"Come on Casey, get in the car!" Zarinna heard her Uncle call out from the driver's seat.

"We're going to be late, Manang!" Elsa chimed in.

The young lady came running from the door as she heard her Father's voice, hanging her ID card upon her neck in haste.

"I'm sorry Daddy," Casey panted, "I forgot to put some of my things in my bag," She continued, swiftly jumping inside and closing the van. "Good morning, Manang 'Rinna!" Zarinna turned her head towards the back seat of the car as she heard her cousin greet.

"Good morning, dear..." She replied with a smile, looking appreciatively at the fair young girl behind her.

"So, are you ladies ready for your first day?" Dennis asked, shifting in his seat as the car roared to life. Zarinna cleared her throat as she heard the question, her heart again pacing faster as she thought of the event.

"Yeah!" Casey exclaimed, "I'm quite excited to know who my classmates are going to be."

"I do hope Sir Greg will be opening the Arts club this year," Elsa mumbled with her head lowered, "I really want to try it out."

Zarinna noticed her Uncle nod as he listened to his daughters, his lips curving to a smile as he advanced the vehicle. Zarinna chose to remain silent, refusing to speak of the nervousness that gripped her being.

Oh God, be with me today... She prayed, briefly shutting her eyes as she waited for peace to surge her heart.

Zarinna drew in a breath, turning her gaze towards the window as she prepared herself for the coming activities of the day.

It was a good fifteen-minute ride, and as soon as Zarinna saw the number of children wearing the same uniform she knew they have already arrived. She pulled her gaze towards her Uncle, taking in a breath as Dennis gave a nod of confirmation.

"C' mon ladies, get going now!" Dennis beckoned, smiling as Casey and Elsa slid the van open and began to walk out. Dennis's gaze darted towards Zarinna, her gaze lowered as she took each breath.

"Go on, Kaanakan. You will do great today." His voice sounded reassuring, and with this Zarinna lifted her gaze, flashing a smile of gratefulness towards her Uncle.

"Iyaman, Uncle..." Zarinna breathed, saying in Applai her word of thanks. She turned her attention to the car's door, taking in another breath before she stepped out.

"Bye, Daddy!" The two girls chorused, waving with smiles on their faces as the van drove away.

Zarinna turned her gaze towards the school, her vision now occupied with the green painted steel gate. Numerous kids went past her, some running and some occasionally taking glances as they passed. Must be wondering why there was a new face, Zarinna theorized.

"Let's go, Manang?" She heard Casey speak. Nodding, Zarinna began to walk towards the school gate, observing the place with her gaze. Both sides of the path were lined with golden bushes, and Gumamelas grew wild on the grassy ground.

"We need to find our classrooms now Manang..." Casey informed, "We'll see you later!"

"Oh alright, Dearies. I'll see you later, take care!" Zarinna followed them with her gaze as they walked and soon lifted her gaze to the heavens as she saw the two girls disappear from her sight.

Oh Lord, I entrust to You this day, may Your Will be done.

"Good morning!" Startled, Zarinna turned her head in haste, her gaze searching for whom the voice belonged to. "You must be Ms. Bunhiyan, am I correct?" A man, probably in his fifties, inquired, stretching his hand toward her as he approached.

"Y-yes, Sir. That's me..."

"I am Mr. Sepnayen, the head of the Social Studies Department. I spoke to you through the phone two weeks ago." The older man informed, "Welcome!"

Zarinna plastered a smile on her face, taking the man's hand in response. "Oh! Good morning, Sir. It's a pleasure to finally meet you."

"I am honored as well, Ms. Bunhiyan." Mr. Sepnayen replied, "So, how are you taking this so far, Ma'am?" He asked, leading Zarinna as they began to walk.

"Uhm, it's all new to me, but I'm sure I'd be able to adjust soon, Sir." The older man nodded, smiling as he began to speak.

"That's good! I hope you'll enjoy your first teaching job here."

"I will Sir! Thank you!"

Zarinna continued to converse with the head teacher, listening intently as he briefed her of the School's facilities and rules. The older man was really hospitable, and with this Zarinna felt ease slowly overtake her nerves.

"Now, this is the Social Studies faculty office Ms. Bunhiyan," Mr. Sepnayen informed, leading Zarinna towards the red painted door on the edge of the building. A bit reluctant, Zarinna peered through the open door, spotting a man behind a desk on the first row of the tables. The man's gaze instantly lifted as Zarinna moved, and a look of wonder clouded the man's face.

"Good Morning, Sir Luke!" Zarinna heard Mr. Sepnayen greet.

"Oh, good morning Sir!" The man named Luke greeted back, "So, is she Ms. Bunhiyan?" Mr. Sepnayen nodded in confirmation, smiling as he called for Zarinna to approach.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Ma'am Bunhiyan..." Luke greeted, stretching his hand towards Zarinna with a smile. For a moment Zarinna couldn't speak, somehow lost in the man's deep-set eyes.

"Oh, Uhm..." Zarinna lowered her gaze, clearing her throat and taking the man's arm in response. "It's a pleasure to meet you as well, Sir." She managed to reply.

"He will be one of your colleagues here in the Social Studies department, Ma'am Bunhiyan." Mr. Sepnayen began. "There are three more but I guess they haven't arrived yet?" He flashed a questioning look towards Luke, to which she saw the man nod in affirmation. "Yes, yes. They'll probably be here later. For the meantime," The older man began to walk to the empty table beside the window, "This is your table, Ms. Bunhiyan. Right next to you is Ma'am Rafael. You will be meeting them later. As for now, I will be leaving you to prepare okay?" Zarinna nodded and began to speak.

"Yes, thank you, Sir." With this, Mr. Sepnayen made his way towards the faculty's exit, "And oh," Zarinna's gaze lifted, "Don't forget we'll be introducing you later during the flag ceremony."

"O-okay Sir," Zarinna replied, forcing a smile as she thought of the idea. She took in a breath and returned her gaze towards her table. She loved how the furniture was very simple yet elegant, glass covered its surface and it was painted light brown.

"So, I heard you are from Baguio City, is that right Ma'am Bunhiyan?" Luke spoke, standing to his feet. The man was very handsome; his bronze complexion matched his tall frame. Somehow, he reminded Zarinna of her father. His pictures revealed him to be a dark-skinned man, and her mother always told stories of how women threw themselves at him because of his charm.

"Yes, that's true Sir Luke," Zarinna confirmed.

"Wow," The man breathed, slowly leaning on one of the bookshelves beside Zarinna's table. "So how do you find Mountain Province so far?"

"Uhm, it's great! I actually admire the peacefulness of this place. It's so different from the City."

"I'm glad you find that comforti-"

"Good morning, people!" Their gazes flew to the door, and wonder clouded Zarinna's face as she watched a stout woman walk in. "Oh!" The woman exclaimed. "I'm sorry, are you the new teacher?"

"Yes, yes. It's Zarinna Bunhiyan Ma'am." Zarinna introduced. The woman's lips curved to a smile, and instantly she walked towards her in glee.

"Oh! Nice to meet you! Welcome to our school Ma'am Zarinna. My name's Imelda Ullalim. You can call me Mel." Zarinna smiled, her spirit instantly lifted by the woman's cheerfulness.

"Thank you; it's an honor to meet you, Ma'am Mel."

The sound heels against the floor tore their attention from each other, and as soon as they turned their head, the view of what seemed - to Zarinna- a beauty queen occupied her perception.

Zarinna gaped at the woman, her brown curly hair swaying gently as she entered the room. She could sense the aura of the place change since they welcomed the beautiful woman in silence.

"Good morning!" The woman greeted, one by one probing them with her gaze. Zarinna held her breath, slightly intimidated as the woman dropped her gaze towards her.

"You must be Ms. Zarinna Bunhiyan," The woman spoke, making her way towards the table beside Zarinna, "It's nice to meet you, Ma'am. My name is Mylene Rafael,"

Even her voice sounds so elegant. Zarinna pushed her thoughts away and began to speak.

"Yes, that's right. It's nice to meet you too, Ma'am Rafael." Zarinna resisted the urge to continue studying the woman, quickly averting her attention to the items she was to arrange in her table. Despite how fascinating the woman looked, Zarinna felt an unusual spirit emanating from her. It was too early to judge, I do hope this feeling I'm getting is wrong, she prayed.

Zarinna sucked in a breath, her hand fiddling with her hair as she waited for the flag ceremony to come to an end. Tension surged her nerves as she heard the student's voices fade, implying that the singing of the school hymn was over. Zarinna raked her hair with her fingers and approached Mr. Sepnayen to the stage, taking careful steps as she made her way through the other teachers.

The students that were lined in the school ground occupied her vision as she reached the middle of the stage, she could feel her heart hammering inside her chest, and she resisted the urge back away. Zarinna was taken aback, however, that as she probed the student's faces one by one, a strong emotion began to surge her heart. It had been a very long time since she felt it, and she wasn't sure if it is what she suspected it to be - compassion.

"Good morning!" Mr. Sepnayen's greeting was swiftly preceded by a chorus from the students. "I am here to introduce to you today a new teacher that would be a part of this School's faculty," A series of 'ooh's echoed in the school ground as Mr. Sepnayen spoke. "Her name is Zarinna Bunhiyan, and she will be some you's teacher in Araling Panlipunan and Edukasyon sa Pagpapakatao." Mr. Sepnayen handed the Microphone towards her as he finished speaking. Shuddering, Zarinna took the Microphone in her hand and prepared to speak.

"Good morning, Students!" She greeted.

"Good morning Ma'am!" The intensity if the students' voices as they greeted Zarinna warmed her heart, their smiles slowly soothing the tension she felt.

"I am so honored to be part of this school," Zarinna began, "Thank you so much for the warm welcome. I'm looking forward to working with you all." With this, she slightly bowed and returned the Microphone to Mr. Sepnayen as the place broke into applause.

"You will be meeting your advisory class tomorrow Ms. Bunhiyan, okay?" Zarinna nodded, "For today, you will be oriented on the School's system, rules and other stuff that matters. I trust by tomorrow you will be able to bring all your things to the office."

Zarinna listened intently, taking notes of the important things that the Head Teacher informed. The day was filled with a ton of instructions, and Zarinna resisted the urge to back off and get herself some rest. After all, she needed to know these things. Being a first-time teacher, she was in serious need of instruction. By the time she finished all her activities for the day, Zarinna felt like a lifeless vegetable, slumping to her seat as she sighed in relief. She glanced around the faculty room, everyone had already gone home, the dim room set alight by the setting sun lay silent around her, free of the usual sound of papers and occasional chatter from the teachers.

After a few moments of rest, Zarinna hung her sling bag to her shoulder and stood to her feet, making sure that all her things were secured in her table before walking to the door.

Another sigh of relief made its way off her lips as she closed the door behind her. She gazed upon the school before her; cold breeze caressing her cheek as her gaze slowly probed the place from where she was. Standing on the third floor of the tallest building in the school, she could see everything. It was a very simple school, consisting only of a few infrastructures that included four separate two storey buildings that served as classrooms, a wooden building which is the library, the school canteen which is in the same building of where she was, a stage at the very edge and a simple one storey building for the laboratory. A smile crept to her face as she looked towards the dim skies, gratefulness claiming her being.

Thank You, Jesus. Finally, finally, I will be teaching...

"Hi there," Zarinna jolted at the sound of a woman's voice from behind her, and instantly she turned around. A petite woman met her gaze, and Zarinna immediately returned the bright smile she was receiving.

"Oh hello, "

The woman walked towards her, stretching her hand to her direction as Zarinna replied.

"My name is Gina Gacusan, Ma'am. From the Mathematics Department. " The woman introduced, "I saw you as I was going out. Our faculty office is the one located on the other end of the building. Your name is Zarinna Bunhiyan, yes?" Zarinna nodded in confirmation.

"Yup, that's me! Nice to meet you Ma'am Gina," Zarinna took her outsretched hand in response, "So, Math, huh?" Zarinna began as they walked down the building.

"Yes! 'Been teaching Math here for almost two years now." Gina informed, causing a smile to form in Zarinna's lips.

"Wow, that's great! I've always had this admiration for Math Majors," Gina gazed towards Zarinna in wonder, "I've always sucked at math since Primary school and it amazes me how some people really tend to enjoy it." Gina began to chuckle as Zarinna finished her sentence.

"You know what I feel the same, I've always hated history and it has always fascinated me how some people have that ability to be able to teach it," Gina continued to laugh, "So I guess we are similar in a way, Ma'am." Zarinna's smile widened, chuckling in chorus with the teacher beside her as they walked towards the school gate.

"By the way, I heard you came from Baguio City. Is that right?" Zarinna nodded, "I was just curious though, why did you choose to come here, Ma'am?"

"Well, all the schools in the City required their applicants for at least two years of experience. I am a fresh graduate so I had no choice but to find a school that wouldn't require that." Zarinna explained.

"Oh, I see."Gina nodded, "Well, I believe God has a plan as to why you're here."

"Amen," Zarinna replied in assent.

"You're a believer?" Gina inquired, momentarily pausing in her tracks.

"Uhuh," Zarinna smiled in confirmation, gazing towards Gina in anticipation of her response.

"I knew it!" Gina exclaimed.

"What do you mean, how did you know?"

"Well, you had this certain... aura in you." Gina explained, "Let's just say its Christian instinct." She continued with a smile, "So which church do you attend?"

The question struck Zarinna silent, and with this she lowered her head, searching for words to say.

"Uhm," Zarinna began, "I-I'm not attending a church right now..." She confessed, her gaze plastered to the ground.

"Oh? Why is that?"

"Well, one reason is that I just arrived here in Mountain Province and I really don't know any churches yet."

"I see," Gina paused for a moment and then lifted her gaze to Zarinna, "Well, if that's the case... " Zarinna halted, anchoring her gaze towards Gina as she continued to speak, "Would you like to visit our church sometime?"