I was drowsy when I stepped out of my soft bed. If my cellphone hadn't just rang because I set an alarm in my 2-drawer dresser next to the bed, I wouldn't have woken up. I had to hear it three more times before I was fully awake.
I was still drowsy after sleeping for 9 hours.
I immediately went to my room's bathroom and showered. My uniform was ready, so I quickly dressed and examined myself in the full-length mirror in front of my bed. I also curled the tips of my naturally curly hair. I also use light make-up to enhance my natural beauty.
I was holding onto my mobile phone before going. I read the flood of messages from the men with whom I flirted last week.
Why are they still contacting me after I've already ghosted them?
"Why should I feel guilty?" I asked after turning off my phone. "I know they'll ghost me too; I was just doing it early."
Because our school uniform had no pockets, I put it in my backpack. The gray high waist pleated skirt is slightly above the knee and has a yellow ribbon tie. We will be identified as Accountancy students by the yellow ribbon tie. Depending on the course you are on, the color of the ribbon tie on our uniform will change.
I didn't stay long in the room. I went downstairs to have breakfast. Earlier my stomach was rumbling, I was really hungry.
"Brittany, I already told you about Manong Dante's condition, right?" Dad asked in the middle of our breakfast.
I remembered what happened yesterday and my eyes widened again. To this day, I still can’t believe it!
That man I saw in that Engineering building was my new driver!
"But Dad," I confirm, "is he really going to be my driver?"
"Caleb and I have already discussed it; he is temporarily your driver for the time being; once I find a qualified and trustworthy driver, Caleb will leave as well."
I'm upset. What a waste. I thought, it's lifetime!
"Manong Dante can no longer serve us; he has given us 15 years of service, and he now deserves to rest."
I realized how lucky we are for having Manong Dante for 15 years as our family driver. He is very dedicated to his work and we really trust him because of his loyalty to our family. I was only 5 years old when he was hired as our driver and until now that I am 20 years old, he did not quit his job. But they are also getting older and he was recently rushed to the hospital because of a mild stroke. He is in their house now and is currently recovering.
"Manong Dante just asked his eldest son to be your temporary driver while I have not been able to find a replacement for him."
Caleb is Manong Dante's eldest son? If so, he is also what Manong Dante used to tell me. Every day he tells me stories about his two son.
I feel like I know Caleb very well.
I will miss Manong Dante, for sure. But I would still prefer him to rest now and recover immediately. I will only visit him every weekend.
"Okay. I need to go." Dad drank his tea first before standing up.
He walked over to me to hug me. "Bye, Dad."
"Caleb will be here in about 10 minutes to pick you up; be kind to him, okay?"
I nodded.
I'm nice and friendly, so I'm the one who should ask Caleb to be kind to me, especially because I'm the one he can marry.
I'm not sure why, but I like Caleb despite the fact that I only met him yesterday.
I'm wanting him.
I knew he was the one because of the sign I asked. Another is that he is Manong Dante's son. See? It's impossible that it's just a coincidence, especially given how small the world is. Destiny, I believe, created the path for us to get closer to each other.
Manang Elisha remarked, "Bri, Caleb is waiting for you outside."
I immediately stood up and asked Manang Elisha. "Man, do I look okay? What about my face? Do you think it's okay without light make-up?" I hesitantly questioned.
It was only on this day that I had to care about my look. I wasn't always like this. It's fine with me as long as I know I look presentable.
"Oh, iha, you're so lovely even without make-up; you're as lovely as your mommy Roshan."
When I heard my mother's name, I pouted. When my late mother's name is mentioned, I become emotional. Mommy passed away ten years ago due to breast cancer. I soften when it comes to Mommy.
I miss her terribly.
"You're teasing me again, Manang!" I exclaimed, smiling. "Let me have some milk tea and pizza when I get home!"
"You even bribed me, you kid!" Manang Elisha chuckled. "However," she added, "I like that."
My second mother was Manang Elisha. She is in her sixties and have been with us for many years. she never married during their service. She devoted his entire attention on taking care of Mom at the time, and they continue to do so now.
We were quite lucky with them. They are extremely devoted to us, and that is the only thing worth flexing.
"You need to hurry because you might be late." Manang Elisha reached for my bag. She accompanied me to walk to the door. "By the way, Dante's Son is a handsome young man," she added.
I turned to Manang Elisha. "I'm not against it, Manang!"
"I thought so, you like him, right?" She poked my waist which made me laugh. "That's why you asked me earlier if you look good just because there's a handsome man waiting for you outside. Is he your crush?"
I couldn't stop laughing at what Manang Elisha said. Imagine, she’s in her 60’s and I’m being asked now if I have a crush on Caleb.
"Do you think, Manang, he'll like me?"
"Of course! My baby is smart and beautiful," she proudly replied. "Let me search in youtube for how to crushback and then I'll tell you."
"Manang!" I gently slapped his shoulder. "You're using your cell phone too much!"
Manang Elisha is also soaked in social media. Dad bought a phone for each of our maids so that they could have some fun during the break and they didn't have a problem with a stable internet connection because Dad installed Wi-Fi just for them.
"Hey, I know you like that too. Just don't add Caleb to your collection. He looks like he's a nice kid."
Manang Elisha is updated about my love life and on ignoring those men who like me. I feel comfortable talking to her because we seem to be the same age every time we gossip. She's not just in favor of my ghosting thingy because like Keziah, Manang Elisha also says that what I'm doing might come back to haunt me. I just improve my prayer routine so that karma doesn't come back to me.
I am open to Manang Elisha compared to my Daddy. Dad was so strict to the point that he didn't want me to have a boyfriend. He was very over protective of me. Well, I understand him because I'm only a child.
"All right, you need to hurry. Be good at flirting with your crush!" She's still cheering for me.
I said goodbye to Manang Elisha and immediately went straight to the car that was waiting for me.
I also waited for a few seconds outside the front seat, hoping he would open the door for me but I waited for nothing. That's why I opened it myself to get inside.
He just looked straight ahead. He seemed impatient to wait for me.
"Let's go?" I asked him.
He didn't answer. Instead, he started the engine.
A few minutes passed, but he still did not speak. He seemed to have no intention of talking to me.
I couldn’t bear that only my breathing could be heard. Very quiet, it dries saliva. So I think that we can make his course as our topic.
"You're an Engineering student, aren't you?"
"You're an Engineering student, aren't you?" I started the conversation.
He sarcastically responded with the same question, "Isn't it obvious?"
Why is he being so irritating?
I cast a glance at him. He only concentrates on driving. While driving, his expression was serious. I couldn't help but admire his greek god face, even though I can only see his side.
That chiseled jawline, oh my!
As he moved his head softly, I averted my gaze. I gulped and returned my attention to the road front of us.
"Why did I only see you at the University yesterday?"
I'm in my third year of college, and I've almost memorized the master list of Engineering students in those three years. I recognize them by face, so I'm not sure why I failed to notice the name of this Caleb when I was looking for Engineering students to date.
"Transferee," he said sparingly.
To avoid interrupting our chat, I inquired again, "Oh, I see. When did you transfer?"
"Last Monday."
Is there a limit to how many words he can use? He merely responds with a few words.
Will he ask about me? So that we can talk about it more and arouse his interest.
"You know what... When I was younger, I also wanted to be a future engineer, but when it was rain of talent on drawing, I fell asleep."
That was my ultimate course then. But no matter what I do to practice drawing, I still can’t learn. So I went into the Accountancy program.
I turned to him and his face was still serious.
"But it's okay that I didn't pursue the Engineering course. I'm just going to marry an Engineer!" I said laughing at the same time.
I said before that if I am not lucky enough to be an Engineer someday, I will just marry an Engineer.
He still remained silent. I stopped laughing because it was awkward. I was the only one who laughed. He didn't even react!
What the heck! He is a killjoy!
I sneezed. "What about you? If you choose a wife..." I paused for a moment before I continued. I gulped. "Why not me?"
And there, he stared at me. I just want to be a turtle so that I can hide in my own house in great shame.
"Joke!" I exclaimed nervously.
I'm dripping with sweat. I think I flirt too fast.
Wrong move, Bri. Even though it's true, he could think I'm easy to get.
I'm bored but I'm not easy to get.
But if he is the only one I will answer? Definitely! Sure! I mean, why not?
Until we arrived at the University, I didn't say anything else. We just gave the guard our identification card and he instantly let us in to park the car.
The parking lot in front of the Engineering building is full so I suggested that we just go to our department building. There was still vacant space there and after being able to park, we went out together.
I didn't expect some of my classmates to be sitting on the bench near where we parked.
"Omg! He's handsome, sis!" I heard one of my classmates, Jann, scream.
We grabbed the attention of them all. "Seriously, Bri? How to be you?" Xaela shouted.
"Is he your next target in ghosting?" Wendy, another classmate of mine, dumped me.
I stared at them all for a reason to keep quiet. It's good because they know what I want them to do.
"Oh, wait-" I didn't realize that Keziah and Reign were already close to us. "I think, we know you," they said to Caleb.
"How?" Reign asked me, still glaring at me.
Reign asks me how I immediately met the man I only saw yesterday.
Will my friends ever change? They couldn’t even wait for us to go to the classroom to ask questions.
Really? In front of Caleb, really?
"What's his name, Bri?"
When I looked at her, I saw Liane. One of my classmates could no longer stop us from approaching us. I think he even planned to take Caleb from me.
"Why should I tell you?" I rolled my eyes.
"Cause I think I have a crush on him," he replied shamelessly.
This Liane is bothering me!
I have a crush on Caleb and he has no right to like him either. We can't have the same crush!
"Excuse me?" I looked at her badly. "Can you respect me as his fiance?”.
I just had a crush on Caleb, but someone was stealing him from me!
"So, what is it? I know you're an expert in flirting, but don't you think it's too fast? You only met him yesterday, like hello? You should be on getting to know each other first before it will level up."Keziah doesn't stop asking me questions, but I still don't answer those. I just remained silent as I walked until we could get inside the classroom, she still followed me and didn’t stop."So? What should I do? I'll pretend that I'm hard to get? Oh come on, Kez, I can't find it in my vocabulary. Besides, I'm just being an advanced thinker. That's where we're going too." I reluctantly put my bag on the chair.She also sat down next to me. "Oh, that's what you're not sure about. What if he's already committed to someone?"I turned to her and shot her an evil look."Kez!" She pissed me off. I was nervous because what she said might come true. "Take it back, hey!"She just laughed at me.Isn't she going to take back what she said?"I hope Sir Taxation has a girlfriend, and I hope he gets
I excitedly picked up my cellphone on the bed and immediately opened the messages of Keziah and Reign. I was so nervous yesterday, it took me until night to float because of the excitement that Caleb gave after he got on board pretending to be my boyfriend just to escape the person I was hosting. That's why I couldn't talk to my two friends.I immediately opened the group chat of the three of us. They had messages last night and I didn't hesitate to backread. Aside from the fact that I'm lazy, I know that the two of them are talking about their crushes again.I don't know what's up to them. Out of the many listed on their crush list, none of them has passed on their standards to become their boyfriend. I'm planning to do a seminar for the two of them. Maybe it might help. You know, I wanted them to enter into a relationship so that they will stop teasing me with other boys.I started a new topic.Brittany Sarmiento:"Omg! Guess what?"I saw Keziah immediately typing it well right away
“Hi! Good Morning,” I greeted him as he entered the dining area.As usual, he still ignored me. He just passed me by and didn’t even close my eyes. He went straight to the kitchen to get Aunt Elisha the key to the new car that Dad had bought the other day. That's why Caleb is here on Saturday. He accompanied Dad to purchase the royal blue 2021 Jaguar XF that Caleb was going to use to pick me up. The car that Uncle Dante and I used was old, so Dad decided to buy a new one.Dad left early so I had breakfast alone. Aunt Elisha didn't want to join me because she wasn't hungry yet.I turned my back when I heard the kitchen door open. It spat out the cold and rugged Caleb. Their Maroon Engineering uniform is perfectly fitted for him. The cleanliness of her look that he was wearing. You wouldn't think he was a driver because of his good looks."Are you done?" he asked as he stopped in front of me and glanced at the food in front of me.I nodded. "Yes.""Then, let's go."Instead of following
"I thought you couldn't come with me?" I asked while he’s driving.I looked out the window. It’s already 9:20 PM and many more people are hanging out. The others we passed were just waiting for a ride because maybe they just got out of work.There is no traffic at this time so it is not boring. I just remained silent and busy seeing the street lights outside the window.We were in Rocca in about 20 minutes. I also called Keziah and she said that Reign and I had been there before. It's not obvious that the two of them really just want to hang out there and not because they want to help me to enjoy and forget about my failure in the quiz. They wanted to flirt with some students who came from another University.“It’s my duty as your personal driver. I can’t help but take you and pick you up,” he replied coldly.I smiled. “Really? That's it? No malice or other reason why you're here? Don't be shy to admit. You, Caleb! You're having a crush on me, too, right?”I looked out the window and
"So, come on, tell us what really happened last night?" Keziah couldn't bear to ask. She came to my seat immediately after class. She left her stuff in her armchair just to gossip with me.Last night she was teasing me in the chat but I didn't answer because I was too lazy to talk. I know I'll just repeat it the next day because Reign will also ask questions.That's why I decided to tell a story later when the three of us had lunch break."Awful! Leigh is really obsessed with you, isn't he?" Leigh was the Nursing student who molested me last night and the guy was also punched by Caleb. "That's crazy! You told him to stop you but he's still chasing like a mad dog," Keziah added.We are currently in the cafeteria and my two friends are constantly criticizing the man who molested me.If I only knew that that asshole guy had such a habit, I wish I hadn't entertained him in the first place. That's not the attitude he showed when I just talked to him. He is kind and a gentleman when we're i
“Message me if there’s a problem, okay?”I nodded to Dad in response. I only woke up because Dad meant to wake me up to say goodbye. They said they had a business trip and it would take three days, so Dad just told me some advice and reminders while he's on their trip. Well, he just making sure that I won't do any stupid things.He’s like this whenever he is out of town, never running out of reminders for me. Out of sheer concern, he wanted to take me on his business trips but that was not possible so he would just feed me instructions and reminders of what I should not do while he was away.“Dad, I won’t do anything that can harm me. So, just chill and focus on your business trip.” I gave an assurance to stop him from worrying. “Besides, Manang Elisha is there to take care of me. You don't have to worry."I know how to behave without Dad. I'm not like others who party at their house when their parents are on a business trip. Almost invited all my schoolmates and got drunk overnight.
Caleb and I were just getting in the car when someone called. He quickly answered it after reading who was on the screen. There was no hesitation on his face to answer the call immediately."Excuse me, I'll just answer this."I just nodded.At the same time as he opened the car door, he swiped up on the screen of his phone. It seemed that an important person called him because he came out quickly to answer that.I just waited inside and remembered what happened earlier. I was no longer annoyed with that saleslady because I was thrilled with the result. He mistaken me for Caleb's sister but Caleb introduced me as his wife. Wait, I should be thankful to that saleslady, right? Because of her, Caleb introduced me as his wife.My heart really screamed for so much happiness.He is increasingly giving motive. Maybe later, I’ll assume he likes me too. But it's also not impossible for him to just ride my haul.Ah, that's up to him! I don't care what will be the result of my flirting move to hi
It was also a week ago when I visited Caleb's house because his Dad had a fever. I didn't spend the night there because Caleb also drove me that night. Her Mom and Dad invited me to have dinner before we went home. The four of us were the only ones who ate the dinner because Casie, Caleb’s only sister, had a night class.I don't know but I feel like I'll have a hard time getting Casie's heart. When we first met, she didn't talk to me even with one word to say, she didn't even say a greeting. I just ignored that because I understand. Not everyone will agree immediately at the first meeting. Hopefully next time, I will be as close to her sister as their Mom. I was easily relieved by their Mother. I have nothing to say about the kindness of Aunt Agnes. She took care of me when I was in their house. She didn’t make me feel like I was different from their family. She added that I should often visit, which Uncle Dante immediately agreed to.Do I expect them to want me to become their daught