the femme fetales posted by imani , Monday, November 3, 2008 at 5:55 AM, in Labels: freefall

in grade school, my days were filled with terror teachers and terror classmates. the terror teachers, i suppose, was something that everyone went through, ergo, the notion makes it tolerable. the terror classmates, however, was another thing. there was ralph - my 'slightly' overweight classmate when i was in fifth grade, who said he wants to court me so he can just borrow my notes on our science class - was something. then there was one called 'yabut'...no actually, i am calling him yabut because i can no longer recall his first name. this boy would literally chase me around the school grounds after our class (which ends at lunchtime) with an ingenious gadget in his hands - something meant to send small doses of electricity through my body if it comes near me (in short, pangkuryente eheheh).

when i was in high school i met my long-time best friend, monette, and with her, i pondered on the following things: how to get rid of my zits (not that i had a lot but it was a valid subject for a conversation), several instances of unrequited love, teachers who drove us nuts (quite literally), our next science project, raging hormones. wahahaha. i love high school. i enjoyed being one - one of the geeks that is.

then the inevitable came. i am talking about college. i knew that my struggles and accomplishments in high school wouldn't matter so much if i won't finish college. my father died when i was 14 and i knew that i have to work twice as much (or a thousand times as much) so i can complete my studies. i was lucky enought to be granted a scholarship in La Consolacion College Manila. i am proud of my alma mater for two things - one, for the education that i was given and two, for the friends that i met. it used to be an all-girl school (they started taking in students of the other gender the year after i graduated) and i thought i would have a difficult time finding people to hang out with. i am happy that i was wrong.

hindi ko alam bakit wala si louie, baka sya yung photographer

in college i met my best friends in the person of: mumai, ara, josane, cherry and louie. we started a circle aptly called 'the femme fetales.'

they say that a femme fetale is an alluring and seductive woman whose charms ensnare her lovers in bonds of irresistible desire, often leading men into compromising, dangerous, and deadly situations. i agree with the charms and irrisistible desire bit but i know nothing about putting men in compromising instances. not one of us is related to the Mata Hari and mumai and i haven't officially dabbled in pole dancing. wahaha.

sorry wala na naman si louie

they are five of the greatest friends i will ever know in this lifetime, that i am sure of. more than being a bunch of desirable women, they are also five of the most trustworthy people i know. they allowed me to grow and be who i am without the worry that i will be judged or criticized. they kept me sane, they kept me grounded and they kept me from breaking my heart several times over through their priceless nuggets of wisdom.

allow me to introduce and briefly describe each of them:

mumai - i met her during freshmen orientation, my 17th birthday, if i remember it correctly. you see before i went to college, i had to create a nickname - téa - and that is because i don't want for people to start calling me potpot (my nick at home). mumai was the culprit. she started calling me potpot and soon enough everyone else is calling me potpot. i got tired of correcting people so yeah - eight years later, i am still potpot to them. no mumai, if you are reading this, let me be clear that i am not sour graping...it's too late for that sweetie. mumai was one of my thesis mates, a math whiz (to me you are) and a bitch (or would transform into one) if the situation calls for it. she doesn't give a damn about what other people would say about her, she's very upfront and was never daunted by 'in your face' scenarios, meaning she would tell you in your face that she does not like you and would not bother looking back.

ara - my sister in music and in verse. she was awfully shy and quiet when i first time met her, but we instantly hit it off when i asked her if she has ever seen the movie GIA (and her answer was yes, of course). she was carrying a copy of womenagerie by jessica zafra and was donning a short hair during the first official meeting of members of the honors society. later on ara and i developed a special kind closeness - she was the first person to know of my childhood nightmares and was kind enough to sit through it one saturday afternoon. she reacquainted me in my interest in playing guitar and singing and was also one of the few who appreciated the poems and other crazy stuff that i wrote before.

josane - she was my other thesis mate and more than being a humorous person, this girl has a sensible head on her shoulders. she introduced me to pinoy rock - and had me listening to imago, fatale posporos and cynthia alexander. if i remember it right, she was the one who started bringing the group to baluarte every friday night. she was not the kind who'd be quiet, except when we were drinking tequila. maingay po talaga siya. what i love about josane is her willingness to listen. i know there is a big possibility that i have not thanked her for this but i am hoping it's not too late. thank you, pare, for always lending an ear to me, to us, before and now. and thank you for not failing to make us laugh our ass of, for being yourself and for showing us how great it is to have a friend who will attempt to make us all snigger till our cheeks hurt.

cherry - or mary rose (i hope that's correct), according to her birth certificate, taught my nephew botchok to call her 'tato' (short for tita and tito). cherry loves making us laugh too, but more than that, she's one of those i know who have overcome so much of her fears and never showed a sign of giving up. she's one of the most courageous friends i have, and as all of us know - undauntedly pressed on regardless of the situation. cherry i think was the first to suggest that we drink el hombre one time we wanted to get intoxicated. soon enough el hombre tequila was a household name. she has a huge crush on karen mok (or is it shu qi?), shares the same zodiac sign (cancer) with me, which means she plus me equals two much likely to be a little more emotional than usual if we are drunk people.

louie - weng (or 'wing' to some people ahaha) was introduced to me by ara. i sort of envied her because she took up psychology but i am okay now (nyahaha). i am just really happy that she became one of those who offered me advices (both solicited and unsolicited) to see to it that i don't fall flat on my face each and every time the name 'hilson' comes up. she's a singer herself, she talks a lot (which i suppose is a common denominator we all share). i believe at one point she vowed to not be involved with men for the mean time, until kuya gado (gado, ikaw na!!!). katulad ni mumai, aquarian din po si louie, kaya OC din sya. wahaha. she's also an artist...meaning mahilig mag-drawing. hanggang drawing lang po siya pag kailangan mag-meet ng tropa. but i love you, you know that :) peace :)

i once read that we create relationships because we need witnesses to our lives - people who can attest that we existed. these five people are definitely more than that. they are not just witnesses, they are the reason why all the tribulations in college - and now, life in general - almost did not (and do not) mean anything - because they were all there to lend a hand in case one stumbles, because they are there to listen to me when i need to whine and to yap at me when i need to stop whining. they are my approval committee - not that they would say anything unkind to the person i happen to like but their opinion will always matter. they are five people i know who are capable of blackmailing me at any given time all because they know everything about me. they offered me something that was not there when i first set foot in our college.

ayun si louie, yung katabi ni mumai

they offered me a new universe. a universe that did not exist and would not exist if not for them. a universe where words, hope, faith, love, and passion are our ammunition to a world sometimes devoid of sympathy. since we were all scholarship recipients - school was a freaking battlefield. we shared the agony of waiting for our grades everytime a semester ends (we always would feel that what we did wasn't good enough - no matter how hard we studied). i share with each of them a history - of all the good things that i'd ever learn of. i am grateful for having all of them in my life, even more grateful for knowing that i am in theirs. their friendship and understanding embraces all that has been and will ever be.

i love you guys. thanks for being there no matter what and for sticking with me.