An Annoying Kid
Words by Kenneth Manuel
He holds a green accounting book; the cover is almost worn out of daily use and the pages look as old as that of a decade-old dictionary in a public library. His class starts at 8:30am and ends at 11:30am. He is going to have a quiz in accounting and that evening before, all he did was to finish the paintings required in Humanities. All he knows is the residue of what he absorbed during the discussion.
Walking down the street, he sighs, pauses for a while and looks around. Nothing has ever changed. The sidewalk never runs out of pedestrians and vendors. The air is still barely breathable – polluted and utterly suffocating. That old woman with a big mole on her right cheek is still puffing out a cigarette stick, just like what she does every morning. There is still the pesky barker that he never fails to see every day, calling for passengers for a five-peso tip from the driver. The passengers wait inside the jeepney frowning, for the barker continues to claim that the jeepney can accommodate two more passengers wherein it is already a can-of-sardine situation inside.
He does not have a choice. He still has a long way to go before he gets to school, and time is not at his side. He boards the jeep, tries to sit even just a bit, and ends up hanging with only a square centimeter of his slacks touching the tarpaulin-covered chair. The driver, without any concern to the student, relentlessly drives away from the terminal and onto a long trip at the clogged roads of Manila.
He notices familiar faces. The guy next to the exit is the same person he saw from the nearby internet shop printing a feasibility study. The long-haired lady beside the guy is his girlfriend, and their shoulders are lax with each other. The lady is also holding a plastic cup of coffee from Starbucks, a frappuccino. The old woman beside the lady is a prostitute. Beside him, on the other hand, is a man looking with sticky eyes at the uniform of the girlfriend of the guy in the internet shop.
This is commonplace. Nothing is really exciting for him. Life, as he knows it, has been a cycle – continuous, repeating and analogous. There are little surprises, but not that much to turn the situation around. He just barely sits there in agony as he waits for someone to say ‘para’ and give some space for him to sit on.
He stares at his Accounting book, trying to recall the discussions they had. He tries his photographic memory, remembering how those financial statements are made in the whiteboard. He remembers the face of his professor, makes a straight face and draws his eyes outside the jeepney.
He saw the newly renovated McDonalds building. Aside from a handful of memories, nothing is significant with that building. The fancy, colorful façade is a contrast to the solid metal color of the surrounding buildings. There is a new playground – a paradise for the youngsters. The renovation also boasts life-size statues of the McDonalds characters outside.
That is one change. Everything else did not change at all. The jeepney hurled away and the bright hues of the McDonalds building slowly fade to a dot.
A cellphone rings.
“Ohhhhhhh!” the lady with the Starbucks cup screams.
Quality Starbucks coffee spills in the floor, along with islands of whipped cream and chocolate syrup. He, along with everyone in the jeepney, stares at the wasted drink as it creeps down the cracks of the metal floorings of the jeepney.
Shortly thereafter, his book slips from his hands, with the page that he was reviewing landing first on the coffee-soaked floor. It is a total mess. He picks it up and half of the book became brown with coffee. He gives up reviewing. He is annoyed. He cannot recall the lessons anymore.
He arrived at the school just on time, however, he failed in his quiz. Going back home, he sighs, pauses a while and looks around. Nothing has changed.
The next day, he holds a green accounting book; the cover is worn out of daily use and the pages are wrinkled from the coffee accident yesterday. His class starts at 8:30am and ends at 11:30am. He needs to make an extra effort in understanding accounting and the evening before, all he did was to review for the upcoming Humanities long quiz.
Walking down the street, he sighs, pauses for a while and looks around. Nothing has ever changed. The sidewalk, the air, that old woman and the pesky barker still remains. The passengers are still frowning. They, too, are tired of the punishment that everyday life brings.
He boards the jeep with little energy, and just like yesterday, familiar faces come up. Life is not a box of chocolates as Forrest Gump said, it is a box of junk foods with no variety and thrill at all. Every day is just dull; life is a monotonic art.
He notices another lady, this time far from him, holding a plastic cup of tea, a slight difference from yesterday’s cup of coffee. He placed his accounting book inside his bag, thinking that to mix coffee, tea and paper in a book is a worse idea than not listening in the discussions inside the classroom.
He sees a child kneeling, instead of sitting, in the jeepney. Her small head is peeping on the window, precariously inside as what her mother instructed her. Her improper position in the jeepney is something new to his sight. He ignores the lass, makes a straight face and draws his eyes outside the jeepney.
Minutes after, the lady finished his cup of tea and properly threw it in the trash bin behind the gearshift. The lady put on her headset after disposing the cup and everything went on normally – lacklusterly.
“Wooooooooooooooo…………..,” the girl shouted in awe. Far from sight is the McDonalds building.
He, along with everyone in the jeepney, looks at the girl as she is the first person to break the seemingly unbreakable silence in the jeepney. Her shout is very audible, and it catches the attention of everyone. An old woman sleeping on the ride is awakened and tries to apprehend the child by making a disgusted hiss. The lady who just put on her headset was also disturbed, but resumed as soon as she saw what it was all about.
“………..oooooooooo……..,” the girl is not yet finished getting astonished.
The girl is really struck in awe. The sparkle in her eyes is filled with genuine happiness. The jeepney passes in front of the new face of McDonalds. She let loose of her hold on the window railing, and clapped her hands upon seeing the spectacle nearer. From her kneeling position, she tried to elevate herself a little bit and pop her head out of the window.
“………..oooooooooo……..,” the girl continues her long expression of wonder.
Everyone from the jeepney has drawn their eyes away from the child, yet he remains staring. “Why was she amazed? Is there anything to be amazed of?” These are the questions he asked himself.
“………oooooooooowwwww!!!” the girl ends his astonishment as the building becomes too far away to be seen.
Her head is still tightly tilted to the direction of the building of McDonalds. She still wants a view of it, but can no longer have one. The jeepney continues to creep slowly on the highway.
The girl now sat properly. Her legs, with those little Barbie shoes, are swinging joyfully. Her smile, even though her teeth are incomplete, is full of glee. The vibrance of her colorful dress is infectious; it makes you want to smile more. The girl, noticing that the student is looking at her, waves and smiles, along with an innocent wink.
He smiles – the same way that the girl smiles. That is one smile. Everything else did not change at all, except that it did enlighten and inspire another person.
He waves hello – the same way that the girl waved hello. That is one wave, yet it was unusual enough to start something – the waking of happiness, the recovery of vigor, and a new pair of eyes to see the world.
The next day, he holds a green accounting book; the cover now wrapped in transparent plastic and the pages less wrinkled than that of yesterday. His class starts at 8:30am and ends at 11:30am. He is going to have a report in Management and the evening before, he had prepared to impress his teacher. What motivates him is the simple blessing of life.
Walking down the street, he sighs, pauses for a while and looks around. Everything he sees has changed. The sidewalk never runs out of pedestrians and vendors. The air is still polluted and dangerous, but is still breathable. That old woman with a big mole on her right cheek is still puffing out a cigarette stick, and he realized that he is still lucky to be well-dressed. There is still the pesky yet approachable barker that he never fails to see every day, calling for passengers for a five-peso tip from the driver. The passengers wait inside the jeepney frowning, yet looking forward for the day to come. Who knows what the day holds for them? The barker continues to claim that it can accommodate two more persons despite the can-of-sardine situation inside, and it just makes him think that sometimes he has to sacrifice.
Yes, there are familiar faces, but now, he looks at them with happiness.
Now, every time the jeepney passes at the new McDonalds building, he can’t help but smile. Happiness is a state of mind, and the world is just a matter of appreciation. We just have to look in front, behind, beside and inside us. Smile. :)
Special thanks to Mr. Prince Aian Villanueva for the main concept.
