"Miss Marquez, it saddens me to say that you might not graduate this semester. While your grades were high in the 1st and 2nd grading periods, your performance dropped significantly in the 3rd and 4th," Mrs. Cruz said with a disappointed tone.
"Ma'am, I am kindly requesting if there is any way to remedy my situation. Can I retake the exams? I really want to graduate," Ellie pleaded desperately to Mrs. Cruz for her understanding
"Ms. Marquez, the final grades have already been released, and there's nothing more we can do about it. I've given you a chance several times before for this, hoping you would make things right, but you chose to ignore it. I heard the news about you and Mr. Noah Javier, but this isn't a reason to ruin your future. You are talented and admired by your classmates; I hope that next time, you'll return to being the person you used to be."
Please ma'am, I'll do anything, just please let me graduate," she pleaded tearfully to their dean.
But the dean simply removed her glasses and shook her head.
"Again, I'm really sorry, but there's nothing more I can do," she said gently. "You've had your chances."
Ellie stepped out of the dean's office, her heart heavy, feeling like she bore the weight of the world upon her.
She knew she had been careless in her studies during the past months, and she was called to the administration's office several times warning her that she would lose the chance of being a summa cum laude if she continued to be negligent.
Now, how could she break the news to her mother? Not only was she missing out on graduating with honors, but she wouldn't be able to graduate altogether, and she had also lost her scholarship.
But Ellie knew she couldn't hide her failure to graduate from her mother for long. Her mother was excited and had already bragged to their neighbors and relatives about having an architect graduate.
Despite being single mom, Ellie's mom had done an excellent job raising her. She consistently ranked at the top of her class, receiving awards every year during recognition day.
She sighed deeply and wiped away the tears that welled up in her eyes.
It was too late, and there was no turning back. All she could do now was embrace the failure and the pain that came with it. Ellie had been deeply wounded by her breakup with Noah; he had impregnated another woman and was now obliged to marry her according to the woman's parents' wishes. Despite the heartache, Ellie had to surrender Noah and move on.
She wanted to blame herself for Noah's betrayal, regretting that she hadn't restrained herself and given her virginity to him, perhaps then he wouldn't have sought someone else.
After numerous calls and texts with no response, she walked down the hallway.
"I heard she didn't graduate," one gossip said. "Well, serves her right, she's a bit arrogant," another added.
"Seems like she's nice though," someone else chimed in.
Ellie heard the whispers as she walked down the school hallway, catching glimpses of judgmental stares from some students while others seemed to smirk at her misfortune.
Before, she used to see admiration in the eyes of her former department mates. But now, it seemed like most of them looked at her with pity and disappointment. The President of the Architect Department had failed and wouldn't be graduating this year.
She hurriedly left the school campus, questioning why she would stay longer when she wasn't even part of the graduation practice.
Ellie's eyes widened in horror as she slowly peeled away the large hand of the man that was draped over her naked body. She couldn't recall the events that led her to this place, with an unknown man beside her. She turned to look at the sleeping man, lying on his side with his mouth agape, his face nearly obscured by the thickness of his beard.
Ellie shuddered at the realization that she had given herself to a stranger. Who was he, and how did they end up sleeping next to each other? She whispered to herself in disbelief, feeling the hangover cloud her senses, and noticing the discomfort and pain between her legs.
Carefully, she rose from the bed, her heart sinking even further when she saw the stain of blood on the bedsheets. Something had indeed happened between her and the man. She wanted to confront him, to slap him across the face, but she restrained herself. What if he was an addict or a criminal? Oh my God, what was happening?
She whispered to herself in confusion as she slowly gathered her scattered clothes from the floor, most of them torn and forcibly removed from her body. Despite their condition, Ellie still put them on.