Chapter 9

"Nothing happened, okay? We just really ate. That's it," I explained.

They are trying to figure out what happened yesterday. They were concluding that something happened between Leo and me. They were obviously accusing me, that I was hiding it and didn't want to tell them.

"I really feel it; he likes you," Cassandra concluded again.

"Nope. Were just friends?"

I get scared every time a new person comes into my life. I have trust issues, and sometimes my mindset is different, like maybe it is better to be alone because you are more assured that no one would hurt you. But sometimes, I also like the feeling that you know someone is interested in listening to you, your rants.

"For you, you're just friends, how about him? What if he likes you?"

What if. We are full of what-ifs in our lives, and those what-ifs are sometimes the reason we are hurt. We were expecting something that we thought was possible, but all our what-ifs remained just what if's at the end of the day.

But later on, I've realized how important it is to control your mind. To only feed your mind with good things, no more doubts, and what if's. Because we are the only ones who make the way to hurt ourselves. Sad to say, but I am also a coward, afraid of being hurt. But as time goes by, I also realized that pain is part of our lives. What hurts us today makes us stronger tomorrow.

"Change topic," Vettinah replied in conversation. "Let's just make a bet."

"What kind of nonsense bet is that, Vettinah?" Cassandra asked while glancing at her wristwatch.

"Trust me with this one," it still convinced us. We all nod as she clapped her hands as a sign of victory.

"What time is it?"

"I do not know."

"You have a watch, but you don't know how to look at the time?" she asked while her eyes turned 360 degrees.

We all laughed because of that. "Throw that away, Cassandra."

"It's 11:11, and you still don't have a boyfriend!"

"Whatever," Vettinah dramatically rolled her eyes. "Let's bet if Prof. Evangelista comes in," she laughed and foolishly invited us.

"That will come in, but she will spend his time lecturing us about something we don't care about," Cassandra laughed, which is partly true. She only came in once, but instead of teaching, she scolded us until time ran out.

"That professor of ours barely come in," I inserted. It just really counts as the day he enters. It looks like she has her own schedule, so we have a hard time guessing the answer when it comes to exams.

"It will come in 10 minutes before the bell," Ernisha said.

Tinah's lips were almost torn, our lazy Prof entered the room. She's complaining again because it seems messy, noisy, dusty, etc.

"Prepare for a graded recitation," it began in class before sitting down. My friends and I looked at each other, and some of our classmates were relaxing.

"Stop complaining! You're old, and you should be able to answer this."

"Ma'am, about what?"

Ma'am glanced at it for a moment, "Everything we have discussed."

"You haven't discussed yet," one of my classmates whispered. So we secretly laughed because that was pretty true.

Ma'am pulled out her index card and pulled it out. This is scary because we seem to be in a raffle show.

"Viztan," she called. Viztan was shocked before standing up. It's because they are secretly playing mobile legends under the table.

"What is good in goodbye?" It took a walk inside the classroom while holding our index cards. For sure, he can't do anything else like this.

"The good thing about goodbye is that you can get out of the situation you do not want; you will be free from the bait that is holding you back."

Ma'am's eyes narrowed, seemingly dissatisfied with my classmate's answer. It walked again and pulled out the index card again.

"Dasalla," she called. He stood up quickly and smiled confidently at the class.

"What is the true meaning of happiness?"

He let out a deep sigh before answering, "For me, the true meaning of happiness is letting the people around you choose if they would stay in your life or not."

"Your point is? Explain, Mr Dasalla."

"Ma'am, my point is, true happiness is not forced. If they choose to leave you, then let it even hurt." This answer and our teacher did not seem happy again.

My seatmate, Cassandra, keeps on glancing at her wristwatch. "It's too late to ring the bell," she whispered to me. I laughed sharply and secretly because he whispered that.

"Ms Bassig!" Ma'am was angry. Sandra bit her lower lip because of nervousness. I was also a little nervous because I didn't want to be embarrassed in class. After all, it lowers my self-confidence.

"Why do you keep on glancing at your wristwatch? If you want to go home, go ahead—-"

Everyone stopped because the pager sounded. Safe by the announcement, huh.

"Announcement, to all Senior High School Students, please proceed to St. Rose Hall now."

Cassandra smirked. Gaga survived ma'am's sermon. We fell in love and at the same time gave thumbs up to him.

"Repeat announcement. To all Senior High School Students, please proceed to St. Rose Hall now."