Chapter 3

"Do you know each other?" Yeshua asked while glancing back and forth between us and her cousin.

Oxem messed up her hair, making me envy it. "Yes. I accidentally bumped into her and spilled her milk tea, so I bought her a new one."

"Lucky she didn't get angry," Yeshua chuckled. "She has a temper when her milk tea is spilled or when she can't buy one."

"Really?" I smiled at the amusement in her tone. "Good thing I replaced it then."

Yeshua furrowed her brow. "By the way, what do you do at the milk tea place? You don't even drink it?"

I shrugged and messed up her cousin's hair even more, leading them into another argument. I couldn't help but watch them bicker, even though Yeshua seemed annoyed, she appeared used to it. On the other hand, Oxem seemed to enjoy teasing his cousin.

I am an only child. My mom is also an only child. So, I don't have any cousins on my mother's side. As for my father's side? I would never know. I never met him, so I wouldn't know if he had siblings or if I had cousins. My mom said he's dead, but I knew better. They just didn't get married. I was a child born out of wedlock.

I averted my gaze from them before they caught me staring. I came here for a different purpose, not to witness two cousins bonding. They only make me feel more alone, emphasizing that I will grow old alone.

"Hey, people of the universe!"

I was startled when some people entered Oxem's house without even knocking. Initially, I thought our group had arrived. However, when I saw them, I noticed that I didn't recognize any faces among the newcomers.

My mouth fell open. A guy suddenly barged in and shouted when he saw me.

"Oops! Sorry. You have guests." He scratched his nape. "My apologies, miss." Behind him, someone slapped him and also apologized to me.

"Sorry for the sudden shout of this guy, ate. He's just naturally hyper. He was conceived with a whale."

"Wow, really? A whale now, Jennica? It's not like you're quiet either." And they started arguing, just like Yeshua and Oxem earlier.

I took a deep breath because I felt dizzy with everything happening. More people entered Oxem's living room as more of their cousins arrived. I couldn't count them anymore because they filled the entire space. Their house was big, and it seemed like there were about ten of them inside.

"Hey!" I looked at Oxem when he tapped my shoulder. "Sorry about my cousins. They can be noisy, but they're nice."

"I know. I'm not saying anything. Sorry if I suddenly left."

"You look uncomfortable back there. I thought you were annoyed by my cousins."

I nodded and didn't speak immediately. He was watching me. "I'm not annoyed by them. Maybe I'm just not comfortable with noise and a lot of people. Sorry if that's how it seems. But really, I'm not annoyed with them per se."

He nodded, and his gaze lingered on me again. I looked away, feeling uncomfortable. I can't handle his gaze. He's intense. Even if I caught him staring, he didn't seem to care. It's like he wants to read me through his eyes, as if I have no secrets when he looks at me like that.

I started feeling awkward when our classmates arrived. They immediately saw me, so they hesitated to wave and approach.

"It's okay. Technically, you're not late yet. I came early." Even though I said that, their expressions remained strange. I don't understand what I did wrong, but they kept avoiding eye contact with me. Unlike Yeshua, they weren't like this.

"I'll call Yeshua," Oxem said before jogging inside his house.

Yeshua came out soon, and we proceeded to their farm at the back of the house. Their property was vast. They owned almost a few acres, and their farm included chickens, ducks, cows, and more.

Oxem accompanied us to help and answer any questions we had. He also toured us around the entire farm and poultry to familiarize us. We needed to finish our tasks here so that we wouldn't have to come back.

I took out my camera from my bag for the necessary photos. I handed one to Kenneth, who would also take pictures.

"Wow! This looks new, huh?" Kenneth exclaimed. "It's almost scary to use. I don't have a replacement if I break it." He forced a laugh while examining the camera.

"Don't worry. It's a bit old," I said. "Besides, you used to be a member of the photography club, right? I'm sure you know how to handle a camera."

He scratched his nape and smiled shyly. "I didn't expect you to know that."

Oxem sighed beside me, but I just shrugged it off.

I instructed them to start, and we quickly separated. North, Catherine, Sam, and Pin were with me at the farm, as Sam had asthma and couldn't be around animals or anything dusty.

Kenneth, Roderick, and Krisanto went to the poultry with Oxem. Yeshua joined us girls for the tour. This way, we wouldn't waste time, and Oxem wouldn't get too tired. It would be embarrassing to bother Aunt Kelly too. We were the ones who requested to feature their farm.

After taking photos, we returned to the house. We double-checked if we had all the necessary information before leaving. Kenneth arrived shortly, looking tired.

"Your land is vast, bro," Kenneth said to Oxem. "Your chicken coop is probably as big as our entire house." They laughed.

"My mom inherited this land from my grandfather because she was his only child."

"You're an only child too, right?" Catherine asked. "So, you're the heir to this farm."

I returned my attention to the papers containing information about the farm and poultry. I didn't realize what they were doing or talking about because I was immersed in reading. Sam and Roderick were excellent at taking notes, and it seemed like they got a lot.

I took a deep breath before organizing the papers on the table. After finishing, I looked around and noticed Oxem staring at me again. I didn't know if he had been watching me all this time. The rapid beating of my heart returned.

I just wished he would stop doing that. I'm really uncomfortable whenever he looks at me. But then, I remembered that this might be the last time we'll see each other. It's not like I'll be coming here again."