CHAPTER THREE

Monday morning came and went in the blink of an eye. I didn't do much during the weekend except lock myself in my room because I didn't want to go out and face Papa since I knew he'd simply ask about my schoolwork. For the time being, I didn't want to discuss the topic.

"Adeline, how are your grades?" he said authoritatively.

This is what I mean! I closed my eyes tightly. We were having our breakfast together at this huge and wide table, just the two of us.

"It's going g-good, Papa,"  I said it briefly. I tried so hard not to stammer, but I couldn't help myself.

"Adeline, make certain. I don't want you to be a failure. Also, don't let Cielo wait too long for you after school, go home right after. Is it apparent that I don't want you hanging out with boys?"

"Yes, Papa."

It was always like this, so I completed my meal with a dark mood surrounding us. I chose to remain silent and just respond when he asked because I am afraid that if I make just one mistake, he will judge me immediately.

I get up as soon as I complete my supper to be ready for my ride to school. I excused myself and walked outside our house to where our cars are parked after he gave his approval. He was constantly relegated to the dining room since he was always reading the newspaper, causing him to eat slowly.

When I watched Nina and Cielo laughing as if there was no tomorrow, my eyebrows raised. Nina had the temerity to flirtatiously hit Cielo in the arm. What a girl! I'm curious as to how Papa would react if he saw them in this state.

I feigned a cough, which caused them to come to a halt and stare at me in surprise. I gave them a dubious look, but Nina quickly recovered and grinned back.

"I forgot to tell you, Ade, that while doing your laundry, I noticed an ID in your pocket. Is it the same person that took you home on Friday? In fairness, he's quite attractive!” She had a happy grin on her face.

Both shock and embarrassment caused my lips to part. Gosh! Why didn't I return it to him before entering our home? The regulations of No ID, No Entry at Hiraya University were strictly enforced. Without it, he'd have no way of getting into the school.

"Nina..." Cielo said, a little sternly. Oh, I'm sure he's envious of Nina's assessment of Zeeve's attractiveness... however, Nina's statement is correct.. Cielo merely rolled his eyes and avoided Nina's shining eyes as she gave him a peace sign. Is it a lover's feud between them? Eww! That is ridiculous.

"Nina, can you tell me where it is?" I remarked, quite unconcerned with their minor squabble.

"I put it in your bag's side pocket. Take a look for it" she said.

I scanned my bag right away and was not disappointed when I saw it. My cheeks flushed when I saw Zeeve's familiar face, I think I'll never get over how good-looking he is in this photo. Nina took a wary look at what I was holding while Cielo glared at her. She certainly knows how to irritate Cielo.

"Let's get going, young lady. It's possible that you will be late for class." Cielo stated without looking at Nina. He dashed inside the vehicle immediately.

When I saw Nina's irritated look, I burst out laughing.

"How dare that guy not look at me!" she exclaimed angrily.

"It was your fault because you kept mentioning the attractiveness of other men. Hmm, I'm sure Cielo will now notice the high school girls at school who are head over heels attracte with him." I said  before getting into the car. I blew her a playful kiss through the open windows of the car.

It was true, though, that Cielo drew a lot of females from the school. I used to walk to where our car was parked and see girls greeting my sight; it turned out that they were waiting for Cielo to open the car windows. Cielo, despite his tanned skin and powerful figure that makes girls drool, was a good-looking guy.  He's also not that old, he's just six years older than me, so I'm not sure why he refers to me as a young lady.

Well, I suppose he's just used to that because all of the other drivers and househelpers refer to me as young lady, with the exception of Nina, who has the audacity to refer to me by my first name. In front of my Papa, she just calls me Miss Ade. It was fine because I didn't want her to refer to me as a young lady; she and Cielo were my friends, though Cielo was more formal.

I merely averted my thoughts from them because I'm confident they'll solve it eventually. Since then, they've been bitter rivals, so seeing them kissing came as a huge surprise to me.  Who'd have guessed they'd end up in a relationship? They'll finally apologize and then quarrel some more.

I was instantly reminded of Zeeve as my gaze strayed down the road. I'm not sure how I'm going to give him this ID. I recall him being a student of the College of Engineering, so maybe I'll just go there to personally give this to him or should I just hand it over to our school's security officer and tell him to pass it on to Zeeve?

I blew a loud sigh that caught Cielo's attention. Whatever happens, happens.

"Are you okay, young lady?" Cielo asked.

"Yeah, you? Don't think too much about Nina, okay? She's just probably joking." I said, recalling what had happened earlier.

“Wait a minute, young lady. What do you mean? I'm not thinking of her...” He said while averting his gaze from me. I can say that Cielo isn't very good at lying.

I gave him a wry grin.

“Aww, seriously? I was under the impression you had... something for her. I suppose I was mistaken. But that's fine; I'll just introduce him to the guy who drove me home because I believe he's Nina's type.” I said playfully.

I'm not going to introduce Nina to Zeeve in any way! First and foremost, Zeeve isn't close enough to me to introduce him to other girls. Nina, on the other hand, isn't really Zeeve's type.

Oh really, how can you say that Nina isn’t his type?

I felt like my subconscious mind just betrayed me . Ofcourse, looking at Zeeve. Maybe his type are those girls his age who has big boobs and ass and who has an hourglass body type.

I shook those thoughts from my mind; why, by the way, why would I think about his type? I'm not interested in him!

“He’s not Nina’s type, Adeline.” he said coldly.

I wanted to burst out laughing, he’s really serious! The last time he called me Adeline is when I went out to party with my ex-friends back in highschool. I snuck out, and Papa caught wind of it, so he directed Cielo to track me down. He was solemnly driving me home at the time, and I'll never forget his line, "Don't worry your grandfather too much, Adeline. He's far too old for the stress you're putting him through.”

Cielo genuinely cares about Papa, even if he occasionally disagrees with Papa's strict rules.

“Then, Cielo, who is Nina's type?”

“Me—”

“You?!” I was on the verge of yelling at him. He didn't even look at me, his gaze fixed on the road ahead.

“Yeah.” he stated cooly.

“Uh-huh, I knew it! You two have a relationship!” I said, pretending to be unaware that they were kissing behind our backs.

"She didn't want anyone else to know, so I kept my mouth shut. But you, little girl, have just pushed me to my breaking point! Please don't tell her I said it to you." He spoke as if he were speaking to a six-year-old child.

"Got it! Your secret is safe with me." I nodded.

I noticed he was now parking in the school's lot. After he had successfully parked his car, I immediately opened the car door and exited.

I was about to leave when he opened the car windows.

"What time are you going out?"

"I'm still not sure, Cielo; I believe we'll have our group meeting today; I'll just text you."

"Okay. Take care, young lady."

I gave a nod. I was on my way to the gate, which was a few meters away from the parking lot, when I noticed a familiar figure. He was proudly standing without minding the students who were staring at him.

I noticed his small smirks as he spoke to the guard.

I kept walking while looking through my bag for something. I get it; he's still outside because he doesn't have ID.

"There you are," he said while approaching me. His pleasant smell abruptly invaded my nose.

"I'm sorry I didn't remember to return it to you. Have you been here for a long time?" I said while handing him his ID.

"It's all right. I also forgot about it."

We were walking together, keeping a proper distance between us, while talking his ID. The Engineering Building is a little further away than the Business Administration Building, which is just a few meters away.

"Oh, she was flirting with Zeeve?"

"I saw her flirting with Axel the last time I saw her."

I wanted to cover my ears as I heard those whispers that were loud enough for me to hear. Who is Axel, by the way? Is that the same guy who approached me the last time I asked for my phone number? I mistook his name for Alex. They should be aware that I ignored him because they appear to be up to date on what is happening to my life.

"She's busy flirting while her grades are dropping."

"Why doesn't she spend her time reviewing rather than flirting with guys? She's enticing guys with her beauty!"

My eyes immediately watered with what they said. Yes, when it comes to my grades, I am extremely sensitive. They were judging it without knowing how much time and effort I had put in just to learn and understand our subjects.

I looked at the girls who were talking and staring at me. I immediately noticed their short skirt and heavy makeup. They were my classmates in a few of my classes, and I'm used to them gossiping behind my back. I'm not sure why they've become so thick-faced that they are now letting me hear what they're saying.

"Do they constantly bully you?" I raised my head and looked Zeeve in the eyes.

"Yeah. But I just let it go because it’s true that my grades are dropping... but not because of flirting! I studied hard, but no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't understand." I defended myself.

He gave me a stern look. I didn't know where I got the courage to look at him with the same intensity; it's as if we're communicating through our eyes.

"When is your last class?"

"2 p.m.," I said flatly. What is he talking about when he asks about my class?

"Good. Meet me at the library.” he said as he continued walking

I was left stunned and flustered.

Wait, what are we going to do there?