Pride & Despair: The Modern Asog: Umaga - Ang Unang Perlas

There is a personal saying in The Philippines, especially among local pinoys that whenever The Philippines’ ancient and modern female representation and participation were mentioned and why even though Women had been notable contributors in Filipino Society are not as well studied as the contributions of Men, this is usually one of the responses.

“Ang Pilipinas ay isang lipunang pinamumunuan ng kababaihan na may mga katangiang patriyarkal na moderno at kolonyal.”

“The Philippines is a Matriarchal Society with Modern and Colonial Patriarchal Characteristics”

Even with increased participation and representation of women as well with calls of more pre-colonial characteristics of Filipino Society to be more visible in the first Post-Vanishing Era, The Philippines is and still is dominated with Patriarchy and the influence of 500+ years of Spanish Colonization wouldn’t go away that easily and in many Filipino families with women usually leading the charge, they were usually more hardworking while the men in those families were more sheltered and less likely to learn basic skills on their own accord.

Hence, there had been calls to co-exist the old Colonial Spanish and American influences with new versions of Pre-Colonial aspects to create a new Post-Vanishing Filipino Society, they wanted the influences of the past and present to be mixed together to create a new future for Filipinos in the post-vanishing era of The Philippines.

Those calls wanted the exception as not an exception anymore but as a normalized standard across The Philippines, starting with the major urban metropolitan areas. 

For now though, it is still the exception, as is the case with the Reyes Family back when they were still separated as just the ‘Dalisay’ and ‘Flores’ families.

It has been the normalized standard for both families to have more girls than boys due to historical and biological factors, Many of the Dalisay and Flores Family Members were always born as Girls in both family trees, whether in the direct blood lines or by the branch bloodlines and the Men that were born in specific time periods like the Philippine-American War, World War 2 and the Martial Law period were more likely to perish for reasons such as Disease, Warfare and Forced Disappearances for being in the wrong side respectively (though the latter affected all members equally, hence their subtle yet violent roles in the 3rd EDSA Revolution and more peaceful roles in the 4th EDSA Revolution respectively.) as well as a variety of other negative reasons that contribute to the Dalisay and Flores families’ disproportionate amount to more Women being born within both families in comparison to Men.  

Which is why, as the exception, the Dalisay and Flores women had to fend for themselves to survive and make their own living throughout their history, especially in critical and specific time periods like the Spanish Colonial Era, the American Imperialism Era, the Japanese Occupation Period and the Martial Law Era.

Though as the exception, the Women of the Dalisay and Flores Families are strong in their own way and are hardworking in their own way, which meant that a considerable amount of women within both families took on professions that were traditionally dominated or stereotyped for Men such as Engineering and Construction.

Such exceptions also include making sure the Men within both families also contribute and to not be lazy, everyone must contribute, even just simple household chore tasks were taken seriously within both households.

These dynamics were adopted for practical reasons, especially in the modern pre-vanishing times after the Martial Law Era as for The Flores Family they have a profitable Jewelry Business in both in The Philippines and Abroad to take care of before the Vanishing happened and for The Dalisay Family, they had family abroad to send remittances to the rest of the family back home before the vanishing. 

Though after the Vanishing, with the combination of more hard and manual labor jobs as well as restructuring their own businesses to be focused on local interests, both the Dalisay and Flores families managed to make their financial needs met, if barely in the first ten years or so after the Vanishing.

But the Vanishing didn’t change the gender dynamics within both families, instead it practically strengthened those dynamics and after Gloria and Jasmine sealed and forged the partnership through their marriage, the Dynamic became more notable just for survival, it became an important but optional family tradition of the Reyes Family.

As the exception once again, because of the unofficial and silent dominance of Women in both families, they were receptive and accepting of Lesbians and Bisexuals as a few notable members of both families in their family histories were Lesbians and Bisexuals out of their own choice. 
 
Even if Lesbian and Bisexual marriages weren’t officially recognized historically for obvious historical reasons, for both families, it was normalized for them and didn’t need official approval to be married, only partnerships are enough for those specific Lesbian & Bisexual members.

And as a result of having less boys than girls, both families were also very receptive and supportive of adoption which were mostly baby boys from
orphanages with the occasional older child or teenager, usually adopted under legal means which these orphaned boys would be adopted through straight couples within the Main and Branch Bloodlines of both families and through Single members (which is usually more common and always the members with problems with having their own children would take this route.) 

Maynard was humming while his hair was being taken care of by one of his aunts, it is an unofficial tradition among Dalisay and Flores Girls and Women to do each other’s hair for special events like birthday parties and weddings and after Gloria and Jasmine’s marriage the tradition became more common, though while Maynard’s case is unusual, it was not unusual to tie his hair up for such special occasions.

“Tita Rosalinda! asan po si mama at si mama?” 

[ENG] “Auntie Rosalinda! where is mom and mom?”

Maynard asked while snacking on a single piece of pandesal (or a substitute/imitation of Pandesal, more closely related to a Fried Glutinous Rice Donut than an actual Pandesal) that is flat yet still edible and is made from rice flour topped with local yeast and starches.

In the last 65 years since the Vanishing, especially after the 3rd EDSA revolution and the Spratly Wars, with the loss of most global supply chain trade routes which meant the loss of critical foods and the ingredients to make them, The Philippines had to get creative in stretching and producing their own food supplies which meant they had to focus on being forced to make amends with its agricultural sectors and the farmers finally have their voices to be heard more loudly which was long overdue but never too late for those who needed their expertise and skills for future generations.

As a result, familiar food products based on local foodstuffs had been invented or more commonly, reinvented with local ingredients as this isn’t the first time Filipinos made local versions of common pre-vanishing foodstuffs.

Some of the many famous examples of new food inventions in The Philippines (now being emphasized more seriously in post-vanishing Filipino education) are Banana Ketchup, Soyalac and Darak Rice Cookies (Tiki-Tiki) during WW2 in the Japanese Occupation of The Philippines where Filipina Food Technologist, Pharmaceutical Chemist, Humanitarian and War Heroine, Maria Orosa e Ylagan experimented on foods that are native to The Philippines.

Born in November 29, 1893, Maria Orosa e Ylagan began her studies as a government-sponsored scholar in Washington State in the University of Washington in Seattle where she earned a bachelor’s and master’s degree in Pharmaceutical Chemistry and worked in fish canneries in Alaska where she learned factory canning.

As a result of these experiences, Maria returned to the Philippines to teach local filipinos, especially filipino women on how to create meals for themselves using local ingredients as well as teaching them food preservation and preparation, she also invented the Palayók Oven for Filipino families without access to electricity for baking.

(Which the oven itself would be useful later on, especially for those in rural areas as well as those who generally familiar to cooking without electricity as brief periods of electricity shortages nationwide due to the lack of refined fossil fuels now that most pre-vanishing global trade supplies are gone and its trade routes either disappearing along with it, barely clinging on for surviving island nations as well as territories and regions of dead mainland nations had caused many to briefly turn to more simpler or intensive manual methods of cooking to which most rural provincial folk adapted very easily due to the abundance of natural resources still available in their areas, at least the ones that are at least public as well as accessible and are not protected by the government or exploited by any local or foreign companies.)

She eventually developed new recipes based on local ingredients such as Banana Ketchup made from Bananas and other ingredients locally available in the Philippine Archipelago as a response to the Popular but Expensive Tomato Ketchup, Wines made from local filipino fruits, A desiccated and powdered form of Calamansi to make Calamansi Juice and other such recipes. 

Also using her local and technical knowledge, she made other culinary contributions and taught preservation methods for native Filipino dishes such as Adobo, Dinuguan, Kilawin and Escabeche.

She also created Soyalac & Darak Rice Cookies as a response to the malnutrition happening in Manila during WW2 and snuck in such food items to alleviate the starvation within the POW camps in Manila such as in the University of Santo Tomas as well as the other camps at Capas, Tarlac & Corregidor and saved thousands of Civilian and Military lives which includes Filipinos, Americans and Other Nationals from starvation and disease. 

Unfortunately she would not survive WW2 as during the Battle of Manila, Maria refused to abandon her post and insisted that as a soldier she would stay put in the Malate Catholic School which was then Remedios Hospital established by the American Red Cross to support Filipino Civilians and American Soldiers, she died in the bombing where a shrapnel shard pierce through her heart and killed her instantly. 

The American Red Cross posthumously awarded her the Humanitarian Award for her efforts in smuggling food into the POW camps and saved thousands of lives. 

Now in the 65 years since the Vanishing, even with the partial re-opening of some trade routes and the partial return of key food products and ingredients like Wheat and Lamb from places like Japan & New Zealand, Local Food Production and the invention or re-invention of food products using local ingredients continues to this day out of necessity, sufficiency and sustainability and especially the revitalization of heirloom Filipino Food varieties to maximize sufficiency and sustainability.

Maynard continued snacking on the ‘flat pandesal’ as Aunt Rosalinda sighed and looked up and waited before both of them heard two familiar yelling figures upstairs.
  
“Hoy Señorito Kuya! Gumising ka na! Mag-bihis ka na! ubos na tayo ng oras dito!”

[ENG] “Hey Mister Angelo! Wake up now! Get dressed now! we are wasting time here!” 

Gloria said ‘calmly’ as she loudly banged on Angelo’s door, intending to wake him up as early as possible, much to Angelo’s annoyance as he got up.  

“Kuya! Gising ka na! kahit nag day off ka ngayon sa trabaho sa pulis station! hindi makatulog ka ng buong araw! hindi ka disney prinsipe! magbangon ka na!”

[ENG] “Pablo! Wake up now! even if you had a day off today from work at the police station! you are not going to sleep for the entire day! You are not a Disney prince! get up now!” 

Jasmine said ‘calmly’ as she also loudly banged on her brother’s door, much to Pablo’s dismay as he also got up.

Rosalinda sighed as she continued brushing some of Maynard’s long hair and continued braiding it into a braided bun while Maynard continued humming as the rest of the Reyes Household (at least for the Dalisays and Flores family members who lived with Jasmine and Gloria as well as Maynard while the rest of the Reyes Family still kept their old properties in case of emergencies and because selling their properties wouldn’t be the best idea in such emergencies.) was as lively as ever, except of course with how many women were present within the household (and with the other properties of the Reyes Family) doing their tasks before going out for a special occasion, with the Women being in mostly in Terno or Traja de Mestiza or better known as the Maria Clara Gown, a traditional upper class version of the Baro’t Saya worn by Aristocratic Mestiza Women in the Spanish Colonial Era while the rest wore the original Baro’t Saya and the Men all wore Barong Tagalog. 

Maynard himself didn’t know what that special occasion was exactly but didn’t mind as he knew it was something special for his adopted family members. 

Besides, all he can think about is eating more yummy food outside as everytime the Reyes family always had an outdoor event, it always involves food in a way and Maynard is very happy with even just a small portion of snacks, as long as it was food. 

Though it begs the question why this occasion was important for the rest of his adoptive family. 

“Tita Rosalinda? okay ba si mama at si mama po?”  

{ENG} “Auntie Rosalinda? Is mom and mom okay?”

Maynard asked as Rosalinda sighed again, hearing more commotion from above as she can now hear Angelo and Pablo’s distinct voices showcasing annoyance and protest to which Gloria and Jasmine yelled even louder to be faster in getting ready, Rosalinda isn’t ready to deal with her angry aunt, Gloria and her wife, Jasmine because she especially knew how explosive Gloria’s anger was when Rosalinda herself was just a 1st grader just a year short before the Vanishing and the Vanishing didn’t even change the famous angry attitude that Gloria and also Jasmine had.

She loves how her family, the Dalisays and Jasmine’s family, the Floreses were fated and meant to be together just because of the common dominance and power that the Women of both families freely exercise due to their unique circumstances which also led the Men who were born in the family to understand Women more better and that also includes all the good, bad, ugly and beautiful sides of Women.

“Okay lang sila Maynard pero wag natin maguluhin ng mga nanay mo… baka mag-dadamay ka sa mag aawayan nila sa mga tito mo.”

{ENG} “They’re okay Maynard but let’s not bother your mothers… you would be accidentally involved in their fights with your uncles.”

Aunt Rosalinda said as she continued braiding Maynard’s Hair into a Braided Bun, Maynard looked above for a bit as more familiar loud bickering is heard before going back to finish his pandesal. 

So Maynard waited until his Aunt finished braiding his hair and let him go along to his room so that he could dress up in the Barong Tagalog outfit prepared for this occasion. 

But first, he needs his phone or his laptop because he needs to find out what day it is today to have such a special occasion. 

He decided to go into his school group chats first, specifically the student council Group Chat, of which despite not being actual student council members; Maynard, Haoran, Vicenzo and Jerome were honorary members due to their assistance as backups in case the actual student council members were out of order and also because they were unofficial assistants to their own principal during their free time.  

He knows Carmela, Princess, Dominic, Perlah, Amy, Alfonzo were a part of the Student Council despite the fact that some of them, especially Dominic and Alfonzo don’t look like they belong to the Student Council, they were all smart enough to be student council members, just not in the higher positions like the Student Council President or Vice President.

Maynard as well as Haoran, Jerome and Vincenzo were all viable to be candidates to be a part of the Student Council President but all chose to decline since Maynard has his many hobbies just to spend all of his endless energy; Haoran being more aloof and avoiding any unwanted attention with all the unnecessary love he got from the Chinese, Chinoy and Bahagharite/Foreigner populations among the student body; Jerome wanting to avoid more discrimination that he got from the majority filipino student body just because of his family’s past religion & Vincenzo wanting to avoid that attention for the same reasons as Jerome but also any accusations about his family’s trafficking past.

Maynard went to his laptop and went into the San Jose de Ampayon Student Council Group Chat to see what was happening with them. 

Only to find instead that there’s practically no one online in the chat for today.

Well he did find some clues that made him suspicious on what the special occasion his entire family was preparing for and also some student council shenanigans that Maynard appreciated just for shits and giggles.

San Jose de Ampayon Institute Student Council & Co Group Chat

Members: 20 

Last Online Activity: 1 day and 10 hours ago. 

(Vice-Treasurer) Amy: “Guys… nakita ko budget ngayon at kulang tayo ng higit ₱120… need natin mag-follow up sa mga Narra at Gumamela sections kasi sila lang ang hindi pa tapos sa donation ng buong Grade 9!” 

{ENG} “Guys… I saw the budget for today and we are short of an amount of ₱120…  we need to follow up on the Narra and Gumamela Sections because they are the only ones that aren’t finished with the donation in all of Grade 9! 🫩”

Reactions: | 😯| 5 |

(Auditor) Perlah: “Diba si Maynard, Howard, Vincenzo at Jerome ang nag sobra sa magbayad para sa Commemoration Event nito? gamitan natin yung sobra nila na lang.”

{ENG} “Wasn’t it Maynard, Howard, Vincenzo and Jerome who had overpaid for this Commemoration Event? Let’s just use the excess amount that they paid already.” 

Reactions: | 👍| 3 | 🙂‍↕️| 2 |

(Treasurer) Princess: “Wag na! hindi na dapat sila mag gastos this time… dapat ang mga section na yan ang mag follow up sa mga bayad nila dyan…” 

{ENG} “No way! they should not be paying the bill this time… those sections should be the ones to follow up in their spending…” 

Maynard raised his eyebrows as he took off his outfit and put on his undershirt before trying to find his black pants, though Maynard would probably guess it was the commemoration event for his school, San Jose de Ampayon Institute in regards to the contributions of their Alumni which was coincidentally also including his adoptive mothers, Gloria and Jasmine who had coincidentally studied in the same school but weren’t aware of each other’s existence for most of their time in the school until the San Jose de Ampayon Literature Festival in their 8th and 10th Grade years respectively via a mutual friend of theirs.

After finding his pants and getting dressed, he went back to his laptop for more back-reading gossip, oh how he loved this chatroom so much.

“Tsaka! sila lagi paggastos sa mga event noong elementary! at especially noong grade 7 at 8!” 

{ENG} “Plus! they were always paying for the events since elementary! and especially since Grade 7 and 8!” 

Reactions: | 5 | 🙂‍↕️|

“At tsaka si Maynard at si Haoran ay lagi nagdagdag ng gastusin para sa mga event na yan! kahit wala sila karapatang magbayad! kasi meron mga walang kwentang sabihin na kulang sila ng pera! ay nako! bahala sila mag minus points lagi sa mga grado nila! Hindi! dapat ang mga section na yan ang magagastos ng pera nila! hindi na pwede lagi silang apat ang mga gastos sa kanila lagi! at sila dapat mag adjust sa paggastos pera nila! hindi silang apat lang!”  

{ENG} “And also Maynard and Haoran had always added their spending for those events! even if they have no responsibility in paying! because there are those who have no way saying that they actually don’t have any money! Oh my god! leave it to them that they will minus points on their grades! No! those sections will be the ones spending their own money! we can’t allow those four to always pay for their expenses! and they should adjust in spending their money! not always those four!” 

Reactions: | 5 | 🙂‍↕️|

Maynard hummed as he agreed while putting on the modified Barong Tagalog that some of his aunts, including Auntie Nathalie and Auntie Mirasol made with modified designs from a regular Barong Tagalog bought from the local markets.

Being nice has its limits after all and he himself is an example on why being nice doesn’t mean being weak, he was the one who started fights and finished fights outside of school after all in the name of his dignity, for his adoptive family and also for his friends.

But Maynard didn’t say anything as he scrolled down and frowned all the way, he really does feel bad that while he, Haoran, Vincenzo and Jerome didn’t have to deal with any pressing school issues, the rest of the student council was basically doing damage control to keep the school in peace every year ever since the Vanishing that came with a flood of not only Filipinos from abroad but also Foreigners as well.

(Muse) Carmela: 

“Tama na Princess! hindi tayo nasa paaralan! nasa GC ng Student Council tayo! tsaka baka naman nakalimutan mo silang apat ang dito rin! baka mag backread yung mga messages natin?” 

{ENG} “Stop it Princess! We are not in school! We are in the GC of the student council! Plus didn’t you forget that these four are also here as well? they could be backreading our messages!” 

Reactions: | 😬| 2 | 😶| 3 |

“Wag natin dagdag ng problema para sa kanilang apat! alam natin marami na ayaw nila especially Vincenzo at Jerome sa student council… especially sa mga pinoy ng classmates natin! so tama na… wag natin problemahin ang mga section na yan, sila ang bahala sa mga problema nila… hindi tayo at hindi sa kanilang apat!”

{ENG} “We can’t not add any more problems for those four! We know very well that many here especially did not like Vincenzo and Jerome in the student council… especially for our fellow pinoy classmates! so stop it… we can’t afford any problems with those sections, leave it to them to deal with their own problems… not us and not those four!” 

(Escort) Dominic: 

“Ay nako… bakit tayo mag-aaway sa problema nila? bahala sila sa problema nila yan… tsaka, diba sinabi ni pres na nag-usap na yung mga class pres sa mga section na yan sa problema ng pera?” 

{ENG} “Oh my god… why are we fighting over their problems? leave it to them to deal with their own problems… Plus, didn’t Pres say that they told the Class Presidents of those sections in regards to their money problems?” 

Reactions: | 🙁| 5 |

“Tsaka meron na naman ibang problema sa mga partikular na classmates sa mga section na yan…  something something sa problema tungkol sa behavioral isyu ng mga foreigner at mga pinoy, mostly yung mga Fil-Ams tapos ang mga iba dyan? pero purong Fil-Ams ang mga problema sa dalawang sections na yan…” 

{ENG} “Plus there’s more different problems with particular classmates in those sections… something something about the problems regarding behavioral issues with Foreigners and Pinoys alike, mostly about the Fil-Ams then the others there? but it’s mostly Fil-Ams with problems from those two sections…” 

Reactions: | 😮‍💨| 2 |

“Kahit anong ilang taon na noong nangyari ng ‘Vanishing’ tapos ganyan parin sila? kahit wala na ang karamihan ng lupain ng United States? ganyan pa rin ugali nila? jusko… 🫩walang kwenta sa buhay lord… 😑🙄parang nakalimutan nila sino nag ligtas ng mga lolo at lola nila…😑🙄” 

{ENG} “Even if how many years has it been since the Vanishing happened then they still act like that? even if most of the land of the United States is basically gone? Their behavior still like that? God… so worthless in life lord…😑🙄 they forget who had saved their grandfathers and grandmothers… 😑🙄” 

Reactions: | 🙂‍↕️| 5 |

(Public Relations Officer/PRO) Alfonso:

“Tama na… wag natin usapan yan dito… iba na lang tayo na mag usapin ng topic…” 

{ENG} “Enough… let’s not talk about this here… let’s talk about other topics instead…”

“Ay wait lang! oo nga pala! 💡yung larawan natin para sa Student Council Lineup na hindi approve kay Principal Macaraig! pa send naman dito! sayang naman ang pictures na yan! tsaka ang dyan rin si Maynard, Howard, Vincenzo and Jerome!”

{ENG} “Oh wait a minute that’s right! the pictures we had for the Student Council Lineup that Principal Macaraig didn’t approve! Send them here! those pictures would be wasted! plus there’s Maynard, Howard, Vincenzo and Jerome!”

“Dominic sent 20 Photos” 

Reactions: | 😍| 3 | 🤩| 3 | 😌| 2 |

(Escort) Dominic: 

“Alam mo ang dami sinend ni Pres at Vice Pres…grabe naman sila as if nag celebrity photoshoot tayo kahit Student Council lineup lang…” 

{ENG} “You know Pres and Vice Pres send a lot… wow as if they had taken celebrity photoshoots of us even if it was the Student Council Lineup…” 

Maynard hummed as he looked at the photos, smiling shamelessly as he zoomed in on Haoran’s position, looking very handsome with his long hair, oh how he longed to bury himself in Haoran’s head, not that Haoran himself had done that before when Maynard and Haoran were in elementary school.

Maynard started remembering the transition period between his past usual buzzcut and his current look, at that time, Haoran’s hair looked like a bad attempt of a man bob and that it made him look a certain cartoon character from pre-vanishing children’s cartoon show which made Helena and Marianne laughing their asses off whenever their grandparents and their parents commented on Haoran’s transition hairstyle phase. 

Now, Maynard felt like Haoran is much more brighter in that current hairstyle of his and he isn’t ashamed to say loudly that Haoran looks good in a ponytail and a bun 

But Haoran’s current wolftail like hairstyle is unlike his own old Father’s current hairstyle which is now like him but very even with a short ponytail, Haoran’s hair growth was so long yet uneven that his Man Bob that now grew past shoulders is very uneven in the back with some parts growing longer than others, resulting in an uneven wolftail whenever Haoran ties it up in that style that Maynard really adores the most. 

Maynard chuckled as he imagined himself hugging Haoran from behind and dived himself into his fluffy hair and sighed longingly as he went back to the chatroom for more backreading.

(President) Elijah: “Hi Guys! anong ginagawa niyo? ☺️” 

{ENG} “Hi Guys! what are you all doing? ☺️” 

Reactions: | 🫥| 6 | 😬| 6 |

(Vice President) Edison: “Oo nga! kamusta na kayo? 😊” 

{ENG} “Yeah! how are you guys doing? 😊” 

Reactions: | 🤐| 6 |

Maynard snorted as he kept his giggles to himself, Elias and Edison, the Twin Leaders of the Student Council were well known to be quite the ‘extras’, despite not being initially considered to be President and Vice President respectively, Elijah and Edison were very good at their jobs.

Apparently from what he know, the Twins were descended from some of the 7,500 Canadians who were living in The Philippines and had stayed here for various periods before the vanishing as well as the countless stranded Canadian Tourists and the rare Canadian Refugees from the former Canadian Coasts of the Pacific and he knew they were still eligible for Canadian Citizenship despite the current situation of Canada and that one side of their Grandparents came from the former Vancouver Area while the other side came from the former Gatineau area, of which the former is not currently under De Facto or even De Jure Canadian Control but rather in control of new nations/statelets while the latter, or at least the land where it was once was, is now in some tense but still amicable situations between Anglo-Canadians and Franco-Quebecois according to News Information that he can scrounge up and also from Haoran’s father who still had active contacts around the world.

Like many Bahagharites (Foreign Refugees from former and defunct or living but reduced Mainland Nations), the Grandparents and Parents of Edison and Elijah had to learn Filipino just to communicate with Local Filipinos and to supplement their existing English speaking skills with both other refugees and Pinoys who knew English.

As a result, like many Bahagharite children, Edison and Elijah grew up speaking Filipino as well as their Native English and French, courtesy in part of many efforts of those who led the Kakabayan Exodo  (Haoran’s father included) in improving Filipino Language Education through funding so that Foreign Refugees can both learn Filipino just to integrate with Filipino Society and to reduce tensions between Native Local Pinoys and Foreign Refugees.

Despite being considered as the terror twin leaders in the student council, the Canadian-Quebecois twins did very well for their job considering this is their first time that they have been in such positions because of their past disinterest in student council affairs and school politics in general.

It was out of sheer luck and determination to study as well as their admiration for Haoran/Howard that made them the President and Vice President respectively.

Much to Maynard’s subtle annoyance however, Elijah and Edison would sometimes hog Haoran and his time whenever Maynard, Haoran, Vincenzo and Jerome visited the Student Council room. 

Whenever Elijah or Edison or even both of them got so close to Haoran, Jerome and Vincenzo could always swear they saw a demonic glare coming from somewhere else and that suddenly a pair of bloodshot and glowing red eyes emerged somewhere behind the twins.

Though they do adore Maynard themselves as well and would always rope him into their own activities and they also include Vincenzo and Jerome as well but that’s because the latter two always look to the twins for Communication and Public Speaking advice. 

(Escort) Dominic: “Hi Pres! Hi Vice Pres! 😅ang dyan pala kayo! kamusta rin po!” 

{ENG} “Hey Pres! Hey Vice Pres! 😅you guys are here! how are you doing as well!

Reactions: | 😊| 2 | 😅| 5 |

{“Oh man…”} Maynard thought as he sprayed some perfume while tuning out the chaotic mess that his adoptive family outside his room when Gloria and Jasmine were on the verge of bringing out their slippers and sticks to hit Angelo and Pablo while some of his aunties were trying to talk them out of doing so.

Elijah and Edison were very scary when they were angry because unlike the others, Elijah and Edison are angry in a very calm yet subtly villainous manner, even in the online groupchat, Maynard can still feel that anger radiating across his screen like goosebumps.

(President) Elijah: “Reminder for the entire student council and everyone who is associated with the student council… that this is not a regular chatroom to gossip about rumours that will be warranted and subjected to investigation by our lovely principal, Principal Macaraig! So we suggest that we limit such gossip… otherwise some of you will be removed entirely from next year’s elections, Est-ce que ça vous va? (Is that alright with you guys?) ☺️”

Reactions: | 😊| 1 | 😱| 3 | 😅| 3 | 

(Public Relations Officer) Alfonzo: “Sure thing Pres! we promise we will tone down our comments!” 

Reactions: | ❤️| 2 | 🙂‍↕️| 5 |

(Vice President) Edison: “Good! glad we can all agree on something! Now everyone, let's stop working for tomorrow! that event would happen now after all! and we all know our parents and especially our grandparents would start their waterworks during this time… so no more work for tomorrow… let’s continue where we left off after that day! 😄” 

Reactions: | ❤️| 7 | 

Maynard huffed as there are no more messages after that, which is where he decided to go to his own private chatroom with his main best buddies.