"Even if hope may fade at times, surprising things can still happen to you."

Chapter 3

Levinne

I lost my attention on the group of people when my phone suddenly rang, so I immediately answered it. I didn't expect the caller, so I took a deep breath before answering it.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Sie, si Ate Lanie mo 'to. Tapos na ba ang klase mo?" Nahihimigan ko ang takot sa kanyang boses. I also heard some background noises.

"Yes, po. Actually, I'm on my way there. Why?"

"Magmadali ka, please. Isusugod namin si Justine sa clinic. Nagka-problema sa kitchen kanina."

"Sige po. I'm on my way!"

Ibinaba ko na ang aking phone sabay takbo papalabas ng gate. Ipinakita ko ang aking ID sa g'wardiya bago ako neto ipinalabas.

I ran the distance to my workplace. Only a few minutes passed when I arrived at the restaurant. I went through the backdoor because it leads directly to the kitchen. I quickly put on my uniform in my locker before going straight to the kitchen. I found Yong leaning on the stove. His eyes were closed as if in deep thought. Hindi nito napansin ang pagdating ko, kaya minabuti kong tumikhim.

"Ah, Yong, anong nangyari kay Justine?" I asked.

He opened his eyes without looking at me. "She accidentally poured himself into boiling water." Nanlaki ang mga mata ko sa gulat. Si J-Justine? Nabuhusan ng mainit na tubig?

Bakit? Jusko naman!

Nasapo ko na lang ang aking noo. Sa lahat ng maging p'wedeng maging aksidente bakit, 'yon pang mabuhusan ng tubig? Kawawa naman si Justine 'pag gano'n.

"As a result, ikaw ang magiging dishwasher, and at the same time, ay taga-luto habang wala pa kaming na-ha-hire na bago," saad nito at tinanguan ko na lang.

After some instructions from Kuya Yong, I did my work. Fortunately, Earl sometimes helps me when he is done serving food.

And when I finish washing, I will go back to cooking. Fortunately, Mama taught me to cook different kinds of dishes before she passed away. Laking pasalamat ko talaga sa pagtiyatiyaga niya sa akin, lalo na't mahirap ako minsan turuan sa pagluluto.

I'm really thankful for his patience with me, especially since sometimes it's hard to teach me how to cook.

I spent the whole night switching tasks in the kitchen. And by 8:30, we had closed. I don't know, but sometimes we close the restaurant around 9:00 at night. I just finished washing the dishes, and I immediately got dressed because the staff said we had a meeting today.

Everyone was sitting separately, while Kuya Yong was at the counter with papers in his hand. It's obviously sad, especially what happened to Justine. I hope Justine's condition improves quickly.

Kuya Yong sighed, "Good evening, everyone! As we all know, our dearest Justine had an accident in the kitchen. And because of that, hindi na siya makakapag-trabaho pang muli. Kaya ang mangyayari ay nag-hire kami ng bagong staff na papalit sa kanya. He's also a student, kaya part-time lang din siya. But he has skills in cooking, and I hired him!"

A man entered from the kitchen. I was stunned to notice his male beauty despite his dark complexion. His huge, brown, cold-looking eyes match his small, pinkish lips and pointed nose. Even her hair is obviously just a new haircut.

I can also hear the screams of some of my female companions when they see him.

"Good evening, I am Levinne Vladmir Fontilla. I am your newly appointed chef, and I'm glad to meet you all."

Levinne Vladmir Fontilla?

Does his name really mean Lev? Because if I had heard it wrong, he could have repeated the pronunciation of his name.

Is it him? Is he Lev, my childhood best friend? Is he the person who pushed me to write then? Is it him? Siya na ba talaga?

Is he the Lev who made me happy when we were young?

When I was staring at him, I didn't realise that Earl had been touching me for a while.

"Hoy, Sienna!"

"Bakit?"

"Kung makatitig ka akala mo tutunawin, 'yang bago nating kasama, ah."

"Ah, gano'n ba? Sorry, may naalala lang kasi ako sa kanya, eh."

"Sino naman?"

"My childhood crush..."

I was dumbfounded because the man in front of me was handsome. He's a total hottie, like the guys in most stories. He has the masculine face and body that every woman wants.

If he really is the Lev I met, is this the start of our story? our love story?

𓆩ꨄ︎𓆪

I woke up the next morning early. Hindi ko mawari, pero iba ang excitement ko ngayong araw. Alam mo, 'yong parang may kakaiba na hindi ko maipaliwanag.

Quickly, at five o'clock, I cooked breakfast and did my daily routines. I quickly fixed myself and put on some light make-up so that I looked like a normal person.

At six o'clock in the morning, I finished breakfast and got ready for school. And I didn't even stress about preparing myself. Since mamaya pa talaga ang klase ko, I thought to check my Wattoon account first.

As usual, many of my readers were sad because of the end of the love story between my two characters. Others are looking for updates, even though I just finished a new series.

I suddenly remembered something.

Alam kong may ibubuga ako sa romance fantasy genre. And if I do pure romance and teen fiction, I might not be able to meet the expectations of my readers. I mean matagal na kasi akong nagplano na mag-explore ng ibang genre peo nararamdaman ko talaga na hindi ako bagay sa genre na 'yon.

But writers also need to venture out of their comfort zone sometimes. I know it's quite risky, but is it worth it?

"Nagsusulat ka na naman?" I looked at my sister, who seemed to raise her voice at any moment.

"Bakit na naman, Ate?" Inis kong sagot dito.

"Ako, Sienna, ha! Tigil-tigilan mo akong sagut-sagitin ng ganyan kung ayaw mong makatikim sa akin."

"Ano bang problema kung magsulat ako?"

"Wala! Wala kang mararating diyan."

Here, I stood up in annoyance because of what she said.

"Talaga ba, Ate? Kung wala kang magandang sasabihin, sana nanahimik ka na lang."

"Sienna, magsitigil ka nga sa drama mo. Mag-focus ka na lang sa kursong kinuha mo! Hindi 'yong dinadagdagan mo pa ng walang k'wentang pagsusulat!"

I clenched my fist in anger. This is what I hate about my baby sister. Masyadong maraming alam! Kung hindi ko lang talaga 'to kapatid, baka hinulog ko na 'to sa tulay na walang tubig.

She always opposes my interests and hobbies. Everything was against her; not once did I feel that he supported everything I did, except when I entered the course he wanted me to take.

I tried to stop my tears from falling.

"Hindi ko naman hiningi opinyon mo. P'wede ba, Ate, kahit minsan huwag mo sanang hadlangan ang kaligayahan kong magsulat. Mabuti sana kung may ginawa 'yong pagsusulat ko sa inyo," sagot ko rito at dali-daling kinuha ang bag ko, mabibilis na hakbang ang aking ginawa palabas ng bahay.

Dito ko na binuhos ang sakit na nararadaman ko. Tumatakbo akong umiiyak papauntang paradahan. Sobrang sakit! Sarili kong kapatid, ayaw akong suportahan sa gusto ko.

Sana man lang nanahimik na lang siya kung wala rin siyang magandang sasabihin. Mas mabuti pa 'yon kaysa magbitiw siya ng gano'n kasasakit na salita.

Walang k'wenta her ass!

I quickly wiped my tears because I looked oppressed to everyone I met.

I got into the Jeep when someone stopped in front of me. When I got to school, I still couldn't get out of my mind what my brother and I had said.

Alam kong kabastusan din ang pagsagot-sagot ko sa kanya, pero hindi rin tama na sabihin niyang walang k'wenta ang pagsusulat. Kapatid ko siya, dapat siya ang nakakaintindi na suportahan ako sa gusto ko. Hindi: 'yong siya pa 'yong nangunguna sa paghila sa akin pababa.

I sat in my chair and stared dumbfoundedly at the front of the class.

Sometimes I really wondered if Ate was also a bitch in her past life. It's like everything I do is opposed by her.

Napakasalbahe niya! Maybe in a story, she's my evil stepsister. Or the witch who will make my life difficult.

I sighed out of frustration.

I was about to grab a book when I noticed our teacher entering for the first class. We wished him good morning.

I sighed out of frustration and stared directly at my desk.

"Good morning, students of this institution. Before we start our class, let me have my announcement. First, we have a new student. Second, we have two new students joining another class!" Sir said with excitement. Habang parang wala lang sa akin ang anunsyong 'yon.

"Lalake po ba, sir?"

"Babae po?"

"Lahat ay lalake---oh! Nandito na 'yong isa. Come in, mister."

Parang giraffe sa taas ng leeg ang mga babae, habang parang wala lang sa mga lalake kong kaklase kung sino man ang pumasok.

Sino na naman ba 'tong pandagdag sa populasyon sa classroom namin?

Nang pumasok ang bagong kaklase namin ay halos manluwa ang mga mata ko sa aking nakita. Is this real? Is that really him?

He's my classmate?!

He smiled at everyone. "Good morning everyone, Levinne Vladmir Fontilla, your new classmate."

Matapos niyang magpakilala ay nagsitilian ang mga kaklase kong babae. My cheeks warmed when he turned his gaze in my direction. He even winked at me or at something next to me.

It's hard to assume.

"You may take your seat," said the teacher.

Without a second thought, he headed in my direction. He looked at the seatmate next to me. Parang nag-usap sila kanilang mga isipan dahil umalis ang katabi kong kaklase at tumabi si Levinne sa akin.

All the girls looked at me.

"So, tell me, Mr. Fontilla. Why do you want to sit beside Ms. Malcom?"

"Actually, sir, I already know Miss Sienna. I work with her in a restaurant," he answered simply, causing the eyes of my female classmates to narrow even more.

"How did you know me?" I whispered to him.

"Uh, there's a list of your profiles in the office. Kuya Yong lent me those folders since it's hard to identify you one by one. Kaya sinaulo ko na lang."

Wow, nakakamangha! Kung sinaulo nga niya ang mga pangalan namin ng isang araw, ang galing ng memorya niya.

"Ang galing..."

I don't know why, but I feel comfortable in his presence. It's like I've known him for a long time. But the question is, does he know me even after how many years have passed?

Many people nowadays fail to recognise their childhood memories since they are too busy and leave all memories behind.

If there's an instance where he remembers me, there's also a high possibility that he won't remember my name and face.

But there is still a good chance that Levinne is not the Lev I knew before. Maybe it's just his name. And right now, he's the only Lev I have, so I'll do everything if he remembers a young Sienna who loved to draw and wrote a story.

One of my problems was Lev's face back then. because the only thing I remembered about him was his attractive eyes. Brownish in colour, which is very beautiful to look at.

And most of all, his smile is comforting.

As for Levinne, her eyes are also brown... and her smile is contagious. but I don't feel nervous when I'm with her.

My gaze returned to the front when Sir Jim tasted with great force. As I was thinking about Levinne, I didn't realise that the class was over.

"Excuse me, class. Again, there will be two newcomers from other sections since they filled in the wrong section. And lastly, behave. Goodbye!" That was the last thing Sir said before he left the room.

After a few minutes, our two classmates entered. And I didn't expect them to be our new classmates.

Because our two new classmates were the ones who chased me... and the person who treated my wound.

The gago and the good boy.

𓆩ꨄ︎𓆪