“I need a break, I need a vacation!” chanted Jericah as she pranced down the halls of the high school building. She was followed by her friends who shook their heads as one.

 

“Jeri” said Meg, “We got it the first time.”

 

“Yeah, Jeri,” added Erika who pretended to clear her ears, “My ears are blocking up because of you already!”

 

“Can I help it?” said Jeri as she set her things down on the table. “Two more weeks to the summer vacation; One week if you discount the periodicals. I need a break!”

 

“Well” started Andrea, “We need a break from your singing.”

 

“Am I *that* bad?” she asked innocently.

 

“Yes!” was the loud and chorused reply.

 

Jericah could only sweatdrop in response.

 

*****

 

“Jericho” the call from behind him startled the young teacher.

 

“Hmm?” he said, turning in his seat. Behind him smiled his friend and fellow teacher, Anne Genkai. “What is it Anne?”

 

“I was wondering if you’re going.” Answered the smaller woman. She patted her hair absentmindedly as she waited for Jericho’s answer.

 

Jericho, on the other hand, was thinking about it. ‘It’ was a summer outing with his fellow teachers to some place in Tagaytay. As far as he knew, Anne, De, Yvonne and he were the only ones who agreed to go.

 

:Aww, hell,: he thought, :I’ve got nothing to do this summer anyway. I could use a break from work.:

 

“Sure, what the hell.” Was his response.

 

“Great!” exclaimed Anne, smiling brightly. “We’re going to have so much fun!”

 

Jericho smiled a little at the youthful enthusiasm of his friend. Then before he went back to his paper work, he turned to look at Anne and said, “Hey, where *are* we going?”

 

“Some place called something like…blue…” she looked lost for a while. “I forgot but it’s this place in Tagaytay that’s pretty secluded and pretty hidden, meaning…” she left the sentence hanging with a glimmer in her eyes.

 

“No accidental meeting with students.” He completed, smiling brightly. ”Especially yours.” He added, thinking particularly of a small band of students in Anne’s advisory class.

 

She wrinkled her nose at him and said, “I can’t help it if they like you a lot can I?”

 

Jericho just rolled his eyes.

 

*****

 

A few weeks later…

 

“Home life is soooo boring.” Moaned Yuuki as she sipped her orange juice.

 

“Amen.” Chorused four other voices.

 

The five young girls were sitting in a restaurant in the mall, each bemoaning the boring passage of the vacation.

 

“It almost makes you wish for school,” muttered Jeri as she looked desolately down at her coffee. She twirled a French fry absently between her fingers as she added, “Except you’d see the teachers again.”

 

“You mean you don’t like to see the teachers anymore?” was the disbelieving voice of Meg. She stopped eating her burger when she heard Jeri’s statement and was now gaping at the bored youth.

 

“Nope.” Was Jericah’s reply as she popped the French fry into her mouth.

 

“That’s a start” said Andrea as she leaned forward on the table, “Jericah doesn’t want to see Jericho again?”

 

“Yeah right.” Came Erika’s answer, “That’ll happen the same day the sun refuses to shine.”

 

“I’m not joking” interjected the irritated Jericah, “I’m sooo tired of him and the other teacher’s faces. I mean,“ she said, taking a moment to sip her coffee. “He’s handsome and all, but he does get tiring.”

 

All of them, even Meg, agreed with varying degrees of enthusiasm.

 

Later on, mostly due to some prodding on Jericah’s part, they went to a nearby record store. As they perused though the various new albums, Jericah bumped into somebody.

 

“Oops!” she exclaimed, turning to look at the person she bumped, “Sorry.”

 

“Jeri!” the young man exclaimed. He smiled at her and helped her up. His bright blue eyes glittered as they looked straight at her. His ruffled chestnut brown hair looked awfully familiar to Jericah and she ventured a guess.

 

“Cliff?” she asked, quirking her eyebrow.

 

“You still remember me!” the young Autralian gave her a hearty hug and said, “I was planning to visit you later on!”

 

“Cliff!” she exclaimed happily, “What are you doing here?”

 

“Shopping” he answered with a glint in his eyes.

 

“No, you dummy!” she slapped him playfully and he tried to duck from her attack, laughing at her reaction. “What are you doing here, in the Philippines?”

 

“Vacation.” He said simply and proceeded to talk to her about their friends in Australia.

 

“Oh man, I miss you guys.” She said when Cliff paused for a breath.

 

“Uhm, Jeri.” He suddenly said, looking a little uncomfortable. “You’re my friend right?”

 

“What kind of question is that? Of course I am!”

 

“Well, I have a favor to ask you.”

 

“Like what?”

 

*****

 

“Thanks Jeri!” said Cliff as he moved away. He waved once more as he disappeared slowly into the crowd.

 

“Who was that?” gushed Meg as the chestnut haired Australian left their view. “He was a cutie!”

 

“That was my old friend Cliff from Australia.” Said Jericah, smiling at her friend.

 

“Is he available?” asked Meg. Jericah and the rest fell into a rather heavy mock death. “What?”

 

Jeri picked herself up and answered a little haltingly, “He’s 20, Meg, plus I know his girlfriend, her name is Denise.”

 

“Oh darn.”

 

They walked around for a while. Suddenly Erika stopped the group and pointedly stared at Jeri. Jeri blinked back, looking a little startled.

 

“Jeri,“ Erika started. ”Your head has been up in the clouds ever since that guy left us. What is it?”

 

“Well…” Jeri said, smirking a little.

 

“Are you having a relationship with that guy?” interjected Yuuki.

 

Jeri picked herself up from the mock death and screamed “Baka!” at Yuuki.

 

“Well what?” said Yuuki, a little peeved at having been called an idiot.

 

“Well, he had a problem and I fixed it from him, plus I have a reward!”

 

“What problem?” asked Andrea, “Romantic, academic?”

 

“Nyadah.” Said Jeri as she sat down on a bench. “You see. He and his friends were supposed to go to Tagaytay to spend the rest of their vacation.”

 

“So? What’s wrong about that?” asked Erika, “Tourists usually go to Tagaytay, it’s a nice place.”

 

“Wait, wait.” Said Jericah, “Let me finish.”

 

“Then finish already,“ said Erika.

 

“Well, it turns out that they can’t go to Tagaytay since they are supposed to go home in a few days. Meaning they’ll be out of the country before they could avail of the First class reservations and activities that they had taken.”

 

“Oh shit.” Cursed Erika as she got it.

 

“What?” said Yuuki, looking a little lost.

 

”It would have been a waste” Jericah continued seriously, but a smile was starting to tug at the edge of her lips as the rest of her friends got it. “So as a kind and caring friend…” And with that she revealed five tickets with a flourish. “Pack your bags! We’re going to Blue Wonder Hotel, Tagaytay!”

 

*****

 

“Jericho!” this was accompanied with lots of shaking, “Jericho, wake up! We’re here!”

 

“Wha..?” was his groggy response. Jericho opened his eyes to see the bespectacled eyes of De Dexter.

 

“We’re here already” said the older woman. Jericho sat up and looked out the window.

 

When he had fallen asleep, the skyscrapers of the city had greeted him and now trees and more trees filled his view. Nearby he could make out a secluded building.

 

“What’s that?” he asked, nodding to the direction of the building.

 

“That’s the place where we’re going to stay” said Yvonne who took out her bags.

 

As they disembarked, Jericho looked up temporarily and looked at the Hotel’s sign. It read with brilliant Amethyst hues, “Blue Wonder Hotel”

 

: Blue Wonder Huh? : he thought. : Nice name.:

 

“Jericho!” called Syl Paladin from the car, “You’re luggage is still here!”

 

“Coming!”