MEREDITH’S professor immediately sent them out to the club they wanted to join after their introduction. She was on her way to the Cooking Club when she heard her nickname called.
“MER!”
Meredith turned around to see John Person, the son of her mother's first cousin.
“Hey, cous!”
Her cousin is a senior Architecture student who has been the Swimming Club MVP for three years in a row.
“Have you decided already which club you want to join?” he asked when they started walking on the pathway.
“At the Cooking Club,” she answered.
John Person nodded. “Then let me accompany you there so you don't get lost.”
Her mood lightens up. “Really?”
“Yup!”
She smiled. “Thanks, cous!”
When they got there, her cousin bid his goodbye because of a sudden meeting at the Club for the try-out of freshmen.
“Alright! I'll see you around,” she said as he ran away.
Meredith greeted everyone as she entered the Cooking Club. “G-good morning. . .”
When silence greeted her, she looked down. She was aware that all of the members’ attention was solely on her. She had the impression that she was not welcome in that club. However, two girls approached her.
“Hi, I’m Carlota! But you can call me Lota if you want. I’m the President of this club,” she said then give her a hand for a handshake which she gladly accepted.
“H-hello. . . I’m Meredith from BSBA Faculty.”
“And I’m Joebeth! The Vice President.”
“Thank you for choosing our Club from among the clubs here at BSU,” the president stated.
“To be honest, I chose this club because we had a small cake and dessert shop. My Mom is good at baking, while I’m good at different kinds of desserts,” she answered.
“So, how many years has your business been operating?” The president asked.
“Almost five years,” she answered.
Chenny, the assistant, interfered with what she said. “Great! We finally have a dessert maker!”
She shifted her gaze back and forth at them. “Y-you mean none of you can bake desserts?”
Chenny nodded. “We have been looking for a member who is good at desserts for a long time. Because we always spend a lot of money just to order outside when there are events here at the university.”
“So. . . A-am I in or out?” she nervously asked.
Carlota handed her a piece of paper. “First, register here. Then, include your contact information and social media accounts so that we can keep you updated on our upcoming activities this year.”
She quickly nodded and filled-out the form.
“Welcome to our club!” they congratulated her in unison when she finished her registration.
“Pres, aren‘t we going to test her dessert-making skills first before accepting her?” someone in the back suddenly shouted, making everyone stop.
The president approached the woman. “You heard what she said, right? She bakes and their shop has been open for almost five years, so I‘m sure she’s good, because if not, maybe their business won’t last that long.”
“What if she’s just lying to us so we can accept her easily?”
The majority agreed. That’s why the officers were forced to make her bake in front of them using the ingredients they had there. She baked cookies and everyone enjoyed it, so in the end they congratulated her again.
“Once again, welcome to our club!”
She smiled. “I’d like to thank everyone for giving me this wonderful opportunity. I swear, I will make the best desserts in the world.”
They all agreed and smiled.
After their meeting, she left the club, happy. She couldn’t believe that she’s now an official member of the cooking club. But that smile fades away when she heard a loud explosion that made her stop walking back to their classroom.
“Ah!” she screamed at the top of her lungs, covering both of her ears. She also knelt on the grass when her phobia was triggered.
“Hey, Miss! Are you all right?” a baritone voice asked, kneeling in front of her to help her to stand up.
When she looked at the man, her world stopped. It’s the guy who wears a black hoodie, her classmate.
They were very close to each other. He’s very charming and captivating. In short, he’s so attractive. She could also smell his manly scent.
“Hey, are you okay?” the guy asked again, bringing her back to reality.
“I-i’m fine! I just tripped,” she lied,wiping the dirt off her uniform.
She felt embarrassed, so she hastily turned away from him to hide her reddened cheeks when he grabbed her left arm to face her again.
“Wait! Have we met before?” he asked out of the blue.
He gave her his deep stares again that made her heart race. His gaze has the power to turn her knees to jelly.
What was that sensation?
The guy wanted to ask her something else when suddenly someone called his name
“Hey, Randall! What on earth are you waiting for?! Our try-out will start in a minute!” the guy shouted, far from them.
The man named Randall looked at her. “Ahm, I have to go. Next time, look where you’re going, okay?”
She nodded as he ran towards his colleagues.
She held her chest. She felt like she had known that man for a long time. But what surprised her the most was that she easily controlled her phobia when she got close to him.
She asked herself. “Who really are you?”
THE NEXT DAY, Meredith was awakened by a knock on her door. It was her mom, saying that she was going to be late for class. She quickly got up and went to the bathroom. She wakes up late again even though she goes to bed early at night.
And just like before, she was surprised again when she saw the dry tears on her face.
“Am I having a nightmare again?” she asked herself in the mirror.
Later on, memories from her dreams resurfaced in her mind once again.
________________________
ONE NIGHT, a couple were sitting in a park, watching the stars in the sky when the guy suddenly asked the girl when he notice that she had been quiet for a while.
He lifts her chin. “Hey, what’s wrong? Why you’re so quiet?”
“I have already admitted to Dad that we’re in a relationship. He investigated you and he thinks that you were only just after my money. He’s so cruel as if it were your fault you were born poor.”
“You can’t blame your father for reacting like that. He doesn’t want you to end up just like what happened to your Mom.”
The girl remained silent. He just simply wrapped his arm around her and placed her head on his shoulder.
The girl sighed then clasped their hand. “If the day comes that we die and live again in this world, do you think we can find each other again?”
The boy laughed. “What are you saying? You’re quite dramatic. You should discontinue watching dramas.”
The girl slightly hits the right arm of the boy. “Hey, I’m serious!”
Another long moment of silence draped over them before the boy spoke up. “Of course! If we are truly meant to be together, we will meet again in our next life.”
“Really?! Do you really believe it will happen again?”
The boy nodded. “I promise you that I will find you no matter what. I will not stop until I see you.”
“What if we were born in different places or countries?”
“I will fly all over the world. I will even cross the oceans, rivers, and mountains just to find you.”
The girl smiled. Her heart was overflowing with happiness.
“I also promise you that I will find you no matter what,” she said, raising her little finger in front of him.
The boy smiled and accepted her little finger as a symbol of their love for one another.
“I love you so much,” the girl said passionately.
“I love you too,” the boy said as they pressed their foreheads together, not taking his gaze away from his girlfriend.
_______________________
MEREDITH wiped her tears. She was disturbed once more by those lovers she had never met before. Sometimes, it suddenly appears in her mind for reasons she doesn’t understand. The lovers appear to be happy in her dreams, so why does she wake up in tears?