Incitement stirred in my heart as I swiftly got down from the bus and headed for the school's main gate. The memory of the call I received a few days ago flashed in my mind, reminding me of the joy I felt when I first found out I was hired in this school. I took in a breath, scattering my gaze as I searched for the Dean.

Wide grassy grounds on each side of the gate filled my perception. The sight of students along with teachers roamed the school grounds freely.

"Good morning, Mr. Eyasan!" Turning my gaze, I saw the Dean approach, stretching his hand out as he neared, "I am Mr. Dulnuan, I believe you recognize me from the interview. Welcome!"

I shook his hand firmly and nodded in acknowledgment. "Yes, glad to be here Sir. It's nice to see you again."

"Come on, I'll lead you to the Faculty Office," He offered. With a nod, I followed him as we entered a building. And after a few turns, he stopped beside a door and motioned me to enter.

"Here we are, " He began as we stepped in, "Mr. Eyasan, this is Ma'am Solidad," The dean inclined his hands towards the woman in the front table. The woman briefly smiled and returned her gaze to what she was writing. Mr. Dulnuan continued to introduce the teachers who would become my colleagues and finally left us to prepare for our classes. I looked at my first subject and saw it was Section 1F of the BSed students, Philosophy; I would be dealing with third years.

"Ohh, so you're the new one," The teacher who's table is beside me remarked with a smile.

"Yes Ma'am," I replied briefly.

"It's nice to finally meet you! It must be a good thing for the students to meet a new face. I must say I'm so relieved that you're here now so I'd finally have a lighter load. Schedules are so hectic in the Social Studies department this semester!" She informed, placing her pen down to the table as she spoke.

"It's nice to meet you too, Ma'am!" I nodded with a smile, "I'm glad my acceptance here not only helps me but also you Ma'am Gomez,"

"Yeah," She replied, glancing down to her wristwatch, "Hey, the first period is gonna start in 8 minutes, Sir. You best be on your way now."

"Right," I released a breath and stood to my feet. "See you later, then, Ma'am,"

"Yes, see you!" She waved her hand, "Oh, by the way, Sir, your classroom is room 106, left-wing." She instructed and beamed once more. With a nod, I excited for the door and went on to my class. I wonder who my students will be? Lord, be with me as I start teaching today. I prayed in silence as I walked through the hallways.

After a few minutes of walking, I finally reached the classroom. Wonder was painted in the students' eyes as I made way to the front.

"That's the new professor," I heard a student whisper.

"The one Ma'am Brenda was talking about?" I glanced towards where the voices were coming from and instantly the two lowered their heads in silence. I probed the classroom with my gaze, studying each student in the room.

"Good morning." I greeted, and with this, a wave of response resounded in the classroom.

"I presume you've already been informed of the changes that are going to happen beginning today, so let's get right on to the lectures. But before that, let me introduce myself," I walked towards the classroom aisle as I spoke, "My name's Melchour Eyasan and I will be taking Ma'am Brenda's place as your teacher in Philosophy." Turning around, I walked back to the front and continued to speak, "I only have a few rules I want you to follow when in my class. First, tardiness is-"

"Good morning, Ma'am, I'm sorry f-" Our gazes swung towards the door as a woman's voice was heard. My brows furrowed, taken aback by the sudden interruption. Breathless, she slowly lifted her gaze, and familiar upturned eyes were revealed as she swiped the hair away from her face.

I could clearly hear the beating of my heart inside my chest, astounded as the view of a familiar man occupied my vision. I swallowed hard, my mouth void of words. Seconds ticked by, and yet not a single coherent sentence would form in my brain.

I heard a classmate clear his throat, tearing me away from the trance I was in.

"G-good morning, Sir," I managed to speak, "I'm sorry I'm late." I lowered my gaze, flustered of my ridiculous behavior.

"Go on take a seat," He replied. Bowing my head in compliance, I strode towards my seat in haste, gaze still downcast in hopes of hiding my heating cheeks.

"As I was saying..." I heard him resume, but my mind somehow couldn't process a single word he said. I shut my eyes forcefully, shaking the shame and summoning the focus I needed to listen. I focused my gaze on him. How in the world is he even here? Then realization struck. Ma'am Brenda did brief us of the changes that are going to take place this week onwards. I slightly shook my head. How could I have forgotten?

After briefing us with his rules he then began to explain the four principles of philosophy. Ma'am Brenda had begun to touch on this the previous meeting, so each term mentioned rings a familiar note in my head. Philosophy has always been interesting to me ever since I was in Senior High, it's probably one of the main reasons why I took Social Sciences as my major. Now that Pastor Melchour is teaching it, however, I somehow came to admire it even more.

"In a world of relativism, there are many who would say and promote the idea that a person can create his or her own reality or... their own truth." He turned to the board and wrote the word 'truth'. "... but there is one Truth that no one can escape, even in constant denial. Many have tried to refute its existence, always trying to find ways to explain things without it. but in the end, have failed. It's a reality that no one can dare disregard, The Ultimate Reality."

My classmates' eyes glistened with wonder. Surely he would eventually reveal this 'Reality', won't he? The amount of curiosity that his introduction caused was tremendous!

"Which I will be explaining to you, in our next discussion." The class nodded in compliance at his word, "Have a good day."

My classmates began to one by one to leave the room. Heaving a sigh, I too excited for the door, allowing my hair to frame the side of my face in hopes of hiding my embarassment.

"Miss Dumay?" I heard him speak as I was about to step out. "Can I speak to you for a second?"

"Yes Professor, what is it?"

"I didn't know you studied here. I must say it's great to see you again like this," He spoke, a smile adorning his face.

"Yeah, I've been studying here for the past three years now, Sir," I replied forcing a smile.

"Ah, I see. See you around then, Johanna,"

"Rebeccah! Good morning, how was your weekend?" My friend Clara greeted as she approached me with one of her beautiful smiles.

"It was fine, Clara. I was so blessed with the message yesterday. So encouraging..." I recalled, joining her as she sat down.

"Oh, really? How nice! What was the message about?" I saw her eyes glisten with wonder.

"Well... it was about God's calling." A smile formed in my lips as I recalled the wonderful message.

"Wow. I feel bad I missed it... I was just so busy..." She sighed and lowered her head.

"Well, that is okay. You can always come next Sunday right?" she nodded. "Well, how 'bout you how's your weekend?"

"Hmm, well I've heard Pastor Melchour and the rest of the ministry had a revival crusade last Saturday night. I bet that must've been great. I really wanted to attend but boss got me new things to cover..." I saw the sadness painted in her eyes as she spoke those words. Oh... she remembers him again.

"... I also really want to see Melchour again, I miss him. It's been months since..." She continued to speak.

"I want to go see him."

"What? We are on duty right now, what are you saying?" I asked, gazing at her intently.

"No, I'll go this afternoon, can you cover for me for a few hours?"