Two days after Yumi's arrival, she and Gani became occupied with clearance requirements for their Moving Up Ceremony. Even the initial excitement of her victory died down because of how busy they were these days.
The only one who still could not move on was Grandma Cruz as she always caressed the medal that she personally hung in their living room. Yumi even caught the elderly secretly wiping her tears as she narrated her dear granddaughter's achievement to her late husband and daughter.
It was the same early this morning. Grandma Cruz was carefully tracing the engravings on her medal with her wrinkly fingers while Yumi was preparing to go to her school to complete her clearance.
After dressing up in her old school uniform that she barely wore, she walked towards the mirror to tidy herself. Her hair was neatly braided in pigtails and her face was more developed than before. She seemed to have lost her former cute baby fat.
She frowned in dissatisfaction at her reflection. The elastic bands on her pigtails were removed and her hair flowed from her shoulders up to her back like a black waterfall.
Yumi finally smiled and nodded her head in approval.
She reached out to her bedside table to search for her school ID and slid open its drawer. A small pink box decorated with a picture of strawberries unfolded under her eyes and a suspicious blush rushed into her face.
This was a gift from Lyra. The lady she met at the National Games.
It was accompanied by a note saying, "Having a lascivious two-people-world is exciting but making it three is a headache. Play safely."
The girl left this naughty, shy-inducing gift in the lobby of Yumi's inn as her congratulatory gift for her successful game. She did not have any idea how she should dispose of this scandalous gift, so she hid it away in that drawer and forgot about it up until now.
Yumi looked at it with a complicated expression.
She looked around the room to find another hiding place, but before she could find it her eyes darted at the wall clock.
"Oh shoot! I'm late!"
Forget it. I'll just climb the mountain this weekend and hide it in the cave.
Chaotic footsteps ensued in the old house of Cruz as Yumi ran all around to find the things she needed to bring.
"Yumi! Come down now. We're getting late."
"Coming!"
Gani spotted the quick-moving feet of the lady as she descended the stairs.
"You didn't wear your braids."
"Yes, change of style. Do I look good?"
"Yeah, you look good."
When he felt the sudden weight on his bicycle's back seat, he started to pedal his way to their school in the next town.
"Hold tight!"
The warm morning sun accompanied them all throughout the journey and the tweeting of birds and whistling of the sea breeze served as their background. They passed by the busy town's market, then the stone bridge above the raging river and finally to their school.
As soon as the wheels stopped, Yumi rushed towards the bulletin board to check her name on the list.
Seeing her name on the list of candidates for the Moving Up Ceremony, Yumi could finally let her heart down. She was really scared just thinking of repeating a year if she failed her subjects, but thanks to Gani's cruel tutoring sessions, she somehow made it.
"Gani!" She laughed full of merriment while shouting across the school grounds. "I passed! I won't repeat grades! I'll be a senior this school year!"
The other students around the vicinity laughed and teased her when they heard her words, "Oi! Congratulations, Yumi! You won't repeat grades! Pray hard, it works!
Yumi blushed. She was so excited to bring Gani the good news that she indirectly announced to the crowd her uncertain status in the candidacy for the Moving Up Ceremony. But this embarrassment did not last long. On second thought, she realized that this thing should not be a subject of her embarrassment but a testimony of her perseverance and victory.
She straightened up her back and answered back, "Small thing! Prayer and hard work! Learn from me, folks! Miracles do happen!"
"Right! Right! Let's all learn from Yumi!"
They all happily agreed and celebrated the remaining days of their Junior High School.
After Gani parked his bicycle, the two went up to their classroom to meet with their classmates.
The familiar young energy greeted them as they entered. Everyone has their own cliques, hence their own conversations too. The small room was full of chattering, not the kind that was annoying but more of a vitality unique to their age.
"Toy, where will you attend Senior High?"
"My mom told me we were moving to Manila this summer. I'll enrol in one of the public schools there."
"Wow. You're gonna be a city boy now! Don't forget us, huh? Don't be a snub if you meet us in the future!"
"Of course! Once a Visaya will always be a Visaya!"
"How about you, Boy?"
"I won't be attending school after this. I'll just help my father fish in the ocean to add school fees for my younger siblings."
"I'll work too, after Junior High. I'll help at my aunt's grain store in the city."
"I'll enrol in this school next school year..."
These people were too young to be called adults, but also too old to not understand the burdens of their families. Everyone desires an opportunity to be educated, but not everyone has the means to do so.
Everyone's life direction was changing. The young people, who were sitting inside one classroom a year ago, now need to part ways.
Yumi went home with a heavy heart that day.
Gani was gingerly watching her small and big sighs as he quietly pulled his bicycle to his other side.
"Gani, why am I so poor?" She rhetorically asked while dragging her feet. "If only I was not so poor. I could help our classmates fund their studies." She kicked the stone under her feet and laughed at herself when she realized her situation too, "Look at me, so nosy! I can't even take care of myself yet, I'm looking for another headache. I don't even know if I could afford college. My grandma is getting older now, I need to save my grandpa's pension for emergencies."
"Don't worry about college. I'm earning a good amount now. I can provide funds for us two to go to college by then." Gani stated without a hint of bragging in his voice.
"You want to be my sugar daddy?" Yumi teased.
"How did you know about sugar daddies?"
Yumi stuck out her tongue at him and ran away to further their distance, "No need for that. I'll find ways when the time comes, but thank you for saying that."
Yumi feared changes, but changes were inevitable.
Even if she closed her eyes and shut herself from the world, changes would always happen. Just like now.
Yumi turned her back to him and Gani noticed something on the girl's skirt.
"Yumi! You--" Gani shouted.
"What?"
She walked back towards him and saw the boy's red face. She looked at him in confusion and tilted her head.
"You...you have a stain on your skirt." He almost whispered half of his words. He transferred all the things in his sling bag to Yumi's back and hung it to the girl's body. He adjusted its strap to match the spot of the stain and used it as a cover.
Yumi looked over her shoulder to see what was down there but failed. So, she grabbed her pleated uniform skirt and saw the black stain on it. Not sure what it was, she naturally lifted her skirt, exposing her long short jersey and sniffed at it.
"It smells blood." Her face turned pale as she looked at Gani with obvious alarm. "Am I gonna die now?" Her eyes started to get moist.
"No. It's not what you think. I think it's different. It's a girl thing," Gani explained with difficulty.
"You mean menstruation?" The confusion turned into surprise and then into acceptance.
Right! Menstruation. She's menstruating now. She's finally a young woman now.
Two days after Yumi's arrival, she and Gani became occupied with clearance requirements for their Moving Up Ceremony. Even the initial excitement of her victory died down because of how busy they were these days.
The only one who still could not move on was Grandma Cruz as she always caressed the medal that she personally hung in their living room. Yumi even caught the elderly secretly wiping her tears as she narrated her dear granddaughter's achievement to her late husband and daughter.
It was the same early this morning. Grandma Cruz was carefully tracing the engravings on her medal with her wrinkly fingers while Yumi was preparing to go to her school to complete her clearance.
After dressing up in her old school uniform that she barely wore, she walked towards the mirror to tidy herself. Her hair was neatly braided in pigtails and her face was more developed than before. She seemed to have lost her former cute baby fat.
She frowned in dissatisfaction at her reflection. The elastic bands on her pigtails were removed and her hair flowed from her shoulders up to her back like a black waterfall.
Yumi finally smiled and nodded her head in approval.
She reached out to her bedside table to search for her school ID and slid open its drawer. A small pink box decorated with a picture of strawberries unfolded under her eyes and a suspicious blush rushed into her face.
This was a gift from Lyra. The lady she met at the National Games.
It was accompanied by a note saying, "Having a lascivious two-people-world is exciting but making it three is a headache. Play safely."
The girl left this naughty, shy-inducing gift in the lobby of Yumi's inn as her congratulatory gift for her successful game. She did not have any idea how she should dispose of this scandalous gift, so she hid it away in that drawer and forgot about it up until now.
Yumi looked at it with a complicated expression.
She looked around the room to find another hiding place, but before she could find it her eyes darted at the wall clock.
"Oh shoot! I'm late!"
Forget it. I'll just climb the mountain this weekend and hide it in the cave.
Chaotic footsteps ensued in the old house of Cruz as Yumi ran all around to find the things she needed to bring.
"Yumi! Come down now. We're getting late."
"Coming!"
Gani spotted the quick-moving feet of the lady as she descended the stairs.
"You didn't wear your braids."
"Yes, change of style. Do I look good?"
"Yeah, you look good."
When he felt the sudden weight on his bicycle's back seat, he started to pedal his way to their school in the next town.
"Hold tight!"
The warm morning sun accompanied them all throughout the journey and the tweeting of birds and whistling of the sea breeze served as their background. They passed by the busy town's market, then the stone bridge above the raging river and finally to their school.
As soon as the wheels stopped, Yumi rushed towards the bulletin board to check her name on the list.
Seeing her name on the list of candidates for the Moving Up Ceremony, Yumi could finally let her heart down. She was really scared just thinking of repeating a year if she failed her subjects, but thanks to Gani's cruel tutoring sessions, she somehow made it.
"Gani!" She laughed full of merriment while shouting across the school grounds. "I passed! I won't repeat grades! I'll be a senior this school year!"
The other students around the vicinity laughed and teased her when they heard her words, "Oi! Congratulations, Yumi! You won't repeat grades! Pray hard, it works!
Yumi blushed. She was so excited to bring Gani the good news that she indirectly announced to the crowd her uncertain status in the candidacy for the Moving Up Ceremony. But this embarrassment did not last long. On second thought, she realized that this thing should not be a subject of her embarrassment but a testimony of her perseverance and victory.
She straightened up her back and answered back, "Small thing! Prayer and hard work! Learn from me, folks! Miracles do happen!"
"Right! Right! Let's all learn from Yumi!"
They all happily agreed and celebrated the remaining days of their Junior High School.
After Gani parked his bicycle, the two went up to their classroom to meet with their classmates.
The familiar young energy greeted them as they entered. Everyone has their own cliques, hence their own conversations too. The small room was full of chattering, not the kind that was annoying but more of a vitality unique to their age.
"Toy, where will you attend Senior High?"
"My mom told me we were moving to Manila this summer. I'll enrol in one of the public schools there."
"Wow. You're gonna be a city boy now! Don't forget us, huh? Don't be a snub if you meet us in the future!"
"Of course! Once a Visaya will always be a Visaya!"
"How about you, Boy?"
"I won't be attending school after this. I'll just help my father fish in the ocean to add school fees for my younger siblings."
"I'll work too, after Junior High. I'll help at my aunt's grain store in the city."
"I'll enrol in this school next school year..."
These people were too young to be called adults, but also too old to not understand the burdens of their families. Everyone desires an opportunity to be educated, but not everyone has the means to do so.
Everyone's life direction was changing. The young people, who were sitting inside one classroom a year ago, now need to part ways.
Yumi went home with a heavy heart that day.
Gani was gingerly watching her small and big sighs as he quietly pulled his bicycle to his other side.
"Gani, why am I so poor?" She rhetorically asked while dragging her feet. "If only I was not so poor. I could help our classmates fund their studies." She kicked the stone under her feet and laughed at herself when she realized her situation too, "Look at me, so nosy! I can't even take care of myself yet, I'm looking for another headache. I don't even know if I could afford college. My grandma is getting older now, I need to save my grandpa's pension for emergencies."
"Don't worry about college. I'm earning a good amount now. I can provide funds for us two to go to college by then." Gani stated without a hint of bragging in his voice.
"You want to be my sugar daddy?" Yumi teased.
"How did you know about sugar daddies?"
Yumi stuck out her tongue at him and ran away to further their distance, "No need for that. I'll find ways when the time comes, but thank you for saying that."
Yumi feared changes, but changes were inevitable.
Even if she closed her eyes and shut herself from the world, changes would always happen. Just like now.
Yumi turned her back to him and Gani noticed something on the girl's skirt.
"Yumi! You--" Gani shouted.
"What?"
She walked back towards him and saw the boy's red face. She looked at him in confusion and tilted her head.
"You...you have a stain on your skirt." He almost whispered half of his words. He transferred all the things in his sling bag to Yumi's back and hung it to the girl's body. He adjusted its strap to match the spot of the stain and used it as a cover.
Yumi looked over her shoulder to see what was down there but failed. So, she grabbed her pleated uniform skirt and saw the black stain on it. Not sure what it was, she naturally lifted her skirt, exposing her long short jersey and sniffed at it.
"It smells blood." Her face turned pale as she looked at Gani with obvious alarm. "Am I gonna die now?" Her eyes started to get moist.
"No. It's not what you think. I think it's different. It's a girl thing," Gani explained with difficulty.
"You mean menstruation?" The confusion turned into surprise and then into acceptance.
Right! Menstruation. She's menstruating now. She's finally a young woman now.
