TAKING HOME THE BACON

“And the winner is…”

            Bright lights greeted me as I opened my eyes to the new day that awaited me. Today was the day. I have long prepared for it, but nothing beats the excitement of going into battle. I was aiming to win, but underestimating my enemies was a lesson I had long learned not to do.

            For the last time, I reviewed my techniques, practiced in shifting my voice, from one phase to another, checked my articulation and pronunciation and before long, was confident that I could pull this off.

            7:00 AM

            I was running late.

            Picturing myself retelling the story to an expecting crowd and horrifying judges, I quickly took a bath, grabbed my bag and went into a frantic frenzy of trying to get on time for the program, stopping by the school to get our school’s flag.

            I travelled alone for I was left behind for being late, and being late made me quiet nervous.

            Holding onto that flag, somehow gave me courage and calmed my heart. I must win, I must do my best! My school entrusted its name upon me, showing great trust which deserves all the best I could give. As I got near the port, I saw other contestants boarding the bangkero with their coaches. Some of them were still practicing their pieces and waving their hands as they gave life to it.

            As I too boarded the banca, I said a simple prayer to Him in the heavens to shine his favor upon me, bless my performance and bring peace to my heart, no matter what the outcome may be.

            I finally arrived at Rawis Port and took the trusty pedi-cab to the venue. The hot sun pierced deep in my skin, contrasting with the cold breeze which gently brushed against my cheeks causing me to perspire and chill at the same time.

            On my arrival, I realized that the parade had already begun. I saw them all, Elementary and Secondary students walking proudly as the Bugle and Drum Corps showed off their colorful uniforms and energetic tunes to the crowd.

            I found our delegation. Unfolding our banner, I hurriedly joined in to what is left of the long walk that they had without me.

            We entered the Sport’s Center and sat down. More delegations came, all with colorful and unique combinations of hues for their costumes. I felt a bit uncomfortable at this sight. What if our school lose to them? What will become of us? I tucked these thoughts away as the opening program started.

            I still remember what one of the principals there said “In these kind of contests, there are only two phases – to win and to lose.” This caught my attention. So, we had a 50:50 chance of winning. That sounded fair.

            We proceeded to the school where the contest was being held. Slowly, one by one, my co-delegates disappeared into their designated rooms. I felt nervous for them, my imagination ran wild! I saw that room as a pitch black cave with no certainty of survival.

            The time came when I too had to go into that cave, I had to go into battle and face the chosen ones.

            “Story Retelling Contest” said the sign.

            I sat near the door where there was better lighting since I forgot to bring my glasses. Oh! For all the things that I could have left behind!

            I was the first to arrive. The aura of the room was unappealing to me, the stone walls were as cold as ice, and the presence of the judges made my heart skip a beat.

            My opponents arrived like lions – haughty and proud, ready to devour the weak.

            The proctor distributed the materials and behold – “The Silver Secrets”. We have the same book at home! Even so, they picked my least favorite story – “The Boy Who Ate Stars – Alfred Yuson”, but still I have read it a million times. It tells of a boy who wished to eat stars and because of his greed, bad things happened until one stranger came who helped them restore what was lost to them. This is an advantage for me, is it not?

            We were given exactly an hour to read the story, write a draft, prepare and put together our ideas in order to deliver an effective and entertaining story to the readers.

            The time was up, I was asked to pick a piece of paper which determines our order of presentation. Well, it was my lucky day! I picked number one. I prefer to go first in order to preserve my originality.

            I took a few moments to calm my raging heart and in doing so, pulled myself together.

            I began to read.

            My hands shook – it didn’t matter.

            My heart was racing – it didn’t matter.

            My lips quivered – it didn’t matter.

            My eyes twitched as I felt blood going up my head but still – it didn’t matter, for the story must go on.

            I shifted my voice from one form to another, from an old-pirate-like-villain, to an innocent young boy, and finally to a stern, yet kind man’s voice. I used my resources – my hands, my facial expressions and dreamy eyes to make them feel exactly what the character felt.

            To those who didn’t know what contest I was in might think that I was going crazy! All eyes were on me, I felt my cheeks grow red. But my coaches were there. I can’t fail them. Their presence gave me strength to go on.

            I choked at the near end of the story, but I knew that I could do it. I looked at the judges, flashed a smile and finished the story soon after that.

            The deafening cheers and claps coming from my classmates and friends from other schools relieved me of what seemed to be the longest 5 – minutes of my life.

            I sat down, caught my breath and went to my coaches. We waited until everyone else were finished. Every single performance brought me great deal of pain. Yet, I smiles, for I knew that somehow, something was in store for me.

            After lunch, the group contests begun. I cheered at the top of my lungs, even stood at chairs just to show my support to my classmates! When other schools cheered, we cheered louder!

            The awarding finally came. Cheers came from all four corners of the gym. It was like that slow-motion moments you see in the movies.

            Every time a student from our delegation would be called, I would leap out of pride and joy! I was extremely happy! We got most of the 1^st and 2^nd places and that was really something!

            I was happy yet nervous for the result of my own contest. I held my breath as the emcees announced the winners for the Story Retelling Contest. I felt a chill going down my spine, my hands and feet went cold.

            “2^nd placer…”

            And it was at that moment that I realized that my name was being called!  I do admit, I did feel a pang of disappointment. But this was it, I won! And I believe that I did deserve that place for all the efforts that I have put on my performance.

            Deep inside, with all my heart, I thank those who believed in my capabilities, especially to Him – our God on the heavens who gave me the gift of another day in order to participate in this event and bring glory to His name.

            I looked around me. All I could see were smiling faces and sparkling eyes, with all the magic to tell a story of a thousand words in a single glace.

            This is it.

            This is our moment.

            And all I could say is…

            We really did take home the bacon.