Chapter 4 - Evil Witch

"SAFE!" Lance shouted as the three of them were catching their breaths.

"They're here," one student murmured.

They gave him a deadly look, but it was Miggy who snapped first. "Got a problem with us?" he asked as he grabbed the guy's shirt.

Hero ignored them as he was searching for a good seat. He found one on the right column near the window, just beside the lobby. "Mine!" he said, pointing his fingers like a gun and opened fire on it.

"Mine's on the left," Lance declared.

Miggy let go of the guy he's holding and immediately claimed, "Mine's behind Hero's."

Just as Hero walked towards his chosen seat, a group of noisy girls came in, and one of them immediately sat on his "throne." He stood still, mouth-tightened, fist clenched, and ready to kick their asses.

"He might be cute, but he's hot-headed...and stupid..."

"Hey!" he interrupted. They went silent. "That's my seat," he said coldly, pointing to the seat where one of them was sitting.

The girls looked at him with fear-stricken faces when they realized it was him.

"It's Hero," one of them whispered.

"What are you waiting for, huh?" Miggy bellowed.

"Get lost already!" Lance commanded as if saving them from hell.

The girls immediately stood up from their seats. But then, someone interrupted them, "Excuse me!"

He heard a girl's voice. When he turned to her, he saw an angel wearing their school uniform.

"There are still vacant seats here," she said, pointing to the vacant seats on the second column near the window.

He was stunned and felt like he was floating in the clouds as he was listening to her sweet voice.

"Oh, Dana! Thank you so--"

The girl who once sat on his chosen seat suddenly stiffened, not able to finish what she was about to say when he held her in the arm. She fearfully looked at her arm before looking at his face.

"You stay here. I will be the one to sit there," he said in a low and authoritative voice.

All of them sat silently in their chosen seats. His angel looked at him confusedly while his friends were teasing him with their eyes.

After few minutes, Mr. Hermosa, their adviser for that year, came in. He was an English teacher for all seniors.

Hero's mind was traveling as their teacher was doing a roll call. His thoughts were on the girl sitting next to him—the angel who was wearing a girl's school uniform—as he was stealing a glimpse of her. That was the first time he noticed her. He wondered if she was a transferee or from another section. Well, he was never interested in women ever since. They're just a headache for him.

But maybe not this time.

After a few minutes, he saw her rolling a pad of paper.

"Hercules Ronald Gaston!" Mr. Hermosa called him.

He heard him but did not respond. Everybody knew he wouldn't respond when called by any other name except "Hero".

"Hercules Ronald Gaston!" Mr. Hermosa called again.

But his attention was on his "angel".

She held the rolled pad and raised her hand in the air. Then she turned to him. He looked away, trying to avoid meeting her eyes. But he was so shocked when she hit him in the head with the rolled pad of paper.

"F***ing s**t! What the heck?" He got real mad as he got up and looked at her, almost ready to kill her.

But she was not shaken. "There's a fly in your head, but it has already escaped," she said with a smirked.

Everybody laughed—even his friends—but they were immediately silenced when he glared at them and burst out.

"What are you laughing at?"

"Hercules Ronald Gaston!" Mr. Hermosa called him for the third time.

"What? Don't you know me?" he hissed, not minding if he was talking with a teacher. He was Morsons' leader. Everybody knew him. Nobody messed with him...

**

"HERCULES Ronald Gaston! Wake up already, will you?"

The plangent sound of his aunt's voice along with the soft smack of a pillow on his face woke him up in an instant.

"Auntie! What's up?"

Her forehead furrowed. "Don't you remember what day it is?"

"Oh, shoot!" He instantly jumped out of his bed. "I'm sorry, Auntie," he said before picking up his towel and going out of the room to bathe in the communal bathroom near the kitchen.

She followed him to the kitchen. "You should be! I've been waking you up for almost half an hour, and all you did was talk back at me," she answered disappointedly.

He turned the shower off and peeped on the door. "Did I?"

"Yes, you did. I bet you've been dreaming about your Morsons day again."

He laughed. "Yeah, right. Sorry about that."

"Just be quick. You have to be at the terminal before 9."

"Okay!" He heard her footsteps walking out of the room, so he continued taking a bath.

It's Saturday. He had no class, but his aunt did not give him a day off. It was a special day. The only child of his aunt's employers was coming, so his aunt needed his help to prepare the house, the very house they were living in, for this girl named Kathrina.

As an only child, he expected Kathrina to be a spoiled brat. So everything should be perfect to avoid quibbling feedbacks sent to her parents. She was expected to arrive in the afternoon, and he was to fetch her from the terminal.

His breakfast was ready when he came down to the kitchen. He felt guilty he was not able to help his aunt that morning. Good thing he volunteered to clean the garage and every guest room the other day after school.

"You don't have to feel bad about it. We've been cleaning this house regularly, so it's not that dirty. I just want Kath's room to look perfect the way she wanted it," consoled his aunt. He could feel the excitement and longing that she was feeling at the moment like a mother who missed her child. He heard that Belen used to be Kath's nanny, so his aunt might really love her.

Three buses had come and gone, but no Kathrina had appeared in front of him, though he did not exactly know what she looked like. Suddenly, a petite woman in a ponytail wearing a white crop-top shirt with checkered long sleeves wrapped around her waist, tattered denim shorts and a pair of white sneakers approached him. "Excuse me, don't you have any plans to go home yet? I'm getting bored," she said, without removing her thick sunglasses. Yeah, he just noticed she's wearing them.

He blinked and looked around. There was no one next to him. "A-Are you talking to me?" he hesitantly asked, pointing to himself.

"Are you seeing anyone else except the two of us here? You're Nanay Belen's nephew, aren't you?"

He was stunned. That voice was familiar to him. He looked at her again. "Max?" he asked incredulously. He didn't recognize her at first without her fierce look and those "gangster chains".

She removed her sunglasses. "Don't say my name so casually. We are not close," she said coldly. "And yes, I am. I am Kathrina Maxine Mejares...or Kath, whatever. Do I still need an ID?"

"Ah, no! I'm sorry!" He thought he was going to fetch a princess--a flashy woman in heavy make-up wearing a fancy dress, a pair of limited edition high heels, and a signature bag in her arm. He did not expect the daughter of that mighty house...of all people, it was no other than Max!

If he would based it on her looks at that moment, he could say she looked like an ordinary girl. And yet she's no ordinary woman as she was incredibly strong for her petite body.

"So, what now? Are you just going to stare at me all night?" she snapped him back to his senses. And before he could answer, she said again, "Give me the key. I'll drive," she said and quickly took the key from his pocket.

She was too quick and everything happened so suddenly that was left there standing dumbfoundedly. It was too late when he realized that Max had driven the car away and left him there.

"Hey, wait! Hey! Wait for me!" He cursed under his breath. He suddenly remembered Dana, how devilish his girlfriend at first despite her angelic face.

He had no choice but to go home by foot. He was too excited to drive a real car except the one he used for test drive last month when he applied for driver's license, so he was not able to bring any amount money with him. Luckily, the terminal wasn't that far so he could just jog home.

"What an evil witch!