The universe has a weird sense of humor and I should know because it has been playing a lot of tricks on me ever since I can remember.
Around 9:30 a.m. on a Thursday morning, I received a text message from Butch(see my list of Friends). He wanted me to judge a beauty contest. A beauty contest!? I have been complaining that I am bored and have nothing to do and this is what the universe had dished up for me. I said ,yes, and promised to be there before 2 p.m. This was a chance for me to get out of the house and ,besides, I haven't seen Butch in two years.
I brought my jacket with me as I went out of the house because it was drizzling. Butch, met me at the school gate and we chatted as we walked towards a cluster of school buildings. He gave occassional nods to students who greeted him as we moved along.
Butch, is one of the faculty members of a public national high school. As he led me to the school's computer room, I gathered that he really enjoyed his work. He told me how he likes his students, how he has been coaching a student for a declamation contest and how he is helping the staff of the student publication to do a good job.
Butch, left me to the comforts of airconditioning as he went off to attend to some school matter. I gazed upon the brand new ten black computer units, courtesy of the Japanese government,and wished that I was doing something worthwhile with my life. People younger than me are winning medals, contributing to science, earning millions and, in Butch's case, molding the minds of the country's hope and future leaders. I,on the other hand, have been busy committing the mortal sin, Sloth.
I perused the judging sheets and noted the minor awards.The two other judges and I were expected to choose who was Best in the Production Number, Best in Sexy Jeans, Best in School Uniform, Best in Sports Attire, Best in Unique Creation and Best in Interview. Butch, reappeared and handed me another judging sheet."By the way, you also have to judge the hip hop dancing competition". Great. I can't even do a bad backflip how much more properly judge a dance competition. Another teacher came in and announced that the pageant was about to begin. The other two judges and I trooped towards the school grounds.
The sun was blazing madly on us and students were commissioned to hold an umbrella over our heads. As the contestants romped around in their respective uniforms, the sky darkened. A few moments later, the rain poured down. It was as if the sun and the rain were trying to outdo each other on inflicting the greater discomfort on humans.
We retreated to one of the school's sheds with a group of students. After a few moments, we were escorted back to the computer room. Butch and I chatted while munching on a Skyflake and sipping Pop Cola. After thirty minutes, the rain started to die down and we waited for it to stop.
When we emerged from the computer room, the sky was still an angry grey. The contestants went on to show us how they looked in their sports attire. Most of the contestants opted for the badminton player look. After that, they also wore their Unique Creation, which consisted of two meters of cloth molded to the artistic sensibilities of the contestants or their mentors. The hip hop dancing contestants also did their thing in between costume changes of the beauty contestants.
It started to drizzle again but the show went on. We were given umbrellas minus the servient students. It was a heroic scene, a testament to human endurance. as the three judges withstood the rain under multi-colored umbrellas, seated on plastic armchairs and dutifully jotting down the scores of the contestants unto wet judging sheets. All of us were earnest to choose the worthy Miss Intrams and the best hip hop dancers. When the time to judge the top five candidates came, I abandoned my soaked judging sheet and used the Notes feature of my phone instead.
It was already evening when the pageant finally ended. Contestant No. 1, was proclaimed Miss Intrams 2006 and the freshmen were pronounced as the best dancers. Everybody was happy with the result. I was pleased that I did my job well despite the fact that my judging experience was limited to watching Miss Universe on TV and to have watched You Got Served.
I was whisked away by, Butch, to the computer room and we checked out his laptop. We waited for the rain to end its celebration of its triumph over the sun. It was around 7:30 p.m. when Butch and I left the school and took a jeepney to the mall. He was going to feed me at Lighthouse Restaurant as compensation for my services.
As we dined on kinilaw, spaghetti, fried chicken and pork adobo, Butch confided to me scandalous trivia on the people we know. Apparently, while I was busy committing the sins of Sloth,Pride, Anger and ,sometimes, Gluttony, others have preoccupied themselves by committing Lust, Envy, and Vanity. In short, their lives are more exciting than mine.
I did a retrospect on my life as I rode the jeepney home. Is my life really that boring? I asked myself, whilst scenes of myself reading books, watching movies and eating at restaurants flashed before my eyes. The universe has been playing with me(obviously a sign of paranoia) all throughout my life. Surely, the judging stint I did that day has some significance in the greater scheme of things.
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