CHAPTER 2: LOVE PROBLEMS

VENICE’S POV

I am currently lying down in my bed because of tiredness. I just got home from the church where Monica served. I did not imagine I would feel so much joy at that church. I cannot wait to go back there again next time. After a while, I get up from my bed to take a bath. I feel sweaty already and cannot sleep with a sticky feeling. Technically, I will not be sleeping yet since I have some activities for my two major subjects and other subjects that feel major for a rushed deadline.

After forty-five minutes, I finished taking a bath. Yes, it takes a long time for me in the bathroom today because I want to relax before I do my really stressful activities and exhaust my brain cells. Accounting and auditing are the focus topic of these activities, so I am sure it will be bloody, and I may not have time to sleep.

Before I started my activities, I went online to check my messenger. When I opened it, I saw Monica had added me to their group chat. The group chat is composed of all youth girls in the church. I am not shocked knowing this because Monica already told me before we separated our ways earlier. I just back reading their topics because I am shy to interact with them. Of course, I am new and do not know anyone except Monica and Grace.

“ Hi, Venice. “ I have read what Grace chatted.

I am having a second guess if I will reply to her message. But in the end, I decided to respond to her chat to avoid the thought that I was a snob or grumpy.

“ Hello, Grace. Hi, everyone! “ I messaged in the group chat with a happy face emoji so they would not think I was scary.

“ Hey! Now I know that your name is Venice. Hello to you, nice meeting you. I did not go near you earlier. “ I have read the cute girl named Joy messaged.

“ It is alright. Maybe there is a lot of lines in my forehead earlier, so you did not go near me. “ I replied with a peace sign emoji.

“ Yes, you look so grumpy earlier. “ Joy replied to me. I laughed because of what she said, so I clicked the HAHA reaction. People used to be called me grumpy, so it does not bother me anymore.

I checked the time on my wall clock at the top of my study table. It is already eight in the evening; time flies so fast, really. I need to face my activities already. I cannot go to school tomorrow without a night of sleep since my professors are terrors.

“ Even I do wanna bid my goodbye to everyone, I need to go already since I have few challenging activities that I need to finished. Sending my advance goodnight to everyone. “ I replied to them.

Many youths just send a heart to react to my message, while others reply to me that they will include me in their prayers and hope for a good night ahead. I also felt so welcome in their group even though I am still new, which makes me comfortable around them. I was putting aside my phone when it beeped. It means that someone chatted with me, so I checked it.

“ Hi, Love. Let us see each other tomorrow. Good night! “ I read the message sent to me by Jeremy.

“ Oh no, love. I forgot to message you the whole day. Sorry, I got too busy. See you tomorrow. Goodnight! “ I replied to him.

“ No worries. Do not forget to tell me about what happened when we see each other tomorrow. I love you. “ I read once again.

“ Love you too. “ I replied.

After I replied to Jeremy, I immediately turned off my cell phone. Maybe we would spend hours talking until midnight if I did not do it. Jeremy is not my boyfriend yet, but we have a mutual understanding. He understands well that I want to finish my studies and then take the board exam. Finally, I want to be a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) before we enter a serious relationship.

I started answering my activities and overlooked the passing time until it reached twelve midnight. I fixed my answer sheets and put my finished activities in my folder named “FINISHED”, while the other unfinished activities I put in the “UNFINISHED.” After preparing the clothes I wear tomorrow, I lie down on my bed and close my eyes.

However, I immediately opened my eyes again when the image of the guy playing the guitar suddenly appeared in my mind. Weird? Why did I see him? I just shrugged off my thoughts and just slept anyway.

***

When I woke up the next day, I immediately stood up because I was running late already. I had a good sleep, so I am doing my morning routine as fast as possible because I want to hear Monica scolding me again. After finishing my morning routine, I just grabbed a piece of bread from the dining table and ran toward the door. When I was already outside, I saw Monica patiently waiting for me. We are always going to school together since we are classmates.

“ Sorry, sorry! I woke up late. “ I said to Monica while gasping for air.

“ Tss, maybe you spent too much quality time with Jeremy last night. “ Monica said while we were walking towards the jeepney terminal. I frowned because of what she said.

“ Whenever I woke up late, is it always because I spent quality time with Jeremy? “ I sarcastically replied to her. She just laughed at what I said.

“ Oh, it is not Jeremy, then what is the reason? “ Monica asked me again.

“ I just did our activities; I have a bundle of them. You? Are you done doing it? “ I explained my reason to her and then asked her.

“ Yes, I finished it last Saturday. “ she replied.

“ Hope all. “ I commented that making Monica burst into laughter.

I am really amazed about Monica. She never neglected her studies even though she was dedicated to serving the Lord. I wish that I could be like her. We already hop into the jeepney. When we arrived at the school, we still had thirty minutes before our first class, so we decided to go first to the library.

When we entered the library, I saw Jeremy with a girl. My eyebrow raised because of what I saw. Who is that girl? I intentionally walked through them, and when Jeremy saw me, he seemed shocked. Monica and I sit at the following table. I simply count one to three, and Jeremy appears before me.

“ Good morning, love. “ He greeted me with an apparent nervousness on his body.

“ Morning. “ I greeted him back and rolled my eyes.

“ Love, please. We just see each other, and then you are behaving like that already. “ he sadly said while making a cute pose.

“ Get lost. “ I told Jeremy coldly.

“ But---” he stopped after I raised my right hand. I do not want this day to be ruined because I want to start this week in a happy tone.

“ Fine, I will see you around. “ Jeremy said, then he looked at Monica and left.

I rolled my eyes in nowhere. That guy does not really know how to coax a girl. He is also the type of man who easily attracts women and loves that.

“ Smile! You will be ugly. “ Monica said.

“ Tsk! You are acting like that because you did not know what I felt; too bad. “ I said sadly to her. Instead of comforting me, she really teased me.

“ Even though I cannot relate to what you feel, at least I am happy. What about you? It is already countless times that you are the one trying to fix the misunderstanding. You are the one pursuing for your so called relationship. “ Monica said while emphasizing the word “ pursuing. “

“ You know that I love him. “ I told Monica.

“ Did he? “ she asked me straight in my face. This girl really does not know when to stop.

“ Of course! What kind of question is that, Monica? “ I asked her in irritation.

“ You know that if a man really loves you, he will never let you feel that you are the one chasing him. “ Monica said.

“ We are like this for a long time, Monica. Can you just support me about Jeremy because I felt like he is already my the one? “ I plea to her while silently giggling about that thoughts.

Actually, Monica does not really like Jeremy for me. She argued that Jeremey was a womanizer. But after Jeremy and I had a mutual understanding, he never found another woman.

“ I will only support you if I am seeing that he is a good influence to you. If not, I will never tolerate it. “ Monica said in full of seriousness.

“ Trust me on this one, okay? “ I said to her while making a cute face.

“ Psh, if ever that you will be in pain, do not bother to cry on my shoulder. “ Monica said, so I continuously nodded in agreement.

I am confident that Jeremy will be the one for me, so I am sure I will not cry in pain because of him. After a few minutes, we decided to go to our classroom. Then, our class started.

TO BE CONTINUED!