"Almost there!"
Aubrey turned off the phone when her Mommy, Carmen, spoke. The ride way to her school felt unnoticeable because of the traffic. After all, everyone’s eager to arrive at school early.
Carmen parked their car outside the school. When the car stopped, Aubrey leaned in closer to hug her Mommy Carmen. "Bye, Mommy! Be careful on the ride going to work!"
Her mother gave her a smile. She greeted her, "You too, my lovely daughter. Don't forget to study well, okay? We need a little push for your grades a little higher so the grades we're going to present at St. Abraham College are good, right?"
She nodded, a little sad because she’s worried about her studies. "I'll go now. Be careful!" She opened the car door. When she got out of the car, she glanced at her Mommy Carmen again and smiled. After giving each other a "good luck" look, Aubrey closed the car.
Excitement grew in her body right after glaring at the front yard of the school. Today is the first day of February, a sign that she will be leaving this school in just two months. She will also spend two years here at this school to complete her high school education. In the next two months, she will be enrolling to St. Abraham College, the most prominent school there in Cavite.
After passing the gate, her attention was drawn to the crowd in front of the building of senior high school students. Due to curiosity, the girl joined in the viewing. Suddenly, her eyes squinted in anger from what she saw.
"Kayden!" she shouted.
This was her ex-boyfriend last year. Currently, there is a man who is fighting with Aubrey's temperamental ex-boyfriend. He was still holding the collar of the man's uniform. When Kayden realized that Aubrey had yelled at him, he let go of the poor man.
Aubrey approached him. She scanned the face of the person to ascertain whether she knows the guy, and she was completely speechless when she recognized that person. Kayden harassed her most behaved classmate, Miller Benedict Aquino. Although Aubrey did not know the man very well, she knew that he could not get involved in the troubles: he does nothing (but exist).
"You're unbelievable, Kayden," Aubrey said. "What did Miller do to make you hurt him in front of a lot of people? And really here in front of the senior high school building? Are you out of your mind?"
Kayden's eyebrows met earlier and he smiled as he saw Aubrey's beautiful face. "I was just asking him about you, babe. I just wanted to know if you're doing great in your new section."
It's true what Kayden said -- it's only been two weeks since the senior high school homerooms reshuffled. This is what the school does every time the school year starts again. However, the concern was below the belt. Aubrey didn't need Kayden’s concern of her “potentially not doing well”.
"You still haven't changed, Kayden. You're still over the 'concerned' yada yada," Aubrey responded. "Never call me babe. Our relationship is over so you have no right to call me that. Disgusting."
She stared at Kayden angrily. After that, she approached Miller and held his hand. She took the poor man with her up the second floor. She stopped walking when Miller insisted on letting go of his hand. "Let go of my hands," he demanded.
"Oh, sorry. That gesture was unintentional." Aubrey released the grip on the man's hand.
Their eyes met. Aubrey's observation about this guy is odd, though. His eyes were hollow, yet it looks like something is yearning inside of it. Looks like something is hiding there.
"I am not interested with you and your psychotic ex-boyfriend. I'll go now."
Miller preceded the girl to walk up to the second floor.
Now that she thought about it, something about him is intriguing. Even though it was cold, it was as if Aubrey could melt Miller's extreme cold.
Something about him makes her want to know him better.
~ • ~
The sound of trays stacked on top of tables made Aubrey excited to eat. She is gathered with her friends: Faith, Erin, and Skyler, to buy something to eat for recess. They don't eat inside the cafeteria of the school. They buy food for take-out, and in the classroom, they eat. The ambiance of the cafeteria is stressful because of the large number of students.
"I'm still not used to our new classmates!" said Faith. Faith is Aubrey's best friend. The girl likes her behavior because her speech is straight to the point.
Their quiet friend Erin stepped in. "That's true. I don’t feel the vibes of those sitting next to me. It’s hard to copy their answers when answering exams. Just kidding," she joked.
Miller went through Aubrey's mind.
Yeah, right. I forgot about that man so easily. Let's see if my friends know something about him.
"You know our classmate's name is Miller," she asked out of nowhere. Skyler, the only boy in their friendship group, nodded.
"Oh, yeah. Not you talking about the robot out of nowhere?" Skyler said. "Though he moves like an AI robot, he’s not someone to be underestimated because I heard he took a test on international schools outside the Philippines and passed them all. He seems smart even without that fact."
Aubrey's eyes widened. "Nice. What school did he take the test at?" Aubrey asked.
Having no idea, Skyler shrugged. "I don't know. That man is a mystery and that's all I know as of the rumors," he replied.
Erin glanced at his face, throwing him confused looks. "Why did you ask about Miller?" she asked Aubrey.
"It's like this," Aubrey began telling the story of the MESS earlier. "I was supposed to go upstairs to our classroom but I noticed the group of students in front of our building. You know, I like tea about student beef sometimes so I'm joining their assembly not knowing I was indirectly involved in that stupid fight."
She added, "The catch was Kayden harassed someone."
Her friends frowned deeply. "Aren't you still surprised that Kayden will do that? Your ex's flirtation is abnormal. He needs help from a professional. Psychiatrist levels, and that would be the bare minimum treatment he could get actually. It’s that bad," Faith exclaimed.
"It's not just a random person that man is bothering. That's why I'm asking you if you're familiar with our classmate Miller. He’s the person Kayden was fighting with earlier. I’m so embarrassed, I feel like I need to apologize to him," Aubrey said.
"So girl, what's your plan?" Erin asked.
"I just don't know. Maybe a peace offering would be appropriate?" Aubrey raised her eyebrow as she scanned the menu for today’s lunch.
They lined up together. She seemed to salivate when she saw the flavored fried chicken menu for today. She decided to buy a chicken meal, parmesan cheese flavored. Though a drink isn't necessary because she has a hydroflask filled with cold water, her eyes are fixed on the drinks.
She noticed a new addition to the cafeteria menu - the special milktea. She hasn’t tried it yet but she heard positive reviews from people she knew. Miller's face appeared inside her head, and she finally decided that she's going to buy a milktea drink for him as a peace offering. She has already concluded that she will buy an extra large Okinawa milktea ofr him.
A few minutes passed and they had already ordered and received the food they had bought. With a smile on their faces, they left the cafeteria.
The fragrant aroma of the food really uplifts the mood. They could no longer wait to eat so they accelerated their walk.
When she reached the classroom, Aubrey first put the food on her table. Before she starts devouring her beloved food, she made sure to give Miller her peace offering. She tapped his shoulder. She reached for him and gave the plastic cup of milktea. "Peace offering."
Miller gave her a look before glaring at the drink. He shook his head. “I don’t like milktea,” he denied. Again, he stared at Aubrey with a blank expression.
I can't believe how cold this man is. Doesn't he know how to be thankful?
She felt awkward while in front of him especially after she realizing that her classmates were staring at her. Even though she wanted to get away from him, she managed to plaster a thin smile on her face. "There's nothing wrong with trying, right?" she insisted. She put the drink on Miller's table.
Miller grabbed it. He started to sip from the cup. Aubrey's eyes widened because of what she saw - not because she was excited, but because she was even more embarrassed. Miller's forehead is now furrowed. "It tastes like grass," he complained.
She chuckled nervously. Aubrey calmly walked away from Miller and returned to her seat.
She stared at her lunch. Steam was coming out of the food container just like her – she feels like she’s about to melt from extreme embarrassment.
"That guy surely knows how to make every situation awkward."