As he had hoped, Rizal was taken to the Jesuit priest at that time in charge of the Ateneo Municipal, Father Magin Fernando. At first the priest was unwilling to admit Jose. One reason was that Rizal had come in late. On top of that, he did not seem strong and was very small for his age. He was then eleven years old. Some time later, however, Doctor Manuel Xeres Burgos, a nephew of the ill-fated Padre Burgos, spoke in Rizal's favor and Father Fernando gave in and admitted him.
Teachers and schoolmates worth mentioning
Rizal dressed himself in the uniform like the other students, wearing a white coat, or americana, and a necktie, and entered the chapel of the Jesuit Fathers to hear mass. He addressed fervent prayers to God. After mass, he went to the classroom. There he saw a number of boys, Spanish, mestizos and natives, and a Jesuit teacher. Father Jose Bech, the teacher, was a tall man, thin and somewhat stooping, but quick in his movements. His face was thin and pale, yet lively. His eyes were small and sunken, his nose sharp and Grecian. His thin lips curved downwards. He was a little eccentric, sometimes being out of humor and intolerant; at other times amusing himself by playing like a child.
Some of Rizal's schoolmates were interesting enough to warrant mentioning them by name. Florencio Gavino Oliva, a young man from Rizal's own province, had great talent but he did not work steadily. The same thing was true of Moises Santiago, a mathematician and a penman. It was also true of Gonzalo Manzano, who then held the position of "Roman Emperor."
The Greek and Roman Empires
In Jesuit colleges they divided the boys into two groups or "empires," one Roman and the other Greek. These two empires were always at war. The boys of one empire always wanted to outdo those of the other in all kinds of contests. Each group had a leader called the "Emperor." The Emperor wins his place by doing the best work and standing the highest of anyone in his group. Rizal was put at the end of the line. He could scarcely speak Spanish, but he already understood it.
After the religious exercises, Rizal went out and found his brother waiting to take him to his lodgings, which were about twenty-five minutes' walk from the college. His brother did not wish to leave him in the Walled City, which seemed very gloomy to Rizal.
Strange housemates
Rizal lodged in a small house on Calle Caraballo, near an estero. The house consisted of a dining room, a living room (sala), a bedroom and a kitchen. An awning covered the small space between the door and the steps. His landlady was a maiden called Titay, who owed Rizal's family three hundred pesos. Titay's mother, a good old woman, lived with her. There were besides a crazy woman, quite harmless, and some Spanish mestizos in the house.
By the end of the first week, Rizal was going up in the class. Then he began to spend the siesta time studying at Santa Isabel College. For this, he paid three pesos a month. He went there with Pastor Millena, a boy of his own age. A month later, Rizal was Emperor.
Grades and prizes
How pleased he was when he won his first prize, a religious picture. In the first quarter he gained another prize, with the grade "Excellent." After that he did not care to apply himself. He had foolishly become dissatisfied because of something his teacher said. Unfortunately, this continued until the end of the year and Rizal gained only second place in all his subjects. This gave him the grade of "Excellent" but without any prize.
A long-awaited holiday
Rizal spent the vacation at home and went with his eldest sister, Nening to Tanawan for the town festival. This was in 1873. But their pleasure was marred by the fact that their mother was not with them. Rizal had gone alone to see his mother without first sending word either to her or to his father. This was at the close of the term in which Rizal held second place. He thought with what joy he would surprise her. Instead, they wept in each other's arms. They had not seen each other for more than a year.
Second year and a change of residence
After the holiday was over, Rizal returned to Manila and enrolled in the second year. Afterwards, he hunted lodgings in the Walled City. It was too tiring to live so far away. He found a place at 6 Calle Magallanes in the house of an elderly widow, Dona Pepay. Her daughter, also a widow, lived with her. The name of the daughter was Dona Encarnacion, and her for sons were Jose, Rafael, Ignacio and Ramon.
Rizal's professor that year was the same as in the previous year, but he had different schoolmates. Among them, three had been with him in Binan. At the end of this year, Rizal won a medal and returned to his town.
Rizal once more went alone to visit his mother in prison. Like another Joseph, Rizal prophesied to her from a dream that her release would take place within three months. This prediction happened to come true.
Third year and a taste for books
At this time, Rizal began to devote his leisure to reading novels. Years before, he had read one, but not with any great interest. Imagine how a romantic youngster of twelve would delight in The Count of Monte Cristo! Under the pretext that he should have to study general history, he persuaded his father to buy him a set of Cesar Cantu y Dios' histories.
He gained much by reading them. In spite of his only half applying himself and of his indifferent Spanish, he was able to win prizes in the quarterly examinations. He should have gained the medal if he had not made some slips in Spanish, which he spoke very poorly. This gave the place to a Spanish lad who spoke his mother tongue better than Rizal could. Thus, then, he finished his third year.
His mother's release
When Rizal next returned to Manila, he found his former landlady's house full. He had to take a room in the house with his brother, Paciano Mercado, in company with a boy from his town named Quintero. Rizal's life was not so free as formerly, for he was under close supervision. The regular hours, however, were better for him. He prayed and played with his landlord's children.
A little later Rizal's mother was proved innocent and she was set free. After the vacation, in that memorable year of his mother's release, Rizal again had his lodgings in the Walled City. The house was in Calle Solana and belonged to a priest. His mother had not wanted him to return to Manila, saying that he already had sufficient education. Did she have a presentiment of what was going to happen to him? Can it be that a mother's heart gives her foresight?
Planning his future career
Rizal's future profession was still unsettled. His father wanted him to study metaphysics, so he enrolled in that course. But his interest was so slight that he did not even buy a copy of the textbook. A former schoolmate, who had finished his course three months before, was Rizal's only intimate friend. They lived on the same street. Rizal's companions in the house were from Batangas and had only recently arrived in Manila.
On Sundays and other holidays, this friend used to call for Rizal and they would spend the day at Rizal's great-aunt's house in Trozo. Rizal's aunt knew the boy's father. When Rizal's youngest sister entered La Concordia College, he used to visit her, too, during the holidays. Another friend had a sister in the same school, so they went together. He made a pencil sketch of his sister from a photograph which she lent him. On December 8th, the festival of La Concordia, Rizal along with some other students went to the college. It was a fine day and the building was gay with decorations of banners, lanterns and flowers.
Homecoming and his mother's impending blindness
Shortly after that, Rizal went home for the Christmas holidays. On the same steamer was a Kalamba girl who had been a pupil in Santa Catalina College for nearly five years. Her father was with her. She and Rizal were well acquainted but her schooling had made her bashful. She kept her back to him while they talked. To help her pass the time, he asked about her school and studies but he got hardly more than a "yes" and "no" in reply. She seemed to have almost, if not entirely, forgotten her Tagalog. When Rizal walked into his house in Kalamba, his mother at first didn't recognize him. This was because she had nearly lost all of her sight. Rizal's sisters greeted him joyfully and he could read their welcome in their smiling faces. But his father, who seemed to be the most pleased of all, said the least.
A dawning realization
The next day they were expecting friends from Manila to arrive, on their way to Lipa. But the steamer landed its passengers at Binan because of a storm. So he saddled a pony and rode over there to meet them. Rizal's horse proved to be a good traveler and when he got back to Kalamba he rode on, by the Los Banos road, to their sugar mill. There he tied the horse by the roadside and for a time watched the water flowing through an irrigation ditch. Its swiftness reminded Rizal of how rapidly his days were going by. He was now twenty years old and had the satisfaction of remembering that in the crises of his life he had not followed his own pleasure. He had always tried to live by his principles and to do the heavy duties which he had undertaken.
Source: Rizal's Own Story of His Life