SCARLETTE'S POINT OF VIEW
"Hey. Seriously?" I asked. Just like yesterday, I saw Asher's car in front of my gate. "What?"
"The school is just near. You are wasting gasoline."
"Correction: using, not wasting."
"Whatever. Just return your car inside your garage and return here and let us walk." I shot him with my glared eyes, trying to threaten him that I would hurt him if he did not do as I said.
In return, he looked at me lazily. "My body is too weak to walk," he reasoned out.
"So . . . " I smirked, " . . . you are weak?" He replied nonchalantly, "Yes." My smirk became larger. "Oh . . . so . . . you are a gay?" Again, without knowing, he replied, "Yeah—what the?! What did I say?!"
I laughed hard. "Wake up, Mister Sleepy. Snow White will never come and wake your sleeping mind." He pouted his lips like he always does. "First, you called me gay. Now, you called me a dwarf. That is too much for my handsome face!"
'Whoa. Too proud to himself, huh.' I rolled my eyes. "For your information, Mister Partner, I did not call you like what you are accusing me."
"Yeah, you did not call me dwarf and gay directly but indirectly."
"Oh . . . does it hurt?" I asked sarcastically. "Yeah," he held his chest like he was in pain, "It hurts. My heart hurts."
"Stop acting, Mister, and do what I said," I said, ignoring what he was doing. "I told you already. I am weak right now." I tapped his cheek to wake him, "You are not. You are just sleepy."
"So, what should I do?" he asked in a childish manner. "Do what I said." But then, he frowned. "I cannot."
"Come on. It will also help you wake yourself up!"
"Still, I cannot." This time, I frowned. "Then, I will go to school alone and forget that I have a partner." I started to walk away, not minding his reaction. So, what?
He did not follow me afterward. He was really weak.
"Good morning, Miss Sevilla," the school guard greeted me when I passed through the gate. I just nodded and smiled at him.
I looked again behind but found no trace of him. 'Oh, come on, Scarlette. What if he already arrived here but you did not notice?' I stepped backward and asked the guard who was still smiling ear-to-ear. "Sir, did you see Mister Asher Lucero?"
"Yes, I did. I saw him yesterday. He was with you, right?" I mentally rolled my eyes. 'Uh, how many times do I talk to a d-word every day?' "No, I mean this morning. Did you see him?" I repeated. "Not yet. Maybe, he will be late again."
"Thanks, Sir."
I was about to go to our classroom when I felt my phone continuously vibrate in my skirt's pocket. Someone was calling. It was Asher. I picked it up. "Hey, where are you now?" I checked my red watch. "It is seven o'clock already."
"Scarlette." My forehead creased upon hearing his voice. It sounded like a woman! "He," I chuckled, "Are you now confessing that you are gay?"
"This is your Tita – Asher's Mom." My eyes widened in shock. 'Uh-oh! What did I do?!' "Oh, sorry, Tita. Where is Asher?"
I heard her sigh from the other line. "He is in his room, resting." My smile faded. "Why, Tita? What happened?" Worry began to envelop me. "He has a fever. He is sick." So, it was the reason why he was weak and sleepy.
"Tell your adviser that he cannot go there today with his current condition." I agreed. He could not study with such distraction. "Got it, Tita. Tell him to be a good boy and drink medicine or else, I will visit him to hit his head with a baseball bat." She laughed when I said it. "Okay. Okay." Then, the call ended.
The so-called handsome face turned to a sick face, huh?
ASHER'S POINT OF VIEW
"I called her already," my pretending mom said after she entered my room. "What did you say?"
"I told her that you will be absent today because you are sick."
"What was her reaction?" I was filled with excitement. "None, but she told me to tell you that you should be a good boy and drink medicine. Otherwise, she will come to hit your head with a baseball bat." I smirked, 'That was so sweet of her.'
"How the hell did you get a fever?" she asked unbelievably, "You are a demigod." She sat on the edge of my bed. Her forehead wrinkled as she stared at me. "No idea. The most possible thing is that she accidentally did this to me earlier." That was the only possibility I could think of.
Surprise became evident on her face when she realized what I had meant. "Did she put heat in your head?" I shrugged, still, not sure. "Maybe."
"Do you think . . . her goddess part has awakened?"
"Maybe." Of course, we were not yet sure about it.
SCARLETTE'S POINT OF VIEW
'No Asher means no sharp gazes. No Asher means being alone, too. No Asher means boring also. No Asher—' I stopped on my track when somebody's hands held my right arm and forced me to face her mad face. "Your prince is missing right now, right?" She gritted her teeth as she tightened her grip. 'No Asher means I am in danger.'
I met her eyes with my calm face. "Because he is sick and he needs rest, Rhode." Yes, she was – our annoying classroom president. "So, no one is with you."
"Will you please get your hands off me? It hurts, Miss President." Instead of letting go of my arm, she made her grip tighter than before. "I will shout," I warned her. "Then go. Ask for help. Shout for help. That is where you are good at, right?" The curve on her lips widened. I bit my lower lip and clenched my fists, trying to control my temper. "Oh well, why you are good at it again? Ah, I remember now – because you are a weakling."
"What is wrong with you? What do you want from me?" I asked, breathing deeply. "None. I just want to tell you that you are weak." 'Stupid! I already know. No need to tell me, dumb!'
"No need to tell me, President." I sighed in defeat. I did not want to pour oil into the fire. "Good . . . because you are weak." I met her gaze. "No need to emphasize that."
"Why? Are you hurt?"
"I am not. It just that . . . it makes you an immoral president." There, I told her. "The weak called me immoral. How weak . . . " I clenched my fists, even more, losing every inch of my temper.
All of sudden, a ring of fire appeared around us.
"What the hell is happening?!" Rhode shouted, panicking. She let go of my arm.
I looked at the fire. It grew larger and larger, trapping us inside.
I glared at Rhode and accused her, "You did this?!" She shook her head frantically. "No, I did not. I-I swear." My jaw tightened. I was not sure if I believed her or not. "Then who?!" Still, she was shaking her head.
I shot my whole attention to the fire. 'How will we get out of here?!'
ASHER'S POINT OF VIEW
My pretending mom's eyes turning white made me sit down even I felt dizzy.
"A-Asher . . . she made a ring of fire. Her flame has awakened."
'Then . . . it means . . . she is ready.'