Chapter 4

CHAPTER 4

"Are you trying to kill yourself? You saw that there was a motorcycle coming, but you still crossed," the owner of the motorcycle yelled at me as soon as he got off his bike.

My eyes widened at his words and anger surged through my heart. This guy is such an idiot! He blamed me when he should be the one to blame for not driving carefully despite the presence of a pedestrian lane. Doesn't he know the rules of the road? I wanted to teach him a lesson.

"Hey mister, whoever you are, how dare you blame me? You should be the one to blame here because you almost hit me! Don't you know the law—"

I couldn't finish what I wanted to say as I was stunned to see how the guy slowly removed his helmet. I never expected that my surprise would double when I saw his perfect face.

He had a pointed nose, heart-shaped lips, thick eyebrows, perfect jawline, messy curly hair, and intimidating eyes. These were the qualities of a perfect character that I usually read in novels. I never thought that I would be able to describe those same qualities in a real person, and worst of all, it was him, the guy who almost hit me.

"Did you know miss that it is rude to stare at someone while biting your lower lip?" he said, interrupting my thoughts.

I immediately straightened up, realizing that I was indeed biting my lower lip while staring at him. I felt my cheeks turn red in embarrassment. Lord, please let me disappear from this earth. It was the second time that I never thought I would utter those words because of excessive shame.

He chuckled, probably noticing the redness of my face, which made me even more embarrassed. "And besides, I know the law about the road, miss. It's the Republic Act no. 10913 and—"

He didn't finish what he was going to say because a deafening horn blared in the middle of the road. I looked behind him and saw a line of cars honking at us. It was then that I realized that we were in the middle of the road, causing traffic.

As I walked hurriedly, I realized that we were the cause of the traffic. Just as I was about to leave, I heard the man curse loudly, and soon after, his motorbike revved up again.

I stopped in my tracks as I heard a loud ringing of a bell. My eyes widened as I realized what the bell meant, and my feet moved involuntarily, seemingly with a mind of their own.

As soon as I reached the gate, I swiped my ID card on the machine waiting for me. The security guard waved at me when he saw me and I chuckled before entering.

Upon entering the large gymnasium full of rushing students, I shook my head in disbelief. It seemed like I was not the only one running late.

I took a deep breath and continued walking towards the psychology department. I was not surprised to see some students waiting in front of the elevator, as we were all in a hurry during this time. The elevator was the fastest transportation available, as we would not make it to our classes on time if we took the stairs.

As soon as I got in, I pressed the button in front of me, knowing that we were all going to the same floor. We were all wearing the same uniform, with only the difference being the logo.

Upon arriving, I quickly went inside the classroom for Psychology 1, relieved that I was not late yet. I saw my messy classmates, which was a sign that our professor had not arrived yet.

"Marsyy, over here!" My attention was caught by the voice calling my nickname. I smiled upon seeing my best friend waving at me.

I walked over to her and sat in the seat next to hers. "Marsyy, I have some gossip for you."

As soon as I sat down, she immediately started telling me the latest news. I couldn't help but smile, knowing that my friend was a big gossip.

"Did you know that Ma'am Buenaventura is resigning?" she asked me.

I nodded, as Ma'am Buenaventura herself had already told me. My friend was surprised that I already knew.

"Do you know?" she asked, seemingly not expecting me to be the one who knew first. Perhaps she had forgotten that I was Ma'am Buenaventura's student assistant.

I nodded which made her shocked.

"How did you find out? And when did you find out and why didn't you tell me?" she asked in rapid succession, a sign that she was starting to become hysterical. That's how she always is, she gets hysterical especially when she finds out that she's the last to know about something. I don't know why, but it seems like it's really bothering her.

"When ma'am planned to resign, and besides, don't you remember that I'm her student assistant?" I replied to her, which surprised her and made her blurt out even louder, causing our noisy classmates to pay attention.

I used to think that high school was the only place where things were chaotic. But when I saw how rowdy my college classmates could be, I realized that it was also possible here. I thought that all students in college were serious, but there are also some foolish ones here.

I gave a side-eye to the girl beside me, a sign for her to lower her voice because we were getting attention again. I even mimicked the behavior of my classmates before so that she would understand what I was referring to.

She covered covered her mouth, perhaps she already reakized what she did, and then flashed a peace sign to our classmates before giving a forced smile. I just shook my head.

"So, you know that our teacher is planning to resign?" she asked, as if confirming if she heard it right. I nodded.

"Oh my gosh! Why didn't you tell me, Mars? Have you forgotten that you have a beautiful and gossip-loving friend? Huhuhu. You're so mean!" she whined, which was why I shook my head earlier.

My friend is a bit dense, so her drama wasn't new to me. But she admits that she loves gossip, which is good. We've been friends for years, so I know everything about her, and she knows everything about me. That's why I wasn't surprised by her reaction.

"How could I have told you? It's only the fifth day of class. And you know how busy my schedule has been lately, and I have a lot on my mind, so how could I have found time to tell you?" I explained to her at length, hoping that it would stop her from whining. She has this attitude where if you explain things briefly, she'll get even more upset, but if you explain it in detail, she'll stop whining. That's why I'm impressed with her partner, who can take care of her even with her difficult personality, especially when she gets angry.

She paused and thought about what I said. "Yeah, why didn't I think of that?" she said, nodding her head.

I sighed. This friend of mine, we just started our classes after our Halloween sem break. And next Monday, we won't have classes again because of our Christmas break. I don't understand why Ched didn't just give us a two-week break like the public schools. We're the only ones who have classes, so we're piled up with exams and projects.

"But Mars, do you know who's going to replace her?" she asked, and I shook my head.

I only knew the information that our teacher shared with me about why she was resigning. She planned to teach in another country because her family was migrating. My teacher likes to share her life stories with me since we're always together in school. The dean chose me to be her student assistant, so we're always together here in school, which I'm thankful for because I get to have free lunch. My teacher always treats me to lunch, and I don't know why, but maybe it's because she pities me and my difficult life. I once told her about my struggles, and she asked me why I chose to be a scholar of the school when it's so difficult, especially for a working student like me.

In our school, every teacher has a student assistant, which they choose from the school's scholars. Being a student assistant is the only way we can earn money while studying.