"Oh, we have a guest." Beauty came out from her room, wearing a red shirt and a pair of jeans, the girl newly bathed. Her long wet black hair draped past her shoulders. Her face was flushed red after a hot bath. Her smile was so beautiful, mesmerizing the boy sitting on the couch.
The old man at the side was observing these two's faces. Clarence was looking at her with sparkling eyes. There were delight and tenderness shown on his face. Beauty was staring at this boy, with this pondering look on her face. Then, she asked ...
"Have we met before? Your face seems familiar."
"Hi, I'm Clarence. Yes, we've met before. I was with your classmate, Chevy, when I first saw you. You didn't notice me at that time."
"Oh, really? ... By the way, my name is Beauty. Hmm, Chevy..."—she was pouting while thinking. She then suddenly smiled—"Chevy Roque?"
"Yes, that's him."
"No wonder I find you familiar. Where did we meet? Sorry, just trying to recall."
"It was in your classroom. I just went there to get Chevy. We left right away."
"Beauty, he is the son of Clyde and Claire. Remember the couple? Their company was one of the major sponsors of the last event here." Grand Daddy interrupted while introducing Clarence properly to Beauty.
"Oh really? How are they, I mean your parents?"
The conversation kept rolling between the two until breakfast was served. Sometimes, the elders and Ronald would contribute on the topic at hand, but it would just divert back to the two. The elders had long sensed that the boy, Clarence, had set his sights on their girl.
His eyes were full of joy and affection for their girl. It was as if talking with Beauty for the whole day would be pleasurable for him. So they let them talk by themselves. But for Ronald, he felt alone. His Boss wouldn't allow him to speak much with Beauty. He was helpless; the boss was the boss.
. . . . . .
Five days passed. Clarence had the time of his life, conversing with Beauty every day. Actually, he was the one taking the initiative to approach and talk to her. Subsequently, he found out cooking was really her favorite topic. Also, their communication went longer as if continued by their electronic correspondence at night.
(Hey, this guy Clarence said he grew up trained by real chefs. I wished I grew up in that kind of environment too. I'm jealous. What're ya doing?
Waiting for your reply. I know you're online now.
Beauty)
(Hi,
Based on the photos you sent, I believe you're a good cook in both taste and food presentation. Why envy him? Btw, where did you learn all that?
Busy with work.
Your Romeo)
---------------------
(My first teacher with cooking was my mother. My second teacher was my Aunt, my mom's only sibling. My other teachers are online blogs and videos, mainly on Youtube. Hahaha, nice teachers, right? That's why I'm jealous of Clarence.
Please reply now.
Your Beautiful Beauty)
(You still have good teachers like your Mom and Aunt. But I'm curious. Your emails are so full of this Clarence. Do you like him?
Your Romeo)
---------------------
(What? What do you mean? 'Like' like I'm in love with him? I'm not in love with him. You're so mean.
Grrr, I'm the angry Beauty now.)
(Ooh, I'm afraid. I'm shivering right now. Afraid of angry Beauty. You won't be beautiful if you're angry. Well, I'm going to sleep now. Just get your Beauty sleep too.
Good night,
Your Romeo)
. . . . . .
The next day, after eating breakfast, Clarence was at a loss; the girl seemed to be avoiding him.
He thought he overdid it. He felt depressed. He was sure his email last night pushed her to be distant from him. He sighed and decided that he should be careful about what to write next time.
Regretful, he tried a topic to talk with her.
"How about we try a little experiment on your idea of making food look like a thing, like a sea coral," suggested Clarence.
"What? How did you know that?"
Oops, he forgot she only shared it in her email to Your Romeo two nights ago. He really needed to be extra careful. He made two mistakes already. He had two identities, but he only got one memory bank, his own brain. Clarence had to make sure to separate the two different inputs he received from the other, though it was really hard.
"Oh, that's quite coincidental. I just thought of that since you like experimenting with food, and we're near the sea. Anyway, how about that subject? That would be a nice experiment." Crafty indeed, Beauty was taken with his suggestion for he knew her interests. Still, she was a little doubtful of this guy.
Beauty started to surmise that this guy knew Your Romeo. With her good memory, the only person to whom she mentioned that idea to was Your Romeo.
After lunch, since the elderly man was free at this moment, he brought the two boys to tourist spots, with Beauty tagging along. Of course, the man in love made sure he was beside the girl all the time while the elder was with the other young man. This made Ronald displeased.
At almost sunset, tourist girls went to the beach with their sexy two-piece bikinis. When Ronald saw this, he decided to do some sightseeing by himself. This was way better than being with a smelly old man.
The three went home later. As they arrived, Grand Daddy left the two outside the house.
"Ah, if only this would last." Clarence unexpectedly spoke his mind. Another 'oops'.
"What would last?" asked Beauty.
"Oh, I was hoping that the cleanliness of this place will last." He thought he easily evaded the question. But he didn't, not with a witty girl like Beauty.
The girl was beginning to get curious about this guy next to her. She was also thinking of asking him about Your Romeo, but she remained unsure.
As for the guy, he was considering whether he would tell the girl that he was her email pal, Your Romeo, or not. When would be the right time to tell her, too?
Beauty continued to study the boy. 'Clarence is handsome and charming, but will he be better than Your Romeo? What will I do if Your Romeo asks to meet me? Do they really know each other? Which one of them should I choose?'
Clarence started to get soaked in cold sweat. 'Will she reject me if she learns I'm the one who called her 'fat and ugly' first? Will she be able to forgive me? What will I do? She seems to be more open to my alias, Your Romeo, than to my real self.'
Complicated feelings lingered between them. Beauty remained a little distant when she was with Clarence, while the young man was trying to make the girl fall in love to his real self and not to the imaginary Your Romeo.