BEEP BEEP BEEP
The sound of an alarm clock echoed in the dimly lit room. The clock was then tapped by a worn-looking hand, then stopped beeping. The time read 10:31 AM. A yawn escaped from the mouth of a young-looking man as he groggily lifted off the covers from his slim body.
His feet touched the floor, staring at the grey wooden floor panels for a few minutes. As minutes passed, he had already thought about his plans for the day. He remembered that his mother told him that they were out of rice and planned to go grocery shopping after he'd gotten refreshed.
He didn't remember what day it was since he was basically on 'vacation'. He had dropped out of school a few years back due to an incident with a female classmate that had blown up on social media.
'Those damned bastards, I would've finished school in a few months but you just had to post that stupid video!' the young man thought while gritting his teeth and clenching his fist.
...
The video showed a young woman who had gentle proportions around her chest with a slight curve to the waist standing in front of a young man holding flowers in his hands. You could then hear the snickering of the teens in the background of the video.
"Are you recording? Is he really asking her out?" one of the cameramen snorted in disbelief.
"Yeah... No way this dude has balls big enough to ask her out, she even denied Bren's confession." the other teen covered his mouth trying to hold in his laughter.
"True, I thought Bren had a chance after he placed fourth in entrance exams. Plus his daddy is a big shot" he replied smirking.
The teens then watched as words were exchanged with the young woman and young man. Their mouths slightly widened as the beautiful girl reached over and grabbed a single flower from the bouquet, placed it underneath her perfectly pointed nose, and smiled playfully.
"Thank you, Jehiel" her sweet voice rang in the ears of students around the area.
"N-No problem Rehani!" Jehiel straightened his back, surprised at her reaction.
Rehani twisted her body around and walked away slowly, her smile then quickly turned into a cold gaze and shifted her gaze to a trashcan near a bench. She walked over to the trashcan and snapped the flower in half, then proceeded to toss it inside the bin. Without even taking a glance back at Jehiel, she walked away and had a slight smirk visible on her unblemished face.
Jehiel dropped the bouquet on the concrete floor and stood there with his hands trembling. The rustling of the trees and murmur of other students' conversations were the only things that could be heard. Then, two students were laughing hysterically wearing the same uniform as Jehiel, and stood up from behind the bushes. They were holding a phone in their hands pointing at Jehiel as they walked over to him.
"Tough luck buddy." the student holding the phone said, trying to keep in his laughter.
"No way you actually tried your luck with the daughter of Ken Stanvel. The thing is bud, at least you tried." the other student said with a smug face and hands in his pockets.
"It never would've been possible since Bren was denied in a heartbeat. Even if his father is the CEO of JBT Banking, Reahni didn't even flinch when Bren asked her to be his girl." the one holding the phone said.
The two students patted Jeihel's shoulder and walked away snickering. He was still standing at the same spot, next to his bouquet of flowers on the ground that he bought from the Floral Club at his school. As the two students got farther from Jeihel, they turned back and broke into laughter while pointing at the phone.
"Dude, this'll get so many views on MeTube!" one said while opening the MeTube app on his phone.
"We better split the ad revenue!" the other exclaimed with a big grin on his face.
...
Jehiel unclenched his fists and exhaled as he slumped over from the thought of the incident. It was clear that he was frustrated since he should be in his final year of school but was at home still living with his parents.
"At least I have a job that pays me fairly and I enjoy working there." Jehiel sighed and stood up from the queen-sized daybed.
As he stood up on his feet, he looked for his phone and searched his pockets, he then looked under his pillow but it was nowhere to be found. As he stood up, he heard a sound of buzzing and rattling. He looked over at his table across the room and saw his blinding phone screen in the dark room.
"Oh, there it is. Do I have work today?" the young man said in a tired tone.
His eyes were half-open as he grabbed the vibrating phone. There were notifications from his family members, many of them were text messages and phone calls. The date read Saturday, June 18, 2024. Jehiel was looking at the notifications on his phone and remembered that today was his birthday.
[Auntie Julia] Happy bday J-L!
[Mom] We made your food, it's downstairs if you're hungry. Happy Birthday!
[Dad] Sup boy! I left you a little something on the dining table. Didn't get to pick it up cause I'm at work. The receipt is there, head to Old Fart after you eat, and don't forget the rice!
[Brat] HBD bro I'm broke so no gift from me hehe <3 either way, you wouldn't dare to have your cute little sister spend money on her uggglly brother RIGHT?
[Notifications 15+]
Jehiel scoffed at his sister's text message and scrolled through the notifications, but one stood out to him the most. His face brightened up when he read the text.
[Boss Old Fart] Mornin' bud! Your shipment is here, I'm surprised your dad bought this piece for you, he doesn't look like the type to know about these types of things. Come pick it up J! Happy birthday as well... I know you're scheduled to work today but take the day off. It isn't that busy anyway. As a gift, I added some personal touches to the piece, I hope you like it. It'll be taken off your pay of course since it was pretty expensive! Hah! Kidding... I wish.
"Heh," Jehiel's lips curved up slightly and his eyes had a tinge of excitement as he walked towards the window with the curtains draped over them.
He slid his phone back into his pocket and pushed the curtains to the side slowly. Warm sunlight engulfed his room and erased the darkness from the previously dim room. Raising his arms in the air stretching, Jehiel let out a slight sigh of relief. It was his birthday, and he didn't want to start it off sour thinking about the past.