Rehipons

Tuesday, the 11th of December. I was scheduled to meet up with Jasmin Hipons, my former advisory class, for our much-delayed gathering. Dubbed as Rehipons (with the full title “Reshrimp. Reprawn. Rehipon.”), it was also Re-Eastwood as well for it was the venue of choice. There were many cancelled school days this school year, so I thought grouping ourselves together was an easy task. But make-up classes, piled-up requirements, and Ramayana practices got in the way. I even doubted if Rehipons will push through, but the long break provided convenience. Kervin, the resident gm-er, spread the word, but some still had deadlines to beat, while others were in the province already.

Pisay was the meeting place, and at around 10 AM – which means we are destined to leave about two hours later. When I arrived, five Hipons – Das, Arvie, Jojo, Hannah, and Camille – were already in the front lobby. I excused myself for a while to get some things in the Math unit, and there were more people who arrived. I never expected Paul and Topher to come since they did not reply to my group message, and Jojo wasn’t sure when I talked to him before. Inah played hard to get over the phone with Das, while PJ and others feasted on the scarce food that I brought (from yesterday’s outbound activity). It’s hard to determine as to who we are waiting for, since people are not replying, save for Migs. Well, I actually do not mind doing the waiting game. The laid-back atmosphere with the people you miss terribly is more than enough consolation. Frances backed out the last minute, while Jio and Jenny will go straight to McDo Eastwood.

Jasmin was subdivided into 4 taxi groups (yep, no transpo). Kervin went with Ange, Hannah, and Camille (Jasmin-Sr). Arvie, Daryll, and Migs were with Paul; they were the first ones to leave. Topher and Jojo stayed with me. I designated PJ to stay behind with Das and Erin as they wait for fashionably late Inah, who arrived as my group just hailed a cab.

I asked for the plate numbers of the others’ cabs, just in case Mr. Cab Driver turns out to be Mr. Criminal-In-Disguise. The wonders of Unlitxt. It was cheaper to communicate because of the promo (well, cheaper if the promo is maximized), and we can kill boredom by sending hollow messages. 23 out of 30 Hipons are with Globe, just like me, which makes it more expedient. Jio and Jenny were already together, and soon, at about a quarter before 12, the pack regrouped.

We ate lunch at Yellow Cab, probably one of the more common group food choices. It was partly my birthday treat as well, so choosing high-end restaurants is a no-no. Plus, I have envisioned Rehipons to be a feast of Roasted Garlic and Shrimp pizza because of obvious reasons (pomelo juice will be harder to find, unfortunately). There were also 4 Cheese and New York’s Finest. We sat at a very long table with me at the end. Drinks were either Coke or Sola Iced Tea, and Daryll played with Miguel’s bottle. He put crushed chili peppers in his iced tea and asked people to drink. It seems a moment of cheap thrills is inevitable given any Rehipons. Haha. Daryll replaced Migs’ drink, and soon, we were feasting.

I doubted if we will finish what I ordered given that the girls usually eat like birds. Fortunately, the guys were more than willing to take the portions intended for the girls, plus latecomer Jiggs is never shy in times like these. Slice by slice, the food was annihilated. PJ and Daryll ordered potato halves, and I gladly took a bite.

After eating, we went outside and stood there for a time, when we noticed policemen taking pictures. One of them, Inspector Cadelina if I am not mistaken, chatted with us. We shared that we were from Pisay and that our break started already. He then asked if it’s true that Pisay scholars are a cut above the rest, to which I answered hangingly, “well,…” with matching hand gestures and facial twitches. By the way, the police was under the impression that all of us were classmates Haha, works every time.

Apparently, Re-Eastwood meant doing everything again: we were to watch a movie, and then troop to Power Station for some action. I do not mind actually; being with them again, whatever the activity, is enough. I was teasing them to watch One More Chance, especially since we should have watched Vhong Navarro’s Agent X44 instead of Night at the Museum had the Star Cinema flick been shown in Eastwood. Unfortunately, One More Chance wasn’t screened in Eastwood at that time either, to the majority’s relief. We settled for Golden Compass; Camille went home already, sadly. Choosing the seats was fun. Ten people were to sit in one row, then the other seven in the next, but not together. Three will sit at the left end of the row, while the remaining four at the right, since there is a senior citizen placed in the middle of the row. I hoped he won’t mind if our group started to imitate chaos.

The group started to buy candies and other food items, then we went inside. I sat beside Daryll, since he was a fun seatmate in Night at the Museum, plus I am a fan of his jelly beans. In spite of my egging, he didn’t buy jelly beans this time, since the flavors that he wanted were unavailable. Ange, Jenny, and Jio were at the left end, while I sat with Daryll, Kervin, and another person (was it Arvie or Hannah?) on the right end, and the rest were in the row in front. Meaning, I was nearest Mr. Senior Citizen.

In my opinion, the movie never took off. It was like a long wait for a spark, and then it ended already. Some characters in the movie had very ugly demons. Fortunately, the effects were good, and the child actress is pretty talented. We were laughing at something when we were going out of the cinema, but I couldn’t recall the topic exactly. It has something to do with Mr. Senior Citizen and one of the parting lines of the movie.

Power Station time. I just had to share that it was my first time to win in the Air Hockey with triple puck play *applause*. Kervin played monstrously, so I was delegated as the assistant, but nevertheless, I won for the first time. Jio and Ange couldn’t handle our tandem, and I had at least two aces. Daryll, PJ, and Jiggs, meanwhile, tried the punch machine. Daryll and PJ, karetistas as they are, kicked instead, and they tallied the same score. Jiggs was assigned the finale punch, and since he was doing it the conventional way, a higher score was intended. As he gathered momentum, his lower half hit the metal surface of the machine already, making his punch way weaker. That was a very funny scene. They also tried the guitar, the drum game, Tekken, and the zombie-shooting game as well.

I knew I should have recorded Miguel when he went for Dance Maniax. He was simply an epitome of grace, which might be hard to find for someone with a large built. He actually danced and he used his feet when necessary. There were confusing sequences wherein one has to use his hands over and under the censors in seemingly impossible rhythm, but Migs was always up for the challenge. Surprisingly, Topher was pretty good in Dance Maniax as well.

After our group pictorial, Das, Erin, and Jenny headed home already, while some opted to play some more. We left at about 6PM. Only Jio was to be fetched, and the rest were to commute. Arvie and Jiggs headed to a different direction. The group went outside Eastwood, to no avail. Miguel rode a jeep already. We went back inside Eastwood, and Jio was willing to let Paul, Jojo, and Topher hitch with him until Pisay.

Oh, by the way, Ange and PJ handed me a Bench paper bag with “something” inside. It was presented in the most non-surprising of ways, with the very articulate PJ doing the talking. It was a corkboard filled with messages from Jasmin and other sections as well. Actually, I wasn’t surprised since I saw the contents already as early as Yellow Cab. Nobody was guarding it! Haha, I was just waiting as to when the group will present it to me. Thanks to the simple gift, guys. It was very much appreciated.

While waiting for a cab, I asked Hannah and Inah to fill up empty colored papers to be put also in the cork board, while I bought McMilkshake (do they call it this way?) with PJ and Daryll. Soon, Kervin, Hannah and Ange hailed a cab, leaving Inah with us milkshake guys. Inah was already frantic; her mom already texted Das as to Inah’s whereabouts. Finally, the cab from heaven arrived, and off we went to Trinoma. I was a bit tired, but I was giving random questions basically to update myself, and they were willing to answer some of them. The prom season always bring excitement.

The moment we reached Trinoma, Inah left the cab hurriedly, as if we were strangers. Maybe she can feel mom’s ire. The three of us went to Food Choices to sit while waiting for Daryll’s parents, but we immediately tranferred to McDo Mindanao. PJ rode a jeep before Daryll and I crossed the street. Inside the fast food establishment, I was reading the little notes in the corkboard while chatting with Daryll. Soon, his parent called, and we separated ways. I rode the Quiapo jeep.

Before reaching home, I was recounting the day’s events, and that’s when I realized that the ties that bind Jasmin 09 and I are pretty much intact. Same old, and yet different. I looked forward to the next Rehipons tentatively set in February. I hope more people can come. We can do things over and over again, but I will not get tired of it.