drill

Yesterday, a friend studying in a school a la Hogwarts recounted the fire drill that had been conducted in his boarding place at 7 am. He thought while it was happening that it was the real deal--and he even thought he was the one who had caused it.

His story reminded me of the one and only fire drill I experienced in my old place along Katipunan. It was done at 1 pm but I was sleeping that time, having had a late night spent on studying for the English department's GEC (Guidance and Evaluation Committee) observation. Anyway, groggy and bleary eyed, I realized that the fire alarm was ringing and I panicked. I picked up my cell phone, wallet, and towel (?) and stuffed it into my ex's gym bag (which was full of clothes. He had left it in my place because he was transferring to a new apartment and needed a tambakan for some of his stuff). So there I went, hauling this big red bag towards the stairway (I had enough presence of mind to know one should never use the elevator in that kind of emergency). The people from other units had their doors open and were looking at the hallway. It took me a while to notice that none of them seemed panicky at all, and some of them were actually smiling at me in amusement. I stood in the hallway for a few seconds before it hit me. I went to the intercom, called the guard, and asked him if there was really a fire.

"Drill lang po, ma'am," he said. And I could hear the laughter in his voice.

Pakdatshit. That's what happens when you don't mind the announcements posted on the bulletin board.