Midterms (Part III)

Early Tuesday afternoon, Michelle and I explored the streets of Manila. We walked carefully through the narrow alleyways, secretly taking pictures of the city's homeless and impoverished citizens.

As I looked solemnly around this depressed neighborhood, it was appalling to see them unable to afford even a decent meal and some adequate shelter to stay alive. Such terrible conditions prompted me of how short and difficult life can be.

Amid the searing heat of the sun, I recognized a few boys who were about to torture a helpless young lad. Much to the chagrin of Michelle, I immediately rushed to his aid.

"Leave him alone," I angrily yelled at the rebellious boys. "Don't you have any sense of decency?"

"Who in the hell do you want for us, punk?" one of the boys shot back. "You have no business being here."

"I do have some urgent business here, and that is to protect this weakling," I furiously replied. "You better get the hell out of here or else my friend over there will do the honors."

Just as Michelle prepared her fists, the boys slowly walked away and retreated. Shortly after, the young lad's mother came out to escort him home.

"Remember to stay strong and never fear," I humbly reminded the anxious boy.

As the kid and his mother walked away, Michelle stroked me on the back and offered some encouraging assessments.

"I'm delighted you handled it well," she assuredly said. "But you better ask for my help the next time this happens."

After finishing the photography assignment, Michelle and I promptly returned to the campus exhausted and sweaty. But there was no time to pause because another project awaits.

At a walkway, we saw Jamie and Jaime setting up the cameras for the shoot. Ella then came out to cordially greet us.

"You must be riddled with sweat," she gleefully announced her presence in front of Michelle and myself.

Ella promptly escorted the two of us to her condominium. She then brought along some fresh clothes and we swiftly changed into them.

Upon returning to campus, Jaime was ready to roll the film. After properly applying some light makeup, Kevin, Ella and Jamie were prepared to shoot the scene.

"Lights, camera, action!!!" Jaime informed them.

It took us an hour, and several takes in recording the school scenes. The product was not perfect, but it was not bad either.

Early the next morning, the cameras rolled anew as Kevin and his band performed and lip-synched their song. Luckily, the campus was virtually empty, so the shoot went particularly well.

After packing up the cameras and equipment, I quickly walked to the gym and watched Michelle and Kyla's training. Shortly after, the three of us strolled inside the library to do some research.

"How was your essay on Camus?" Kyla asked me as we walked towards one of the shelves.

"It wasn't so bad," I promptly replied. "But to be honest with you, my essay still has a lot of room to improve."

"Mine's still 50 words short," Kyla revealed. "Solving Camus turned out to be excruciating with the lack of assistance."

"I know right," I answered back. "That's why it was ridiculous for the professor to announce that any outside help is not allowed in this essay."

With a few books on hand, Kyla and I elected to make some revisions to our respective essays. We did not talk throughout the morning, choosing to silently voice our thoughts through our hands.

Meanwhile, Michelle picked up a few books of her own and went to work on her assignment as well. With our eyes fixed on the bright laptop screen, we managed to have one productive hour worth of school work.

Just as we wrapped up our work inside the library, however, Claire suddenly arrived. With both of her arms crossed and her eyes narrowed, Claire appeared unhappy at the three of us.

"Why didn't you invite me?" she questioned Kyla.

"I'm sorry Claire," Kyla nervously replied. "But you were not answering my calls all day. You're the one who should sincerely apologize to me."

Realizing the foolishness of her actions, Claire dropped both of her arms and knelt at Kyla.

"The truth is, I misplaced my mobile phone," she revealed to her.

"Please stand up," Kyla urged a humbled Claire. "Now you explain to us what happened."

Claire narrated that she last used her mobile phone yesterday and upon checking her bag after class, the phone suddenly went missing. Claire soon returned to the classroom only to find no trace of her phone.

"That's why I couldn't contact you," Claire concluded. "My mobile phone is lost. I'm sorry for causing you all the trouble earlier."

Kyla immediately accepted Claire's apology, and she joined us on the way out. Later that afternoon, Michelle and I were on the way to a nearby restaurant when Claire came out to meet us.

"Hey Christine, can I join in?" she politely asked me.

Almost immediately, I accepted Claire's offer. A hearty lunch followed, during which Michelle and Claire formally introduced each other.

The two fondly recalled the unfortunate incident outside the campus where I saved her from a speeding vehicle. Upon looking back on that fateful day, Claire and Michelle laughed at each other for the awkward yet humorous exchange.

Not long after, Claire waved goodbye at us and instantly disappeared from our sights. At that point, Michelle received another phone call.

With Kevin on the line, we were informed of another music video shoot within his village later that night. Almost instantaneously, Michelle and I borrowed some necessary equipment and cameras for the taping.

Upon arriving at the village, Jaime and Ella assisted us set up the cameras and equipment. Then they started rolling with another series of sentimental scenes.

At that moment, I started blushing over Kevin and Ella's intimate interactions. They seemed comfortable and at peace with each other's company, as if the two were already in a serious relationship.

Two hours later, the shooting came to a close. As day gradually turned to night, Michelle and I felt extremely tired but satisfied with the desired result.

However, there is still one more project to worry about tomorrow.