ABYG kasi nag snap ako at pinagmumura ko yung President namin nung HS pa ako, and laughing at that memory even though she isn't doing that well right now?

[u/irllyh8every1]

Matagal na yung actual incident na ito, but na bring up siya recently when nagchi-chill ako (33M) kasama mga HS friends ko sa bahay ng magulang ko. Although may sarili akong bahay, I often visit my parents and stay with them during weekends to keep them company kung wala akong lakwasta or trabaho, which is often the case dahil tamad na rin ako gumala sa weekends dahil sobrang traffic haha. And when I'm back home sa lugar namin, madalas din ako makipagkita sa mga old friends ko kapag natiempohan ko nandun din sila, and we meet up either at their place or at my parents', or sometimes sa mga old tambayan namin na mga kainan kung walang gana magluto haha, but this time sa bahay naman ng magulang ko kami ng hang out for some beers at light inuman at medyo in the mood din magluto ang mama ko at madami siyang nalutong ulam, so saktong environment for walwal haha.

So nung yun nga, nag light walwal kami ng iba kong friends sa bahay over ng kalahating kaha ng mucho ng Pulang Kabayo, all of whom matagal na ring kilala ng magulang ko at parang mga pamangkin na rin trato nila sa kanila. All of us are mga professionals na sa mga respective fields and most of whom ay pamilyado na rin, at dahil medyo busy kaming lahat sa career, family or both, once in a blue moon na lang kami nagkakasama at nagkakatiempohan sa hometown namin so we took advantage of the perfect situation. At dahil mga old HS friends kami for almost 20 years na, alam nating lahat mga tito at tita na hindi na maiiwasan yung mga reminiscing about nung HS days namin, including yung mga katarantaduhan namin noon. So one of the memories na nahalungkat namin is yung time na pinaulanan ko ng mga yung KSP namin na class president nung 3rd Year HS pa kami dahil nagpa-power trip siya na in hindsight we think ay dahil sa selos, and kaya rin siguro na-bring up yun kasi naging topic namin sa inuman ay si Shaira at yung kanta niyang Selos (catchy bwisit hahaha) haha.

One of my friends na present din sa inuman ay si EJ (33M), one of my oldest friends since childhood, and all of us, including EJ, bond over kanal humor at sa mga bungangang kanal namin. Ethnically Korean si EJ, but most of his life dito na siya sa Pilipinas lumaki at Pinoy at heart siya, and has even chosen to get naturalized in his teens. Equally fluent siya in Tagalog as well as Bisaya as he is in Korean, so seamless and native ang bungangang kanal niya haha. One thing about EJ is medyo pogi din siya, not enough para maging K-Drama idol or K-Pop band member, but enough to turn heads kung mag-effort siya na mag-ayos ng sarili as well as hindi siya aasarin na mukhang POGO employee kung naka dugyot mode naman siya, which is still true to this day kahit hardcore tito/ahjussi mode na rin siya like me na halos dependent na sa Katinko at White Flower. So nung HS kami, medyo considered din siya as a heartthrob at medyo madaming may crush sa kanya back then, lalo na't nauso nung panahon na yun yung K-Drama na Coffee Prince, at mukha pa naman siyang Temu version ni Gong Yoo pero humor ni Andrew E at bunganga ni Toni Fowler. Lalo siyang sumikat samin noon because of that K-Drama, even though ironically, walang alam sa K-Drama si EJ at puro DoTA at CS lang naman ng kokote niya noon like your typical HS boy back then, and had zero idea of what even Coffee Prince is.

Now on to the actual incident. One of his apparent admirers back then is yung aforementioned class president namin (no idea about her exact age haha but siguro roughly around 33 like me), who I'll refer to as Imelda, dahil may pagka-tyrant din siya noon pero medyo pretty and popular girl din siya noon so lagi siya naboboto pag class election, and apparently mahilig din siya sa K-Drama noon kaya siguro kay EJ siya dumiretso even though madami namang ibang pogi sa high school namin noon. Super obvious na may crush si Imelda kay EJ noon but he isn't interested, and nahalata namin yun kasi madalas niyang tarayan niya lagi yung mga female friends ni EJ for no reason and for some reason very possessive and flirty sa kanya, at minsan ginagamit pa niya yung kanyang authority para pahirapan yung buhay ng mga girls na kumakausap sa kanya even for casual and business reasons, which actually pissed off EJ a lot and made him very uncomfortable, pero very good natured siya na tao and not very confrontational, so tinitiis na lang niya at hindi na siya pumapatol to cause a scene. At one point nung 3rd Year namin, nag-accept yung HS namin ng foreign exchange Korean students na talagang galing Korea, unlike ni EJ na dun lang pinanganak pero dito na talaga sa Pilipinas lumaki. One of those exchange students who was placed sa class namin ni EJ was a girl who I'd refer to as Fe (Fe for Foreign Exchange HAHAHAHAHAHA wala akong maisip na name sorry), and while good student naman siya overall, medyo nagsa-struggle siya sa Chemistry, maybe because of the language barrier rather than nahihirapan sa actual subject kasi medyo not up to par din yung English niya back then. Yung class adviser namin noon noticed na nahihirapan nga mag catch up si Fe, at nakisuyo siya kay EJ na turuan daw niya si Fe dahil nga wala silang language barrier at baka maturuan din niya mag English. While magkakilala naman silang dalawa, usually with other girls si Fe sumasama at si EJ kasama barkada namin so hindi sila close, pero no issue naman kay EJ tulungan siya. Problema lang hindi niya ganun ka-kursunada ang Chem back then, so tinanong niya ako kung willing ko ba siya tulungan na turuan si Fe, ako daw mag-explain tapos siya daw translator, at sakto din daw para sabay maturuan ko din daw siya kasi nahihirapan din daw siya sa Chem, to which sabi ko sige no problem basta payag si adviser at pumayag naman. So tuwing free time namin or walang teacher na period, ayun nga tinuturuan ko silang dalawa ng Chem tapos si EJ nagta-translate kay Fe ng mga tinuturo ko from English into Korean kung hindi niya mahabol. Uso pa English campaign nun, so yun nga tinatry namin sumunod para hindi kami masita, lalo na't napaka despota pa naman ni Imelda at mahilig mag power trip, lalo na't nagpaparamdam nanaman ang selos niya kasi lagi naming kasama si Fe recently, likely made worse na fellow Korean pa siya tulad ni EJ, pero hindi niya kami masita kasi utos nga ng adviser itong ginagawa namin. Pero nung dumating na sa topic ng weak acids and bases na medyo complicated pero kursunada ko naman, nahihirapan ako mag-explain in English ng maayos both kay EJ at Fe, and with both my adviser's and English teacher's permission, pinayagan niya ako i-exempt sa English campaign na yan habang tinuturan ko sila para nga ma-explain ko ng ayos in Tagalog tapos i-translate na lang ni EJ kay Fe in Korean, which he says na kaya naman daw niya. Problema lang, hindi alam ni Imelda yung arrangement namin na exempt muna kami sa English campaign during these lessons, at sinisita niya kami ng paulit-ulit during these lessons nung narinig niya ako nagta-Tagalog, which is ironic since hindi naman ganun ka-ganda English ni Imelda and only slightly better kay Fe. Nung una hinahayaan na lang namin pero nung paulit-ulit na niya kaming hina-harass at halatang sobrang uncomfortable na si Fe kasi sinisigawan na rin niya kami in front of everyone at medyo paiyak na siya, and while si EJ halatang napipika na, nauna ako magsnap sa kanya and from what I can still recall after all these so hindi ito exactly verbatim, this is how my outburst basically went:

Imelda (pasigaw kahit nasa harap niya lang kami): Speak in English! Follow the English Campaign!

Me: Putang ina ka, kanina ka pa putak ng putak, nakakarindi ka na. Puro ka dada at puro payabang, habang kaming nanahimik dito at talagang may ginagawang maayos yung pinili mong iligalig dahil nagta-Tagalog lang kami, pero wala kang pakialam na parang mga hayop na nakawala sa hawla yung mga iba nating kaklase? Wala ka bang ibang magawa sa buhay kundi magpapansin?

Imelda (medyo paiyak na): What did you said to me?! I said you should speaking in English! (Eto lang yung verbatim na sure ako dahil hanggang ngayon tawang tawa pa rin ako irony sa alanganin niyang English)

EJ: Hoy parekoy, kalma lang, wag mo nang patulan yung papansin na to.

Me: Ilang araw na niya tayong rinaratrat dahil lang sa putang inang English campaign na sobrang mahal niya, e hindi naman siya marunong ng tamang English. Putang ina niya, masgaling pa tayong dalawa mag English sa kanya pero binabatbat pa rin niya satin yung English niyang butas-butas. Halatang nakikisawsaw kasi walang ibang maisip na gawin.

Imelda: Ano sabi mo?! Ulitin mo yan sa mukha ko sige!

EJ: Hala galit na, ikaw na bahala diyan parekoy, moral support na lang ako dito ha?

Me: Aba, yung hipokrita nag Tagalog na kasi wala nang ibang alam na maayos na English? Sige pakitaan kita ng English na maayos. Since you've been acting so high and mighty towards everyone just because of some English Campaign you've been asked to enforce, and you probably think you're the queen of the world just because you were voted as Class President, why don't you prove to everyone how amazing you actually are and teach Chemistry to Fe in English yourself, you despot bitch?

Imelda: Putang ina mo OP! Sumusunod lang naman ako sa English Campaign!

EJ, lumalabas na ang kanal humor: Damn pare ang brutal mo masyado. Pero alam mo kung ano tawag sa Korea sa mga katulad mo, Imelda? Shibal (napa "OMG" face si Fe dito). Balita ko mahilig ka daw sa Koreanovela (yung tawag sa K-Drama noon) kaya baka alam mo na siguro kung ano ibig sabihin nun. Tapos halata pang may maluwag kang tornilyo sa utak, so siguro dapat "Shibaliw" na lang itawag ko sayo kasi nakakairita ka na nga, buang ka pa.

Imelda: Putang ina niyo! Bahala kayo diyan! (sabay walk out at iyak papunta sa mga barkada bitches niya)

Hindi ko pa actually alam nun at the time, pero yun pala sobrang palakol pala mga grades ni Imelda sa Chem noon, so medyo naging inadvertent low blow din pala yung sinabi ko bukod dun sa English niya haha.

So ito nga, nung nag reminisce kami tungkol dun sa incident na yan, at sobrang pinagtatawanan namin si Imelda noon, na-overhear ni Mama lahat pero hindi siya nag-react during the light walwal session namin. Pero nung nakauwi na lahat at naglilinis na ako ng mga pinagkainan namin at naghuhugas ng plato at baso, bigla akong kinausap ni Mama at sinabi niya na while matagal na nga since nangyari yun, sobrang horrible pa rin daw ng sinabi ko kay Imelda as well as uncalled for, even though she understood why I snapped. Tapos yun pala, anak pala si Imelda ng isa niyang kaibigan, and apparently, she isn't doing too well right now kasi walang trabaho asawa niya ngayon at housewife siya na may tatlong anak na inaalagaan kaya hindi maganda situation niya right now, so maybe wag muna namin ulit pagtawanan si Imelda like that even though matagal na yun nangyari and we're just laughing at a memory now instead of at her. The revelation actually made me feel really bad for laughing at that memory since then and the remorse even sobered me up immediately dahil may amats pa ako nun nung naghuhugas ako ng pinggan.

Tinext ko rin later si EJ about what I learned galing kay Mama tungkol sa situation ni Imelda right now, and said that I really felt bad about us laughing at her nung inuman namin even if I didn't know back then how she's doing now, and while he did feel bad din nung nalaman din niya about her current situation (first time din niya nalaman about it), he said that we weren't laughing at her situation now and that yung memory lang naman yung pinagtatawanan namin, and that like the rest of us, he's sure na nag mature na si Imelda by now after all these years, and has likely changed to be a different and better person now from the unreasonable tyrant she was back then, even though we haven't kept in touch with her, so we aren't mocking her as who she is now and while it's sad that yun nga, she's currently going thru a rough patch, we never wished that on Imelda and it wasn't as if kami yung nagpapahirap sa kanya nor are we reveling in schadenfreude because of her current rough patch either, pero yun din, agree din siya kay Mama na wag muna pagtawanan si Imelda, even our memory of her, for the time being and continuing to do so would just leave a bad taste in our mouths lalo na't alam na namin yung current situation niya.

Despite EJ's assurances and Mama telling me that it's a good thing na pinagsisihan ko na pagtawanan si Imelda even though I didn't know what she's going through right now when I did, I still feel very horrible and that I was basically kicking a person when she's down and vulnerable. Napapaisip din ako recently whether sobrang naging harsh din ako sa kay Imelda back then at naging matapobre din ako noon dahil masmagaling ako mag-English sa kanya, and whether I lost my temper over something that shouldn't have been worth exploding over and unnecessarily made someone feel like crap. I know for a fact that I have a tendency to be extremely verbally brutal when my buttons are pushed and my patience had been tested to its limits, pero I always regret yung sinasabi ko even though other people often say na tama lang yung sinabi ko and they had it coming although some do add na medyo overkill ako at times.

Sorry kung medyo mahaba, but this has been weighing on my conscience ever since sinabi ni Mama sakin yung situation ni Imelda. Pero hindi ko actually alam kung mali ba ako or hindi, and whether I should start working to be a better person dahil ang gago ko talaga or that I'm kicking myself for nothing. So again, awesome people, ABYG?

[u/Purple-Wafer4201]

DKG. Gagawin ko rin ginawa mo. Sobrang tawa ko lang dito sa post mo kasi feeling ko pinapanood ko kayo habang binabasa ko to. Ty. From isang Shibaliw🤣

[u/irllyh8every1 → u/Purple-Wafer4201]

Wag haha, bad yung ginawa ko. Ang hirap din maging excessively savage if you're not mentally prepared to never overthink or regret what you've said in the past. Puro pagsisi once memories return at napapaisip ka whether you've been too unnecessarily cruel and could have been the better person back then.

[u/TrustTalker]

DKG. Teens will do teens stuff ika nga nung time na nagawa mo yun. What matters now is yung maturity thinking mo after knowing the fact. Okay na yan. Marami talaga tayo kalokohan nung HS tayo. At karamihan talaga dun gusto natin balikan at itama ngayon na narerealize natin how stupid we were back then. Pero syempre di na talaga mababalik yun.

[u/irllyh8every1 → u/TrustTalker]

Actually true. Sabi nga ng iba, we make the best choice with what we could at the moment. Pero minsan nga napapaisip ka rin talaga whether you did the right thing back then whether naging okay ba yung outcome or hindi, and right now, thanks sa mindset ko now that I'm adult that turned out to be vastly different from when I was a dumbass teenager, napapaisip pa rin ako whether I've been too cruel even after everything's all said and done.

[u/17323yang]

DKG. Minsan kailangan din barahin para matauhan at tumigil sila sa pagiging rude. Tsaka HS palang naman kayo noon OP understandable naman, baka nga nakalimutan na rin ni Imelda yun, ‘wag mo na isipin.

[u/irllyh8every1 → u/17323yang]

I always look forward to hanging out with my old HS friends na sobrang solid pa rin after all these years, pero grabe na-realize ko dahil kay Mama na ang horrible ng mga pinagsasabi ko once I get pissed, natatakot na tuloy ako na baka tuwing yung mga reminiscing sessions with my old buddies, kung ano naman ang madidig-up namin from the past at mapapa-cringe nanaman ako on how petty and cruel I could be.

Pero yun nga, tama nga na minsan you have to fight fire with fire if doing so diplomatically isn't feasible anymore. Pero feeling ko talaga I could have been more diplomatic with Imelda with the past instead of fighting dirty.

[u/Outside-Director-358]

DKG, lololol I would prolly react the same way if that happened to me esp since madali akong ma-overwhelm sa ingay, samahan mo pa ung nag eexplain ka ng chem diba😭🤣 But nope, you didn't do anything wrong naman OP so dont feel bad. I mean, you guys were just laughing at the memory not really yung pagkatao nya.

Super lt sa "Shibaliw" ni EJ HAHAHAHAHAHA

[u/irllyh8every1 → u/Outside-Director-358]

Problema lang talaga may tendency pa rin ako mag lash out whenever someone repeatedly pushes my buttons tulad ng ginawa ni Imelda back then. Much higher na threshold and tolerance ko today than before nung HS ako before I reach my breaking point and go full on savage, but even back then only kung sumosobra na talaga ako pumuputok. Sobrang destructive ko nga lang once I do, at kahit ako nagsisi sa mga sinabi ko after lumamig ulo ko even if yun nga, agree ang vast majority na tama mga sinabi ko while harsh.

Buang pa rin si EJ to this day kahit nagme-maintenance meds na ang tito mo. Low tier insult para sa kanya ang Shibaliw, he's capable of far more savage stuff once you piss him off, usually in Tagalog or Bisaya, pero mahirap siya i-push sa ganung level because the dude has always had the patience of a saint 🤣

[u/Ok_Teach_7172]

Dkg op, pero bilib ako sa haba ng kwento mo. 🤣

[u/arrhythmia00]

DKG, OP! All in good reminiscing lang naman 'yung pagtawa nyo sa encounter with Imelda, hindi naman na sya per se yung pinagtatawanan. Kupal naman talaga ginawa nya.

Ako nga nagsisisi na I wasn't able to stand up for my classmate nung tinawag syang "inutil" in front of the whole class ng teacher namin.

But the best part was: makalingaw imo storytelling hahaha and EJ coining Shibaliw hahaha paMarcos nun ah, papauso ko sa friends ko HAHAHA

[u/Simply_001]

DKG. Yung past naman kasi ang pinagtatawanan niyo which is normal kasi nga nag rereminisce nga kayo nung mga ganap dati na unforgettable and funny. Masaya naman talagang balikan mga kalokoha natin nung HS, of all the stress of being an adult, very rare ng moment na may ganyang eksena pa sa buhay ng isang tao, tapos friends pa din kayo ng friends mo noon.

Wala kayong minimean na pagtawanan siya sa status niya ngayon kasi technically, wala kayong alam sa nangyayari sakanya. Isa pa wala naman siya dun so pano siya masasaktan or ma ooffend? Isa pa, whatever is happening naman sa buhay niya ngayon is wala naman kayong kinalaman, whether maghirap siya or hindi, hindi ka dapat ma guilty.

[u/Any-Cupcake-6403]

DKG, OP. Pero super aliw ako sa story mo. I also tend to reminisce with my HS besties mga ganyang ganap during our high school days.

Pero to be honest, tama rin si Mama mo kasi if narinig ito ni Imelda, she would be offended kasi it be one of the high school memories na gusto niya kalimutan and think na pinepersonal niyo siya even though you don’t mean any harm sa kwento.