CLASS PROPHECY




BANG!


I feel like a Stonehenge crashed upon me and I don�t exactly know why�


Where am I know? All I can remember is that I was comfortably seated inside a plane that was seated inside a plane headed to Manila from New York City but now I�m in the Pacific, stuck with these odd-looking people who survived the crash. Some of them were already in their own groups; they know each other. But here I am, stranded and alone.



There is something peculiar though. These people look strangely familiar.



Curious of who they are, I approach the people nearest to me. They are walking on the sand like astronauts walking on the moon. I ask the man leading them, �Hey? What are you doing?�



�Isn�t it obvious that we�re astronauts?� says the tall, rude-looking man. �I�m Capt. LUIGI LEJANO of the 1st successful Mars Expedition.



The name rings a bell, I thught. I come to realize that Luigi is my high school classmate! The mere fact that someone I know is here gives me joy. I am about to embrace him like the old times when his two companions behind him step forward, and to my surprise, they say: �I�m Capt. IRWIN VIRAY and this is Capt. RICHARD SINGH. We drove the Apollo 121 to Pluto a month ago.�



�Ano? Luigi? Irwin? Richard? Kayo ba yan?� I ask them hysterically.



�Sino ba� teka,� says Luigi, with an intriguing tone. �Jan! Sabi ko na nga ba ikaw �yan e. Nandyan pa rin yung nunal mo sa ilong eh!�



We embrace, sit down together by the sandy shore, and begin to reminisce. Reminiscing with my old friends is like uncovering treasures we buried long ago. A group of another familiar-looking people suddenly approaches us in an indescribable rush.



�Luigi! Luigi! Narinig kita doon e. �Di mo na ba ko kilala? Ako si ANJO WONG! Kasama ko �tong dalawang �to, si MIREI TAN at si DONA TACANG, now the Mrs. Lawrence dela Cruz!� says the man behind me, catching his breath.



�Ha! Bakit� wow, ang dami naman nating magkakabatch dito.� Luigi stands up and hugs his old pal.



�May pinuntahan kaming hospital sa New York City e, yung Tacang Hospital malapit sa Wall Street,� says Dona, whom I realize is the owner of the said hospital. �We�re accomplished doctors.�



I am beginning to freak and pass out so I excuse myself, �Ikot lang ako ha, magpapahangin lang.� It�s not that I�m not happy to see them but this is just getting too freaky. As I walk along the shore, admiring the spectacular scenery around me, I notice a group of interesting folks huddled around the bonfire and raosting food. I approach them.



�Wow, that looks delicious! Anyway, I�m Atty. RENES. If you don�t mind asking, are you Filipinos?� I ask them curiously.



�Jan, ikaw ba yan?� asks the woman in pink. �Si AVA MIASIS �to! Ito naman yung mga batchmates nating sina CARMINA CASTRO, LORREIN MARI�AS, ARRIANE PARUNGAO, at GIO YUPANGCO!� 



I am about to say something but nothing�s coming out of my mouth. I guess I am awe-stricken again. Carmina notices my dilemma, and rubs my back to comfort me.



�Jan, we�re chefs with our restaurants in NYC, � says Carmina. �I hope you can visit them sometime but for the meantime, you must join us and feast on this improvised but first-class meal.�



As I eat some delectable roasted fish with their group, I invite them to join the others. We all walk together telling stories of our high school days, but we are stopped by fascinating drawings on the sand. We are driven with curiosity, examined the drawings, and noticed that there are names: CHERRY HILAO and MITCH CANOY.



�They�re here? Where?� asks Arriane. Of course, we cannot answer her question for we also don�t know where we are two other batchmates in this island. So we just begin to wander by the beach again.



After a while of walking and searching, we bump into another group where we find the people we�re looking for. Cherry introduced herself as a cartoonist for Squaresoft and Mitch is head animator for Disney.



I cannot believe my eyes. Is this just plain coincidence? Or is it really fate that brought so many of us here? I begin to walk by myself, heading towards the other side of the island. I have to think. I have to figure something out.



As I begin to approach a new group of people, I prepared myself for another surprise because I�ve been having unexpected encounters all day. One thing unusual  about this group is that they�re all wearing Gucci, Chanel and Versace clothes with matching Manolo Blahnik and Jimmy Choos footwears.



�Do�a NIKHOLA GONZALES of the notorious Gonzales Empire, at your service, � a girl from the group shakes my hand. �These are my colleagues and associates, LEO RICAFORT of the Ricafort International Airport, NIKO MORIKAWA and MARINO RAGASA are my right-hand men, they�re executives of my subsidiaries. This is Sir LAMBERT SUMULONG of his own empire. Those stunning women there are CATHERINNE LLANA, a New York millionaire and PAULA APOSTOL, a nurse-turned-hospital-entrepreneur.



I hug them all, delighted to see them. I thought I�m never going to be surprised again but this is all too much. After a few greetings, I make my way alone, walking by the beach again. 



The silence of only ocean waves and soft breeze is broken by people singing from the distance. Their sound is striking, with heavenly voices and improvised but ingenious music. I hurry to see who are creating the wonderful sound. I recognize all of them, for they are prominent musical artists� and my batchmates. JESSE NICASIO, JOEY DELA CRUZ, REGINALD ZAPANTA, and ROY BELARMINO all stop their music and shift heads to look at me, who�s waving my arms and running towards them.



I join their small group and inform them that there are more of us in the island. As we are talking, three women walking hand in hand arrive. We learn that they are CARYLOU TALASTASIN, MELISSA JARVI�A and CHERIZZA ELICOT. They invite us to their makeshift but cozy shelter to spend the night. I am, again, amazed to know that caryl and Melissa are renowned architects in New York who recreated the Frick and the WTC Twin Towers while their associate interior designer, Cherizza, is a part-time nurse who designed Hilton hotels and luxury liners like Queen Mary II and the new Titanic.



Upon hearing this, I stand up and excuse myself. I want to find the others so they can join us and have a good time together. The others propose to join me, so I let them.



On our way to our other batchmates, I suddenly hear heavy thugs on the ground. I become frightened and start to look where the noise comes from. I spot three men playing with a piece of coconut, using it to play basketball. They are hilariously desperate, I tell myself. As I approach closer, I identify who they are. There is KIT VILLANUEVA, RYAN VIRAY, and FRANK MAGALONA, whose faces are on the cover of the Sports Illustrated magazine that I read when I was on the plane, with the headline: �Villanueva, Viray, Magalona and the fight for NBA Season MVP.�



�Abaaah teka,� says the ever-cynical Ryan. �Jan Renes! Muntik na kitang di makilala!�



I invite them to join us to walk along the beautiful shoreline. We are having a good time chatting about the old times when we spot a few people fighting over a broken laptop. One is proposing that he can fix the laptop, one says he can connect it to the world wide Web, while the others are arguing whose softwares are going to be installed. We interrupt their small debate and introduce ourselves. We are startled when we learn that they are our batchmates too.



SAAB MAGALONA the NY Times bestselling writer, NOELLA GOMEZ, Bill Gates� superior and the renowned developer of the influential IT company SoftElla. JAKE ONA and LUCKY ALCANTARA, both famed programmers of hit online games, are busy bugging IVAN GOYAGOY, another successful software company developer who dethroned the Silicon Valley empire. Mr. ALLAN AFABLE, now the CEO of the monopolizing New York telecommunications company, is business planning with his pal and adviser, Engr. ALLISTER ALAMBRA, the head of the electronics communications engineering department of the company.



�Why don�t you all join us?� I propose. �We�re headed to meet our other batchmates who also happen to be here.�



We are about to get going when two, familiar-looking women arrive. �We could hear your voices from there, � one of the women points to the stone alcove where she says they have been resting. �We heard familiar names.�



We soon learn, to our astonishment, that they are another two of our other now-psychologists batchmates. Dr. MARIANNE OGAYA and Dr. DANICE O�HARA. I once read about them in a medical magazine that dubbed them �The Sigmund Freuds of the New Generation.�



I just stand there, speechless and frozen. I still can�t believe this is all happening. I find myself alone again. My other batchmates have abandoned me. They already walked ahead while here I am, sitting underneath a coconut tree. I can hear  four different approaching voices behind me. I look behind and can now see four prominent faces fighting over a piece of tattered international magazine.



To stop them from arguing, I snatch the magazine and scan it. I find out that these four people in front of me are my batchmates who are named the Entrepreneurs of the Year. RIYUICHI ONO and ANNE ANELIDO-Ono tied the knot in Japan soon after college. Anne donated a castle housing aged, needy citizens. She also built a charitable animal shelter, a fashion gallery, and a chain of multinational computer shops and beauty parlors while her better-half, Riyu Ono, has his own chain of Japanese restaurants with  thousands of branches worldwide even in the Middle East and in destitute African territories. AKIRA KAWAKAMI now owns five victorious basketball teams in the NBA with a mega franchise. JESSICA PLATA has founded the fast food chain that overthrew McDonald�s.



We all walk together to find the others, I can now hear the voice of my fellow divorce lawyer calling me from afar, CAMILLE DIOLA, who is my associate in our well-known NYC law firm Diola, Renes and Associates. For the record, the firm never lost a case and is responsible for the famous Pitt-Aniston and Beckham-Adams divorces. We follow her voice and find familiar people sitting there.



There is CARA EUSEBIO, now the wife of David Beckham, is a multimillionaire who lives in Park Avenue with us. The rest are also my super wealthy friends who now reside in their own mansions namely CZARINA BERNARDO, LAWRENCE DELA CRUZ, MARGARETTE LA�O, MARY PRESIDENTE, MISU BYUN AND ARNELLIE MORALETA. 



WOW! That was all I can say at that time� Everyone�s here? Wait a minute. This is getting way too suspicious� so I asked, "Bakit lahat tayo nagkasabaysabay papuntang Manila?"



Then I find Czarina, the dentist of Hollywood Stars and the president of the United States, whispering something to the United Nations� secretary general, LAWRENCE DELA CRUZ.



�Ano kaya pinagbubulungan ng dalawang �to?� I began to wonder.



Then, MISU BYUN, now a CPA lawyer in a famous agency in Los Angeles, blurted out, "Hindi mo ba alam? MAY REUNION!!!"



�Ha!? But there were no plans, no one told me�� 



Then I felt someone tugged me by the shoulder. 



"Sir! Sir! Would you be needing anything before we land?"



I snapped back to reality. �Huh? What�s going on?�



"We are about to land in approximately 15 minutes, please fasten your 
seatbelts"



I�m back on the plane?  Panaginip lang yun? For a minute I thought there really was a reunion� Sayang! However, as I regained total consciousness, I recognized that the two stewardesses who were trying to wake me up�  si Mary at Margay!?


Teka�


So, I looked around and to my amazement, I saw them all! My beloved batchmates! Ibigsabihin, may reunion nga!!!


I stood up and said� 


"Ang daya niyo bakit hindi nyo ko ininvite?!?"