"Hi, Felice!"
"Gosh, Felice is so nice!"
"Yeah I want to be like her too!"
"You bet, sis! She's totally the girl to look up to!"
I heave a sigh upon hearing those. Most college girls would want to listen to those compliments, but not me. I just find it annoying and … not true.
I mean, it's obvious that they don't really mean what they say. They are just saying those because they want me to notice them, and they want me to notice them because I'm popular. If they get to be close with me and be with my flock, they will eventually get to the top.
I rolled my eyes at that thought. I also once thought that being popular would give me the satisfaction that I have always wanted. Turns out, it doesn't. I was happier before when I was still invisible.
I don't even know why I became popular. From what I remember, I was just an ordinary college girl trying to pass all my subjects to proceed. Then came the student council election, when I decided or should I say forced to run for president. It was my mom who wanted the position for me because she wants me to have a 'place' in the university.
I just don't really get what she meant by that. Or maybe I do, but I just kept on rejecting it.
"Hi, Felice! Uhm I just want to collect your assignment for Communication," our beadle immediately told me when I entered the classroom.
I sighed and opened my Dior tote bag. I fished out my file organizer and got my printed assignment. I hand it to her. She gave me a sweet smile. I just nodded and did the same.
I immediately went to my seat after. I placed my bag at my back and leaned on my armchair. Our first subject would be Philippine history , so I guess I'd just be sleeping the whole two hours.
I just watch my other classmates making fun of each other while waiting for our prof. Almost all of them are with a group. There's the all girls group who knows nothing but to put makeup on. There's the all boys group who are obsessed with their phones. They're playing Mobile Legends, I guess. There's also a group of nerds who do nothing but read and read. Then here I am, alone.
It's just so ironic that I am the popular girl, yet I have no specific group of friends to blend in. Well I guess, that's life, you don't get to have it all. There will always be something missing.
"Good morning, class." My thoughts were suddenly interrupted when I heard that baritone voice.
All my classmates stopped what they're doing. I quickly stood to join them in greeting him. A tall and lean guy was standing in front of the teacher's table. His hair was fixed in a clean manner. He was leaning his butt on the teacher's table while both of his arms were crossed on his chest.
I stood properly. There have been murmurs around my classmates, while prof was just looking at us. I bowed my head a little to avoid his gaze. For some reason, I don't like meeting the professor's gaze. I feel like they're gonna chew me dead.
"I'm Gregory Landon Olivares, your professor for history 2. I suppose this is our second year-block A." I heard him say.
"Yes, sir," my classmates answered in chorus. I kept my head down.
"Very well. Take your seat." We immediately took our seats.
I heard the chalk's noise on the board so I looked up.
'Gregory Landon Olivares, BA in History.'
He clapped his hands to remove the chalk dust on it then placed the chalk that he used on the table. He walked in front of the teacher's table.
"My apologies for not being able to meet you last week. I was stuck in an important seminar. Today is our first day in this subject so I will just be discussing our syllabus."
"Sir, wouldn't we have an introduce your self portion?" a girl seated in the front said. My classmates then agreed in chorus.
I rolled my eyes. It's obvious that they have a crush on the prof. I shook my head. I looked at the front again, but I was appalled when I saw that prof was looking at me. I froze for a second when our eyes met. I immediately avoided my glance. Then I felt something weird. My heartbeat just went fast.
What was that about?
"All right, class. As much as I want to have an introduction with you, we are already running out of time. So, I'll just leave that task to your block secretary. Please have a sit plan ready for the next meeting." They all groaned upon hearing that.
Prof then proceeded with the syllabus discussion. I bowed my head and yawned. God, I'm really sleepy.
"Do you understand, class?"
"Yes sir."
"Okay, class dismissed."
Oh, thank god!
I immediately fixed my things and put them in my bag. I waited till all of my classmates were out before I finally walked to the door.
"Excuse me, Miss." I stopped on my tracks and immediately turned around. My eyes widened in shock when I saw that it was our prof who called me.
I thought he went out already?!
He let out a soft chuckle and continued fixing his things.
"Uhh, yes sir?" I asked politely. He looked at me and flashed a small smile.
"I am heading to the student council room, do you know where it is?"
"Uhm it's on the building, sir, 4th floor." I pointed to the blue building beside this building. He just nodded and smiled again.
"Thanks." He carried his laptop bag and walked past me.
I was left there, staring at his back when he suddenly turned around.
"By the way, am I that boring that you have to yawn the whole time I was discussing the syllabus?" He grinned. My eyes widened in shock. He let out a small laugh and then walked away, leaving me speechless and embarrassed.
Oh my god!
He caught me yawning and almost sleeping during his class!
***
"Felice, our acquaintance party will be next week, is everything ready?" Dean Smith asked. I smiled and nodded.
"Yes, dean. We already arranged a meeting for the sound system that we will be using that night. Other things are already fine and ready." She nodded her head continuously.
"That's good. Anyway, I've come here because I have some news for you. You already know that Miss Alverez started her maternity leave yesterday right?" My brows furrowed. I nodded at the dean.
"So, for the meantime, you will have a new student council adviser. I want you to brief him with everything that he needs to know, okay?" I slightly paused but then nodded immediately.
"Uhm, dean, who will be our new adviser?" I asked. As if on cue, the door clicked and opened wide.
"Sorry, I'm late! My class kind of extended for a few minutes," said the guy who just entered the room.
I stiffened in my position as my history teacher was approaching us. I swallowed the lump in my throat. Suddenly I felt my heart beating so fast again. Our eyes met then I felt my whole face in heat.
"Nice to see you again, Miss," he greeted and flashed that annoying grin again.
Oh my god. Can I take a break from all the embarrassment already?!
I wasn't really that comfortable staying in the student council office ever since I knew that Sir Greg will be our substitute adviser. I don't know, every time I see him that embarrassing moment with him keeps on playing in my head.I'd like to scold myself for being so OA with that matter.I groaned in frustration as I sort out the papers that I needed to sign."Miss Lemuel." I almost jumped from my seat when I heard that voice. I immediately looked up and saw my substitute adviser's face."Uhm yes sir?""I would just like to remind you about our student council meeting this afternoon," he said. I gulped and immediately nodded my head."Noted, sir." He nodded too before finally closing the door. I let out a heavy sigh and continue sorting the papers.I took a small glance on my watch and I still have so much time before my next class starts, which is Philippine history by the way.When I fin
I stayed up late that night because I have so many readings in Philippine History. I also have three papers to make for my communication subject and I still have to answer queries from the dean's office about our upcoming acquaintance."Felice, you're not asleep yet?" I turned around and saw mommy and daddy who just went in.I smiled and stood."Good evening, mom, dad," I greeted and kissed them both on the cheeks."Why are you still up? It's getting late already," mommy said. I just sighed and shrugged."I still have a lot of things to do, mom. Don't worry I'll sleep before 12," I assured her. She stared at me for a bit, but eventually nodded her head."Okay, we'll go upstairs already, okay? Go to bed after.""Yes, mom."I heaved a sigh and went back to my chair. I could do these in my room, but that will just make m
I was silently scolding my self as I continued to read our second reading for phil. history. I was cramming already! I wasn't able to finish reading it last night because I got so distracted about Sir Greg's message, I don't even know why!I groaned in frustration as I continue to scribble through the words, but I ended up re-reading it again. The concepts won't get in my head and it's frustrating me more! Gosh, Felice! Why are you so distracted?!I took a quick glance on my wristwatch and I barely have 5 minutes before class. I threw a dagger on my classmates who were being so noisy. They're just adding to my frustration! I cannot concentrate!"Good morning, class." I froze on my seat when I heard that voice.Damn it!
It was Sunday. My cousins from my father's side would usually visit our house during this day. Mommy has declared Sunday a family day so we really have no choice but to gather here in our house."Felice! Why aren't you dressed yet?! You cousins will arrive soon!" I heard mom yelling.I almost rolled my eyes and closed the book that I was reading. I stood up and went inside the house. Mommy is with our maids in the garden, preparing our lunch. It's still quarter to 9, but it has been our tradition to go to mass every Sunday with the whole clan.I went to the kitchen and just grabbed a sandwich before heading back to my room. I sat on my bed and ate my sandwich first.I got my phone and messaged my cousin, Karrie. We're just a small clan actually. Daddy has two more siblings, a girl and a boy. Both of my tito and tita has two children each while daddy has me only.Karrie is my clos
I was becoming weirder ever since I had that talk with Karrie. Oh my god. I have a crush on my History Prof!I was already uncomfortable around him before, but it got worse now. I couldn't even look at him anymore! That realization made me more uncomfortable.I gulped when I saw him from my pheriperal view. It was our first quiz and I hate it because he keeps on walking around! I feel like my heart will go out of my chest whenever he stops beside me! Why does he even need to stop?!Ugh! Felice, you need to concentrate! Oh my gosh. This is a quiz!"Five minutes left."My eyes widened when I heard his voice. I quickly looked at my test paper and I still have three more question
I was not in a good disposition when I went back to the student council office. I could even still feel my face burning. I almost finished my iced milo on the way here.I slumped my back on my swivel chair and put my milo on the desk. I covered my face with my two hands and shouted on it.Oh my gosh, Felice! Oh my gosh! I don't think I can still have a face to show him after that! I know it was an accident, but heck! I could already picture my embarrassing face!Why the heck did that happened?! Why are you so clumsy, Felice! Ugh! This is so frustrating!I had to almost bury my face on my desk just to get that scenario out of my head. I didn't know for how long did I stay in that position. I just sat properly when I
I wasn't moving the whole ride. I kept on cursing the turtle like traffic. We were almost not moving! The heck! It's so awkward already!I heaved a sigh and sat properly.I swallowed the lump in my throat and bit my lip. Gosh. I could almost hear the crickets in his car.I just focused my eyes on the window.I took a deep sigh and slightly hugged myself because the aircon of his car was so strong.I bit my lip and just kept my head down."Are you cold? You can use my jacket. Here…"I almost jumped on my seat when he handed me his jacket. I gulped and gave him a small smile.
My hands were shaking as I affixed my signature on it. I closed the folder after and stared at it for some seconds.I bit my lip and took a deep sigh. Oh come on, Felice. You're just gonna give this to him. For god's sake calm down! I clenched my fist and swallowed the lump in my throat.I sighed and stood. I fixed the folder and went out of the office. I walked to the Arts and Letters building. The faculty was just on the ground floor so, I wasn't stuck with the bulk of people waiting for the elevator.I took another sigh before I knocked and opened the faculty's door. I sighed and slowly enteered the room. I gulped when no one was there.My forehead creased and finally entered the room. I didn't know where Sir Greg's table so I had to search for his name on the nameplates on the table."Miss Lemuel?" I almost jumped in shocked when I heard that voice.My eyes widened and I immediately looked at my side. There
All my life, I have been trained to be the best. I was trained to always follow the norm, the standard. I was little miss perfect. They turned me into one, and I had no choice but to be one. I didn’t have much freedom growing up because there were a lot of expectations from me. They were all watching me. I couldn’t move freely because every move that In make, they will always have a say about it. When college and Gregory came, that’s when I first got a taste of my freedom. It was forbidden, but every time we go out on our own, I just felt so free. I felt like I was spreading my wings and flying to wherever I want to go. I was out of the limelight. No one was giving a fuck about what I do and no one was judging me from head to toe. But then that freedom with Gregory has its perils. I was so much ready to fight for him, but it turned out that he was not worth to fight for. Greg is my first love and my first heartbreak. What he did to me and to my family was just so much that I couldn’t
“They will announce you already as the new CEO, hija, at the gala.” My mother said while we were in the living room. It has been days since that meeting with the family and currently, we are preparing for our departure two days from now. I just gave her a smile. “I know, Mom,” I answered before looking back at my laptop where I am reconnecting with my former boss and Flannel’s requirements for school next academic year. “Alright, you should bring Flannel to our designer, then. We need to look gorgeous in the gala, hija,” she said while smiling from ear to ear. I just rolled my eyes and nodded at her. I went back to making my Flannel’s requirements again. She didn’t bother me anyway. She just stood and went to my dad’s office. I shrugged and continued what I was doing. I want to finish everything before our flight to the US, so all I would think about once we get there will be just the house where my parents will be staying and how I will get back to work again. I was lucky enough b
I honestly don’t know if it is the right time to do this meeting with the family because of what is happening in the family, but then we have no choice as we were running out of time already. We need to do this now since we also need to go back to the US already. I don’t know but, I just felt like I needed to get away from this all ready for me to start over again. “Are you ready?” Mommy asked again when we were getting out of the car in front of the building. I looked around the lobby and saw that there were a lot of employees eyeing us. Mommy was walking with her head up. I was beside her and we were walking side by side as we went to the elevator. A lot of guards were with us. I didn’t even know why Mommy brought these guards with us. I mean, it's not as if we are going to war here, you know. Tsk. I shook my head and just walked with her though. When we reached the office, Atty. Lockheart was already there, waiting for us. Mom went immediately to our lawyer."How's your paper?"
Everything was chaotic. We were the talk of the business world for I think weeks. Yes, the issue was that long. Aside from the chaos outside, we also had inside fights of course, but then unlike before, Mommy and I didn't make Flannel available to any of our relatives. They can lash at us all they want but they are not touching my daughter.I've heard the worst things from them. They had their presscon and we just stayed silent because we didn't want this to grow like wildfire. May they want to? But then I won't give them their satisfaction. The important thing is that my daughter knows my truth and I have already explained to her what happened and why this is happening. It took me a lot of courage, but I was just so blessed that she was able to understand and that she didn't make it hard for me to explain. She understands why I needed to do it for her and she also understands why she cannot see her father yet. It's been four weeks and during those times, I did nothing but make sure
"Let's go, Felice!' I wasn't able to say anything and I just let my mother dragged me out of that cafe already. I was still so stunned because of what happened. My mom was ranting while we were on the way to the car. My daughter was asking me questions but I couldn't answer them because I was still so preoccupied with what happened. All the things that my mother was saying in the car were like air that passed by me. I couldn’t comprehend what they were saying and I felt like I was floating and everything around was just background noise. All the way to our house, I was just staring at outside blankly. I couldn’t believe what just happened earlier. Everything was chaotic when we got home! I was so shocked to see a lot of reporters outside our village and even outside our house. Shit. What the hell is happening?! “Get Flannel inside now! Secure everything inside and outside the village, am I clear?” I slumped my back on the couch. I saw Maia getting Flannel out of the living room, w
“Shall we talk about our setup, then?” I asked Greg as I watched him looking at Flannel who was enjoying her ice cream. He has been silent for the last few minutes that we were here. I sighed again and just looked at him. I saw him gulp and then he cleared his throat. "Uhh, yeah…" he said and looked away. I raised a brow on him. I don't know why he couldn't look at me, to be honest. I just didn't dwell on it and started talking. "We will be going back to the States," I started. That's when I got his attention. His eyes widened and looked at me confusingly. "What?" he asked unbelievably. I sighed. "You know that Flannel's school is in there and my decision in managing the company remotely is final, so we will really need to go home, Gregory. Plus, my parents are going with us, too."I saw how his lips parted when I said that. He gasped hard. "But what about me, Felice? How can I be with my daughter?"I let out a sigh again. "That is why we need to talk about it. We can have an a
“Are you ready?” Maia asked my daughter as she was getting her ready for later. “Yes, I am! I am!” she said excitedly. I quickly avoided her gaze. We were on the couch in the living room and I was watching her as she was getting dressed by Maia. She was wearing a pink dress and cute white doll shoes. She looked like a princess twirling around. I was staring at my daughter who was all smiles already. I couldn’t look at her. My heart felt like it was about to go out of my chest already. I don’t know what to feel. My body was trembling already and I could feel the cold embracing my whole body. I took a deep breath again, trying to calm myself. I closed my eyes for a bit. “Felice,” I froze on my feet when I heard my mom calling me. I let out a sigh before slowly turning to her. “Mom,” I called. She gave me a different kind of look. I couldn’t tell what she was trying to tell me. I find it hard to read her face at that moment. In the end, she gave me a small smile. She then went ne
Ever since the incident five years ago, I have always taught myself to be very careful of the decisions that I will be making in the future. Being careful means choosing whom to be with. When I gave birth to Flannel, I vowed to myself that I will never be near my relatives again and I will never introduce her to Greg. But really, life is just so unpredictable, huh. I mean, just when I didn't want to come back to the Philippines when my father got sick leaving me with no choice but to come back anyway. Then, I was able to fix my family which I thought to be so impossible already. Now, I am just not sure if I am willing to let destiny decide whether I should let Flannel meet her father. I don't know. I am just so confused right now. "Felice…" Maia called. I closed my eyes and covered my face with both my arms. I bit my lip and looked down. I was on my bed in an indian-sitting position. My head was aching and my mind was haywire. I couldn't think straight, honestly. Flannel was with
After that exhausting meeting and commotion, I went home to our mansion already. We were supposed to have a meeting in the afternoon, but after all the drama, I just couldn't take it anymore. I needed to rest already and I needed to relax first. I needed to see my daughter. She's the only one that could calm me now, to be honest. I sighed and closed my eyes. I took a deep breath before going out of the car. I held onto my shoulder bag and went inside our house. It was already 3 in the afternoon and the living room was so quiet. It made me wonder then if Flannel is taking a nap or something. All I saw were our helpers. They were doing their chores. I sighed and decided to go up already. I went to my room but it was empty. I was about to go to Flannel's room. When I bumped into Mommy on the way there. I immediately arched my brow on her. "Mom, is Flannel sleeping?" I asked but instead of answering she hurriedly went to me and held both of my shoulders. "Oh god, what happened?! Are y