"All my friends are girls, who should I go with? Otherwise, I won't go. You guys can go!" Johanna said angrily. She thought her dad was making a fuss about nothing. Why did he have to bring a partner to the party? Wasn't he deliberately trying to make her feel bad for not having a boyfriend?
"You have to go even if you don't want to because your dad wants you to find a boy you like at the party," came the serious voice from her phone.
"Okay, okay! I'll figure something out! It's like they're arranging everything for me as if they're afraid I won't get married or something, hmph." Johanna huffed.
"Forgetting to tell you, your pursuer Harold will also be there," came the news that Johanna didn't want to hear from her phone.
After hanging up the phone, Johanna turned to her friend Cheryl in distress and asked: "Cheryl, what should I do? My aunt wants me to attend my dad's party tomorrow night and insists on bringing a partner; otherwise we won't be allowed in. I don't want to go but my dad is insisting that I must attend. Where am I going to find a boyfriend?"
Cheryl laughed while sitting on the bed: "Me! I can dress up as a man so both of us can go."
"You?" Johanna looked at Cheryl whose chest was bigger than hers. Even if she tied it tightly with cloth strips it would still be easy for anyone with eyesight could see that she was female. Johanna shook her head and said: "No way! Your chest is too big; even blind people could tell."
"What should I do?" Cheryl was in a dilemma. Johanna's dad is hosting a party and she has to go, but she'll be accompanying her own dad so there's no need to worry about getting in. However, it's different for Johanna's dad - he'll be going with her mom while her aunt will be going with her uncle, leaving Cheryl feeling like the odd one out and having to figure things out on her own. She could easily find someone else to go with, but she cares about saving face and doesn't want people laughing at her if she were to just randomly bring someone along.
"You know what? How about I ask Rosendo to go with me?" Johanna said excitedly.
She didn't know why when considering which guy to invite along, the first person who came to mind was Rosendo.
"But will he agree? After all, he rejected your confession," Cheryl doubted.
"Don't bring up the confession thing! There's no need for you to say it!" Johanna glared at Cheryl. Her confession to Rosendo had become a stain in her life; she didn't want anyone mentioning it as every time it was brought up made her feel sad and wronged.
"Okay okay! Let's not talk about it anymore! Here's an idea: you can talk to him tomorrow and if he doesn't agree, give him some money. I believe he'll agree then," Cheryl suggested.
On the second day, Johanna and Cheryl arrived early at the entrance of New Mountain University. They were waiting for Rosendo, but when it was almost time for class, they finally saw Vanessa who had been with Rosendo all day, but didn't see Rosendo.
"Vanessa, where is Rosendo?" Johanna couldn't help asking loudly before Vanessa even approached them.
"He has something to do and won't come to class today," Vanessa said lightly. She didn't like Johanna mentioning her Rosendo.
"Where is he now? I have something important I need from him." Johanna asked again anxiously
"I don't know either," Vanessa said selfishly. She thought since Rosendo didn't like Johanna anyway, she might as well not tell her that he was at home.
"Then give me his phone number," Johanna had made up her mind to find Rosendo and have him accompany her to her father's crazy party.
"Rosendo didn't bring his phone. If you want to find him, wait until tomorrow! It's almost time for class; I'm leaving now, bye!" Vanessa said before ignoring Johanna completely.
Cheryl stepped forward and said to Johanna: "Don't forget that all student information is available in the school system. She might not have told you because she's afraid of losing Rosendo but we can go ask the school for Rosendo's information!"
After checking Rosendo's information in the school system and finding out where he lived outside, Johanna and Cheryl went to find him according to the address. They passed through tall buildings and finally arrived at a small village off the beaten path. "So this is a small village near our school," exclaimed Cheryl.
She had seen villages like this on TV but had never been to one before, so she was thrilled to see it in person. It was as if she had discovered a new world.
Johanna and Cheryl walked around the poor little village looking for Rosendo's house, which didn't have any house numbers. Every time they passed by a house, they would sneakily peek inside to see if Rosendo was there. This made many villagers think that these two girls were thieves; an old man even cursed them out saying that they were young and not studying well because they went around stealing things.
Johanna and her friends quickly explained the situation to the old man. After listening to their explanation, he personally took them to Rosendo's place. On the way there, he even said to Johanna and her friends, "You all like Rosendo, right? If you do, then you better act fast. There are many girls in our village vying for his attention!"
"I don't like him; she does," joked Cheryl as she pointed at Johanna.
"Cheryl, if you say that again I'll get angry," replied Johanna sternly with an annoyed expression on her face.
When they arrived at Rosendo's place, the old man shouted loudly into the room: "Rosendo! Are you here? Someone is looking for you."
After some time had passed, Rosendo came out of his room surprised when he saw it was Johanna and Cheryl who were looking for him. "Johanna? Cheryl? What brings you here?" he asked.
"Rosendo, I would like to invite you to a party hosted by a businessman," said Johanna.
"A party? No thanks, I'm busy! Find someone else!" Rosendo refused without even thinking about it.
Cheryl whispered in Johanna's ear: "I told you so! If you invite him, he won't go. But if you pay him, he'll definitely go."
Upon hearing Cheryl's words, Johanna said to Rosendo, "Consider it as my treat and you can name the price."
Rosendo actually considered it because he was really short on money at the moment. He lived in a poor place and had poor food; his family didn't have any electrical appliances or phones. Moreover, Vanessa's family was struggling financially and he wanted to help her out.
"What is the highest amount that you can offer?" Rosendo decided that if Johanna offered a high enough price then he would go.