[ 04. 08. 16 ]
I woke up around 5:40 in the morning today. That’s already an achievement, if you ask me. And, I even woke up on my own (which was a surprise). Apparently, my mom was still taking a bath when I woke up so I settled myself in the pages of my book first.
The events were becoming so mysterious and intense, that I can’t wait to visit the bookstore later to look for and buy the second book. Mara Dyer has got me hooked from the very first chapter and I couldn’t imagine what could happen to me if I won’t be able to read the second book later on today.
Eventually, my mom was finally done and it was my turn. I bathed myself quickly, thinking over and over that it’d be hard to find a parking space if we were late.
We’re supposed to arrive at school before 8:30 am, and we arrived around 7:49 am. We stayed inside the car first, knowing there’d be no one in the venue yet (and, besides, I had reading to do). Much to my dismay, I didn’t finish the book when the clock went 15 minutes to 8:30. We already rushed inside the venue, knowing, in no time, the lobby would be crowded.
The program started at exactly 9 am. We had a quick morning service first, then proceeded to the actual recognition rites. Before I knew it, we were already asked to line up. I was with my classmates, and we were all nervous though we didn’t know why. Well, I actually know why I was nervous. I know they’re going to mispronounce my first name. They’re going to pronounce it as “Adele”, instead of “Eydyell” (yup, that is the actual pronunciation of my name). I always had this problem, and I get nervous whenever I know it’d happen. But before walking up the stage, I already composed myself, saying that it’ll just be quick. And it was.
My mom was very proud of me, but suggested that I should study more so I could at least reach second honors. I wanted to tell her that’s actually my main goal for next school year, but didn’t bother doing so. After the recognition and completion rites, we proceeded to the high school building to claim my year end report card. To my surprise, I got a 99 on one subject! When I looked at what subject it was, it turned out to be TLE — Technology and Livelihood Education — and everything went understandable, especially since our class was taking Computer during the 3rd and 4th quarter. My dad took Computer Management (I think?) as his course in college, so it was explainable to my mom and I why my grade was that high. And, besides, our Computer teacher was an angel. Asides from my TLE grade, my grades in other subjects were fine. They were normal, just like my past grades back in 6th grade.
After getting my card, we waited for another hour and 30 minutes because we had to attend this orientation for advanced learners in math and science. We waited inside the car. My mom bought food for us in the school canteen, while I remained in car, reading my book. It was in the last minute that I finally finished it and was left with a surprising cliffhanger that made me want to rush to the nearest bookstore to look for a copy of the second book. Unfortunately though, that I could not do.
The orientation took about 34 minutes of what I expected would be an hour. It started at exactly 2 in the afternoon, and is the quickest orientation I’ve ever attended. The assistant principal explained that there will be one section per batch that would be known as the ALMS (Advanced Learners in Math and Science) section, and it’d contain at least 40 students. Seeing the faces of my batchmates who were there, trust me when I tell you I did not want to sign the given contract. Yup, there was a contract given. We were given until the 16th of May to return it to the high school office, so we could think about whether joining or not. I must admit, it is an opportunity to be part of this whole thing. I wanted to sign the contract, but I knew I would become very antisocial once the new school year rolls in, and I could never let that happen. I don’t want to sign the contract, but my mom’s pushing me to do so. I don’t want to, but at the same time, I don’t want to let the opportunity pass. Maybe if I were given more time, I’d think about it better. But for now, all I had in mind is the second book of the Mara Dyer trilogy, The Evolution of Mara Dyer.
We went to the mall and checked at the first bookstore we saw, Powerbooks. It wasn’t there. All they had was the boxed set (which I couldn’t buy because I already have the first book) and the trilogy’s third book, The Retribution of Mara Dyer. We didn’t bother to check at National Bookstore because we knew it wouldn’t be there. If it wasn’t at Powerbooks, what more at the second option? Then, we looked for the third, and last, option we had: Fully Booked. It’s a bookstore in the Philippines that practically has every single book I’ve always been looking for. And after carefully searching the stack of books, I finally found what I came for.
Currently, I’m still in the 200+ pages of the book, but I hope to finish it by tomorrow. Unfortunately, my mom won’t be around starting tomorrow until Sunday evening because she’ll be attending a team building with her officemates, which means it’ll be quite a long time before I get my hands on the third book.
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Days With Ace 