5. Dear Best Friend, NEW FRIEND

Ciara's POV

How can I forget how Patricia Lim and I became friends? We have been friends since we're still in 9th grade until now that we are currently in college. I recalled how we encountered and became friends.

Patricia and I were classmates for the first time at the time, and believe me when I say that everyone in the room became my friends, but she's the one I could never approach.

We once partnered on a project and activities as a pair. Shan and I must have been partners at the time in case our Teacher became too upset and split the two of us.

I don't have a choice; I'm stuck with a person who's not my favorite. I dislike her since she's the only classmate with whom I don't get along and with whom I don't share the same vibes.

As a result, I discovered why she refused to talk to me. She was terrified of my aura at first, but that changed after she met me.

We got closer than we had ever been after that. Because of my name, Ciara, which is pronounced SHAra, SHAn, and patriSHA, we became the Trio SHA.

We ate our lunch and left the school to ride a tricycle to Ong Yiu, which is primarily populated by Muslims attributed to the presence of a mosque or church.

Patricia's family is well-known and rich. Both her father and mother have previously studied at Father Saturnino Urios University. I am familiar with their parents' love story, and they appear to be content with their family.

Despite their hectic schedules, even her mother, who works as a manager and finance supervisor for a company, finds time for her family. That's the kind of family I'd like to have.

When we arrived at their house, we got off the tricycle, "I'll be the first to pay. You are free to go inside and wait for me."

I nodded and walked through their front gate. I've always hung around here and am familiar with their residence. They never fail to make me feel like I'm not a part of Patty's family, so it's like my fourth home.

The first is, of course, my own residence. Shan's residence is the second as he is, of course, my best friend. The third is Uncle Derek's or their restaurant's residence. This is the fourth house.

When I was going to walk through the front door of their house, I ran into a man who was also about to go out.

When I looked at him, I was taken aback when I noticed that his eyes were the same shade as Patricia's. My gaze was drawn to his crimson lips, but I quickly closed my eyes, as though returning to reality.

"Are you all right? I'm sorry, I did not notice you." His voice is like Shan's, it is so manly, as are his worried expressions.

"Uh," I remarked, "I'm good."

"You must be Patty's best friend. Isn't that Ciara?" Is he familiar with me? I nodded and smiled, "Finally, it's great to meet you. My name is Patrick, and I'm Patricia's twin brother."

"Here's the — Oh my god!" Patricia exclaimed as she saw his twin brother. "You've arrived! I brought Ciara here since I assumed you were coming tomorrow."

He simply shrugged, "Why? That's great because I've met your best friend already."

"How many days or weeks will you spend here, Pat?" I asked, staring at them and not understanding what was going on.

Patrick chuckled. "Patty, you're being cruel to me. You're going to send me back after I just arrived? I'm not going back to Davao; I'm staying here for good," he said, rolling his eyes.

"Oh, Ciara, please be patient with my twin," Patty urged as she tugged me inside their house. 

"He's basically a chatty guy in general."

I chuckled, "It's fine, he's cute," I added, blushing since I had just said he was cute, as I noticed Patricia smirking, "I mean, you two are cute twins. You know, I really want a sibling, don't you?"

"Ciara, we are sisters at heart nothing can separate us," she remarked, and I smiled.

My friends, close friends, and best friends never let me feel alone, no matter how lonely I am. They are always by my side, which I admire.

x x x x x x x x x x

Patricia and I walked down the hallway towards the Accountancy Program Faculty office together with her twin brother, Patrick. He mentioned that he will surely move here for good and he enrolled that quickly.

I don't know how but maybe that's how things work when you are rich, you get everything you want if you are willing to pay for it.

"You know twin that I love you so much. If I don't, I probably left you alone here," Patricia said. 

True, it's already quarter past eleven o'clock in the morning, and we've missed two subjects today and yet.

He chuckled and grinned, "I know that, Patty," he said and turned to me, "How about you, Miss Gorgeous? I mean, Miss Jones?" He stared at me and it makes me blush because he really brought his face close to mine.

Patricia pinched her twin's face and pinched it on the side, "Cut it, Patrick! My best friend might be traumatized because of you." 

Patrick laughed back, "Your tandem both are so cute. Just wait for me for a while and then we'll eat. I'll make sure that we're all in the same subjects."

Patricia rolled her eyes, "Why do you still want to be with me all the time? I'm so tired of being with you all of the time."

"You're not the reason. Of course, I want Miss Jones to be my classmate. Right, miss gorgeous?" He smiled when he looked at me.

I just smiled, "There's no doubt you two are twins."

They got the same attitude. I knew Patty very well and now that I have also met her twin is both very mischievous and talkative. 

But, I know that even though Patricia is quite talkative and may be harsh, but she has a good heart. Maybe, that goes to Patrick, too.

A Student Assistant approached Patrick and approved his transfer here at school. Patricia and I looked at her schedule and she was right and we were all in the same class. It looks like there will be more to the group of friends.

"Alright! Let's go and let's eat at Jollibee. Don't worry, this is all on me because you came with me the whole morning," Patricia and I agreed and we walked together.

I took out my phone because I felt someone was texting me, "Where are you, Ciara?" I read Shan's message.

"Going to Jollibee with Patricia and Patrick," I typed and replied to his message.

"Shan is asking where I am," Patricia said as she glanced at my phone.

"Does Shan happens to be your boyfriend?" I looked across to Patrick, who just asked.

"He's my best friend," I explained.

"He's in our circle of friends," Patrisha confirmed.

"He's the third member of Trio SHA," Patrick added. "If you wish, you can invite him with us," he said emphatically.

"It seems he's still in class; don't worry about him," I explained. I'm also sure he's with his girlfriend today, so why waste bugging him?

We had just gotten out of school and were only a few steps away from Jollibee. It is not far from our school; in fact, it is only a short walk away, and it is located in the center of the city, known as Downtown.

We entered the fast-food chain. Patricia demanded that he be the one to order in case he got it wrong, so Patrick and I searched the second floor for a vacant position, as we found.

It was a little awkward at first, but he finally broke the silence, "Please accept my apologies for my behavior. I'm quite chatty and mischievous," he replied, smiling at me.

"Oh, Patrick. That's fine for me. It's like I've met two Patricia's in my life," I said, and he chuckled, "but I can still see the goodness in your heart, even though you're so strange and mischievous. It's the same as Patty's."

"Anyway, are you certain Shan is really just your best friend?" he asked.

I sneered, "Yeah, of course. He's been my best friend ever since. He's always there for me when I'm sad and lonely, and you know how sad my life is."

"Why?"

"I have always had the feeling that no one cares about me. Even my parents haven't really had time with me since then. Yes, they sent me to school, but that's all," I explained, "but I'm satisfied because Shan and his family are there to make me feel good."

"I suppose you have feelings for him?"

When he asked that, I froze. I nodded as I stared into his eyes "Yes, I love him, but I do not even stand much of a chance. I've been feeling alone again since he got a girlfriend."

I was caught off guard when he grabbed my hands and murmured, "Don't worry. You'll never be alone again now that I'm your friend and now I'm here."

Shan's POV

I waited for her to message or contact me while looking at my phone. This is not really like Ciara; she seems to already have changed.

I mean, this is the first time I've noticed she's not in class this year. It's fine for her to skip, but she didn't say anything about what happened.

I decided to skip my afternoon classes to visit her because it was almost quarter to eleven and I hadn't gotten any texts. I was concerned. What if she didn't inform me about something that happened to her?

I remembered she wanted to say something just before yesterday, and I kept wondering if my best friend was actually that ill.

We are all staying in the classroom today, although our class was dismissed earlier. I was about to leave when I overheard four of my female classmates discussing in a corner, directly just beside me.

"I heard there's a new transfer in the Accountancy Program,"

"It's Patricia Lim's twin who's studying from Davao,"

"Is she the handsome guy and cutie we saw earlier?"

"Maybe, because he was earlier with Patricia and Ciara."

When I heard that, I was trembling and closing my eyes. So Ciara was simply at school the entire time? She did not bother telling me about her or that they were hanging out with someone?

I grabbed my phone and opened the messenger app to call her, but she was unreachable.

I went downstairs to buy some load. I texted her, "Where are you, Ciara?"

I spotted her at the gate as she picked up her phone and it appeared that she had seen my message.

"Going to Jollibee with Patricia and Patrick," she replied.

I scribbled, "You know how scared I was because I was afraid about what had happened to you? Ciara, you're so annoying! I'm hoping you'll focus all of your attention and time on me!"

I was about to send it when I realized what I had written was ugly and I acted like a jealous boyfriend, so I erased it. I'm not sure what was going through my head, but I was furious towards Patrick, and I thought like he was about to steal Ciara from me.

I saw them walk away and was about to follow them when I heard someone yelled, "Baby!" 

It was Julie when I turned aside. I approached her and said, "Hello, baby. Where are you up to now? Have you eaten lunch yet?"

She merely nodded as she replied, "Yeah, but I'm going home now since Mommy and I are going elsewhere."

As senior high kids are only at school for half a day, Julie and I spend most of our time together until late at night, so I rarely meet Ciara.

"All right, I'll just go at my friends," I responded, and she nodded and left.