Happy Birthday. :)

I miss my friends.

But I miss them more so this day.

Jiamerah. Jam. She's the brainy one in the group. She makes math seem like a breeze while the rest of us scratch our heads trying to figure out the problem. I miss how she talks with her hand covering her mouth... She laughs like that too. I didn't get it then and still don't get it now. Why do you cover your mouth so? Miss walking home from school with her, we had time to chat over girly things just by ourselves. I miss her air of seriousness for her studies, how determined she was to be on top and keep it that way. But she wasn't serious all the time. I miss her bouts of craziness also. For someone so smart with school stuff, it was weird to see her agonize over problems of the heart.

Rasliah. Rush. That's what she's called, but to family and close friends she is Khuna. What do I miss about her? Her chinky eyes that get more chinkier by the second when she and Leah are laughing over something (not at someone). One part of the jesters in the group, Khuna always manages to take things lightly; she finds humor in the things that happen around us, no matter how dreary it may seem. I miss her hearty laugh, and her kind ways. i miss driving all the way to Marantao to pick her up with the rest of the batch just to joyride and drive back there late at night. A pick-up full of kids. And to think I was only learning to drive.

Emily Azalea. Leah. The life of the party. I miss seeing her rush to the front of Laubach Hall for the flag ceremony. I miss her seeing the tandem Rush-Leah, wreaking havoc on anyone who crossed their path with their friendly-slash-merciless "banter" with whoever whenever someone's crush was around. I miss her making noise even when her voice is soft. Maingay na soft. Peace, Minangowao. I miss having to go to her house in Marinaut, buying all the bananacue on the way to her place, eating it all there and exchanging girly stories about school, friends, crushes and family. I miss seeing her mom, Tita Babie and her kindness. Reminds me of my mom. They both rock.

Aniraida. Anie. The baby in the group who got married two weeks after our high school graduation. The girl with the softest hands that I know. They're like a baby's butt. Yes, they were that soft. hehe. I miss her laugh. Really loud laughter. I miss her child-like (or childish?) ways, how she jokes around and laughs until tears roll down from her eyes. I miss her handwriting too; cursive, very feminine. But she writes slow too. I remember Ma'am Aman getting irritated at times because we, particularly she, wasn't done copying whatever was written on the board yet.

Julieta. Doyette. I miss her laugh as well. Not that it was loud or anything. She's probably the only person I know who can "laugh out loud" inside a library because she doesn't make a sound. You'll just see her shoulders violently shaking like so, and you'll know she's laughing he hiney off. I miss having to go to her place on weekends for serious one-on-ones. To talk about problems bugging me or about hers, just random stuff we can think and talk about.

Noroden. Dino. The rose among the thorns. I don't remember how he became part of us, but he did. He's one hell of a serious guy (he was the SGO President in our Senior year) and was very involved in school activities. I miss how serious he looks one minute and gets all funky when we tease him to one of the girls (Hanipha Madale). He gets all red and acts funny, but I don't think there was really any romantic inclinations going on between the two. I miss his witty remarks, and his antics too.

Funny how I miss how they all laugh--that was probably all we did. We rarely fought, but that doesn't say we're not sincere with each other. We just all fit in nicely, us seven. We just clicked.

That friendship started way back in 1992.

We now all have lives of our own, families and careers to tend to.

But even though miles, longitudes, latitudes, and time zones separates us.

We're still friends.

And will remain so, until the end.

Thanks for all the good memories, and the few rough patches that we had, too. I will forever treasure them. Best days of my once young life. Glad to have spent it with you.

Happy Birthday to us!

I love you!