#Yatiz is a story focusing on the lives of young people in a small seaside municipality called Carmen in the southern part of the Philippines. The name is based on a cuss word here, "Yati/Yatis" that has no English equivalent but is closest to WTF.
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JANUARY 10, 2023・TUESDAY・10:25
Maya is waiting for Noel and JR in the hallway outside their classroom. She leans against the wall while scrolling through her phone. From a distance, she can see Jasmin and her friends going down the stairs.
"Hi! Sa HUMSS¹ ka?" Maya is a bit surprised as two girls seemingly appear out of nowhere. One girl is wearing a black and white waiter's uniform while the other is wearing a cheap-looking Sailor Moon cosplay.
"HEY, ARE YOU FROM HUMSS?"
Maya shakes her head, baffled by the two girls.
"Okay, unsa ka nga strand?" Sailor Moon asks.
"OKAY. SO WHICH STRAND ARE YOU?"
"GAS²," Maya responds.
"Wow!" The waitress says too excitedly. "Anyway, hello. I'm Sophie."
"Hi! Yuki diay," Sailor Moon says. She makes a peace sign with her right hand and winks like an anime character. "Nice to meet you!"
"HI, I'M YUKI."
"Anyway mga Grade 12 HE³ students mi and karong Friday, kay showcase namo. Naa siya'y mga food tapos naa pu'y mga entertainment! Basig gusto ka muadto."
"ANYWAY, WE'RE GRADE 12 H.E. STUDENTS AND THIS FRIDAY, WE'RE GOING TO HAVE A STRAND SHOWCASE. THERE WILL BE FOOD AND ENTERTAINMENT! MAYBE YOU'D LIKE TO GO."
Maya hesitates to respond. "Erm...unsa siya? Kanang required siya?"
"ERM...IS THAT–IS THAT LIKE A MANDATORY THING?"
The two of them look at each other and laugh. "Dili uy," Sophie says. "Pero naa siya'y entrance fee. 35 pesos."
"OH NO. IT'S NOT REQUIRED."
"BUT THERE IS AN ENTRANCE FEE OF 35 PESOS."
Maya pauses to think. She has a lot of things she's considering. Who will she even go with?
"Unsa man? G⁴?" Yuki says. "Adto ba. Lingaw mana siya kay daghan ka'g pwede makahalobilo! Tapos mga gwapo baya mga mag perform."
"SO ARE YOU GOING?"
"YOU SHOULD GO. IT'S GOING TO BE REALLY FUN. YOU'LL GET TO SOCIALIZE WITH PEOPLE. PLUS THE GUYS THAT'LL BE PERFORMING ARE REALLY HOT."
Sophie elbows Yuki.
"Naa pu'y mga gwapa. If ganahan ka ug ingon ana. Okay lang pud. Welcome ang tanan sa among showcase. Maskin mga LGBT kay welcome!"
"GIRLS...ALSO GIRLS IF YOU'RE INTO THAT SORT OF THING. EVERYONE IS WELCOME IN OUR SHOWCASE! EVEN LGBT PEOPLE!"
Maya scratches her forehead. "Erm...ambot lang."
"ERM...I DON'T KNOW."
Sophie has a disappointed look on her face. "Okay," she says. "Pero if interested ka, karong Friday na siya. Starting 4:30PM. Ang theme kay semi-formal so pwede ka mag uniform or mag attire or something. Sa School Canteen lang siya. Tapos ayaw kalimti ang 35 pesos nga entrance."
"BUT IN CASE YOU'RE INTERESTED, IT'S THIS FRIDAY. 4:30PM. THE THEME IS SEMI-FORMAL. YOU CAN WEAR YOUR UNIFORM OR WEAR AN ATTIRE OR SOMETHING. IT'S GOING TO BE AT THE SCHOOL CANTEEN. ALSO DON'T FORGET THE 35 PESOS."
"Wow. Okay," Maya says.
"Kitakits⁵ on Friday, friend," Yuki says excitedly as they start to walk away. "Lesbian rights! Woohoo!"
"SEE YOU ON FRIDAY, FRIEND!"
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1: HUMSS: Philippine Senior High Schools are split into strands. So students can have areas that they can specialize and train on. HUMMS is Humanities and Social Sciences Strand. This is for those who are considering taking up journalism, communication arts, liberal arts, education, and other social science-related courses in college.
2: GAS: General Academic Strand. General Academic Strand is great for students who are still undecided on which track to take. You can choose electives from the different academic strands under this track. These subjects include Humanities, Social Sciences, Applied Economics, Organization and Management, and Disaster Preparedness.
3: HE: Short for HE Strand. This focuses on Home Economics. This is under the Technical-Vocational-Livelihood (TVL) Track for students who are not sure if they will be able to pursue any degree after Senior High or if you want to earn money immediately after graduation. Even without college, Technical-Vocational-Livelihood track will equip them with job-ready skills in the future. Other strands connected to HE (depending on what the school offers) are: Cookery, Bread and Pastry Production and Food and Beverage Services.
