TWO

Cindy couldn't tear her gaze away from the message, her mind spinning with confusion. After what felt like an eternity, she snapped back to reality, still unable to make sense of the cryptic words: "Don't worry about sending your address." What was he trying to convey?

A creeping sense of unease settled over her; she couldn't shake the feeling of being watched. Perhaps her previous sense of security was merely an illusion. Her stomach churned with nervousness as her mind raced through various scenarios. "This is becoming increasingly unsettling," she muttered to herself.

Slipping off the bed, she made her way to the window, hoping to let in some fresh air to calm her nerves. However, before she could even reach for the latch, her eyes caught sight of a black car parked on the street below. The driver remained concealed, shrouded in mystery. Instinctively, she knew this was no ordinary occurrence; it must be connected to the enigmatic message she had received.

Filled with apprehension, she retreated to the safety of her bed, seeking solace in the embrace of sleep.

***

"Cindy, dear!" Grandma Suzy's voice interrupted her thoughts as she entered the room, bearing a large wrapped box. Despite her disheveled appearance, Cindy's heart warmed at the sight of her grandmother.

"Good morning, Grandma," she greeted, mustering a smile despite her inner turmoil.

"I hope you slept well. You have a gift, though the sender remains unknown," Grandma Suzy announced, placing the box on the bed.

Unknown? The realization dawned on Cindy that this must be the gift from the mysterious sender. Rushing to the window, she found the car had vanished, the puzzle pieces falling into place.

"Grandma, where did you find this?" she inquired anxiously.

"At the doorstep. It's addressed to you, my dear," Grandma replied.

Cindy's heart raced as she realized the gravity of the situation. This was no ordinary gift. "Grandma, drop the box!" she exclaimed, her voice trembling with fear.

Alarmed, Grandma complied, and Cindy prepared herself for the worst, her mind conjuring images of danger lurking within. With determination, she cautiously approached the box, her senses on high alert.

As she poised the mop, ready to strike, a glint of blue caught her eye—a ribbon peeking out from the torn packaging. Curiosity piqued, she hesitated, kneeling down to inspect the contents more closely.

Carefully removing the tape, she opened the box to reveal a smaller, more ornate package nestled inside. Her breath caught in her throat at the unexpected sight, her mind racing with anticipation and apprehension.

She found herself sitting on the floor before picking out the box. When she opened it, she slowly blinked at what she saw next. A blue dress and stilettos were on both sides of the box. There were even earrings that matched the dress, along with some other accessories she couldn't describe.

"Oh my!" she gasped, her eyes glittering from the reflection of what she saw in front of her.

Her 'Mr. Stranger' had bought her clothes. Wasn't it something to be joyful about? She picked out the long, expensive dress from the box, marveling at it even more.

How could he even guess her perfect size? Would she be the one wearing this soon? This kind of dress was worth her salary for a year. Her 'Mr. Stranger' probably had shown her a pinch of his wealth by buying her something this valuable.

She took a picture of the things he bought and sent it to Juan immediately.

"I'm flying to your house right away! These things are stunningly gorgeous," Juan texted back.

Cindy gushed and fell back on her bed excitedly. Now, she couldn't wait for tonight to finally meet 'Mr. Stranger' and see him in person.

"So this is what it feels like. It's really happening? Maybe Mr. Stranger wasn't bad after all," she said to herself, embracing her arm sweetly as if she were in heaven now.

********

{MONTANA HIGH}

"He's coming... Do it!" Autumn kept saying to herself as Ivan walked in, accompanied by his friends. They were chatting loudly about the basketball practice, where, as usual, Ivan took first place. His friends seemed clearly jealous, so they quickly changed the topic.

He passed by Autumn, and her shoulders fell. "Plan B," she scoffed with a pout on her lip.

She got into class and settled down with the other students. Lately, she had been unable to focus ever since Ivan was moved to her class. Even though she had a huge crush on him, she had decided to suppress the feeling since Ivan spoke about not believing in love.

"It's high time I start focusing in class. Starting from today," she said to herself while picking out her pen.

"Hey, did anyone see that video of Autumn being beaten up in the toilet?" Scar said, and the class took it as a laughing stock.

Autumn palmed her face. No, not now!

"Bro, they almost stuck her head in the toilet and attempted to flush it," another student chimed in.

"I heard she was almost forced to drink toilet pee?" A curly-haired girl asked, and the class erupted in laughter.

Ivan was probably just hearing about it for the first time, so he barely laughed or understood what they were saying. Maybe the video was hidden from him.

Autumn bit her lower lip, clenching her pen. She didn't even realize when it broke in her hand. She was so mad and disappointed at the same time. She was being made fun of, and Ivan was there!

Out of embarrassment, she ran out of the class quickly. She hid behind a locker and broke out in tears there. She tried to stop, but thinking about the scene made her tear up continuously.

Her worst fear was being embarrassed in front of Ivan, and it had happened for the second time now. However, back in class, Ivan turned to face Felix.

"What video are you guys talking about?" he asked.

"You're always behind on something like this," Felix said irritably.

"Didn't you check the school blog?" Scar asked.

"I did, but I didn't find anything," he replied.

"It's not your business anyway. The girl's ill-treatment is done and dusted; you can't change the past, so just forget about it," Asher added.

Ivan swiveled back properly and decided to mind his own business, just as they said. He remembered that Autumn came to him the other day. He wondered if what she wanted to tell him was related to what happened to her.

He started to feel somewhat concerned and soon began walking out of class. He kept going until he heard a loud scream coming from the other corridor. He had to run to get there on time.

Riri and Hailey were there, pulling on her.

"Hey, stop!" His deep voice resounded, startling the girls.

Autumn immediately crawled towards the back of a locker for safety.

"I'm not surprised you two are behind this. I had this intuition all along," he said, glaring at them.

Riri turned to look at Hailey.

"Truth is, we caught her stealing, right Hailey?" Riri said.

"Riri is right. She's not as innocent as she looks!" Hailey added, but Ivan wasn't moved a bit.

"You guys can think of every sort of lie to pin on her, but I still won't believe you. I know you guys were bullying her. How can you explain the video on the school blog?" he said.

"Video?" Hailey looked at Riri.

"I made sure the video didn't reach him. How did he know?" Riri whispered fearfully.

Ivan walked closer, pulling Autumn to her feet.

"You were hurt?" he slowly asked.

Autumn took a gulp, knowing fully well that if she said the truth, they'd come back for her later.

"N-no," she stuttered. "I'm very fine," she concluded and slowly looked away.

Ivan knew she was lying, so he didn't bother believing her. He turned to look at the other two girls.

"I'll let today pass, but next time, I'll make sure your faces are flushed down the toilet along with your face, and I'll make you drink your pee as well. Mark my words," he said coldly.

He suddenly grabbed Autumn's hand, and she dazzled her eyes at him.

"Let's go back to class," he told her before taking her away from there, with Autumn trying to catch up with his fast steps.

Riri crossed her arms on her chest.

"Can you see that? She must have told him the truth," she said.

"I'm so mad right now. I just want to squeeze the life out of that girl. Why is she alive!" Hailey blurted, tightening her fist.

"We need to have a payback. We can't just let her go scot-free. We need a spot where we can kick her ass in peace."

"How about at the school backyard after school?" Hailey asked.

"Definitely!" Riri instantly agreed, and they both left quickly.

{HOTEL LONGUE}

"So which one should we do first? The makeup or the hair?" Juan asked Cindy while feeling the blues.

"I'm just worried," Cindy said, and Juan's excitement era dropped.

"Why are you being worried? You were just excited a while ago," he said.

"It's just that even though I'm excited about the date, I still miss my students at school. I'm sure they must have waited all day for me to get to school and teach them once again. They were my happy place. And my family, they have no idea or know anything about this. Don't you think I should be worried?" She sighed, dropping her shoulders.

Juan sighed, giving her an expressionless look.

Silence occurred for a few minutes, and Cindy didn't like that they were both being quiet.

"OK, let's start with the hair then!" Cindy quickly said, and like her word was magic, it lightened up Juan's mood again.

Cindy's phone beeped, and she quickly picked it up. It was a text from Mr. Stranger. Her heart began racing differently as she carefully opened the text. Strangely, he texted her without her sending him a message. That's an achievement, she thought!

"Be ready at 7," the message read.

She smiled, even though it was just four words. She wished he could keep sending more messages because it only lightened her mood.

"Juan?" Cindy called as Juan was busy getting her hair ready. The accessories he bought were enough to make her hair look luxurious, like that of royalty.

"Mmm?" Juan mused.

"Isn't it weird for me to start liking a stranger even without knowing anything about him or what he looks like?"

"What do you mean?"

"I just get excited just by thinking about him. I get mesmerized even by his most casual text messages. I think I'm starting to like this Mr. Stranger," she said.

"Mr. Stranger? Is that the name you call him?"

"My head made up that funny name. Hahaha," Cindy laughed.

"It's nice though. I'm sure you'll like him even more when you both finally get to meet."

"How do you know that?"

"How do I know that? I-I just don't know, but I guess it's up to you," Juan said.

"I need to be ready at 7, Juan. Be quick, his driver will soon be here," Cindy informed him.

"By the way, I forgot to tell you. I think his black limousine is parked outside this building," Juan dropped the bombshell, and Cindy's lashes grew.

Riri and Hailey waited out on the balcony for Autumn to cross paths with them.

"Do you think she'll ever come here?" Riri asked.

"I don't really know. It's getting really late, but let's wait a little longer," Hailey said.

Not long after, they started to hear dogs barking, causing them to stare at each other respectively.

"That sounds like the school security dogs," Hailey said.

The dogs' bark got louder, and before they knew it, three large dogs were hungrily leaping after them.

"Run! Run!" Riri screamed, and they both took to their heels, falling into a pit in the process.

Cindy had finally completed her first stage for the date. This was the first time she got to wear something really expensive. She was used to wearing baggy clothes, but today, the tight dress had brought out her sweet curves. Her beauty was just unbeatable.

Juan knew this 'Mr. Stranger' wouldn't have a change of thought when he sees her. Getting to the car, a chauffeur helped Cindy in.

"Bye!" Cindy waved, and Juan kissed her goodbye, feeling so proud like a mother.

The date was hosted in a separated part of the city side, on a grand ship. It had one of the best views anyone could think of.

"Oh my!" Cindy marveled as she stared around in space. Everything she saw spoke of luxury!

"Lucky me," she thought.

She was staring down at the large sea when a silhouette of a tall man came behind her.

"Enjoying the view?" his cold, delicate voice dropped, and Cindy froze to her feet entirely.

She turned around quickly just to look at him, and the only thing she saw was his icy eyes and spiky hair. He was wearing a mask too, hiding his identity once again.

"G-g-good evening, sir," Cindy stuttered, feeling like her body was losing gravity quickly.

He scanned her look, and his brows moved in satisfaction. She wondered what this gorgeous man was thinking now.

He turned his back at her. She hadn't even scanned his look.

"Do you want us to continue the dinner or keep getting lost at each other?" he asked, and she blinked, snapping back quickly.

"C-can I know your name, Please Mister?" she asked, but his next reply was surprising.

"Why don't you give me a name instead?"