33 Thunder and Lightning

Taking television production class seemed familiar since Charissa was once a broadcast personality herself. But she was unable to take me to a studio at all, not once.

All those years working abroad meant lost opportunities for Charissa to bring me to her workplace. She continued to regret these missed chances every once in a while, but it was no big deal because I wanted to learn on my own.

Just then, the professor arrived and she looked amiable upon greeting us. As soon as class started, we sat down, relaxed and soaked in on her expertise in this subject.

"Producing a television show takes a lot of time," the professor lectured. "It requires months of dedication and hard work to create a program, whether this is aired live or taped."

"I can see that this teacher is good-natured," Ella whispered.

It was already the middle of the afternoon, and the gold hues were gradually replaced by grey ones. All of a sudden, rain started to fall outside and thunderstorms roared from the sky.

The classroom became extremely cold because of the rain and the high settings of the air conditioner. Unfortunately, I was not prepared to brace these conditions and failed to bring a jacket.

My body became disoriented and frozen because of the frigid temperatures. Even as I rubbed my palms and blew some warm air into it, my body continued to shake with the decrease in temperature.

I went outside for a moment in hopes of getting warmer, but the environment was just as chilly. Then a flashback sequence ensued inside me.

It was during fifth grade. Michelle and Ella were both absent that day due to illness and I was all alone.

The rain fell hard outside the campus. There was a tropical storm looming within the area.

In spite of the dire forecast, it was business as usual in school. But without my two dearest friends, I felt helpless and isolated.

As violent thunderstorms roared from the overcast sky, my conscience was severely shaken by these monstrous forces of nature. I was not sure where to go.

Then one of my classmates went so far as to taunt and frighten me. He even stuck out his tongue and showed his palms for good measure.

"Oh look, Christine's terribly scared of the thunder!!" the student announced to the class.

"Stop it!!!" I told these students.

As the rain escalated, they continued their incessant scolding on me. I tried to hide under the table, but a classmate approached me to get back up.

"Come out there Christine," he said. "You might get caught by the teacher."

Yet in spite of these warnings I refused to emerge from under the table. Eventually, however, my classmate was forced to pull me out.

Being afraid of the thunder was much worse than being scared of heights. Lightning strikes were rare and unpredictable and can strike people at any time and at any place.

Back in the present, I continued to shiver and tucked my head between my legs. Then Michelle and Ella came out.

"What were you doing down there?" Michelle questioned.

"Sorry but I can't help it," my tight voice responding to her question. "It was extremely cold, and I was shivering so much. Plus I had a nightmare about my fear of lightning."

"Don't worry about it," Ella assured. "I'll go back to my unit for a moment to retrieve a jacket and lend it to you. Just wait."

So Ella left school to bring me a jacket. While I waited for her to return, Michelle grabbed a towel from her bag and covered me.

But without my two dearest friends, I felt helpless and isolated. Michelle asked me.

"A little bit," I responded.

As Michelle rubbed her towel to me, she asked me about my horrible nightmare. I explained how my mind was frightened by the thunder and how some of the students reacted about it.

"Hey Christine. Never fear the lightning," Michelle earnestly advised me. "There's nothing to be scared about."

"But I fear for my life," I informed Michelle.

"Just stop thinking about getting killed by lightning okay," Michelle sternly said to me. "Always pray and think positive."

Minutes later, Ella returned from the unit with her jacket in hand. Without hesitation, she put on the jacket to my frigid body and I soon felt a little warmer and more relieved.

Back inside the classroom, Michelle and Ella borrowed a classmate's notebook and took note of the professor's lecture. Meanwhile, I opened my bag, retrieved a notebook and pen, and waited for both Michelle and Ella to finish.

But even as my body felt warm, my hands were still shaking from the low temperatures. It got to a point where it sweated relentlessly, and I could not get a grip on the pen.

I tried to wipe the sweat off with my handkerchief but it kept on pouring. As Michelle and Ella finished copying the notes, they saw me in a restless state with my hands numb.

"Christine, what's wrong with your hands?" Ella looked nervously at me.

"I couldn't move them," I answered. "It kept on shaking."

Michelle grabbed her towel and covered both of my hands. Soon after, the freezing sensation dissipated and my hands could grip a pen again.

With my hands now warmer, I copied Michelle's notes. Then as soon as I finished, the rain stopped and the harsh temperature returned to normal.

"Students, next week we'll go to the studio and orient you on the equipment," the professor promptly announced. "You can capture pictures too."

"Did you obtain the memo?" Michelle inquired me. "We can take pictures of the stage, the cameras and the booth. This should be fun. I'll bring my camera next week and graciously borrow it to you."

"That's okay," I nodded in approval. "After all I desired to grasp more about your camera anyway."

It was 5:50 p.m., and we still had one more class to go. Darkness slowly crept in and the boisterous crowd gradually dissipated inside the campus.

Michelle, Ella and I were headed for video production class. Another three-hour class awaits.