On Board Bus Number Zero

What a fun day it was! I woke up early, got the wonderful Intrams T-shirt on beaming with a bright blue color. I saw my classmates, waiting for the signal to finally sit on the bus, which will lead us to our destination, the prominent cross on Mt. Samat at Bataan, and the symbol of Mt. Pinatubo’s hellic fury, the lahar-sunken church at Bacolor, Pampanga. I went home with a smile. I learned a lot and went to places I haven’t yet visited.

Well, how I wish it really was like that. That day was a tragic one. One that if I paint a picture with that, I should have a dozen buckets of every dark color on Earth, for I will recklessly throw all the paint in the canvass, regardless of the size, to make an abstract image of loneliness.

There are lots of things I have to regret for that day. The things that I wish I haven’t done or I haven’t failed to do for that day.

Here are the main facts. February 1 will be our Kaakbay field trip, we will go to Mt. Samat, as I have said earlier, then to the lahar-sunken church on Bacolor. The trip would certainly be educational and fun, and with that fun comes another benefit, some incentives to your grade in Social Studies and in Values Education.

Now, let me take you to the story, of what really happened, and why am I on board “Bus Number Zero”.

The night before, I was typing our stor in Social Studies. It was very long, and still, I have to edit its grammar and style of writing. Along with surfing the Net, the whole process finished at 2:00 am, and I nearly forgot that I have a field trip later. So, I alarmed the cellphone at 5:30 am, with the loudest level turned on. The sound was broken glass.

Before I sleep, I texted (shortcut for ‘sent a text message’) our adviser on Kaakbay, which is the Makabayan group in our school. By the way, Makabayan is a subject comprising of History, Values Education, Home Economics and Computer.

So, I slept. Hours passed and my sleep was empty, no dreams and no disturbances, not until I hear the sound of breaking plates. It is raining kitchenwares on our town, I assume. I woke up, still with uncooperative eyes and unstretched bones, and pressed a button on the cellphone, so it will stop alarming. I pressed stop, not snooze, because I thought that I would rise up now. That was the first thing that I would have to regret.

Mr. Sleep overwhelmed me again and I slept once more. ZZZ… It was empty once more, and the thought that I will be late was out of my mind, except when I wake up. The first thing I saw was the window in front of me. I saw sunlight, blaring strongly on the leaves, still with dewdrops on them. Frantically, I stood up and asked the time.

The time was 8:03 am. Damn! The field trip would zoom on at 8:00 am.! With the jeep at scarcity, with the time running and with the location of our home, some 10 kilometers away from the school, I quickly searched for the letter to know what will I wear. It was Intrams T-shirt. I hurriedly grabbed the said T-shirt, wore it while going to the bathroom, brushed my teeth and thought that I will not take a bath for this trip. I asked for some money from my mother and it is a good thing she reacted fast.

Right then, I’m just hoping for Filipino time to take its toll. I wish that the trip would be delayed for more than an hour so that I can catch up with them.

I went down, walking slowly. Running is not a thing to do when riding a jeep at Clark, for they pass by only once every 15-45 minutes. After that long walk, still no jeepney was in sight. Hope was slowly ticking out. Finally, and so unexpectedly, one jeepney came, a waiting quite short for this time. It took me only three minutes.

The time now was 8:12am, and the jeep that I board on was hell slow! You know, majority of jeepney drivers are so money-oriented, that they would drive slowly, if no other competitor jeepneys are behind, just to get their vehicle full of commuters and their wallets full of money.

The jeepney, to my despair, rotated again on the housing village to fetch more commuters. And to his despair, which I guess was brought by karma, he got no commuters and he just wasted gasoline! But again, to more of my disappointment, he drove slowly and took the long cut where he expects more commuters wait.

Again, karma was sitting right beside him and he got no riders. What a waste of precious time! Finally, when the places were commuters usually wait ran out, the jeepney rammed up to its full speed. I was so delighted! I see hope coming right back to me. But still, I have this nervousness on me. I’m afraid that I may not catch the last bus and that I might be seated on Bus Number Zero.

At last, the vehicle reached Main Gate and I hastily ran to the next jeepney. The jeep, thankfully, was fast to be filled. In no time, the jeepney ran. The jeep was at first slow, because he is counting the change that he will pass on at the back. When his accounting job was finished, the jeep zoomed up and after 4 minutes venturing around the traffic, at 8:32 am, I saw many buses. My smile touched my ears at that time! When the jeepney was nearing the church, the place where we are supposed to meet, I saw one of the several buses there, full of seniors and freshmen, going away.

“I would be there,” I thought to myself.

But when I went down, I realized a terrible reality. That that was the last bus filled with high school students. The other buses are empty, and a small group of college students are waiting. I guess the buses are for them. But then, the clock is ticking, I need to run for the last bus! I saw their sleeves, peeking outside the window. The sleeves were seemingly looking at me, laughing at me. I was not able to run, I hesitated. It was traffic out there, but the traffic didn’t take long. If only I have run on the instance I stepped my foot on the cement, I would have caught them. I was slow. My thinking was strong, but not fast. I was so destroyed! I was so near! I was only a minute late, 30 seconds late! I should have caught them!

“If only I didn’t press the stop button but the snooze, if only I have woke up at the instance the cellphone alarmed, if only the jeep didn’t rotated again to get many commuters, if only the jeep drove fast, if only the driver did his accounting job more faster, I guess I would have reached them on time; I would be them climbing in Mt. Samat.” I said.

That was sad, hope pulverized on the wind, carrying them on all four directions. I was so sad, sadder than anyone else. As I saw the wheels of the bus frictionizing the old asphalt road, I’m thinking of catching them, but running would be a futile effort. The cheers of the passengers were screaming in my ears, making me jealous of what they will have to see. I should also see that, but thanks to my punctuality, I can’t. The wind was blowing again, but I know that the wind was stronger if I were to sit near the bus window. I wish to eat, but I don’t like. I guess it would be more nice to eat with your classmates in the bus.

As I commute back home, I am imagining them having fun. From the bus, up to Mt. Samat and down to their homes. And me, guess what, I’m on board Bus Number Zero. It is not moving and I’m stucked. The only way I’m going to is sadness.

“I should be there. I should!” I keep reminding myself. I’m reminding myself of the mistakes I’ve done for that day. It was sad, I know, but it is part of history.

The next day, what a fun day it will be! I woke up early, got the white t-shirt on beaming with a face with some words written on it. I saw my classmates on thir Friendster profiles, and I’m waiting for the time to tick at 8:00am, the time in which I’ll finally eat my breakfast. I’ll go to my classmate’s house to finish a project. I will go home with a smile. I learned a lot and finished the project that seems to be impossible.


“Life’s only bus is Bus Number Zero. It’s up to you whether you’ll suffer walking everyday to wherever you’re life is going to, or get used to the bumpy and curly roads taken by that bus. Every destination is partnered with a bumpy road. There is no easy way to get to anywhere but failure.”