I tapped my foot impatiently as I waited for our group member to arrive.

"Seriously, anong petsa na? May matatapos pa ba tayo nito?", Klarisse Tiu spoke in annoyance as she yawned on her seat.

We are here in their place just near mine and it was agreed to meet at exactly ten in the morning for us to accomplish our group tasks before Midterms even began.

I hate cramming. I really do.

I may not be a straight A student like most of my classmates are but if I can have a semester where I can pass with flying colors, why not, right?

There's no harm in studying and doing the best I can after all.

"That's it. I'm outta here.", I sighed and grabbed the strap of my bag. Elisse Daniels halted me from standing and gestured to someone who just came in their study area.

"Sino ang gwapong-gwapong namiss niyo?", Drake grinned as if he's the best man on earth. He had this look of triumph on his face and I blew a strand of my hair which flew on the side of my face and sat again. "Sa'n punta mo, Shey? Bonding muna tayo!"

Drake Gimenez, yes. The crew at Blended Haven, the cafe across our village, is here. He's my classmate in two subjects and he just annoys the hell out of me.

"Excuse me, Drake. Andito tayo para gawin ang project. Please lang. May lakad pa ako after nito.", Klarisse said sarcastically and opened her laptop. She is seated on their carpeted floor and turned to where he was standing to glare at him.

Finally! Someone said it!

I sat back on their pink couch and started pulling out my Huawei Matebook D. As soon as it was on, I dragged the cursor to my folder named SY 22-23 Reports and began doing what needs to be done.

"Etong sa'yo, K. Chill ka lang.", he began handing out frappe and drinks to everyone and I ignored him. "Hazelberry Frappe for El and a slice of Devil's Choco Cake for everyone." His gaze turned to me and chuckled. "'Andito naman pala ang baby ko! Here's your croissant, Shey!"

I rolled my eyes and faced Elisse who was giggling on her seat, "I had my part done. Is there anything I need to add here?" I showed her my presentations as she widened her eyes as her way of asking me about me and Drake.

"Pansinin mo naman ako, Baby." Drake cooed on his seat and forked a slice of the croissant. "Say aaah! Dali, tikman mo to!"

My forehead creased in annoyance when he brought the food to my face. "Open your mouth, baby Shey!"

Opposed to what he wanted to do, I kept my mouth shut and worked on my part.

"Nangangawit na ako oh. Ano ba 'yan!", he began to complain with his arm in position to feed me the croissant.

"Mang—", I should haven't said it aloud but Drake got the chance to shove the food into my mouth just in time, my stomach growled which earned a laugh from our group.

And even him.

"Quit complaining, baby Shey! For sure, hindi ka na naman nag-almusal niyan.", he said as-a-matter-of-factly and continued slicing the croissant into bite-sized pieces. He was serious into feeding me these stuff even if I refused to.

I had no choice but to chew the food that he has given me. As soon as the croissant was sliced into pieces, he handed the plate to me and gave me a lopsided smile.

"Ikaw? Anong pagkain mo?", I asked him out-of-the-blue as I took the plate from him. I pushed the laptop for a while and placed the plate.

Others are also savoring the treats which he had bought from the cafe. Food indeed was the thing that would silenced us.

"Don't worry about me. Kumain na ako kanina. Okay na ako rito sa Iced Mocha.", he said and stretched his legs on the carpeted floor beside me.
"So, pang-ilan nga tayo magrereport?"

Since almost all of us have finished eating, we dived into our agenda for the day. Our group meeting ended past one in the afternoon so we had our lunch here in Elisse's place.

Klarisse got out immediately and went to her business. It was me and Drake who was left alone and were walking out of Elisse's mansion

"So, I gotta go. Thanks for buying us some snack." I said to him just to kill the awkward silence.

"Wait, Shey." He stopped my arm when I was about to turn to my house. I met his eyes and he smiled, "oks lang ba na samahan mo muna ako?"

"Ha?", I blinked absentmindedly as I was lost in his gaze.

"I need to buy something for my Deena. Birthday niya na next week.", he added and let go of my arm.

"Fine.", I said without asking who Deena is. We walked in silence to the local bookstore inside our village.

Suddenly, the rain poured and we ran inside the bookstore just in time.

"Hay! Ano ba yan! Ang init-init naman! Tapos biglang uulan!", I heard one customer complained and dried his shirt as he sought shelter inside the bookstore.

"Naku, Shey! Sorry, nabasa ka pa 'ata ng ulan dahil saken!", Drake looked at me apologetically and I shook my head.

"It's alright. It was inevitable.", I answered and wiped my arms dry. The coldness of the aircon didn't give justice to the already chilly atmosphere inside the store.

"Tara? Tingin na tayo?", he asked, changing the topic.

We started walking around to find something sensible and suitable for Deena. Whoever she was.

"There are things that we can control and there are those who we cannot. Let life surprise you."

That quote struck me and I knew right then and there that it will have an impact on me.

"Uy! Ito! Mukhang marami siyang matututunan dito!", Drake saw what halted me in my tracks and grinned. "Tama nga talaga ang nilapitan kong tao. Salamat, Shey!"

Food for the Soul.

He took it from the book stand and pulled out his wallet.

I saw the book and bought one for myself too. I grabbed his book and paid them on the counter.

"Uy, amin na! Hala! Ako na magbabayad!", he tried to yank it away from me but the Cashier punched them already and I had them sealed in separate paperbags. I had placed my book inside my bag.

"Ako na. Hinintay ko rin etong edition na to." I said and gave the book to him. "It's nice to know that someone loves reading as much as I do. Greet her happy birthday for me."

Gladly, the rain stopped and I was out the door, leaving him alone.