C [ Unintentional Intel ]
Alein.
I avoided passing by Anti Marianne's house earlier while going to school. I don't want to see her face yet after what I did.
I also don't know if she already found out that I mixed lice in that choco sqr. But if she does find out, I hope she misinterprets it and thinks they're just black ants. Of course, so my enjoyment lasts a bit longer.
Earlier, while I was riding the jeep, I encountered a school staff member, one of the janitors. Let's just call him Janitor A. Beside him was another passenger, hugging a rooster with one arm while he placed its coop on the jeep's floor. I sat next to the school staff member.
I stared at the rooster the man was hugging. The rooster was also looking at me. We made eye contact.
"Hi," I whispered. Where could that be from? I suddenly covered my mouth. My seatmate, Janitor A, chuckled a bit, and I slightly caught his breath with my nose. Not good.
Looking back at the rooster, I felt a bit sorry for it. There must be a cockfight today, and this one will be pitted.
Why are people so fond of dragging or involving others in their lives? Look, it has even reached the animal kingdom. Instead of this chicken fulfilling its role in the world's ecosystem, it's now being used as an instrument for gambling. Different indeed.
I can't help but looked at the man.
'You know, if you lose, don't chase your losses. Because that's the beginning of your life's ruin. It could even lead to death if you get overwhelmed quickly. It could be a cause of a stroke or because of threats from the crazy people you owe money to, that is if you borrowed money to bet,' my mind spoke.
Sigh. I don't want to speak using my mouth. What if this man doesn't listen? He might even say I'm nosy? Then my saliva would be wasted. No, I don't want that.
I wish I had telepathy so I could tell him. The rooster and I were staring at each other again. Idiot. It looked really mean.
It was only then that I noticed, the rooster's positioning was actually a bit strategic, because of it, it really looked like I was staring at the rooster, but in reality, my eyes were unintentionally landing on Janitor A's chat.
His chatmate on Messenger was Cherry. I don't know any Cherry at school.
Cherry: Be early tomorrow, the mayor's people are coming, it's giving season again.
Y: Of course, when have I ever been late for things like that, babe.
This is intel. There must be a cash assistance tomorrow for the students. I estimate Janitor A to be in his late thirties or early forties based on the size of the text on his phone.
Proportional relationship of things. If Aspect A is like this, Aspect B could be larger or the opposite. In the case of the male staff member and my conclusion based on what I'm seeing, the larger the font used, the older the age group they belong to.
My tomorrow has been given direction. I didn't really plan on going to school tomorrow. Symptoms of laziness. It's tiring, but there's a cash handout, so of course, I won't miss the opportunity.
The rooster still had a mean look until I arrived at school. Kwin was absent, but his friends were here. They must have their own group chat and he's not included. Maybe they talked about not coming to school today, but these fools got annoyed and didn't stick to the plan.
If that's really what happened, then good job to them. Not easily blind followers, even if their style is weak, not a blunt style, so to speak. In fact, Kwin has no right to be angry... oh wait, he does have basic rights because he's still a person, but he should actually be proud because these are the kinds of people he attracted to.
Who knows, maybe these fools are the key for him to unlock level 5 in hierarchy of needs. Self-Actualization.
I hope I can too. It's just that I don't know if what I have right now is enough for level 2, so level 3 seems undoable for me this year. I wish my family had generational wealth, but they don't. It's obvious they made a lot of wrong decisions in their lives. And I got caught up in it.
"Pstt, what are you looking at?" said one of them. Janjan. He's near us and yet a bit far as well in terms of our living area. A neighbor who's kind of not.
We've been classmates for a long time, but doesn't he know my name yet? Dumb.
Honestly, I don't know and especially don't understand the concept of these kinds of people. Annoyed or even angry when someone looks at them unintentionally. What can I do if they're within my eyes' range? Because if you think about it, if they move from their current spot, I wouldn't follow them with my gaze. It just so happened that they were positioned within my eyes' range. Eyes that are intact on my face, so it looks like I'm staring at them, but I'm really not.
Instead of answering him, I just pointed at my nose, implying to this one that maybe there's a booger sticking out of his nostril, which is why I was looking.
It seemed effective because even though Janjan's brain seemed to be loading, his face then scrunched up.
That's what happens to assuming people. The result were alway shame because of wrong assumptions. I hope he internalizes checking the facts first before concluding.
I took my gaze away from him and looked back out the window. This is what I was really looking at, Ma'am Jennifer talking to a man.
He's wearing a cap. Oy, isn't that prohibited? I want to remind Ma'am Jennifer to remind that man. Didn't he read the bulletin in the school lobby? One of the school policies is that hats are not allowed. But this guy is wearing a cap while even in his school uniform. And he's even using a yellow cap, the most expressive of all colors.
That's too much. Students should still be treated fairly even if there's a high chance this guy is a transferee. There's really something wrong with this school's system.
After a while, Ma'am Jennifer came in, followed by the man. I knew it, my guess was right. He's really a transferee. My credibility in guessing rose a bit.
"Good morning everyone, I am John Cedric DV. Macaraeg but Cedric for short or even Ced for shorter is okay with me." His smile appeared when he made some of our classmates laugh, while others raised their eyebrows. As usual, for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.
"I hope we get along really well. I'm an approachable person, so if you need any help, don't hesitate to approach me, guys," he added. Why does he need to clarify that he's approachable? Is he a bad person?
After Cedric introduced himself, Ma'am Jennifer told him to sit in the vacant chair. Kwin's chair.
Okay.
Ma'am Jennifer wasn't able to teach because she was called to the faculty. What a waste of fare for these guys, I didn't learn anything, and my money was wasted.
Since it was free time, the room became noisy. Some were in their own world, while the other half were interviewing the newcomer.
I, on the other hand, belonged to those in their own world. I was thinking about the cash assistance.
I need to see how the chairs are arranged in the gym. If they're close together, the distribution will likely be in columns. If there's space between columns, then those seated by row will automatically get the money first. The event is first come, first served, so I need to be early tomorrow. Another thing I'm thinking about is why the rooster in the jeep earlier was looking at me so meanly even though I didn't do anything terrible to it. What was its deal?
Afternoon classes are cancelled for a reason I can't remember. My classmates have big mouths and vocal cords, and I didn't hear the whole announcement earlier. I was already going out of the school gate when I met our transferee classmate from earlier, carrying a plastic bag. It was transparent, so I saw the styrofoam containers inside. Probably snacks for himself and some other acquaintances.
He smiled at me. He must really be standing by his approachable clarification from his introduction in class earlier because he even approached me.
"Hi, did you see AJ and Maricel before leaving the room? I have something to ask with them... and what was your name again? I'm Ced, the transferee from earlier," he asked with a smile. He already knows 2/30 of our class. Wow.
"Hi," I answered. That's my second 'hi' today.
"I didn't see them."
"Oh? Hmm alright, I'll just look for them then, thank you," he said, still smiling.
I just shook my head before turning back to the gate. What was that all about, and why does his life seem so happy? Is he happy because even transferees are included in the cash assistance tomorrow?
I really thought I would finally get out of that school gate when Janjan suddenly came in and stopped in front of me. What, is he also planning to make it three 'hi's' for me today?
"Oi Alein," he called, with his hands on his hips. So he does know my name.
"Aunt Marianne was looking for you. Go home now, she said she has something to tell you, tss," he said and just walked past me. No manners and a bad aura is what Janjan right now.
However, Aunt Marianne was looking for me? And I should go home? Okay. I'll hang out at the plaza.