“Hailey, I don’t think that this is the way to the science fair.” Romeo, dressed up as Ethan, glances at me with a worried expression. “Is it?” I masked my innocence. “Why would you, Ethan Sky, know more about the school when I am the one who studies here and not you?” He was left speechless by that. The truth is, Ethan and I will be making a detour to the school field, where there will be plenty of cheerleaders out to practice for the day. Romeo must have realized where we were going, since he seems to hesitate to walk along with me. “Hailey, this is-” “What is it, ETHAN SKY?!” When I addressed him, I made sure to yell out his name the moment we reached the field. As expected, most of the girls recognized him immediately. Well, Romeo does have a pretty face, and most girls here keep track of famous teens of their age. Ethan Sky just fits right into that category. “Hey, is that Hailey May Collins?” “Is that Ethan Sky with her!?” “It is! It’s Ethan Sky and she’s with Hailey M
The science fair ended, but the tension between Xander and Romeo didn’t. Because of Xander’s little slip up, Romeo has been keeping a close eye on him. The conversation about Xander’s slip up was only postponed because Xander threw the napkin with the dead body of the roach inside towards us. Even I was surprised when he suddenly pulled a Hailey May Collins stunt. Of course, I did not scream, but Romeo, on the other hand, ran out of the venue as fast as he could. Thankfully, Romeo, as Ethan, no longer has the opportunity to ask him about it. To put it another way, it's been awkward between the three of us since. “Why is it that you guys still sit at MY table even though our project is over?” I ask irritably during lunchtime when the two decides to sit with me. “For the last time, Hailey. This is not your table. This is the school’s property.” Xander responds, eating his meal in peace. “You.” I glare at him. “You have friends! Why do you want to sit here!?” “I was hoping to
No wonder that Xander has been talking about checking his message. It was about work. As it turns out, he needs Felisha to show up for an interview with Gabrielle. It seems like after our little charity event, the media wanted to hear more about why he and I were together at that time. I feel a little nervous since I am in the same waiting room as Gabrielle and he is not even looking at me or talking to me. I may be stupid at times, but I am not dense enough not to know that he’s angry at me for something. Xander is sitting across from me, scrolling through his phone. “Do you need something?” He asks, not even looking my way. I have a sharp intake of breath, like I am feeling the seriousness of the situation. There’s a nagging feeling settling at the bottom of my chest. “Are you mad?” “And what would I be mad about?” He questions. That got me silent as I play with my fingers. “You’re not talking to me.” I say timidly, a gesture that I rarely do as the confident Hailey May C
It is starting to become worse. The rumours, I mean. A lot of them have been circulating the idea that Felisha and Gabrielle were a thing, but it quickly ends out of jealousy for mine and Eliot’s modeling work. “This is such a mess. I thought that clearing our relationship would be the end of it.” I say, scrolling through social media and reading all the news about Felisha and Gabrielle. Just as I am reading an article, Xander snatches my phone. “Hey!” “That’s enough of that!” Xander scolds me, glowering like there's no tomorrow. I assure you that Xander and I are friends. He’s only acting grumpy because he is supposed to tutor me. “You read a lot more of those articles than your textbooks.” “At least articles have scoops.” I point out. “The textbook can help you get a score on the test.” Xander retorts. Damn it. He’s got a good point. With a defeated sigh, I slump on my seat. Sheen lets out a mocking laugh, earning a slap at the back of his head from Sandy. “You’re one to t
I screwed up. Because of what Sandy told me, I have a hard time focusing on the test. It got to the point where I don’t even know if I earned enough points to pass. All I remember is that I answered a few, but then started filling in and circling letters when it was almost time. Thankfully, it was a multiple choice question, so I have about a 25% chance of getting a question right. “So, how did you do on the exam?” I jolt from my train of thoughts when Xander looks back at me from his seat. “English is so easy.” I say, smiling. Honestly, I believe that it was the only test that I believe that I have done well. “Great. Did you do well on the grammar exam at the back?” “What’s grammar and was there a question at the back of the test paper?” “...” “...” Xander tries to smile. “A-Anyway, we just finished our math exam. How well did you do on that?” I stare at him. “D, B, B, C, A, C, D, A, B, C.” “What?” “That’s my answer for the first ten questions of the multiple choice on the
I try to think of reasons why the two of them would be hanging out together, but my mind keeps drawing a blank, save for one. I need Xander’s gaze and to make some hand gestures that I know he’d understand. ‘If she’s keeping you hostage, do you want me to beat her up?’ I merely punched my right fist to my left while discreetly looking at Vanessa before meeting Xander’s eyes again. Immediately, Xander got the message and was aggressively shaking his head. “Hey, you’re Gabrielle, right?” Ethan starts to wonder while looking at Xander. He already knows Gabrielle’s true identity is Xander, so he is trying his best to keep things normal. Ethan, thank goodness he is not a useless companion, begins to ask the question that has been bothering me. “Who are you with?” You know what? Forget what I just said. He just asked the wrong question. Still, I have to admit that it is better than nothing. Xander starts to turn to Vanessa. His face frowns uncomfortably when she starts to cling to him
Three days after the announcement of Gabrielle’s relationship, Gabrielle cut off all communications with me, even with his friends. I have been so busy with work and my math remedials that I wasn’t able to spend enough time dealing with Xander. Hell, it’s already too difficult to get him to talk! I can’t understand that guy! Before, he was dead set on keeping me away from his friends, thinking that I would hurt them. But look at him now! Isn’t he the one hurting his friends by trying to avoid them?! Honestly, what a hypocrite! I have only suppressed my urge to run to him and demand answers because I am trying my best to finish and pass my remedial exam. Thankfully, today is the last day, and I can finally get some answers. After answering my test paper, I rush to the front and submitted to the professor. “Here!” I slam my paper to the desk, making him almost drop his phone. “I’m done!” “O-Okay, miss Hai—” Before he can even begin to finish his sentence, I am already out of the
I am just enjoying getting pampered by the makeup artist in my private room in the studio when I hear a loud knock on my door. “Hailey!” Xander’s booming voice is enough to startle my hair and makeup artists from their work. Despite how angry Xander sounds, I can’t help but smile. “Oh, boy. It seems like I have a guest!” I clasp my hands together in fake delight before looking at my hair and makeup artists. “Would you two mind to leave and let the kind visitor inside?” The two look at me strangely. The word ‘crazy’ might not be so far from their minds at my reaction. They start to excuse themselves and open the door for me, letting Xander, dressed as Gabrielle, head inside. He looks furious, obviously. Why wouldn’t he be? I just did something that I knew he wouldn’t like. “Hi, Gabrielle. I am so glad that you can make it.” I batted my eyelashes innocently and clasped my hands together. “Hai—Felisha, what is the meaning of this!?” He tries to keep his voice low, but considering
My first instinct is to run away with Xander. My second instinct is to run towards Vanessa and tackle her. That girl deserves whatever body pain I am planning on inflicting on her. I guess it was not enough for her to ruin me. Now, she wants to drag Xander along too. She obviously needed some much needed drama to put her on the spot again. To what extent is she willing to ruin people’s lives just so she can stay in the spotlight? I have never been so angry at anyone before, but I will deal with my emotions later. My priority right now is Xander. Looking at Xander, I was surprised to see him standing so calmly in front of me. Well, he wasn’t entirely calm. He was shaking, but it wasn’t from fear or anxiety. He looks like he is about to burst out laughing. What is he so excited about? “Xander?” I grab his hand. “Xander, come on. Let’s get you out of here. I will call my dad to pick us up.” Xander’s gaze softens when he turns to me. “Thanks, Hailey.” He kisses my forehead, which
The big day has arrived, and even though I have complete faith in my mother's design abilities, I can not help but feel nervous. I have seen the design before, but when I look in the mirror, I cannot help but admire the dress. It’s a light lavender dress with a sweetheart neckline and a thin laced strap to keep it in place—my mom knows I was never gifted in the frontal area. The skirt is a flare shape, with the hemline ending perfectly a few centimeters from the floor. Most of the beadwork is at the neckline and waist since the material used for the skirt is chromatic. It shines perfectly on its own. My mother didn’t want me to look too mature so my hair is left in a side loose braid. “Perfect!” My mother enters the dressing room just as I finish clasping dangling earrings in my ears. I shy away from the mirror at how my mother is continuously gushing at me and my outfit. “Darling, you look wonderful! Of course, I expect no less from my daughter, who carries my perfect genes!” “N
Preparation for the dance has been going smoothly. Our efforts have come to fruition when everything is finally coming together. I hate every second of the work, but getting to see the final outcome feels somehow rewarding. Speaking of which, while we were still preparing the venue, the others figured out that Xander and I were already dating. I’m pretty sure that was the case when we told them, because their reaction was a robotic surprise, like they hadn’t tried practicing it. “Wow. We totally had no idea.” “Really? We hadn’t noticed.” “Congratulations!” Only Leo had a really genuine reaction from the group, even lightly clapping his hands in celebration. This world needs a lot more Leo—so pure and innocent. The rest of us can just die (I'm kidding!). “See? I told you they’d know.” Xander crosses his arms and pointedly looks toward Sandy. “I bet you already have proofs and created a group chat where only you, Sheen, and Leo are in it to show the photos.” Leo and Sheen exch
Taking a photoshoot with The Pandorgriffs always feels like bliss for me, despite the number of times that we’ve done this before. It seems that I will always be their fan, no matter what. Actually, that’s not the only thing that makes me excited to work with them. It’s also the fact that I get to work with Xander too. It’s only been a day since we started dating, but it seems like I can’t help but feel light and happy whenever we see each other. He keeps meeting my gaze during our turn and giving me secret grins and a wink. If Xander could be an animal, he would definitely be a fox. Sandy, the ever so reigning queen of gossip, managed to catch that Xander and I have been looking at each other all throughout work. This hellhound of a girl literally has been giving us both a look of suspicion and, I swear, I think her nostrils are flaring like she caught the scent of a hot topic. Xander and I haven’t told the others about our relationship yet. We’re not trying to hide it from them
As the school’s cool girl, I have numerous people confessing to me on a daily basis, but having someone that I know confess to me, especially one that I like, is just embarrassing—in a good way. You’d thought that I would jump in glee and throw sparkles and rainbows at everyone’s face out of joy, but nope. Before I could even give my answer, Leo and the others came back. The next day, I was so tired. I could not even sleep just thinking about it. We’re supposed to head to the mall today to buy the materials needed to make the design. Of course, Xander is going to be there. Unexpectedly, I arrived at the meeting place earlier than planned. I’ve got nothing better to do because if I continue to stay at home, I might just keep staring at my reflection and recalling the confession. It was a confession, right? I mean, I am almost certain that it was. Before we parted ways, Xander assured me that he doesn’t need an answer right away and is willing to wait. Actually, I really wanted t
I rarely get into serious situations that I give a damn about. Right now, I badly wish that I was in one of those situations so I could just laugh and ignore it. I guess I have not gotten my luck as Hailey May Collins working yet because the situation in question involves Xander and the others. “You guys are going to disband?” My tongue felt heavy when I said it. I knew what I heard, but I still could not believe it. “Can you tell me why?” “It’s not exactly a secret, but I assure you that it was a mutual agreement on everyone’s part.” Xander looks uncomfortable, making me wish that I hadn’t asked the question in the first place. “I’m sorry. You don’t have to answer my question if you are feeling uncomfortable.” I hastily added and avoided his gaze. As much as I am dying to know their reasons, I should still respect their privacy. Xander’s chortle comes as a surprise to me. I stare at him, wondering what it is that he finds so amusing. Currently, I feel a little conflicted about
The very next day, I was humming as I headed to the student council room after taking my special exams—I’m not going to talk about how well or poorly I did. It doesn’t matter. I feel like I have accumulated enough points to graduate anyway.I met Sandy at the door, and I gave her the brightest mischievous grin that I could muster. Sandy just smiled at me in return before heading inside the council room. I still have the blackmail photo of her and Sheen on their secret date that I am dying to show her. Because my exams are finally out of the way, I have no choice but to participate in my student council duties. I don’t mind doing it these days, and my old self would laugh at me if I admitted it out loud, but hey, I am here to have fun with Sandy. It’s payback for all the teasing that she put me through. “Hey, Sandy.” I smile, heading over to her and plastering on a smile. Sandy gives me a perplexed look. She’s probably wondering why I wasn’t hostile with her today. “Good day to you,
“Do you think that they are on a secret date?” “I—” “I think so too. It’s very suspicious.” “Hailey—” “Do you want to secretly take photos of them for future blackmail purposes? I know I would.” I cheerfully as I continue to snap pictures of Sheen and Sandy buying tickets for a random romance movie. “You’re already taking photos of them. What’s even the point of you asking me about it?” I can feel Xander’s tiredness as a sigh escapes him. I believe that his exhaustion comes from him constantly trying to tell me against stalking them, but all his words simply go from one ear to the other. “Let’s go!” I drag him along after the couple finished buying tickets. “Where to?” “To buy some tickets. We’re watching the movie.” “Why?” “...That’s because the movie looks interesting.” Xander gives me a long stare. “You’re still going to spy on them in the cinema, are you?” “...No…?” The words left my lips in a drag, making it sound suspicious. “I mean, I am really interested in watchin
I wasn’t aware that my mother called Xander and promised to sponsor our attire for the dance. Knowing how I would have reacted, I guess I can understand why my mother kept it a secret in the first place. Still, it would have been better if she had at least given me a hint. Xander and I are sitting not too far from each other. None of us are even speaking. I am sitting casually and bouncing my legs nervously while thinking of ways to strike up a conversation. From how Xander is busy scrolling through his phone, I don’t even know if he would like to talk to me. It’s always been difficult to read Xander’s mood, so I decided to risk it and converse with him. “The weather is nice.” I start. “It’s raining heavily outside, Hailey.” He responded without looking up from his phone. Well, so much for an icebreaker. I should try another approach. “I didn’t know that you were coming.” “I thought your mother told you that I would be coming for the fitting.” This time, Xander did look up. I c