10.1 Aling Tining

San kaya ako kukuha ng pang matrikula ni Junior? Pwede pa kaya ako manghiram kay Ma’am Cecile? Hindi. Ang laki na ng utang ko sa kanya. Baka pwede ako bumali kay Sir Philip. Ah hindi rin. Hindi nga makapagpasweldo yun eh. Bat ba kasi dun pa rin ako nagtatrabaho? Bakit hindi na lang ako maghanap ng ibang pagtatrabahuan? Kung sa bagay, wala na rin namang kukuha sa akin. Matanda na ako. Mabagal na rin kumilos. Mahina na rin ang katawan. Siguro swerte na rin ako at kahit pa pano, may trabaho pa rin ako. Naku! Ano na ba ang gagawin ko. Ilang buwan na lang at kailangan na mag-exam ni Junior. Tiyak di siya papakunan ng exam kung wala akong pambayad ng matrikula niya. Diyos ko. Di pa ako makakuha ng tulong sa tatay niya. Katangahan ko lang din at nagpabuntis ako. Eh wala naman akong pera. Swerte na nga siguro ako at napalaki ko ng maayos si Junior. Onti na lang at makakatapos na rin siya ng elementary. Bihira na rin makapagtapos ang mga batang katulad ni Junior na ang mga magulang ay hindi malaki ang sinesweldo. Mag sideline kaya ako? Ay. Ang pangit pakinggan. Parang pokpok lang. Baka pwede ako magtinda ng Avon o ng Natasha. May bumibili pa rin ba nun? Malaki pa rin ba pera dun? Baka walang bumili sa akin. Kanino ka rin naman ibebenta kung ang mga kaibigan ko’y wala ding pera.

9.7 Teddy

He's chubby. He's like a giant stuffed toy. He makes me feel loved and protected. Whenever I have a problem, I know I can always count on him to support me and make me feel better. He will do everything in his power to make me smile on a bad day. He listens to all my stupid stories. He puts up with me whenever I'm cranky. He comforts me when I feel like I didn't do well on a test. He assures me everything will be all right. He makes everything better.

9.6 That Shit Cray

He had so much pimples on his face but he was the kind of person that didn't care about what other people thought of him. I met him during the most vulnerable and lowest point of my life. I was so ashamed to meet new people. I hated going out. I didn't want to talk to people. I was forced to meet him in some high school interaction. We started to talk. I thought that it would be okay because he wasn't part of my social circle. I began to have feelings for this guy. He paid so much attention to me despite the rumors going around. We eventually started to date. I wasn't embarrassed to be around him. I wasn't shy to show him my personality. In the back of my mind I just wished that he never heard any of the rumors because I didn't want him to think differently of me. One day, he told me that he heard people talking about me. He didn't like what they were saying. They approached him and interrogated him. They asked him why he was dating me despite the rumors. He told me he didn't care because he loved me and he knew that I was nothing like what people were saying. He stood up for me. He told them that he loved me and that it didn't matter if the rumors were true or not. It didn't matter to him. He taught me so much. He taught me not to care about what other people think of me. He taught me to find happiness despite the difficulties surrounding me. He taught me to be confident about myself.

9.5 Little Miss Smarty Pants

She has always been so intelligent. I've known her since we were in grade school and I've always thought she set the bar up so high that I couldn't reach it. But over the years, I tried to catch up. She was so smart. She said the smartest things. She liked the least conventional things. I wanted to be so much like her. She was different. More than a decade has passed and she's still that smart girl I've always known. She knew how to balance everything in her life. I wanted to be her good friend, not just some person she's known since grade school. I wanted to accept me. I thought that maybe if she acknowledged me, it would make me feel like I was smart too, and that I was just like her. I got over it in high school but it just goes to show that even if I'm not competing with her, I strived to be as amazing as she is. It helped me in a way that I didn't slack off and that I did my best in everything. She's still the person I look up to, until now even if we've stopped talking.

9.4 Antonio

It was his shoulders that I'd always remember. He had the broadest shoulders. He'd always carry me on top of his shoulders whenever we'd see each other. He was the kind of person who could lift you up, emotionally. He always made me happy and laugh with his corny jokes. I remember there was a time we played this silly story game on his laptop where we'd fill in the blanks with random words to complete a story. The stories almost never made sense but they were funny. It would always lift my spirits up when I'd be homesick. On top of his shoulders I felt so big and tall as if I was above everyone else. That's how important he made me feel. He'd always tell me I was his one and only grandchild, and ultimately his favorite. I had other cousins but he never acknowledged them just as my cousins never acknowledged him. None of my cousins knew who he was whenever I brought him up because we had a step-grandfather which they thought was our grandfather. I felt special knowing that I was the only one among us who knew him. And he never failed to make me feel special, most especially when I'm on his shoulders.

9.3 Papa

I can never remember a time he didn't wear his thinning white camiso-de-chino. Whenever I'd think about him, he'd be wearing this white shirt, khaki shorts, and Beachwalk slippers that you can buy in the palengke. He has always been the simplest man I have ever met in my life. Despite being a mayor for more than a decade when I wasn't born yet, he never seemed to live lavishly. I remember him wearing this outfit when I woke up at around 6 in the morning when I was around 6 or 7 years old. I was the only one awake aside from him. He asked me if I wanted to ride his 4x4 Owner Jeep to the farm. I willingly went with him. I never had spent a moment with him alone and I decided that that was the perfect time to get the much needed bonding I craved for. We rode in silence. The wind blowing my hair. We fed chicks. I got bitten by ants. I didn't mind. He introduced me to people that lived near his farm. We went back home at around 7. He made coffee for himself. He asked me if I wanted some. I said I've never tried drinking coffee but I wanted to try. He made a cup for me. He got the loaf of white bread. He offered me some. He told me to dip it in the coffee. It was so good. I haven't dipped my bread in coffee for the longest time but whenever I do, I always think of him.

9.2 MHL

Through the years, I've seen him wear different watches that each costs hundreds of thousands of pesos. His current favorite is his silver Ballon Bleu de Cartier with gold links. What's funny is despite his collection of watches, he never seems to be on time. EVER. Even if he sets his watches 30 minutes earlier than the actual time, he still ends up being tardy. I've heard him give the most ludicrous of excuses whenever we'd be late for something. There was one time we were in Cavite City, on our way to Manila, and his mother kept calling to ask where we were. He'd say we were in Bacoor when in fact we were two towns away from Bacoor. He'd say we're in EDSA when we were still in Coastal Road. There was one time he told me he was about to leave the house when I found out from the help that he just woke up. What's the use of expensive watches if you can't even come on time? Not even once.