End of First Term (Part I)

White shirt? Check.

Khaki pants? Check.

Black sneakers? Check.

Blue jacket? Check.

After four incredible years in college, my fashion sense never changed from the first day of class. Never mind that my preference was to wear more masculine clothes nor did I care about growing my hair at all.

Most girls would care about dabbing some lipstick, mascara and foundation on their faces. But not me.

Before every school day I would always stare intently at the mirror with a pair of glasses on. In my thoughts, I wondered: Who cares if beauty was not my strength?

Moments later, Charissa called me out for breakfast. Upon walking leisurely down the dining room, I was delighted to look at my favorite waffles splashed with maple syrup and a scoop of delicious butter.

But those sweet waffles were the least of my worries.

"Mother, how do I look?" I intently asked Charissa in between delicious bites of waffles.

"Why did you ask that?" she clarified.

After another bite of the waffles, Charissa spoke up and offered me some heartfelt advice.

"Listen carefully, Christine," she promptly opened. "Being beautiful should not be your priority. There may be other attractive girls who can outshine you, but in the end, your brilliant mind and humble demeanor is what matters."

"Okay," I nodded.

"Christine, it doesn't matter if you don't possess those exceptional physical gifts," Charissa thoughtuflly continued. "Even I can attest to that. Beauty and strength are only secondary to intelligence and humility."

Following my mother's advice to heart, I confidently walked down the lobby and waited for Michelle. But after waiting nervously for 30 minutes, there was no sign of her car.

A frantic and desperate phone call inevitably followed.

Christine: "Hello? Where are you Michelle?"

Michelle: "I'm sorry Christine, but my car just ran out of batteries. You better go to school on your own."

Christine: "But what about you?"

Michelle: "Don't worry about me. Karina will transport me there. Just go and hurry!!!"

At 6:00 a.m., I found a cab waiting in the lobby. But upon reaching the campus an hour later, something went missing from my pocket.

Unable to pay the driver, I desperately tried to borrow money from various students. However, they were unwilling to donate their own cash.

Just then, Ella arrived and saw me pleading for help.

"Christine, what's the matter?" she questioned.

The driver angrily called me out and desperately demanded his money. Eventually Ella pitched in and paid for the fare.

So much for a dreadful start.

A short time later, Karina's car arrived and Michelle boarded out. As she walked uneasily towards us, I sat down and began to cry uncontrollably.

"Christine, you're crying?" Michelle said as she came near me. "Listen, I'm sorry if my car broke down. It wasn't my fault."

"You're not the only one with a terrible day," I tearfully reflected on the morning's unfortunate events. "My wallet went missing, and I don't have any money. What else could go wrong? Your grim day pales in comparison to mine."

"Cheer up Christine," Ella happily replied. "We can help you cover the expenses. Remember when I paid the taxi driver on your behalf?"

"Ella's right," Michelle smilingly assured me. "We can still pull through no matter what. After all we've been together for years now."

And so I endured an entire day of class without any cash in my pocket. My friends pitched in to pay the bills, and even Francesca was generous enough to furnish some of her money.

But going back home was another story. With Michelle and her car out of commission, I was faced with a conundrum.

"Where to go next?" I anxiously wondered to myself.

As rain fell hard outside, I was stuck near the gym waiting desperately for help. Hours passed and the street turned into a virtual river.

My delicate sneakers were no match for the harsh floods. I frantically tried walking onto them several times before only for the sneakers to get heavy and snap in two.

But just as hope diminished, a lovely lady in a pink jacket and red umbrella suddenly showed up.

It was Kyla who revealed herself.

"Christine, you need a ride?" she humbly suggested. "I just called a taxi earlier and we may as well go with it."

"You know how badly I wanted to go home," my deep voice yelling amid the strong downpour. "But who will pay for the fare? My wallet is gone."

"Don't worry, I'll handle this," Kyla earnestly assured me.

The taxi promptly arrived and amid the intense rains, we managed to brave the elements. Fortunately, by the time Kyla and I had arrived at her unit, the rain had stopped falling and floods receded.

After Kyla had paid the fare, we walked straight to her room and worked on our school projects. Suddenly my phone rang, and I hurriedly walked to the hallway.

Charissa: "Hello? Christine, you accidentally left your wallet inside the bedroom."

Christine: "Sorry mother. Apparently I was extremely excited to start school that my wallet was nowhere inside the pocket."

Charissa: "Next time, kindly carry your wallet every time you go out. Never forget that, okay?"

Christine: "It will never happen again, I promise."

I stayed at Kyla's unit the entire night. The next morning, Karina unexpectedly showed up alongside Michelle.

Upon arrival, they proceeded to reveal a mystery object which turned out to be my missing wallet. Karina explained she and Michelle went to my mother's place to deliver the goods.

Satisfied, the four of us departed Kyla's unit and rode directly to the campus. With the wallet back inside my pocket, I experienced an entire school day without any further trouble.

Wednesday morning, Michelle's car was back up and running. While on the way to school, she started belting out an extremely poignant song.

When I find myself in times of trouble, Mother Mary comes to me

Speaking words of wisdom, let it be

And in my hour of darkness she is standing right in front of me

Speaking words of wisdom, let it be

Let it be, let it be, let it be, let it be

Whisper words of wisdom, let it be

As we steered our way to campus, tougher times await for all of us. There is no room for mistakes and errors; only hard work and sleepless nights for everyone involved.