Chapter 3 B

[Chapter 2]

It's Monday again, and here I am getting ready for school. I'm wearing a white cropped top shirt with high-waisted white retro trousers and white shoes. I don't feel like wearing our uniform today. The girls' uniform style is a white dress shirt, black blazer, pleated skirt, and gray tie-but it's too hot for that, so I decided against it.

"Good morning, everyone!" I greeted as soon as I entered the kitchen after coming downstairs and saw them preparing for breakfast. It looked like they were just waiting for me.

"Good morning," they replied in unison. I immediately sat in my seat between my mom and my sibling. Grandma initiate the prayer before we ate.

"Am I the only one going to school?" I asked my cousins, who were smirking at me, boasting that none of them had classes today, leaving me the only one going to school. They even escorted me outside-shameless!

"Yes, so you better leave; it's almost 8 o'clock."

I pouted and got into the car. As soon as I got in, I frowned because of the cologne I smelled. It was just me and the driver, so I was sure it was coming from him.

I looked at the rearview mirror, but he was focused on the road ahead. Still, I could see his very blue eyes. My eyebrows furrowed, but I quickly looked away when he glanced back at the rearview mirror, pretending to be busy on my phone.

The car started moving, so I put my phone in my bag and opened the window next to me, resting my chin on my hand as I looked out at the passing scenery.

"You're new, right?" I asked the driver, still looking outside. But he didn't respond, so I turned my head slightly to see him.

"Can't you speak?" The silence was thick, so I could hear him take a deep breath as if it was hard for him to talk.

"Y-yes." The corner of my lips lifted when he answered.

He's the same person. And it seems like he's struggling to speak Tagalog because of his accent. You think you can fool me, huh?

"Where are you from?" I sat up straight, moved away from the window, leaned back in my seat, and crossed my arms and legs.

I stared hard at the rearview mirror, but he was focused on driving. I couldn't see his full face since the front mirror wasn't down. What an idiot, this is so suspicious. I haven't seen his face properly this whole time.

"Ilo-ilo," he said, and I laughed softly.

"Bulol," I forced myself not to smile at how he pronounced it. His accent was so thick. This must be his first time speaking Tagalog. But in fairness, he understood me.

"Hmm... what's your name?"

"Juan," he replied.

"How old are you?"

"28."

"Ahhh, so I should call you Mang Juan then. We're ten years apart, so it's probably okay to call you that." I gave him a sweet smile when he looked at the mirror, and our eyes met. I saw his jaw clench slightly from where I was sitting behind him.

Annoyed? Hahahaha! Seconds passed, and I stayed quiet, worried that he might really get irritated. What a grump.

We arrived at the school, so I got out without acknowledging him further.

I walked straight into the school and headed toward our classroom. As I entered, I was greeted by the noisy chaos of my classmates. Some were playing mobile games, others were dancing to TikTok in the middle, some were singing, and others were playing guitar.

It's no surprise, especially since all of us here have different talents. Why? Because we're the only SPAD strand in our school, which stands for Special Program in the Arts and Design (SPAD).

We're in senior high now, so our strand is called SPAD, while our juniors are still SPA. There aren't many of us compared to other strands. There's only one SPA strand per level.

Our SPA building is also separate from the others since it's located in front of the gymnasium. Next to the gymnasium is another building where our music, dance, and art rooms are. Our building has two floors with 12 classrooms per level.

The other buildings are at the back, closer to the office building. But even though we're a bit isolated, our building is always noisy. What do you expect from a group of talented people?

"Myl!" Nathalie came running and hugged me, and we both ended up falling to the ground. I landed on my butt with a loud thud, and I yelped in pain.

"Oh no!" Lyra and Amber helped me up while Nathalie kept apologizing.

"Are you okay, Myl?" asked Vin, my crush, nyahahaha.

"I'm not okay," I honestly replied, so he scratched the back of his head awkwardly while I slowly sat down, still holding my sore butt. It really hurt!

"Be careful, Nathalie. It's not like you haven't seen her in years," Lyra scolded Nathalie, who pouted.

"I just missed her."

"Alright, that's enough. Myl, sit on this for a while," Amber said kindly, handing me a cushion from our teacher's mini lounge area. She's the angel in our group of friends. And if we have an angel, there's also a little devil-me, hahaha!

"Thanks, Amber." I accepted the pillow she handed me. "Sorry again, Myllll!" Nathalie apologized once more, so I shot her an annoyed glare. So noisy.

"Nathalie, knock it off if you want to stick around," I warned her, and she pouted and nodded before diving into her gossip stash.

"Myl, face me. I'll take your picture so I can draw you," Vin said cheerfully from his seat, which was just a couple of chairs away from mine.

"Go ahead and try. Tomorrow, you might not have any hands left. Draw your girlfriend instead," I snapped, rolling my eyes at him.

Even though I had a crush on him and his girlfriend didn't go to our school, I still didn't like getting too close. I didn't want to cause any drama-it's exhausting. Besides, my feelings for him were more of admiration, not full-blown love.

Vin was handsome and a great artist, but nope, he wasn't the one. There's something I'm looking for that I didn't find in him. Plus, he already has a girlfriend, so let's move on from that.

"Such a grouch. I can't help it, and besides, I think I've drawn all our classmates already-you're the only one left."

"Then go to the other room. Don't drag me into this. And anyway, when I do get someone to draw me, it'll be my future husband. I want to be naked while he paints me," I said, feeling giddy. Why not? I'm just imagining.

"Eww," he said, acting all grossed out, like he hasn't done that with his girlfriend. Trying to act all innocent.

"You're acting grossed out, but like you don't do that with your girlfriend, tsk!" I rolled my eyes at him and pulled my phone out of my pocket to read something random.

"Myl, is everything ready for the report?" My classmate Vannesa approached me, immediately asking about our report for today.

Well, this is our last report because exams are coming up in four weeks, so we'll be busy reviewing. The principal is super strict when it comes to exams.

And after the exams, we'll start practicing for the graduation march. So many things to do, no breaks. There's even an upcoming activity. That's why we've been spending a lot lately.

"Uh-huh, here it is." I took out my laptop from my bag and opened it. I was in charge of making the PowerPoint because they said I was good at it, unlike them. They know the basics, but that's it.

Apparently, we get extra points if the PowerPoint is well-made.

"You're the best, Myl. That's perfect. You can relax now, we've got the rest covered."

She gave me a thumbs-up, and I smiled at her.

I closed the laptop again but left it on the table for my groupmates to grab easily later. There are five of us in the group, and since I was assigned to make the PowerPoint, I don't need to go up front to report today.

It's tiring to make a PowerPoint presentation. I stayed up late to make it look good. And besides, our teacher said only two people should report in front to keep things organized.

And if someone didn't help, they wouldn't be included in the group, but if they contributed a lot, they could stay. So, I'm safe. It's nice to take a break for once. I'm usually the one doing the reporting, so it's their turn this time.

It's exhausting to talk in front, especially when the class isn't paying attention. You put effort into the report, and they don't listen. Fine, don't expect to answer anything in the quizzes. Our teacher always has surprises, so our brains are always in for a shock.

"Are you ready for the reporting?" our teacher asked as soon as she entered the classroom. She's our first period sub every Monday.

Every week, there's a report. But we're used to it since she's been our teacher since the first semester. She says we're her favorite, but really, it's her niece, our classmate, who's her actual favorite.

"Yes, ma'am!" we all answered.

"Group 2 will go first. Head to the front so we can finish quickly."

"Shit," my seatmate Lyra muttered. She's in Group 2. I chuckled quietly, knowing we wouldn't hear much from her.

For some reason, her voice gets so quiet when she reports. But when she's gossiping, it's so loud.

"Good luck," Nathalie, Amber, and I said in unison. Lyra headed to the front with her group, and they started. But before they began, they greeted us with a "Good morning," which is the most important thing to do before starting a report.

They even added some freestyle. I listened to their report while taking notes because I knew our teacher would spring another surprise. She always says it's a short quiz, but we end up using a whole sheet of paper, front and back, all answers being essays.

"And that's our report for today. Thank you for listening," said the leader of Group 2. We all clapped, even though I knew some weren't really paying attention. They're just going with the flow.

"Okay, Group 4 next."

"Oh no, ma'am!" Nathalie yelled, making the class laugh because of her reaction. She's scared too, but her voice is strong when she's at the front.

"Proceed to the front, Nathalie," our teacher said with a smile. Nathalie pouted and sluggishly walked to the front. I resumed taking notes, just like Amber beside me.

After everyone was done with their reports, I knew it-our teacher gave us a quiz. She said it was short, but it was 60 items. Thankfully, she didn't require a full sheet of paper this time. Just lengthwise, twice. We breathed a sigh of relief because the quiz was easy.

It was a quiz we had already done in the previous weeks. The topics from today's reporting are for the exam next week. Thankfully.

"How many did you get?" Amber asked after we submitted our checked papers to our teacher. My head was hurting from whoever corrected my paper. It was such a mess, ugh!

"55," I said, scowling. I couldn't move on from whoever checked my paper. They even wrote, "Corrected by your classmate!" Ugh, I know we're classmates! The humor of my classmates is annoying sometimes.

"34," said Lyra.

"30!" Nathalie said cheerfully. Well, at least she passed.

"And you?" Lyra asked Amber.

"57."

"Wow!" we all exclaimed and clapped.

"Let's go eat. That quiz made me hungry," Lyra said. We all agreed and headed out. When we reached the gate, the guard wouldn't let us out and even scolded us for trying to leave early for lunch. What's his problem?! It's 10:49, almost 11!

We're hungry! Why does the guard get to decide when we eat? What if we die from hunger? "Come on, it's just right there," Nathalie pleaded.

"You kids, go back to your classroom. Your teacher might be there already."

"Our class is done for the morning," I said, clasping my hands together, also pleading. Our stomachs were really growling. There's a new security guard on duty, so he doesn't know that we usually leave early to buy food.

"You won't sway me-" He didn't finish because a man suddenly appeared in front of us.

I immediately caught a whiff of his cologne. I blinked, seeing how big he was. If I only reach the guard's shoulder, I barely reach this guy's chest. He's so tall!

"Let them go, they're hungry," the man said coldly and firmly. I peeked at the guard since I couldn't see him past this huge guy in front of us. I saw the guard gulp while looking up at the man. Who wouldn't? This guy's like 6'4", and his body is huge, like a regular at the gym!

"By the way, this is my driver-slash-bodyguard," I said with a smile, still peeking from behind him, holding onto his firm arm. The guard looked back at me as I peered out from behind my stalker bodyguard.

"Alright, you may go," the guard finally said. We were able to leave and buy food, thanks to my stalker bodyguard.