The Lady in Shining Armor: Monte Carlo High

XXXVII. Distance

The wait is over dahil ito na ang first update for the week! This is dedicated to LexGarcia, one of the silent readers and a fellow WattMag member as well. Can't wait for the next poem :)

Our soundtrack for this chapter is Distance by Christina Perri feat. Jason Mraz. Super ganda ng kantang 'to, bagay na bagay! hohoho! May isa pang update, so stay tuned, guys! :)

***Vince's POV***

Isang linggo makalipas ang announcement ng Student Council members for this school year, naging busy na ang lahat. Lalo na ako.

"First agenda natin for this year ay ang Miss Monte Carlo High 2015." I wrote it on the whiteboard. May ilang tumatango at may ilang nag-susulat sa notebook nila. I was about to proceed with the details of the activity nang biglang bumukas ang pintuan ng SC room at pumasok ang hinihingal na si Dawn-- ang bagong Senior Representative ng SC.

"Sorry, Mr. SC President. Napa-awa-- este, may dinaanan lang ako sa Main Building." Kailan kaya siya titigil sa pakikipag-away? Hindi ko din naman siya masisi, mainit talaga ang mata ng mga bully at gangster sa kanya.

"Take your seat, Dawn. I'll have a word with you after this meeting." Tumango siya at tumungo sa isang bakanteng upuan. "Going back, this year's Miss Monte Carlo High will be a little different from the ones that we had in the past. Kung noon, kung sino lang yung gustong sumali 'yun ang kukuning contestants, this year hindi na ganoon. We will require all levels, all sections to have at least one representative."

"Paano kung walang gustong sumali sa isang section?" Asked Jenny-- the third year representative.

"As I've said, it's a requirement that all sections in all levels to have a representative."

"Ang dami naman yata ng contestants kung sakali?" Asked another member.

"No problem with that. Kasi ang sistema natin ngayon-- elimination round, semis and then finals. We aim to let our ladies showcase their beauty and talent. Maraming nahihiya lang diyan, pero deep inside, gusto talagang sumali. Kung wala o kaya ayaw, edi pa-eliminate sila, ganoon lang kadali."

"Paano ang criteria nito?" Another member asked.

"One day lang ang eliminations. Talent at question and answer lang. Wala munang gown gown dito, Sunday dress lang, okay na, saka kung anuman yung suot nila sa talent. It will not be shown to the student body anyway. For semis and finals, which will happen days after the eliminations, doon na sila mag-susuot ng gown. Ito na yung ipapalabas in front of the entire student body."

"Paano ang judging?"

"We will have a set of judges-- I have people in mind, pero syempre, I want to hear your ideas. Kung may gusto kayong i-suggest, sabihin niyo lang. For the eliminations-- talent, intelligence and beauty criteria. For the semis and finals, idadagdag natin ang audience impact at stage presence."

"Suggestion. If we have audience impact on the criteria, bakit hindi tayo gumamit ng social media and text votes to help with this criteria?" Nakita kong umayon ang ilang members sa kanya. I liked the idea, too.

"That's actually a great idea. Sige, let's add that on the criteria." I looked at Rhea-- the SC Secretary from class 4-2. The meeting continued at nag-brainstorming na kami sa theme at division of labor for the said event. I was glad na lahat cooperative at naging maayos naman ang lahat, kabaliktaran ng inaasahan ko. Akala ko hindi sila makikinig sa akin dahil sa hindi ganoon ka-ganda ang reputasyon ko sa eskwelahang ito.

I knew what my label was-- playboy, chickboy, casanova. Lahat ng synonym nun, ako yun. Pero unti-unti na akong nagbabago. Gusto kong maging mas mabuting tao para kay Dawn. My grades went up, with the help of Red, tapos ngayon, President ako ng SC. I want to prove to her at sa lahat ng tao na hindi lang ako superficial.