I was happily getting my dose of morning tv when suddenly, the phone rang. I knew right away it was my husband (sino pa ba ang tatawag sa kin dito dba?) and I thought he was calling me to just to say hi -- my husband does that sometimes; he would call me in the middle of the day just to ask me what I'm doing, if I'm ok, etc. Well, it turns out that he didn't call for chit chat. He called because one of his officemates told him that there was a bomb scare in Alyannah's school and he wanted me to go and check if it's true. I didn't believe the news right away, but it wouldn't hurt to go and check so I grabbed my bag and went.
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When I was inside the elevator, I still had my doubts. I mean, a bomb scare in my daughter's school? Come on. Impossible. It can never happen! But it all changed when I saw other NSIS mommies at the lobby rushing towards the school. Oh god...don't tell me...Then my cellphone rang and Richard said he was able to talk to Walter (the school's deputy director), who confirmed that there was indeed a possible bomb threat -- they do not know if it's just a hoax or a real bomb threat -- and as a precaution, they moved all the children to a room that has no windows.
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When I arrived at Bangkok Garden, my fear escalated when I saw police cars and policemen all over the parking lot. Shiyet, this cannot be happening to me. I have to get Alyannah out of the school. Now. But I can't because the parking lot has been cordoned off so I can't get to the gate. Then I realized that the bomb was not inside the school. It's in the bus that's parked outside the school. And to get to the gate, I have to pass by the bus! Yikes! Buti na lang, Aly's classroom is at the other end of the building, far away from the bus. I called Richard and told him I can't go inside, but I will find a way. He was really worried so he dropped everything at work and headed home.
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Okay, I shouldn't panic. The next thing I did was, I looked for someone who can speak english. Thankfully, one of Bangkok Garden's security personnel can speak a little so I asked her how I can go inside the school. She said I can go to the other side. So I went. I was relieved when I saw that there were no police cars at the parking lot, but they were not letting people inside the school. Good thing Richard's officemate, Morgan, was there (his son, William, is Aly's classmate) so at least there's someone I can talk to. So we waited a bit, but after realizing that's there's nothing that we can do, Morgan decided to eat breakfast. As for me, I headed to Starbucks and bought myself a Caramel Frapuccino to calm my nerves. I tried to call my husband again, but there was no phone signal. I thought they probably cut it off as a precaution.
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I went out again to the parking lot and saw more mommies so I stayed with them. Moments later, the policemen were telling us to move back. They were all moving away from the bus too. Then, I heard someone shouting something in Thai and all of a sudden, we heard some sort of explosion. It sounded like a contained explosion (like it exploded inside a box) so I didn't hear any broken glass, people shouting, or anything of that sort so it wasn't too scary. But still. I told the mommies that we can go to the other side, but they said they were too scared to go. Ok, kung ayaw nyo, ako na lang. So I left them and went to the other side. I'm so glad I did because I saw another batch or mommies walking towards to school so I followed them. When we were finally inside the school, Walter was there to meet us. He explained the situation and told us that we can take our children home as they will be closing the school for the rest of the day.
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The K3 kids were inside the music room watching a movie and when I called out to Aly, she greeted me with a big hug. Boy, was I glad to see her! I wanted to cry! When we got out of the school, Richard was already there. I was happy to see him too. The moment I saw him, I knew our ordeal was finally over.
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I told my husband that we should go and tell the other mommies that they can now get their children from the school. This time, there were more mommies waiting at the other side and when they saw me with Aly, they were kinda surprised. They were probably wondering how I got my daughter. Kayo kasi eh, ayaw nyo sumama sa kin. Anyway, I told them that they can go to the other side to get their kids. Some of them looked like they were about to cry so I told them not to worry because the kids are ok.
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Finally, we were back at the apartment. We also found out that the bomb was just a hoax. It didn't really matter at that point because I had my daughter and my husband with me, safe in our home and away from harm. Richard took the the day off and spent the rest of the afternoon doing jigsaw puzzles with Aly.
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Looking back at what happened, I realized that when it comes to your child's safety, there is no such thing as over reacting. Some of the mommies were practically trembling in fear, especially when they heard the explosion, but you can't blame them. I was scared too. Gosh, I was scared like hell! But I can't just stand there and wait, you know. I knew I had to find a way to get to my daughter. Luckily, I was still able to think clearly in spite of my fear. I was actually proud of what I did :) Forgive me for putting the spotlight on myself, but it's not everyday that I am faced with this kind of situation, nor do I intend to experience this again! Tama na yung nangyari kahapon. Hehe!
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Oh, I think this is worth mentioning...remember I said that I was watching tv when Richard called? Well guess what I was watching? An old episode of Grey's Anatomy, the last episode of season one. Yeah, the one with the bomb. Hay...what a morning!
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