Chapter 3: Yes I do the working!

"For next week's group project, I want you guys to find a partner for business research. I need your full report by next week Friday." Mr. Ferrer is one of our Major Subject professors and he's quite strict not accepting any late project submission.

I worked with my best friend Jenna before and we made a great team. I looked over to her and gave her a signal for us to be partners again and we know we will ace this next group project. As usual, all the other girls in the room wanted to be partners with Luke.

"By the way, Mr.Fuentabella you are new here so I want you to be partners with Mr.Blanco." Mr. Ferrer announced.

I was stunned when I heard my name and I looked at Mr.Ferrer, "You are the class representative, you are fit for this task," he said then grab his things and left the room. I thought I heard that before?

I still can't say anything and I turned my head over to my right seeing this evil man smiling. It's a weird kind of smile.

"I guess we'll be stuck together for a week," he said. There's something in his voice that made me worry more. He stood up and gave me a tap on my shoulder before leaving the room. I'm still in shock. The other girls gave me a mean look I just turned around to get away from them.

-----

"Why is this happening to me, Jen?" I asked feeling down, I just played with my meal on the plate since I got no appetite.

"That's okay Bes, just think of it as an opportunity to get more information about Luke," she said.

"I know, I had thought of that already but we can do much better on this research together, " I said.

"Don't worry about it, I already convinced Niko to be my partner, and maybe it's my chance to get close to him," she blurted out thoughtlessly.

"What?", was surprised to hear it from her. I saw her flinch.

"Nothing! I said... maybe... I'm a better partner for him," she said slowly making sure I heard her right.

"Huh?" I looked at her with a smirk.

"I mean (let out a nervous laugh) ..for research... Partner for this research paper... That's it... Yeah... That's it." She said.

"Aaah... okay." I nodded not believing her. "Are you sure that's all?" I teased her again.

She just shoved her sandwich into my mouth and said, "Just eat up already... You're hearing things because you're hungry."

We were fooling around when I heard someone faked a cough. We both raised our heads and saw Luke standing in front of our table. I saw Jen's eyes changed from being savage to be so endearing.

"Hi, Luke! What can I do for you?" she said with a sweet tone.

He then handed out a yogurt drink. I saw Jenna's eyes widened and smiled.

"For me?" she's about to accept it with both hands when...

"For him." I looked at him muddled.

"Me?" I asked.

"Just take it, Bes," Jen whispered

with her eyes widened and closed teeth.

I glanced at Luke and our eyes met. I felt shy and don't know what to do, then...

"No, thanks!" came out of my mouth.

I saw the change in his expression then he abruptly put the bottle down on the table, strong enough for us to feel his tension, then he went his way to where his friends are sitting.

"What's his problem?" I asked Jen still appalled with what just happened.

"You should have accepted it..." She answered then took a peek above my shoulders. "He's looking this way, Bes!" she said while trying to hide in front of me.

"Huh! Who does he think he is to act like that? Wait here... Let me show him what's he's asking for..." I was really upset. I tried to get up to confront Luke but Jen stopped me.

"Don't! He looks so mad!" she said. "Let's just get out of here, let's go!" She grabbed my hand and pull me out of the cafeteria. On our way out, we came across Claire and saw her walked towards Luke.

-----

"So you now believe me when I told you he's arrogant? He's so aggressive! Well if he thinks that I'm afraid of him, he's wrong! He found his match," I blurted out but Jenna was not really listening to me all this time. She's her peculiar self again. "Really? Jen? I said a lot but you're actually spacing out."

She let out a small laugh. "I heard you.! I did! But Luke was really cool back there and it's cute to see him working his way up to you.".

"What are you saying?" I asked quite bugged.

"Uhm... The other day, I saw him staring at you... He's looking at you with so much passion... It burns... I just don't know why you haven't melt yet," She said mocking me.

"Idiot! He's probably working his evil mind on how to get under my skin". I replied.

".. or... Under-.. ..neath your pants..." Jen mocked me again, "I better take note of it for my story!" she added then pulled out her phone and started typing. I tried to take her phone from her and stop her from being so obsessed with her fantasy. But she fled her way out did not give me a chance to say another word.

From afar I saw Niko waving at me, I walked forward to meet him halfway.

"Oh Bro, what's up?" I asked.

"Do you have something to do after school? Let's go to the arcade, my treat! We haven't done that for a while now," Niko said trying to convince me.

"I really want to go... But... I need to report to my part-time job after school," I really wanted to go with them.

"Ah, I see... Eh... this weekend?" he asked.

"Same bro... I need the money that I will earn trough this job to help my mom," I explained.

"Oh, what happened to your mom?" I can tell he's worried.

"It's a long story," I took a sigh. "..I will be busy for quite some time. But, I'll make it up to you bro... Promise!."

I tapped his shoulder and made our way back to our building.

We were almost there when we saw Luke treading hastily to the parking lot. He's being followed by his fans and screamed his name all around. Then he drove his way out of the school.

"Look at that guy... He even got the guts to skip class," I said.

"Well, if I were him... I will do the same just to get away from a herd of zombies..." Niko said working his humor.

Then all the girls turned around to face us with a mad expression on their faces.

"Bro, I think they can smell your brain and want to eat you," I whispered to him.

"Run!" he screamed. Then we ran away from Luke's rampaging zombie fans.

-----

I was cleaning the table of our last customer for tonight. People went in one after another, it was a busy day and I almost forgot about the time. I glanced at the digital clock on the counter, it's almost 10:00 PM.

"You did a good job for tonight, Kris," That's the name I have on my name tag.

"Thank you, sir!" I said.

"You can go home now, get some rest because tomorrow I need you here an hour before we open. I'll teach you about the inventory," he said.

"Okay, sir... Got it!" I answered.

I was getting my bag and cellphone from my locker when I noticed several missed calls from my mom. I forgot to call her when things got so busy... I said goodbye to the manager and head home.

As I walk my way home. I felt uneasy. Every time I moved forward, I felt like someone is watching me. I made sudden turns to see anyone nearby but there's no one. My fear elevate when I realized I need to pass through the road where a known haunted house was located. I walked slowly. The silence made my senses sharp. All I can hear now are the shrills of the bugs. Then... the feeling of being followed came in and I thought maybe its a mugger. He expected me to walk this way and I'm stupid enough to fall into his trap. My heart was beating fast and I'm starting to get scared. When I heard a branch snapped, I made a run for it. I can now see our street and when I'm almost there, someone suddenly appeared from the corner of the street. I yelped thinking it was the mugger but...

"Why are you screaming like you've seen a ghost?"

Heard a familiar voice.

"And why did you went home this late? It's almost midnight!" It's my brother Lance.

Thank God!

We talked on our way home. I apologized to him and told him about what happened. He understood and just advised me to call Mom in case I will be working late so she won't worry. My brother spent extra time in their office after working hours just to finish a presentation for his boss tomorrow. He got this job in a real estate company. When we came home we saw mom sleeping on the couch in the living room, she must have fallen asleep while waiting for me.

"Look at what you did?" My brother told me, "...take her to her room, I need to take a shower." He said with his strict tone. I just nodded and walked over to mom. I woke her up and apologized and she understood. I walked her down to her room and said good night.

-----

I was in my room talking to Jenna and Niko via a video call app.

"Are you okay, Bes?" Jenna asked.

"Nothing bad happened... I was a bit scared with the thought that someone was following me," I answered as I lay down my bed.

"Could it be a stalker?" Jenna asked.

"Maybe it's a loan shark that has been looking for you since you fled away and now they found you... They will try to force you to pay for your debt," Niko said facetiously.

"That's stupid, Niko... that will never happen," I said.

"You need to be careful from now on, Tope," I can tell that Jen was worried.

"I will," I said.

"Enough with that chitchat... Kristof... do you need another helper in that café. Maybe you can talk to your manager and refer my services," Niko suggested.

"Huh? Sure! I'll ask," quite doubting the reason for what made him thought about it.

"..that way I can get discounts when I take Miya there for a date," he added. I knew it.

"As if you will get hired, you can't even brew a good coffee," Jen teased him.

"Well... There's instant coffee 3 in 1... I'll just add hot water," he answered.

"You're hopeless!" Jenna uttered and laughed at Niko's silliness.

It was fun to watch my friends teasing each other just like when we were in high school. They have not changed.

"Wait.. do you already have any ideas for your business research?" I asked cutting them off.

"We have none, yet," Niko answered.

"How about you and Luke?" Jen asked.

"We have not yet talked about it, but I sure will... I don't want him to drag me down on this," I said getting irritated again just thinking about him.

"Uhm guys, I need to go, my mom just yelled at me," Jen said close to her phone.

"Me too, I have to go, I need to call Miya," Niko waved goodbye. I saw Jen rolled her eyes.

"I'll just visit you at the café tomorrow, Bes," she said then dropped the call.

I rested my phone on my chest. I think I know why Jen reacted like that. The three of us became friends since high school and I never seen her flirted with any boys. There were few that courted her but turned them down. She said she has a special someone but she never shared who could it be. I thought it could have been Luke but she was just obsessed with him in her own fantasy land where she's shipping Luke with me. She is a good friend of mine and I want her to be happy with someone that deserves her. Maybe not now but fate will help her find true love.

True love huh? Somehow I remembered what Niko told me. I checked my phone and looked for a number. Maybe I should start mine.

<--Hi Pam.

Sent.

Then I went to sleep.

-----

I came to work an hour before the café opens. I went straight to the locker room to put on the uniform and apron. I walked my way to the back room where we will do the inventory. I heard the manager talking to someone. I came inside and there's my manager piling some stocks on the shelf and a guy facing away writing on file board.

"Sir, good morning! I'm here reporting for work," I called on to my manager.

The manager greeted me the same time the guy turned around.

"Luke?" I can't believe he's here.

"Oh! Do you know him? He's our-" the manager said but Luke cut him off.

"New helper... Crew... Staff... Yeah. I work here now." he said fidgeting and looked over to the manager. That made me suspicious of him.

"Ah... Yes! He's our newest staff... He will help us here. Right? Right!" the manager said sounded dubious "Let me just get the documents." he added, then headed to his office.

-----

There it goes... The day couldn't get any better or worse. I thought weekends will give me time to rest from the stress Luke is giving me during weekdays but I guess I can't escape from his shadow. But somehow, he seems so different, not himself. At school, he always acts so coolly and snobbish especially around girls. But right now his expression softens. Ever since this morning, I have not seen those piercing eyes and devilish smirk. After we'd finished doing the inventory, the manager told me to show Luke around and teach him how we do things properly. But Luke has been such a head-ache. The manager checks on him from time to time since he always make little mistakes here and there.

"Well... from what I heard, you live a luxurious life, You have a car right?" I asked him trying to start a conversation while we're cleaning one of the tables.

"It's not mine. My father owns it," he answered while spraying disinfectant on the table and wiped it with a cloth.

"Hmmm. And your reason to be here?" I asked him again trying to get more answers from him

He looked at me. His eyes met mine and for the first time I was not scared. "to earn money.." he said. "My father leased an apartment for me and to keep it, I need money to pay the bills," he added then took all the dishes to the wash area.

This is the first time I heard him talked about himself and the first time I see him as normal. I followed him to know more about himself.

I saw him having problems with the faucet, the dispenser, the dryer, he's all over the place. He clearly never have done this before.

"You want to earn by yourself but you can't even do this properly. Let me show you how to do it." I offered.

I taught him everything that he needs to know around the café; do the proper greeting, do proper cleaning, and do the proper serving. Well... He was able to things right, some of it, I must say, not bad for a first-timer.

It was our break time. We were sitting outside the cafe when Jenna came to visit me. Well as you know Jenna, she's a big fan of BL series and all she did right after she arrived was taking pictures of us sitting together and scream like a fanatic. Luke had enough and went inside.

"Kristofer! Bes! You look cute together! See this!" she was very excited showing me the pictures she took.

"I can't believe he's working here with you!" she said still going through the pictures.

"Me too, but he's doing it for himself," I said then looked inside and saw him tidying up a table. I just smiled.

"Really?" She's still on her phone.

"I had a chance to talk to him and I realized he's not different from us. I don't have any idea about his past but he seems to be a good guy." I immediately looked away from him when he glanced up at me.

"OMG friend! Are you falling for him?" Fangirling mode on.

"Fall my ass! Of course not!" I blurted out.

But then I remembered the conversation we had before Jenna came.

"Can I ask you a question?" He nodded. "Why don't you have any social media account?"

"I don't care about what other people share on the internet. I don't have time for it," he answered.

"I see... But you know, it will help you check on people you care about.." I came close to him. "When you need someone to talk to, just one click and you can chat or call for someone," I added.

"I can talk to them personally when I need to," he said.

"Just try it, Luke, you will like it for sure!" I told him trying to persuade him. "I'll follow you when you made one, promise," I added raising my right hand.

He just looked at me and nodded. Yes!

"Can I ask another question?" He agreed.

"Why do you act so cool at school?" I asked.

"I don't like the attention that I'm getting from everyone. I thought if I won't mind them, they will stop." I got a straight answer from him.

"Well, for someone like you its really hard not to appreciate how good looking you are... They admire you." I said trying to defend his 'fans'.

"You're not like them." He looked at me and our eyes met again.

"For me... when it comes to you.. its the other way around."

Why does my heart beat so fast? I can feel myself being drawn to his beautiful eyes. I looked away to escape from his eyes. I should not be affected like this. Then I thought maybe he's trying to tease me.

"Why do you always pick on me? Huh?" I asked. My heart still racing.

"You're cute."

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