Zannie walked slowly into the living room. Howard offered her a piggyback ride because she could no longer when she stumbled because of her shoelace earlier. But on the other hand, she is still annoyed with Howard for saying that she's not pretty enough to show a stern attitude, and even said that she won't ruin the reputation that is best kept just for him. That had an impact and it was like a broken plaque repeated in her mind. The wind blew her away and she looked in the mirror. She slapped both cheeks for thinking such things. She couldn’t fathom the impact of Howard's presence and his sudden mood change. It turns out that the scent of him also lingered on her clothes because he had been on a piggyback ride before. ‘This is strange for me. Why am I feeling something that makes me thrilled?’Why so? Does she feel the thrill that she should just have only for Jacob? That thought made her lose concentration. Damn, that man is invading her whole system. Until now, she admitted she qu

"Come on guys! Let's have dinner together. It's such a tiring day. Let's call it a wrap."Quickly, Howard approached Lucille's place to have dinner. Earlier his stomach was churning due to hunger. Normally, he can't allow himself to feel hungry even if he's working in his office. The few boxes of rice he carried to the soldiers' camp were really exhausting to him. Honestly, he was pressured as Zannie was consistently nagging him. Clueless, he glanced at the girl and guided himself closer to her."Do you have a problem?" he asked in a whisper."Courage, you'll just eat and you won't even help even if I told you to." Annoyance registers on her beautiful face. Howard also heard a hissing sound from her.Their eyes met once again. She dared not to look at Howard's attractive eyes but it seemed like someone on her inner side was begging her to look at Howard for a long time—even about five more seconds. All she knew was that she had been grabbing rice from the big pot before as she was bu

“Are you sure that you're going to wait over there until the rain stops? You might catch a cold,” Lucille said, loud enough for Howard to hear on the other side of the place.“Yes, I'm sure,” Howard responded.“Okay, after this, we're heading to our corresponding barracks. How about you? Do you have a place to sleep?” Joel asked.Howard responded with a quick nod. Three minutes had passed, and the rain had already stopped. Howard decided to go to Zannie's barracks as he was fully aware that she was not asleep.“Hey, it's me,” Howard softly said while he was standing in the front door area.Zannie scratched her head as she heard that annoying voice. She had nothing to do but stand up and open the mini door for him.Her tone was full of annoyance. "Why are you here? Why can't you just stay with other acquaintances?"“Well, I saw you peeking through your window earlier. I know you weren't asleep yet. And I know that you are going to welcome me here,” Howard confidently replied, but he lo

Howard and Zannie walked quietly to their barracks. Zannie's secret smile still hasn't disappeared and she has no intention of speaking, neither does Howard. Until Howard couldn't hold back anymore and sighed before speaking."Zannie?"Calling the girl's name was enough to get her attention."Why? What's the problem?""Did you follow me because you didn't trust me? Were you afraid I'd be arrogant in front of Ms. Aida while teaching the kids?" Howard inquired softly.Zannie shook her head and nodded timidly. "I know your demeanor; I just thought you got short tempered on the youngsters.""I can't be angry with the kids, especially in this situation where they're also losing hope," Howard admitted to Zannie. "Did you find that surprising?""Yes, I'm just surprised; you weren't like that before, and I didn't think you'd change," Zannie responded.Howard didn't say anything, instead continuing to walk with Zannie, and they were only interrupted when they saw a child on the side of the roc

Instead of minding Howard's business, Zannie decided to keep herself busy, and when she turned around, Jacob was already behind her back.“You almost startled me,” Zannie uttered and timidly smiled.Jacob nodded and went to the designated area where the fellow novice soldiers were. “I’m sorry. I just noticed that you’re observing Mr. Howard, as you see, he looks so dedicated today.”"As he should. By the way, I'm happy because you've fulfilled your dream."If before, it seemed like she could not accept the realization of Jacob's dreams, now it seems okay to her. She may look very selfish if she stops him from pursuing his dream career and she has no right to do that. Time flies, over the length of time they’ve been together, his passion hasn’t even changed. But for Zannie, her feelings for her best friend have not changed.‘I'll be okay too. Hopefully tomorrow, I don't want you anymore. Hopefully I have someone else to crush on.’She stopped looking at him from her direction. When s