“Winter, you’ll drive yourself to school today,” my mom said habang pababa pa lang ako ng hagdan. “Our driver’s with your dad today.”

Actually, I enjoy driving for myself. Ito lang kasi ‘yung time na I don’t feel caged. All my life, lagi akong may chaperone. It’s embarrassing dahil noong high school, lalabas na lang ako kasama friends ko, I still have people tailing me. I feel suffocated, pero nakasanayan ko na. Being in college gave me a little bit of space anyway.

Kahit na I am not fond of this setup, I have no choice. Ditong pamilya ako pinanganak. I can’t really blame my parents for being overprotective dahil mahirap nga naman manggaling sa isang high profile military family.

My grandfather is a retired veteran, and my father is a vice admiral. He is currently serving as the head of the Philippine Navy. Some of my titos are also military personnels.

I also have a sibling. An older brother. Kuya Junmyeon. Like my father, he is also in the military. He’s in the air force, at kakabalik niya lang dito sa Pilipinas because our dad sent him abroad for further training.

Kuya Jun and I are really close. He is probably the only person in this family who I trust wholeheartedly. My brother didn’t really want to join the military, but one of us had to. If it’s not him, then it’s gonna be me.

My kuya doesn’t have any idea na alam kong nag-military lang siya so that I would not have to. I just overheard him talking to a friend sa phone. Apparently, he passed the UPCAT. Architecture. Ayun ‘yung dream school and dream course niya. Hindi ko alam kung bakit pinag-take siya ng parents namin ng entrance exam if they’re not going to give him a choice naman talaga. I guess for bragging rights? I mean they did the same to me.

Kuya Jun and I only have two career options: enter the military like my father or run the family business and enter politics. If our dad has a military background, our mom, on the other hand, is a part of a business and political family.

Obviously, I chose the latter option. I am currently a third year BS Management student in Ateneo. I don’t like this course, but I don’t hate it either. Hindi na ako nag-protesta pa sa parents ko because they provide for me. Binigay nila lahat ng kailangan ko at sobra pa. So I guess it’s just normal for me to do as they wish.

I drove my black Audi R8 to school today. It’s a gift from my mom noong pumasa ako sa Ateneo. Or a bribe para hindi na ako kumontra sa plans nila for me? I'm not sure.

I’m feeling extra nervous today because I am going to UP mamayang hapon. In Ateneo, we have these programs called Punla and Bigkis, which are basically NSTP slash immersion namin. Punla is done during our sophomore year, and it is a 3-day long immersion in a community. Pwede kaming mag-stay for 3 straight days, or pwedeng mag-visit lang sa community for 3 consecutive days. Bigkis, on the other hand, is done during our junior year. Weekly program siya. We have to apply skills na nakuha namin sa major namin by immersing sa isang community or company.

Ngayon, I have to go to UP for Bigkis. It just felt inappropriate to do our Bigkis sa company ng pamilya ko or sa businesses ng groupmates ko. Naisip nilang it would be a good idea to do it sa isang kiosk sa UP. I just went along with them.

Mamaya ‘yung first day namin magwowork sa kiosk. I will be with my college buddy, Giselle. Her family’s business is based in Japan, but mag-eexpand daw sila dito sa Pilipinas kaya dito siya nag-aaral ngayon. She’s also a Management major.

To be completely honest, I am not thrilled about Bigkis. First of all, I don’t know how to cook, and kiosks in UP sell pancit canton and street foods. So cooking is essential. Giselle doesn’t have any idea rin daw pero nanood siya ng street food videos sa YouTube to familiarize herself.

I also have another problem. Hindi ko alam ano bang pagkakaiba ng fish balls sa chicken balls sa squid balls. I only know kikiam and kwek-kwek dahil sila lang ‘yung kakaiba itsura. I don’t eat street foods kasi pinagbawal ng parents ko. Some friends in high school also did a research, and shared the results in class. All I can say is madumi nga ‘yung street foods, and I get why ayaw ako pakainin nila mom nun.

Lastly, I know one annoying person studying in UP, and I would really really hate to bump into her again. Malaki naman ‘yung campus nila, so the chances are slim, I think.

“Is your driver going to wait for you, and drive you to UP later?” Tanong ni Giselle habang nakatambay kami dito sa Sec Walk para hintayin si Jeno. Sabay na raw kasi kaming tatlo pumunta sa next class namin. Galing pa kasi siya sa Matteo or Macci, as some people call it, for a groupwork.

Unnecessary information, but I don’t like the sound of Macci. Most people use Matteo as a nickname for the building anyway.

“I drove myself to school today,” I answered. Kapag si Giselle ang kausap ko, kailangan ko gumamit ng English as much as possible. I won’t deny it, may pagka-conyo rin naman ako pero intense level when I’m talking to her. Onting Filipino pa lang kasi ang alam ni Giselle. She can carry a conversation, pero mas komportable siya sa English.

Contrary to popular belief and exaggerated stereotypes, hindi naman extremely conyo ang Ateneans. Almost nobody uses those cringe conyo terms that non-Ateneans are accusing us of using. We talk like normal people. English, Filipino, Taglish, nobody cares. Basta magsalita ka, at nagkakaintindihan tayo.

“Can I ride with you na lang mamaya so that my driver won’t have to come back na and wait for me pa sa UP?” Request niya sakin.

“Yeah. No biggie.”

“I’m so nervous. Ate Susan’s gonna guide us naman, diba?” Worried na tanong ni Giselle.

“Yeah. She’ll be there. We can do this,” I raised my fist.

“Selle. Win.” Dumating na rin si Jeno. I looked at my wristwatch, and sakto lang. Hindi naman kami malalate para sa next class namin.

“Let’s go,” tumayo na kami at naglakad na papunta sa klase namin.

Nothing significant happened in class. Just a normal day. Naglalakad na kami ngayon ni Giselle papunta sa sasakyan ko, at pupunta na kami sa UP. Hopefully, I don’t make any mistakes. Nakakahiya naman sa stall owner if ever.

“Chicken balls have small black dots, squid balls are just plain white, fish balls are flat,” pag-rerecite ng kasama ko. I couldn’t help but laugh. “Why are you laughing? We need to memorize these.”

Sinubukan ko rin tandaan ‘yung sinabi ni Giselle. Baka mainis pa ‘yung kiosk owner sa amin kung magtanong kami nang magtanong. Bakit kasi sa UP kiosk pa? We should have looked for a different business or company.

“I’m pretty sure the packaging have labels naman.” Nag-Google din kasi ako kanina kung ano ba itsura ng mga street food. Tapos nakakita ako ng product images, at may nakasulat naman sa plastic kung anong tawag sa specific na pagkain na ‘yun.

“I just hope we don’t embarrass ourselves.”

“There, Win, it’s Palma Hall,” turo ni Giselle sa building. Naka-Waze rin naman kami, but she still observed our surroundings because sometimes, Waze is . I remember being almost late for UPCAT because Waze ed us over.

Kahit naman nasa kapitbahay na university lang ako nag-aaral, wala ako masyadong idea about UP. Hindi naman ako nagpupunta dito. I have no business here, at isa pa, dahil hatid sundo ako most of the time, bihira lang ako gumala. The only times I went here are noong nag-apply ako for UPCAT, nag-take ng UPCAT, last year for Punla, and this sem when we talked to the kiosk owner na pagtatrabahuhan namin. All 4 times, may driver akong kasama.

I saw na there’s a parking lot sa tapat ng building, and luckily, may vacant slots naman. Maybe dahil hapon na rin. Even though hindi pa kami bumababa ng sasakyan, I can see a lot of people staring at us. Masyado nga sigurong flashy ‘yung sasakyan ko.

As we walked, I still felt na may mga nakatingin pa rin samin. Naconscious ako, pero namaster ko naman na ‘yung art ng pandededma, so we just continued walking papunta sa destination namin.

This is probably the most I have worked my entire life. I have no complaints because manageable naman ‘yung tasks. Giselle volunteered to help sa pagluluto, while ako ‘yung assistant cashier. Wala akong reklamo, except for the fact na sobrang init.

Mainit na nga ‘yung hangin dito sa Pilipinas, then dagdag pa ‘yung init galing sa mga niluluto dito.

“Look, Win, my hand is so sweaty,”