Chapter 199: Calls That Change Futures Part 1

October 31, 2029TG Tower – TG Foundation Office

9:05 AM

The shortlist was no longer just names on a screen.

Printed copies lay stacked on the table. Each sheet held a student’s name, school, contact numbers, guardian, and location. A second column listed notes: high priority, remote area, no internet, difficult signal.

Adrian stood at the front of the room. He held the top page and looked at his small team.

"We start calling today," he said. "No mass email. No automated message. One by one."

Hana sat at the end of the table with her laptop open. She would observe for most of the day, step in if needed. She had insisted on this method. No public announcement before students knew. No social media list before families heard it from them directly.

Five people sat with phones and headsets: Maria, Jerome, and three new hires with school outreach experience.

Adrian looked at them.

"You are not just informing them," he said. "You are changing their plans. Some of these families do not believe in good news. They will think it is a scam. You must explain clearly."

He pointed to the script on the whiteboard.

Confirm identity.

Explain who you are.

State that the student has been selected as a Horizon Scholar.

Explain coverage: tuition, stipend, support.

Explain next steps: documents, verification, orientation.

Repeat details until they understand.

"No promises beyond the written terms," he added. "No vague lines like ’we will take care of everything.’ We will not lie to make it sound nicer."

They nodded.

Hana checked her watch. "Start."

Phones lit up.

9:20 AM – Nueva Vizcaya

Maria placed her first call. The number had a note beside it: "Signal unstable. Try multiple times."

The phone rang for a while, then cut. She called again. On the third try, someone answered.

A woman’s voice. Tired, cautious.

"Hello?"

"Good morning. May I speak with the parent or guardian of Luis Ramos?" Maria said.

"Who is this?"

"This is Maria from the TG Foundation," she answered. "We are calling about Luis’s scholarship application."

Silence.

Then the woman spoke again.

"He applied... for something online, yes. We paid for the computer shop. Are you asking for more payment?"

"No, ma’am," Maria said. "There is no payment. I am calling to inform you that Luis has been selected as one of the Horizon Scholars."

Another silence. Longer this time.

"I do not understand," the woman said. "Selected for what?"

Maria kept her voice steady. "Luis has been chosen for a full scholarship in engineering and science. The foundation will cover his tuition and provide a monthly allowance. We will also support his school needs."

The woman’s voice shook slightly. "Is this... for real?"

"Yes, ma’am," Maria said. "You can verify this through your school. We will send official documents today."

In the background, she heard a young male voice.

"Ma, who is that?"

The mother called out, voice breaking.

"Luis... someone is saying you got a scholarship."

Maria swallowed. She could picture the scene even without seeing it. A small house. Weak signal. A boy who thought the call was about a scam.

"May I speak with him?" Maria said.

The phone shuffled. A new voice came on.

"Hello?"

"Luis," Maria said, "this is Maria from the TG Foundation. I am calling to tell you that you have been selected as one of the first five hundred Horizon Scholars. Congratulations."

He did not answer at once.

"What does that mean?" he asked.


"It means," she said, "you can enroll in an engineering or science program approved by the foundation. We will cover tuition and give you support every month, as long as you meet the conditions. We will send your principal the full details."

A long exhale came through the line.

"I thought... those things only happen to other places," he said. "Not here."

"It is happening to you," she said. "We just need you to complete the next steps."

She explained the documents. IDs, school records, parent consent. She repeated each point until he could say it back.

When she hung up, Maria sat for a moment with her eyes on the table.

Adrian spoke quietly. "Move to the next one."

She did.

10:05 AM – Eastern Samar

Jerome had already made two calls. One answered, one scheduled for later. The third number on his list belonged to a girl named Rachel from Eastern Samar.

It connected on the first ring.

"Hello?"

"Good morning. May I speak with Rachel Santos or her parent?" Jerome asked.

"This is Rachel."

"This is Jerome from the TG Foundation," he said. "Are you in a place where you can talk for a few minutes?"

"Yes, sir. I am at school."

"Your teacher knows we may call," he said. "I will make it short. Rachel, you applied for the Horizon Scholarship earlier this month. I am calling to inform you that you have been selected."

He heard movement on the other end. A chair scraping. Shoes on concrete.

"Selected... meaning what, sir?"

"Horizon Scholar," he said. "Full support for your engineering or science degree. Tuition. Book allowance. Monthly stipend."

Her breath hitched. "Sir, I am sorry, but... I thought not many students would apply. I did not think—"

"Thousands applied," Jerome said. "You were chosen."

Silence.

Then, faintly, he heard another voice. A teacher’s voice, asking what was happening.

Rachel spoke away from the phone. "Ma’am, they said... I got the scholarship."

Another silence, but he heard the reaction through the device. Half laugh, half small cry.

Jerome waited.

Then the teacher asked to speak with him.

"Sir, this is her adviser. Is this really official?"

"Yes, ma’am," he said. "We will send the documents to your school email and to your principal. Please help us verify them and guide her through the next steps."

The teacher’s voice steadied. "We will. Thank you."

When he ended the call, Jerome leaned back and stared at the ceiling for a moment. He wrote "CONFIRMED" beside Rachel’s name.

He moved to the next number.

11:30 AM – TG Foundation Office

The operation spread across the room in a steady rhythm.

Call.

Explain.

Repeat.

Confirm.

Move on.

Some numbers did not work. Some were out of coverage. Some required three or four tries. In a few places, school principals answered instead of parents because the family had no personal phone.

Hana tracked everything on a sheet.

"Signal issues: thirty-two," she said. "We will coordinate with schools for landline calls."

Adrian nodded. "We do not skip anyone. If contact fails, we send physical letters through the schools and ask them to gather the families. We call again during that visit."

Maria marked a section in red. "One problem," she said. "Two scholars on the list have parents working abroad. Only grandparents at home. Papers will be harder."

"Still manageable," Hana said. "We route those through consulates later. For now, inform whoever is present."

Jerome lifted his headset slightly. "We also have one case where the father does not believe us and hung up."

Adrian frowned. "Which province?"

"Negros Occidental," Jerome said. "He said he does not trust strangers promising money."

Adrian nodded once. "Move that case to on-site confirmation. We visit when we go there for school assessments."

He took the file and placed it in a separate folder.

12:20 PM – Lunch, But Not Really

Food containers sat on the side table, barely touched. Hana grabbed a fork and ate a few bites while checking the call log. Adrian took a quick drink of water, then sat with another stack of numbers.

"I will take the next set," he said.

"You do not have to call," Hana said. "Staff can handle it."

"I need to hear them," he said.

He picked up a phone and dialed.