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"Care to explain why the three of you are here?"

George pouted as she glanced over at Addy who's glaring at Lia who is also glaring back. Both girls have disheveled hair with Addy's hair clip out of place and Lia's ponytail loose. Siya naman ay napabuntong hininga na lang while holding her now broken headband. It was new pa naman and her mom bought it for her.

After kasi niya i-reveal what Addy did to her and Addy saying she did all that because she was bored, hindi niya na napigilan si Lia when all of a sudden ay nilundag nito ang babae and started pulling Addy's hair. Everything happened so fast and the last thing she remembered was she was trying to pull Lia away from Addy 'til she opened her mouth again making her join the fight.

"She started it," Addy mumbled pertaining to Lia. "I was just minding my own business po when she suddenly jumped at me like a rabid beast—"

"You fucking liar—"

"Language!" naeeskandalong hiyaw ng guidance counselor nila.

"See po? She's the bad person here, not me!"

"Is that the lie you tell yourself every day, bitch?" bulyaw muli ni Lia making the guidance counselor roll her eyes and face palm. Ramdam niya yung gigil ni Lia but it wasn't helping their case right now.

"I-It's just a little misunderstanding between friends, ma'am," mahinahong sagot niya making Lia glare at her and Addy scoff.

"Friends? Hindi ako nakikipagkaibigan sa mga may diperensya sa utak tulad niyan," Lia spat causing Addy to take offense and reach out to pull Lia's hair. Buti na lang at napigilan agad ito ni Miss Gonzales.

"Miss Bordejos!" saway ng guro bago bumalis sa may kaliwa nito kung nasaan nakaupo sina Claudette at Dos. And yes, sila ang umawat sa three-way hair-pulling battle nila. "Miss Asuncion, Mr. Montecillo. Alam niyo ba ang dahilan ng pag-aaway ng tatlong ito?"

Sabay silang tatlo napatingin sa dalawang. Dos was looking at her like he was disappointed or something causing her to look back down. But it wasn't entirely her fault kaya. Addy provoked them. Why was he looking at her like his judging her or something?

"We don't know the cause of their argument, ma'am," ani bigla ni Claudette. "Naabutan na lang namin sila na pinagtutulungan itong si Addy."

That immediately made her look back up at her and raise an eyebrow at Claudette.

Sa gulat ay hindi agad nakapag-react si Lia causing Addy to secretly smirk—na hindi naman nakaligtas sa kanyang mga mata. Right. They Addy and Claudette has a common enemy. Siya. So it's understandable as to why she's siding with Addy trying to get her and Lia in trouble.

"Mag-isa lang si Addy so I'm sure she was just defending herself from these two."

Napabaling siya kay Dos. She was waiting for him to say something and defend her. He knows what she feels. Nandoon ito nang marinig niya ang lahat ng masasakit na salitang binitiwan ni Addy sa kanya noon. He of all people should know how much it hurt to be betrayed by someone so close to you. He'd understand why she got into trouble avenging herself. Pero nanatili itong nakatayo at hindi umiimik. Nakaramdam agad siya ng inis.

Shouldn't he be defending me? Like what a boyfriend should be doing? But why isn't he doing anything? Is he siding with Addy? Does that mean what Addy said about not genuinely liking me was true? That it was all fake?

She clenched her fists resting on top her lap. Hindi niya rin mapigilan ang sariling maluha. Why is everyone like this? Ginagawa niya naman ang lahat to be nice at pakitunguhan ng maayos ang mga tao sa paligid niya like what she's supposed to. Is she a bad person ba to be treated like this? Did she really deserve this?

Naramdaman na lamang niya ang sunod-sunod na pagtulo ng luha sa kanyang kamao.

"Mr. Montecillo. Do you have anything to add?" rinig niyang tanong ni Mrs. Gonzales kay Dos giving her a tiny bit of hope. Pero nang wala siyang marinig mula dito, tuluyan na ngang nawala yung pinanghahawakan niyang pag-asa. He really didn't care.

"No ma'am—"

Hindi na niya napigilan ang sarili. She stood up, bowed at the guidance counselor and ran out of the room. Masyado nang mabigat ang dibdib niya sa sama ng loob. Plus, she didn't want to give Addy the benefit of seeing her cry. More so si Dos. So she just ran. But as she took a sharp turn, bigla siyang may nabangga.

"Sor—"

"Sorry—George?" Napatingin siya sa nakabunggo sa kanya. It was Jarvis. He was holding he both on her arms to support her as she almost fell.  "I'm sorry I was looking—"

Her emotions got the best of her that caused her to hug him and bawl out. She felt Jarvis stiffen for a second but nonetheless hugged her back and let her cry. Nang paunti-unti ay humihina na ang kanyang mga hikbi, Jarvis guided her towards the side at inabot ang isang puting panyo.

"Here," he said smiling. "I won't ask if you're okay since you're clearly not. But... can I ask why you're crying? Is it still about your friend?"

Right. Alam din pala ni Jarvis yung about kay Addy since she told him about it. But it wasn't really about Addy. Maybe it is pero... halo-halo na eh. It's like, patong-patong na yung mga issues niya and it's frustrating. She feels so drained.

"I'm just tired, Jarvis," she said heaving a sigh as she took his handkerchief to wipe off her tears. "And frustrated din. I got in trouble—well I still am, after getting involved in a fight."

"Fight? What do you mean?"

"Lia and I pulled Addy's hair because she was being a total bitch—" agad niyang natutop ang kanyang bibig as soon as she realized she just said a bad word. Jarvis chuckled.

"Cute mo," anito and messed up her hair a bit. "So I'm guessing you had a confrontation kaya ga'non?"

"Yeah," he said while nodding. "Lia and I were talking about... about something tapos she came with drinks for us and inserted herself sa convo. I didn't want to tell her that I know na siya yung nag-sabotage sa performance ko pero she pissed me off kasi. She was like provoking me and feeding me ideas like Dos was only 'fake liking' me para to make bawi of what I did to him sa cafeteria before. Tapos she said hurtful words about Dos kaya I slipped. Lia got so pissed din kaya she jumped at her and they fought. I was only trying to stop them but Addy provoked me again and I got so pissed I started pulling her hair too. Am I a bad person ba for doing that? I mean, nadala lang ako nung anger ko..."

The disappointed look on Dos' face still haunted her. Naiiyak nanaman tuloy siya. She hated that feeling kasi. She hated disappointing people she loved.

"I wouldn't say I agree with what you did but I do understand," Jarvis stated after he like analyzed what she just said. "Like what you said, nadala ka lang ng emosyon mo and it's natural. We often do things on impulse whenever we get too emotional. Though I'd say you shouldn't have gotten yourself into a physical fight, maybe it was what you needed at the time. Para mailabas mo yung kinikimkim mong emosyon."

Napatingin siya dito. He was smiling while telling her that. There was no judgment or disappointed look in his eyes. He looked so calm kaya nakaramdam siya ng comfort galing dito. Malayong-malayo kay Dos. He wasn't looking at her like she murdered someone.

"And trust me when I say that, hindi ka pinaglalaruan ni Dos," he continued. "Dos may come off as someone who doesn't care but he does. Hindi lang halata but he's the most caring Montecillo. You'll see. May hinihintay lang 'yan."

"Then why didn't he stand up for me kanina?" she asked. It was more of a whisper. Kasi if he really did care about her, he wouldn't just stand there and do nothing. Hindi rin nito hahayaang magsinungaling si Claudette knowing she'd get in trouble because of her lies. "He was there. He knows what Addy did to me. But he didn't..."

Naiyak nanaman siya uli. Jarvis didn't say anything and just hugged her. Hinayaan lang siya nitong umiyak at ilabas ang sama ng loob. She must've ruined his shirt on the process pero hindi naman ito nagreklamo. She even felt him gently pat her pack in the hopes of it helping to calm her down.

Jarvis was a great guy. He's sweet and he's always ready to listen. But she didn't feel the same way as when Dos hugs her. Iba pa rin. Still, it provided the comfort she needed at the moment. And she's very thankful for that.

"D-Do you think I'm a bad person?" she asked after her sobs went down a bit. For some reason, 'yon ang lumabas na tanong mula sa kanyang bibig.

"As far as I can tell, you're not," diretsong sagot nito. "A little misunderstood, maybe. But you're not a bad person. For what it's worth, you're the sweetest girl I've ever met. Cute, too."

Hindi niya napigilan ang sariling mapangit. Jarvis was a charmer. Parang lahat na lang ng lumalabas sa bibig nito eh can make any woman swoon. Not her pero, if she met him earlier or before Dos, she was a goner. Hindi niya sure if that's a good thing ba or not. But she's glad na she has someone other than Lia that she can trust.

"I need to go back sa Guidance Office," she said while heaving a heavy sigh. "I need to face the punishment waiting for me."

"Do you want me to come with you?"

She smiled and nodded. It would be nice to go back with someone kasi she might cry again kung mag-isa siya. And she didn't want anyone to see her crying like a little kid just because she got herself in trouble.

"Andito na pala si Miss Gray," Mrs. Gonzales said as soon as she stepped back inside the room. Addy and Lia were still seated on the seats in front of Mrs. Gonzales' desk like how she left them while Claudette stood nest to the table with her head down. But... where's Dos? "I don't want to take up much of your time so I'll give your punishments right away. Two weeks worth detention and you will participate in the peer counseling sessions every Thursdays. Are we clear?"

Nawala ang atensyon niya sa sinasabi ni Mrs. Gonzales as she wondered where Dos was. May class ba siya? It's free period so she's sure wala. Plus she just saw Jarvis and they were in the same class. Student Council stuff ba?

"Miss Gray, naintindihan mo ba ang sinabi ko?"

"H-Huh? Um, yes po," she lied.

As they exited the room, nagulat siya nang nakita na nandoon pa rin si Jarvis at naghihintay.

"Well that was quick," anito with his dimples exposed. "So, how did it go?"

"Two weeks worth of detention saka peer counseling sesh." It was Lia who answered for her—much to her surprise. "Hindi present isip niyan kanina since someone wasn't in the room when she got back."

"Hey! That's not true!" agad niyang depensa sa sarili. "I'm not looking for Dos kaya—"

"Landi."

Sabay silang tatlo napatingin sa may kanan where Addy was. She had her arms folded over her chest and she had this resting bitch face plastered on. She was dressed the same but the way she looked right now was totally different from the Addy she knew for the past year.

"So you're after all the Montecillo guys pala. Who's next, River?" she added pa. "Di ka lang pinatulan ni Dos, jump ka naman agad sa pinsan niya. Classic Georgina."

"You bitch—" Lia was about to jump at her again pero mabuti na lang at napigilan agad ito ni Jarvis. But he too looked pissed. "Just wait 'til I get my hands on you off campus. Mata mo lang walang latay—"

"Addy—"

"Sinong maysabi na hindi ko siya pinatulan?"

All heads turned towards the SC President as he stood in front of them. His eyes were blank and his face was expressionless. His hands were tucked inside his pockets and his polo shirt was unbuttoned exposing his black undershirt. Seriously, bakit ba black ang shirt nito? Shouldn't it be white?

"I'll ask you again, Miss Bordejos. What makes you think that I don't like Georgina?"

The way he towered over Addison suddenly made her feel scared for her life. Fear was eminent in her eyes too as her folded arms loosened and she took a step back. She even saw her blink. Dos scoffed and the corner of his lip rose.

"Be mindful of your words, Miss Bordejos," he said taking a step closer towards Addy and rage filling his eyes. "No one talks to my first lady like that. Understood?"

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