Test Drive

It was at the end of October when I finally got the chance to drive to the North Province. I asked Mel and Dan to accompany me to test drive my land rover and same time check a possible line to acquire a franchise bus route. Having the address of my girl in mind, we drove towards a long and winding road towards north. Some parts of the roads were half passable due to road widening projects being done by government. Some were concrete, some in asphalt, but still some are still rough and dusty. We asked direction from some people whom we passed by and headed straight as there were not much intersections. I've heard that this school in the north is a very outstanding and constantly a top ranking school in regional and some national school competitions and exams. We passed by three secondary schools and two colleges that were obviously lesser prominent than the one were about to visit.

We finally stopped infront of the school gate after a thrilling three hours and fifteen minutes drive. The school gate was just along the highway but there was a one way road going to the elevated location of the school. The school seems to have a wide campus. There were trees and garden plants along the ascending road. I was tempted to make a right turn to check inside. Thinking that my mission was not yet over, I decided to do it after all is done. Fem's address didn't seem to be located inside the a school dormitory as it indicated a residence number. It should be around the neighborhood. I slowly drove the car telling my other two buddies to spot the house numbers of the houses we pass by. It should be the green rectangular plates above every entrance gates or at the framed at the door itself. We I drove at a speed of 20km/hr until we reached a hill where we can actually view the school's architectural view. It was indeed a big school with eleven buildings positioned according to who knows what department are they. There was a wide farm at the northeast side while in the south side was a huge track oval sorrounded by pine trees. There was a shade at long side of the oval facing the oval and its back against the side we are viewing. We stayed there for about fifteen minutes memorizing the view while smelling the fresh scent of pine breeze. I looked around from where I was standing and there was a long two storey building just a few meters away a little bit below the the hill top. It doesn't appear to be a school or a house. I went down to check its but there was an interlinked wire fence around it. I followed around the fence towards the front side. All windows seemed to be closed but each window were blicked by different colors of curtains. Deducing it, this must be a private dormitory. I peeked to see any green rectangular plate but I saw a red one instead which read 590. Going back to my buddies, Mel said he saw the last house number we passed by was already 541 which tells says that we were way past the haouse number we were looking for. Fem's address is 310 so it should be a litlle bit closed to the school. We drove back again slowly trying to spot again. We were thirsty after a more than three hour travel and our stomachs are starting to grumble. We didn't see any restaurants yet but we found a convenience store with a cute small tree spreading in front of it. I decided to stop there and have some food. Whatever food there was. Mel and Dan alighted and joined me. I looked around to see what number this house was. Why was the number in red, while all the rest we saw were in green? I was confused but the number was actually 310! I wanted to ask the store owner about it but held my inquiry knowing that we might raise suspicion. She was actually selling some home made snacks and some fresh fruits and vegetables along with groceries inside. We bought some canned softdrinks and some steamed cake which tasted great. The store owner asked us where we came from and where we were headed to. She was polite and seemed to be fun to talk with. I told her we were to inspect the progress of the road widening project. I also asked if by chance she happens to know a certain Ms. Fem Law. Her facial expression was a bit startled. She said Fem drops every day for snack. Unfortunately, she said, the school was currently having a semestral break and she has gone home to her parents.

"Do you know her?" She asked me in surprise.

"Yes auntie. I'm just sad I didn't come earlier." I said while shaking my soda drink.

"Is there anything you wish to convey to her? I think students will be back within a few days. The break is nearly over. " She said. But I had a suspicion that she had a personal contact with my girl.

"Ah, nothing much. I just wish to hand her this letter auntie. If you can pls hand it to her when she comes back?" I said handing her my own letter which I did few days before I actually thought of driving here.

"What name will I tell her if she asked about who dropped it?" Suddenly she remembered asking.

I scratched my head not knowing if I should say my name. Thinking it wouldn't be necessary, I said, " Pls just hand it to her auntie, she will know when she reads it. Thank you." then looking around. I saw that the second floor windows have different curtain colors not matching the first floor's. There was also stairs going up. Most houses hide their stairs inside but this house seem to exclude the second floor from the first floor. So I guess this house is also boarding some students. There was an auxiliary bungalow type attached at the right side of the house. It was locked. Studying the house construction, it seems that it was intended for common use of boarders.

After having studied the sight, we bid goodbye to the kind yet suspecting woman then drove off. Dan and Mel subsequently chuckled upon climbing inside the car, having known my real intention of driving this far. We were engrossed with our arguments that I forgot to turn to the school's gate to have a look at the school's premises. We decided to stop at the nearest restaurant we cound reach so we can have a good late afternoon lunch. then continue driving back to B City.