Plot
 | This article's plot summary may be too long or excessively detailed.(April 2024) |
The film progresses into four interconnected stories: Freshman (1982-1983), Sophomore (1983-1984), Junior (1984-1985), and Senior (1985-1986) years.
Introduction
The film starts with science quiz bee contestants fighting in the 1981 National Science Quiz Bee. The narrator talks about natural selection and how it affects them as students. Daki Lim, a contestant, is removed from the elimination round after incorrectly answering the last question that mass is the same as weight, despite contests his answer to the panel of judges.
Freshman
The film then transitions to a comic speech made by Ninoy Aquino about Ferdinand and Imelda Marcos. Rom Meneses is an alternate (a student who is not immediately accepted by the school, a wait-lister) who received a letter from PSHS that he is now allowed to apply to the school, much to the joy of his mother. Rom enters the school the next day to register as a student. He is asked by the Director about his test results and his background; to which he answers that he was not able to finish the exam since he was late and that his mother is a market vendor and his father an OFW in Jeddah.
Rom goes to his room where Ms. Casas, is teaching about scientific hypothesis to her students. He meets Wena, a fellow student and his groupmate. Ms. Casas then makes her students go outside the room and talks about Quod Erat Demonstratum, to teach her students about having conviction as students of PSHS. Rom's mother congratulates him on his first day of school and celebrates her son's achievement as a student there. The next day, Rom and Minggoy report about the Solar System, and say that Halley's Comet would return to 1986, the same year the students would graduate. Rom and Wena become close to each other despite their separate backgrounds, as Wena comes from a family of Marcos cronies in the sugar industry in Negros Occidental.
Mateo and Minggoy talk about their grades, but Mateo refuses to talk about it. Rom tries finding his grades and initially thinks that he failed since he looked at the lower ranks; however, his friend points out that he is rank 4 in the entire class. Rom and his friends celebrate at the school party and dances with Wena, causing the class to see them as a romantic couple.
Ms. Casas notices their relationship, which is in violation of school rules, and tries separating the two by talking to both personally. Rom and Wena decide to break up their relationship and after Rom is goaded to kiss Wena, to the chagrin of the latter. Rom chases Wena in the library and explains to her about the kiss, but Wena and explains that her life was already planned out from the very beginning. Rom goes home to see his mother crying and comforts her. During the final exam, Wena returns the cassette tapes to Rom via Minggoy. Wena learns that she is rank 38 in her grades, but Ms. Casas told her that she is a good writer. Rom becomes rank 2 in his grades; however, the two stop talking to each other and go their separate ways.
Sophomore
Mateo is ironing his clothes as he is late for class. The geometry teacher is discussing to the class about the final project that they will submit, she encourages them to discover new things for themselves. Mateo arrives late to his class and the teacher asks him if he has any math problems to discuss, to which he provides none. Mateo is then brought in front of the class, showing a large burn mark in his uniform in his back while he was discussing his own problem. The teacher then makes him recall the Pythagorean theorem, to which he could not remember.
Mateo and Minggoy talk about their food in the school canteen. Mateo talks to Minggoy about his plan to buy a new pair of Saucony shoes. Both of them go out after class and Mateo tells Minggoy that he is the first in his family to ever get into PSHS, to which Minggoy jokes that his family celebrated that they got rid of Mateo. Later in the night, Minggoy tlls Mateo about his plan to build a telescope to sell Halley's comet. Mateo returns to his dorm, where he is bullied by his upperclassmen dormmates.
The next day, Mateo is told by his teacher that his final project is unsatisfactory and asks why he is performing poorly. Mateo confesses that he no longer has the passion to study. Later, as he does his laundry, one of his bullies forces him to wash his underwear, causing him to lose his mood. Minggoy, Mateo, Daki, and Andy eat in the canteen when they learn about the assassination of Ninoy Aquino, dampening the student's spirits despite many of them being exempted from the final exam. Later, the class talks about the assassination during geometry class and many students including Mateo answer in front of the class. Late in the night, Mateo tearfully writes a letter to his parents about his current situation as a student.
The next day, Mateo is encouraged by his classmates to do well in the final exam and is the last to pass his papers. Outside the exam room, the students talk about how the school would be segregated into upper-half and lower-half students based on academic rank. Mateo is called by the director to the office. There, the geometry teacher tells him about the Bell curve and how he did his best amidst his own personal problems.
Mateo and two other students are told by Ms. Casas that they are expelled from the school for failing their subjects. Mateo comforts the two and bought them snacks and played together, wearing the new Saucony shoes that he wanted. In a final act of revenge, Mateo sabotage's his bully's lab experiment, to the latter's consternation.
Junior
The part starts with an explanation about how the controversial Chico River Dam Project. Liway is praised by her mother for her writing skills before going to school. There, she is confronted by her chemistry teacher, who complains about her overdue chemistry lab reports that are long overdue, to which Liway jokingly replies if there is an application form for "Philippine Social Science High School".
Following a discussion in social science about the Marcos regime, the teacher tells them that they have a research project in the subject and that the upper-half should team up with the lower-half. Andy tells Liway and that they should team up, to which Liway initially refuses but reconsiders. Andy is then called for his ROTC, where he is confronted by the higher-ranking officers about the position that he is supposed to take. Andy goes to the lab with Liway for their lab report. The two then talk about their personal lives and the school paper that they are both working on. Liway wants to talk about the class segregation and her condemnation of its. She also discussed to her friends the dam project and the acts of bravery that the indigenous peoples did in order to resist the government's actions, especially with Macli-ing Dulag.
The school discusses the results of splitting up the classes into the upper-half and lower-half. Although many of the teachers disagree with the proposal since the results are questionable, Ms. Casas defends the system, citing a shortage of teachers who could teach the classes properly. Liway claps back, complaining at how the school is not well maintained . The petition to give the school its proper budget draws the ire of Ms. Casas, who then tells Liway to study instead of protesting. Later on, Liway is told by her mother that her father is being persecuted by the authorities for his political activity, forcing them to seek political asylum in the Netherlands. As Andy presents the report he made with Liway, the latter Liway packs her stuff and leaves the school.
Senior
The students present a combined Noli Me Tangere and El filibusterismo presentation in their class. Meanwhile, Ms. Casas reminds the students that they should only take Basic or Applied Science courses in college as not doing so would be penalized by reimbursing the entire cost of high school education with interest.
Mr. G writes a message under a table but is caught by Ms. Fanny, who asks him as to why he is in the room and then informed the student about an upcoming rally. Euri and Ms. Fanny go to the office and tell him that his combined presentation was impressive. The scene then jumps to a biology class wherein Euri dramatically recites his answer to the class. Euri finds Mr. G dramatically acting from a play called Ang Paglilits ni Mang Serapio and asks him why he did not pursue acting full-time, to which he replies that he did not want to lose his U.S. scholarship.
Euri becomes more involved in theater arts by attentively listening to the lectures of Ms. Fanny. One day, Euri and Minggoy approach Daki because their project in Filipino literature is approved and there he tells them that he is interested in organic chemistry, grossing out both with his weird idea involving proteins and chickens. Euri is told by Mr. G that he should take a science-related course in college. One day, Euri is inspired to write a play based on the ongoing political crisis and based on the research Daki made. While Euri, Daki, and Minggoy practice for the play they made they are approached by Ms. Casas, who tells Daki that he has to defend his research in Texas.
While Daki and Minggoy crack jokes in a 48-kilobyte computer, Minggoy starts feeling physical pain, causing concern among his friends. The next day, after a moving exam, Euri asked Mr. G as to why he did not pursue acting; Mr. G answers that it was martial law at the time and that he was afraid of himself. Ms. Casas has the props for the upcoming play removed due to personal concerns for the students, which is condemned by both Mr. G and Ms. Fanny. Outside the school building, student protests are held and Ms. Casas tells the Director of her fears over the fates of some of the students during martial law. While the protests continue, Mr. G gives Euli a mask from Minggoy after the latter is sent to the infirmary. Euri's play is staged outside the school building. The performance satirizes U.S. political intervention in the Philippines, during which Mr. G plays Uncle Sam and Ms. Fanny plays the motherland. Afterwards, Minggoy is visited by his friends in the hospital and told him it was a rousing success. Euri rewrites his contract form from Biology to Theater Arts.
As the People Power Revolution breaks out, protesters arrive in the school in a jeepney, convincing students to join them. Daki convinces his friends, including a reluctant Wena to join the protesters. Inside the office, the Director gives Ms. Casas a break from academic duties in order to finish her dissertation, Ms. Casas then thanks the Director for her support. Wena meets Rom again after a long silence, and Wena told him that she is bound for the U.S. after graduation with her family, who are fleeing the new regime. Rom jokingly asks her to be his partner at the graduation ball. Mateo, who excels at his new school, returns to PSHS for a visit and is greeted by his old teacher. Both Euri and Andy are congratulated by their teachers as they were climbing up the stairs, while Andy receives a postcard from Liway. Rom is greeted by his father, who arrives on time on his graduation ceremony. During the celebrations, a bedridden Minggoy asks his grandmother about her age, to which she said she was born at the same year Halley's Comet last appeared (1910). They then look at the Moon using the homemade telescope that Minggoy made.
The film ends with the students being called one-by-one by the teachers.
