarked.

"I didn't know he could play guitar," Gina added. The sound of Jonathan's footsteps heading towards the study, however, prevented them from learning anything more about this heretofore undiscovered talent of their teacher. Unfortunately, in her panic, Gina deleted the entire sub-folder. Very quickly, she shut the My Pictures window and called up the file she wanted just as Jonathan entered the study.

"You ladies done?" he asked them.

"Um, uh, almost, sir," Shira said.

"We just have to type our work," Cielo added. "May we borrow a disk to save our assignments in, please?"

"Sure," Jonathan said. "You'll find a whole bunch in the middle drawer to your left. Don't take too long—I'm making French toast for meryenda."

"We won't, sir," Gina assured him.

After Jonathan left them, Gina felt a rush of relief. "That was close," she said. "We'd better finish our work, girls."

"And don't open any more photo files," Cielo advised her.

"Yeah," Shira said. "Who knows what else you might delete?"

Gina nodded. "You girls go first. I just have to get my heart beating normally."

The three girls finished their assignments without any further incidents. When they were done, they left the study and saw Jonathan waiting in the living room with a large notebook on his lap. "Are you done?" he asked them.

"Yes, sir," Cielo answered.

"Good." Jonathan got up. "The two of you go to the dining table and get some French toast and carrot juice into you." The girls were about to do just that but he stopped Shira: "Not you, young lady. Get back in the study. I'd like to speak with you."

"Okay, sir," Shira said. She had a feeling this was coming. He was probably going to lecture her about fighting with other students. She returned to the study and waited for her teacher to join her.

"Do you think he's going to scold her?" Gina asked Cielo.

"I hope not," Cielo replied. "It really wasn't her fault, was it?"

"No, it wasn't," Gina agreed. She sat down on the living room sofa and Cielo joined her in waiting for their friend.

"So what happened back at the canteen?" Jonathan asked Shira as they sat at the table near the window.

"Sir, it was Barbie's fault," Shira began. "She's the one who started it. First, she was bullying Cielo and Gina. Then she called me and my mother 'Japayuki"." She clenched her fists in her lap as she remembered Barbie's insult.

"Your mother works in Japan, doesn't she?" Jonathan remarked. "She's an entertainer, if I'm not mistaken."

"Yes, sir, she is," Shira admitted. "But that doesn't mean she's a bad person. And just because she got pregnant by a Japanese man doesn't make her a prostitute..." At that point, Shira was still holding her emotions in check but Jonathan saw a tear fall onto her lap. He said nothing as she cried silently. When she was starting to regain control of herself again, that was when Jonathan spoke: "Shira, look at me."

She did so. Her eyes were red and she was still crying but there was more anger than pain in her face. Good, Jonathan thought. Now he had to harness that anger.

"Do you love your mother?" he asked her.

"Of course I do, sir," Shira answered him. "That's why I try so hard to do well in school."

"No matter what other people say about her working in Japan?" Jonathan pressed her.

"She's not doing anything wrong so it's nobody else's business but ours," Shira said.

Jonathan smiled. "In that case, don't let people like Ms. Viceral get under your skin so much."

"Under my skin?" Shira asked uncertainly.

"I mean don't let her affect you so much," Jonathan explained. "She's the sort of girl whose bite is worse than her bark, at least face-to-face. Behind the back, though, she looks like the type who enjoys sticking knives in people."

"She is, sir," Shira agreed. "That's why a lot of our classmates don't like her so much."

Jonathan nodded. That was pretty obvious, he figured. "Well, be that as it may, don't let her psyche you out so much, okay? And no more fighting in school premises. You don't want to let your mother down by getting kicked out, do you?"

"No, of course I wouldn't want that, sir," Shira said. She was smiling now so things were probably all right, Jonathan thought. He handed her a box of tissue. She took it with thanks and dabbed at her eyes and face.

"You want to wash your face, you know where the bathroom is," Jonathan told her. "Now if we're done, let's eat." They exited the study together and saw Cielo and Gina in the living room.

Jonathan frowned at them. "I thought I told you two freshmen to get something to eat while I spoke with your friend?"

"We decided to wait, sir," Cielo said. "After all, Shira is our friend."

"In that case, you two set the table," Jonathan said. Cielo and Gina laid out four plates and Jonathan handed out knives and forks. Then he served the French toast that he'd made earlier.

"Is Shira going to get in trouble with Mr. Delima, sir?" Cielo asked.

"I don't think so," Jonathan replied. "But if she gets called into the principal's office, I'll speak up for her."

"Barbie started that fight, sir," Gina said. "Shira was just defending Cielo and her Ate."

"I know," Jonathan told her. "I saw enough to be able to say the same thing." He slid a bottle of syrup and a jar of blueberry jam towards Cielo. "Here, freshman—put these on your toast. It's one heck of an upgrade."

Cielo thanked her teacher and spooned some jam onto her toast. She declined the syrup and passed it to Shira, who drenched her food with it.

"You're going to get diabetes that way," Gina told her but Shira retorted: "It's what makes me sweet." The three friends laughed. Jonathan smiled, pleased with the sight of the strong bond between them. It reminded him of another time in his life when—

He cleared the thought from his mind quickly. Instead, he said: "In that case, add some blueberry jam, Shira—that should make it even sweeter."

"Sure, sir!" Shira grabbed the jar from Gina's side and began to slather her toast with it.

"It's amazing that she can eat so much and not get fat," Cielo said with a chuckle.

"I dance, remember?" Shira said. "By the way, sir—what are you doing for the talent show?"

Jonathan downed half a glass of juice. "Well, I talked to my editor and he still needs to hear my full idea for it but I think I'm going to be covering the entire thing for a magazine."

"Aren't you going to be performing?" Shira wanted to know. Gina almost coughed out her food. Cielo gently tapped her back with a flat palm. "Are you all right, Gina?" she asked.

"Y-yeah. Thanks," Gina replied, throwing Shira a somewhat annoyed look.

Jonathan didn't notice a thing. "Me? Perform? I can't sing. How about you three?"

"Well, Gina and I have been thinking of auditioning with a couple of our classmates as a dance group," Shira said. "We're trying to convince Cielo to join us so that we can have someone singing too."

Jonathan turned his attention to Cielo: "And what did you say?"

"I said I'd think about it, sir," Cielo answered. "I don't know if I can stand up in front of so many people."

"I know what you mean," Jonathan said. "It's not easy getting up in front of an audience and getting them to pay attention to you."

"But you do that everyday, sir," Cielo said. "I just sit in class."

"Classes are small compared to an auditorium full of people," Jonathan told her. "And you have to pay attention to me or I'll flunk you all."

"I still have to think about it, sir," Cielo said.

"Fair enough, as far as I'm concerned." Jonathan picked up his empty plate. "Take your dishes to the sink and I'll wash them. I hope you don't mind if I accompany you and visit Kelly too."

"Not at all, sir," Cielo said. "Let me do the dishes. It's the least we could do for you for letting us use your PC."

Jonathan smiled. "Okay. I'll go get dressed. Just put the dishes and the other stuff in that basin to dry. I'll handle the frying pan when I get back home."

Cielo washed the dishes, Gina dried them, and Shira put them away. The frying pan they left in the sink with water and a little dishwashing liquid in it to help soften whatever got stuck to it while their teacher was cooking.

Jonathan came downstairs several minutes later. He appeared to have taken a bath. "All set?" he asked. They nodded. One jeepney ride later and they were at Fabella. They arrived just in time to see Nico and having dinner with Kelly. Nico's mother carried Angelica Jasmine in her arms.

"Good evening, seniors," Jonathan greeted them. "Good evening, Mrs. Katindig. I brought over some company if you don't mind."

"Hello, Ate Raquel!" Gina and Shira went up to Kelly and kissed her on the cheek. "How are you doing?" they wanted to know.

"I'm fine," Kelly replied. "I'll probably be released in a couple of days. Have you come here to see the baby?"

"Yes, they are," Cielo said. "Since they're going to be Angelica Jasmine's godmothers when she's baptized, they ought to see how beautiful their inaanak is."

"Show them our daughter, nanay," Nico told his mother. Mrs. Katindig let Gina and Shira approach Angelica Jasmine. They oohed and aahed as they looked at the little girl in Mrs. Katindig's arms.

"She's so beautiful," Shira said as the baby held her forefinger in her hand.

"She looks like Cielo," Gina added.

While the two girls were fussing over Angelica Jasmine, Jonathan went over to his two fourth-year students. "Hey, Nico—you got off early today," he observed.

"Coach Chris told me I didn't have to stay for scrimmage during the afternoons," Nico explained. "But I still have to attend practice during the mornings and do drills after class with the team."

Jonathan asked: "I guess that means you're benched for the season, huh?"

"Well, that all depends on Coach," Nico said. "I wish I could play but I get to focus on my studies and my two girls here. I do get to work with the second team, though. Sort of like an assistant coach."

"Well, you're good at what you do," Jonathan said. "Kelly, I've talked to some of your teachers and I think they're going to agree with me on my plan to let you do some schoolwork at home. Of course, you'll have to e-mail it to me within the deadline I give you."

"That's not going to be a problem once I get back home, sir," Kelly assured him. "And I do want to graduate on time, if it's possible."

"Well, we're going to see what we can do to make that happen," Jonathan told her. "And that goes for you too, Nico."

"Thank you, sir," Kelly said, squeezing her teacher's hand gently.

"We really appreciate all your help, sir," Nico said, grinning somewhat sheepishly.

"You're my students," Jonathan said. "What did you expect me to do?"

"By the way, sir," Nico said, "Coach wanted me to remind you that you were going to meet him and Mrs. Corpuz tonight."

"I know but thanks for reminding me. Where did they say we were supposed to meet?" Jonathan asked.

"At SM Manila, sir," Nico informed him. "They'll be there at about seven."

Jonathan checked his watch; he had half an hour to get there. "In that case, I think I'll be leaving already so I don't get stuck in traffic." He clapped Nico on the shoulder lightly. "I'll see you in class tomorrow, senior. Kelly—I'll finish speaking with your other teachers tomorrow." He turned towards Cielo, Gina, and Shira: "Hey, freshmen—don't stay out so late. You've got an early class with me tomorrow. Got it?"

"Yes, sir," Cielo said. "We'll be there."

Jonathan nodded. "You'd better, freshman. Goodbye, Mrs. Katindig. Take care, all of you." He waved at them on his way out of the ward. Luckily, once he was at Rizal Avenue, a jeepney going his way parked almost directly in front of him. He hopped into the front seat, paid his fare, and sat back to enjoy the trip.