Chapter 2

Sunday dawned sunny, although the temperature was not high. The sky was clear and extremely blue, not even looking like a heavy rain had fallen the night before. I had been playing with Bento on the open grass for hours, already feeling tired and with pain in my legs - sedentariness says hello, Helena - not seeing a sign of exhaustion in the German shepherd, who was looking for the little ball that I had just thrown. The house was empty, as earlier everyone had gone out for breakfast and to accompany Mr. Henrico to the airport, as he would be traveling in a few hours.

"No, Bento! Not in the mud!" I ran to try to reach him and stop him from going into the garden, otherwise the damage would be very ugly. "BENTO, DO YOU WANT TO SEE ME DEAD? I was about to finish shouting for the dog that was running happily towards its forbidden destination, until I tripped over my feet, falling like an avocado falling off a tree. As if by some magic step, Benedict immediately stopped running and looked back, and believe me, if a dog laughed, he would be laughing. I was lying on the ground feeling my clothes dirty with the grass still damp from last night. The dog came toward me, sitting in front of me, and I huffed, seeing that he finally stopped running, but I had to take a bad tumble for that to happen.

"Are you satisfied? Did Taz-Mania possess you today or something?" and there I was, chatting with a dog that was watching me like I was crazy, as I lay there on the grass, just the way I fell. I guess you get the idea." I turned over, surrendering, since my clothes were dirty anyway, and stared up at the clear sky. Benedict lay down next to me and I began to caress him. I don't know how long I stayed that way, feeling totally relaxed, however, I was suddenly awakened when I heard that deep voice, which seemed to be too close.

"Bento!" it called, attracting the attention of the dog who raised his head with his ears arched. I rose quickly, running my hands through my grass-filled clothes, somewhat dazed. 

John was wearing a running suit and Bento's collar in hand, alternating his gaze between me and the dog, already standing beside me. He did the typical nodding greeting and I responded with a smile, already walking away when I suddenly felt a jolt in my body and once again the thud of the ground. Bento jumped on me, making me fall on my butt, starting to sniff me and interspersing the act with frantic licks on my face. What had gotten into that dog? I was taken totally by surprise and could only cover my face and laugh, trying to get up and free myself from the euphoric dog.

"Bento, stop!" John spoke and I tried, with difficulty, to push him away. Seeing that his dog would not stop so soon, he came up behind me, slipping his arms under mine and lifting me up all at once, and in the act, my back slammed against his chest, causing us to stagger backwards a little. As if sensing my embarrassment, Benedict stopped his exaltation and started to stare at me and John, who released me gently, going to put the collar on him. I ran my hand through my hair in an attempt to adjust it a little, still stunned.

"John asked the dog, who pretended that it wasn't even him, and laid his eyes on me. "Did he hurt you?" he questioned, analyzing me, and I denied it.

"No, he's just a little agitated today." I replied and he agreed with a nod of his head.

"I'll tire him out some more, then." he gave a simple, sneaky smile. "There's grass on your face." he warned and walked off with a bouncy Benedict. I jerked up, running my hands over my cheeks quickly, already watching the two of them walk away and John begin his cooper with the German shepherd. And again the commercial scene was there.

I returned home to find my mother studying some cake recipes, which was her favorite thing to make.

"I'm glad you're home," I celebrated as I saw her sitting there reading.

"I managed to finish everything early." she smiled satisfied. "What happened to you? You're all dirty with grass and dirt." she said, analyzing me.

"Bento was too happy and made me hit the ground twice," I laughed, going towards the bathroom, after all, I urgently needed a shower.

Just as Sunday came quickly, it passed just as quickly. Monday started lazy as usual, and caffeine was what kept me awake that morning. We were in our last class and waiting for the teacher to arrive, during which time I was talking to Sophie, my best friend and classmate. We met on the first day of college and haven't been apart since. She was an amazing person. Although she was of the same financial status as John and most of the people I knew, Sophie never turned up her nose or treated me with indifference because she knew that my social class was far below hers. It seems absurd to be happy about something that should be normal - knowing how to deal with differences, especially social differences - however, believe me... It isn't.

"How was the Carter party? Yesterday Cassie posted this picture with John" Sophie questioned, lifting her cell phone so I could see the picture of the two of them hugging. I came to the conclusion that he should smile more, since he looked even more handsome when he smiled. I wrinkled my nose and shrugged.

"It was just like all the other parties, including the part where Bryan shows up and tries to piss me off somehow," I spoke and watched my friend's face change from calm, to angry. She hated Bryan and I didn't blame her.

"What did that scumbag do this time?" 

"He showed up asking if I was enjoying the party, all cynical. I gave him an ignorant answer and he started with his little talk about how his presence affects me." I made a disgusted face and Sophie followed me.

"And what did you say?"

"I held my pose and basically replied that it didn't affect me and that I didn't waste my time with what added nothing to me."

"Girlfriend, what a great catchphrase. I love it!" she exclaimed, clapping her hands together. I laughed and continued.

"I want distance from Bryan" I spoke, sounding firm. "The part of me that was affected by him is gone, all I feel is contempt," I finished, feeling the familiar hurt resonate through my voice. Sophie smiled in understanding and placed her hand over mine, stroking it.

"You're absolutely right, Lena. I'm proud of you!" she said smiling and I smiled back in appreciation.

The teacher entered the room and everyone was silent. - Finally - starting the long awaited last class.

John's POV

"That report is incomplete, Thompson!" I caught the attention of one of the lawyers in the office for the thousandth time. 

My father would leave the documents of various cases under my responsibility whenever he traveled, which I knew generated numerous comments about me having preference or abusing power since I was the owner's son. I did not mind this, after all, I was really very good at what I did, and knowing my father - who revered his work as a good workaholic* - he would not leave me in charge of anything if he knew I was not competent to do so. I was also aware that all - if not most - people denigrated me behind my back because I berated them. Well, if you realize that something is wrong, or extremely far from your best, you take action, don't you? The most interesting of all is that these same people who criticize me in my absence, pull my leg when I am present. Incoherent? I know. I looked at my wristwatch and saw that lunch time was approaching, mentally thanking myself for this, because I felt a slight twinge in my head, indicating that it would start to hurt at any moment. I grabbed my cell phone and typed a message to Cassie, my girlfriend, telling her that I would pick her up in 30 minutes to have lunch together, as agreed earlier today. A few seconds later, I received her reply.

Sorry, love. The newsroom is crazy and I'm going to have lunch here anyway. Rescheduled for tomorrow? 

I sighed, realizing that I would have to eat alone.

All right, princess. Good job ;) 

I got up, put my cell phone in my suit pocket, grabbed my wallet and my car keys, and headed out to lunch. 

Cassie was the daughter of one of my father's friends and we had met at one of the events that always take place in the business world. For me, they were just for show and to maintain future lucrative contacts, however, as it worked out, I just stayed neutral. My family adored her, always commenting how lucky I was to have someone of such good character and from such an influential background by my side. The truth was that I didn't give a damn about her family's reputation - coincidentally also lawyers - since I was with Cassie because I liked her, and that was it. I knew that our courtship was pertinent to my parents, as they threw in a lot of hints about how great it would be if we got married, providing an opportunity for the firm to expand with my girlfriend's family and start a powerful partnership. Hearing all of this made me extremely uncomfortable, and made it seem as if my relationship was nothing more than business to them.

I decided to have lunch in a nice restaurant located close to my old college, already missing the wonderful meal they served. I drove my car in front of the campus, being hit hard by the nostalgia that came from that place. I ran my eyes down the street distractedly, until I spotted a familiar figure. It was Helena, daughter of Mary, the woman who worked as a cook at the house. She was chatting leisurely with a girl who was walking beside her, laughing every now and then, carrying several books in her arms and a huge bag on her shoulders. I immediately grimaced as I imagined how heavy it must be. 

I had no opinion about her, nor did I know anything about her life, but she seemed like a good girl. From what I had seen, she was very reserved, somewhat clumsy, loved my dog, and I had just discovered that her laughter made me want to laugh along with her. She was normal, ordinary. There was definitely something instigating about her, her ensemble certainly made her interesting. I frowned at this later realization, realizing that they had studied her for too long, hearing in the distance the strangely funny sound of her laughter, making me laugh too. I shook my head and sped towards the restaurant, already thinking about the process of an important case I was following.

Helena's POV

Holy shit, holy shit, holy shit. 

I was running around my room, grabbing the first clothes I saw in front of me and putting them on awkwardly, trying to brush my teeth as I gathered my college material. I had spent the previous night working late on my TCC project and ended up going to sleep in the wee hours of the morning, causing me to be late for today. I woke up with my mother calling me to ask if I was feeling well and if I would go to class, since the time would pass and I still hadn't gotten up. 

As Sophie had a car, she would pick me up in front of the condominium - which was not far from her house - and we would go to college together, however, not even her calls managed to wake me up.

I woke up in a jerk feeling totally senseless and remained this way, now looking at my reflection in the mirror and wanting to cry when I saw the hair disaster I was in. I took advantage of the cold weather and grabbed a cap in order to disguise - at least a little - the horrible situation on my head and tried to ignore my face that was as bad as my hair, throwing my bag over my shoulders and grabbing my books anyway. I cursed at the pouring rain, shivering as I felt a strong gust of the icy wind hit me. I ran out the door as if my life depended on it, while I tried to balance the umbrella in my hands also occupied by the books and struggled not to let my bag fall from my shoulders. That scene must have been ridiculous for many reasons.

1 - I looked like a running duck.

2 - I was running while my books unbalanced from my hands.

3 - My umbrella was getting me wetter than it was protecting me.

4 - My appearance resembled the appearance of someone who had just come out of a dog's mouth.

I know this is not possible, but try to imagine something similar. It is pretty bad, isn't it? Yes, it is.

These were only some of the reasons, the others I lost in the middle of the road when I realized that a car was following my ridiculous race. I hoped that whoever was driving didn't decide to drive through a puddle of water, making me even wetter and making what was already bad even worse. I had the feeling that that car was not unfamiliar to me, confirming my realization when I saw the driver of the car.

John Carter.

I found this strange and decided to continue on my way as I half-walked half-corrected, not knowing what he wanted. To laugh at my situation? Fine, go ahead. He lowered the windows as I watched him out of the corner of my eye.

"Hey! Helena!" he shouted and I stopped. I stared at him, trying to see him in the thick rain. "Get in!"  I saw him unlock the car door and frowned in total confusion. Since when did he offer me a ride?

"What?" I answered in a mixture of incredulity and doubt, raising my voice so that John could hear me over the noise of the rain. John was staring at me with his typical serious expression.

"Come in!" he repeated. I remained with the same confused face, already thinking that this day was totally inside out.

"Uh... No, it's okay. Thank you." I replied smiling without showing my teeth and walked back, cringing due to the cold.

"You don't look like you are!" he retorted with a cynical tone. I took a deep breath and put the most convincing smile I had on my face, ready to tell him that I could turn around, however, a loud thunder echoed and made me jump, closing my eyes in distress. 

When I opened them, I saw that John was watching me with a debauched expression. It was strange to see him with anything other than a serious face, and in that instant I decided that I didn't like the explicit debauchery on his face. Another thunderclap echoed, and I found myself in a quandary. Either I would keep my stubbornness in tact and lose the test, or I would give in and endure a few embarrassing minutes of being in the same car as John.

I couldn't miss the test and I was late enough already.

I sighed defeated and closed the umbrella, running and getting into the vehicle quickly.

John started the car and a totally weird atmosphere took over the place, just as I had predicted. After wrapping the umbrella in its hood, I put it inside my purse, fearing that I would get the seat upholstery wet and ruin something very expensive. The car was warm and I finally felt my fingers again, I almost smiled with relief, if it wasn't for.... Well, if it weren't for this unusual situation and the pleasant aroma of John's perfume, which invaded my nostrils. My boot was soaked and I shrugged my shoulders, bashful.

"I'm wetting the carpet," I murmured regretfully.

"No problem."  he replied without moving his eyes from the street. "You're going to college, aren't you?"

"Yes." my speech let all my introversion show even if I tried not to sound so uncomfortable. John didn't seem to care, just nodded and continued driving quietly. I looked away from the blurry landscape and the rain, watching him out of the corner of my eye. He was wearing a white dress shirt, his suit was black - perfectly aligned with his body - his wine tie contrasted with the dark colors, and, on top of that, a black jacket finished his look splendidly. I stopped examining him like an idiot and turned my attention back to the street bathed in thick raindrops. I was immersed in thought until his cell phone rang, snapping me out of my daze. John put a handset to his ear to answer it, then accepted the call.

"Good morning, love," he greeted the person on the other end of the line. Obviously this person was Cassie. I immediately felt uncomfortable, after all, I was witnessing a personal dialogue. "Again? I know... I get it. Do what, right? No, honey. We'll talk later, ok? I'm driving. Kisses." Carter ended the call and gave a resigned sigh. 

He sounded annoyed. I looked at my fingernails as if they were very important and worthy of my attention, mentally thanking him the moment I recognized the college campus.

John parked and unlocked the car door, fiddling with his cell phone as he waited for me to get out. I unbuckled my belt, hastily packing my bag and the books in my arms.

"Thank you." I turned to him and smiled amiably. He looked away from his cell phone and looked at me.

"You're welcome."

I smiled again and got out of the car closing the door behind me, watching him start up and disappear from my field of vision seconds later. I ran towards my office, but not before noticing a group of people staring at me and whispering. I ignored them and kept running, hoping that the teacher would let me take the test even though I was extremely late.