12 The Spy and The Chaperone

R A N I E

The weekend has finally come! I felt like the school works took all my energy and made me ugly. But hey, it doesn’t matter as long as I’m able to retain my rank.

After taking a shower, I went to my study room and turned the laptop on. I have nothing to do anyway, so might as well feed myself some information by browsing through the Social Media.

“Cool. A lot of girls from my school added me on Facebook.” I smirked as I accepted the friend requests. “Alright. Let’s us all be friends!”

I read the messages, too. I scrolled down and noticed the unseen message from Tania. She hasn’t been active for the past three days. But the Rank One has made an exception today!

Tania Louvelle Estrada

Active now

10:32 pm

Ranie, please accept Andrei’s friend request. And don’t think you’re special ‘coz he added everyone in 4-A. I told him to do so.

Seen

What does that mean?

I typed I my reply while she’s still online.

9:40 am

Sure! Your wish is my command! ^. ^

I closed our conversation. When I found her Andrei’s name, I deleted his friend requests quickly and continued to scroll down like nothing happened.

I took out my phone and sent a text message to Dwight.

To: Jaranilla Jr.

Andrei added me on Facebook and I deleted his friend request! How ‘bout a ‘thank you’ for proving my loyalty to you?

I was about to put the phone down when it suddenly rang.

Why is Shy Type calling me?

I leaned my back on the swivel chair and swayed it lightly. “Hello, Stacie? Sup?”

“You need to go to the mall right now,” she answered lazily. I could imagine her I-don’t-care-just-do-as-you’re-told face.

Is she asking me for a date?

My lips parted as I shifted on my seat uncomfortably. “Woah! Easy, Stace! You should’ve told me sooner if you wanted to ask me out! I’m busy! My schedule’s full—”

“What?! Will you shut up and listen to me first? This thick-faced is really getting on my nerves…” she murmured to herself, but I heard that.

I frowned. “Hey. You’re being mean, young lady.”

“Whatever. Just talk to Matt…” I heard some static noises in the background. It faded immediately when I heard Matthew’s irritated voice on the line. “Hello?! Stop what you’re doing right now and come here before I drag you out of your house!”

I almost cussed when he ended the call without letting me speak. Why are they bossing me around? What on earth had happened?

Without a choice, I stepped inside my closet and changed my clothes. Since I couldn’t drive yet, I hailed a cab and told the driver to drop me off at the mall.

Matthew texted me their location and I hurriedly went there as soon as I arrived. In the distance, I saw him with Stacie, Danielle, and Dana. They were flocking to the hotdog stand and didn’t even notice that I was watching them from behind.

“So, what’s with this sudden meetup?” I asked, making them turn around to face me.

Matthew greeted me with a fist bump. “Finally! We’ve been waiting for you!”

“Yeah, I know. But I tried to get here as fast as I could,” I looked at Stacie who seemed to be hiding herself behind Danielle. “So, what happened? What’s this about?”

“Well, apparently, Dwight and Audrey are here! He’s acting like her chaperone,” Dana explained.

Wide-eyed, I parted my lips. “Really?! But why would he do that?”

Stacie cleared her throat, so I automatically glanced at her. “I read their conversation yesterday. Audrey pleaded Dwight to be her chaperone, and he agreed. That’s basically it.”

What?! She’s our rival! He must’ve lost his s*it!

“Audrey will represent her class for Miss Alfheim. I could feel like she’s gonna buy everything she needs today including our dearest friend’s trust and favor!” Danielle said agitatedly.

I don’t really get him! I thought…

I raised my eyebrow. “So, you’re saying that we’re all gathered in here to spy on them?”

“You got it, dude,” Matthew tapped my shoulder and calmy sat on the iron bench to eat the hotdog.

“Anyway, where’s Cailah?” I asked the girls, when I noticed that the most aggressive one in our group wasn’t here.

Matthew stopped eating and answered my question immediately. “She’s not answering her phone. She’s obviously busy making some good food in their house.”

I nodded my head and let them finish their food first. I was really worried thinking about Dwight’s real motive behind this. I’ve known him for so long that I knew he wouldn’t do anything that he does impulsively. But right now, I felt like he has some sort of a plan, which I have no idea what for.

We started our “hunt” right off the bat. We don’t know where to go, so we just followed the girls’ instincts and went to some popular clothing store. But unfortunately, we didn’t see them after walking around for an hour.

“I’m quite tired. Let’s rest for a bit.”

When Stacie said “rest”, she meant she wanted to eat something sweet. I watched her walked towards the ice cream stand as she got hypnotized by the vendor.

“Oh! I want one, too!” Dana followed her immediately.

“Girls! Don’t forget about me!” Danielle ran so fast when she turned around and realized that those two are gone.

Matthew and I laughed at them. They can be bossy and too hard to handle sometimes, but we really treasure them and always protect them like a big brother. But not with Dwight, of course. He treats the other girls so well, too, but anyone can tell that he’s so different when it comes to Tania. He’s acting like her girlfriend, but she doesn’t even know that.

Speaking of Tania… I wonder how would she react when she finds out what her rival did today.

Matthew spoke after a few minutes. “Danielle, how much is that? It’s on us.”

We took out our wallet to split the bill. It’s what we always do whenever we go out.

“Thank you, boys! These are for you,” Dana handed the two chocolate and vanilla-flavored soft serve to us.

We discussed our next plan while we are enjoying and savoring every lick of frozen cream. Matthew, Dana, and Danielle chose the same flavor. I took a glance at Shy Type and smiled secretly ‘coz I knew that she would always go for that flavor: strawberry.

Without saying a word, I leaned forward and wiped the ice cream on the corner of her lips using my thumb. She almost dropped the cone as she was so shocked by my action. I wasn’t done yet; I took out my handkerchief and wiped the same spot to see her reaction again.

I smirked at her. “You eat like a child. Cute.”

Dana had to snap her fingers in front of her face to wake her up. She blinked twice and looked down to hide her flustered face from me.

“T-Thanks! But you didn’t have to do that,” she even stuttered, which was rare to happen.

Smiling a little, I looked into her eyes. “I wanted to, so I did.”

She ignored my gaze and licked the ice cream like nothing happened. Matthew elbowed me, and so I shot my eyebrow up at him. He, then, grinned and shrugged his shoulders.

We continued our search after that short break. The longer we search; the bigger the money we spent as the girls kept buying something to eat.

“Where did you saw them?” I asked as my gaze wandered around.

“At McDonald’s. Dwight got Audrey a drink,” said Matt.

Don’t tell me that he’s had a change of heart… I’ll surely beat him up!

“Guys! Guys! Look!” Danielle jumped as she pointed her hand to the clothing store.

“Oh! There they are! Dwight’s carrying a lot of stuff!” Dana’s face wrinkled and marched towards their direction.

We could see Dwight and Audrey through the glass walls, so we decided to just wait outside the store.

Matthew crossed his arms and shook his head disappointingly. “Dwight looks so tired. But we can’t blame it on Audrey. He brought it to himself.”

Stacie butt in. “It’s his fault. I hate to see them together, but I hope that it’s nothing serious and he’s just helping her out.”

I couldn’t agree more, Stacie.

Those two are now at the swimwear section. Audrey grabbed a lot of swimsuits and headed inside the fitting room. Is she trying to seduce my friend?

Danielle rolled her eyes. “Tasteless! So tasteless!”

We laughed at what she just said. Then going back to what we were doing, we sat Dwight sat on the tufted chair. He put his headphones on and glanced at our direction lazily. We pulled each other and ducked on the floor immediately.

“Oh my gosh! Did he see us?!” Dana asked nervously.

I lifted my head to watch over Dwight. His attention was more focused on his phone than anything else.

“No. I think he didn’t.” I made a hand gesture, telling them to stand up. “Let’s be more careful. We can’t screw this up.”

Later on, wearing a two-piece and a cover-up, Audrey stepped out of the fitting room.

“She’s trying to seduce him! I couldn’t believe her!” it seemed like Dana wanted to pull her hair, so Stacie and Danielle held her arms tightly.

I smirked ‘coz I have to disagree. Dwight will never fall into her trap. It didn’t take me long to realize that he has his eyes on someone who’s incomparable to Audrey.

Dwight suddenly stood up the moment Audrey removed her cover-up. He answered a call and kept a distance between them.

Matthew burst out laughing. “What the hell? He didn’t even look at her!”

“I know right?! It was really humiliating! If I were Audrey, I’d hide in the fitting room!” the satisfaction on Dana’s face was evident.

I glanced at Audrey. I could tell that she’s pissed. The other customers witnessed what happened, so she glared at them before she went back to the fitting room to change.

Like a Ninja, we followed them quietly and secretly. We’re walking behind the, so we could hear what they’re talking about.

Audrey complained to him. “Why did you leave? You didn’t see me on that two-piece!”

“And your point is?” Dwight asked her back calmly.

She pouted her bloody, red lips. “I needed your opinion! But you prioritized that damn call!”

She’s whining like she’s his girlfriend for Pete’s sake!

Dwight laughed, a sarcastic one. “No one would call me unless it’s an emergency. You’re smart enough to understand that it’s my top priority, right? If you really needed my opinion, then you could’ve wait for me. And it’s not like it’s my responsibility to judge whatever clothes you try on. After all, it’s not my thing and I’m just your chaperone.”

Uh-oh. That was really savage, Dwight!

Audrey stomped her foot. “Meanie! You didn’t have to be so harsh on me!”

“Would you still ask for my opinion if I told you that I brought a lot of friends to help you?” Dwight tilted his head and threw us a cold look.

Audrey gasped when she saw us. It’s pointless to hide or run away, so just laughed it off.

“W-What are you doing here?!” she almost chocked on her saliva.

None of us could answer that. It’s like we’re completely trapped and couldn’t get out!

“Follow me…” Dwight said before he walked away.

Shoot! That stare!

“Dwighty! Wait!” Audrey followed her immediately.

Matthew rubbed his face irritably. “We’re so done!”

I know, Matt! I know!

Dwight was waiting for us at the atrium, in front of the buffet restaurant. He leaned his back on the glass balustrade and crossed his arms. Like an army, we stood up straight and formed a horizontal line.

Audrey held onto his arm. “Dwighty, I wanna go home.”

Dwight side-eyed us before he replied. “Just wait a second, Audrey.”

I noticed that he wouldn’t beat us up, so I approached him and leaned my back on the balustrades as well. I swallowed hard as I looked at the buffet restaurant. It’s almost lunch time and we haven’t eaten a proper meal yet.

Sushi… Dim sum… Endless options for desserts… A lot of delicious and freshly-cooked food from different cuisines all over the world is being displayed on each section. I envy those people inside the restaurant.

“I’ll drop Audrey off at the parking lot. You, guys, have to stay here and wait for me,” Dwight said, but I couldn’t take him seriously now that I found the perfect place to eat.

“Do you really have to do that? It’s not like she’s an infant or something…” I heard Danielle’s voice.

Then Dana’s. “Audrey can walk alone. Let her leave by herself.”

Food… Food… Food…

“What? No! Dwight will come with me!” Audrey’s high-pitched voice hurt my ears.

If I were Dwight, I’ll ditch her. I mean, his job’s done. What else does she need? All I wanna do is to bring them inside that restaurant and have our lunch peacefully.

Ugh! I’ve seen a lot of good reviews about their food and their excellent service. It’s a bit pricey, though. But I know it’s worth it. Even Tania and Cai, I could tell from their faces how delicious the food is.

Matthew pushed Dwight gently. “Alright. Just make it fast, dude.”

Wait… wait! My eyes widened when realization hit me.

“Oh, my God! They’re here!” I exclaimed.

Matthew waved his hand in front of my face. “Who’s here? What are you—Cailah!”

Because of that, everyone looked at the restaurant.

“Oh!” Dana covered her mouth. “Tania and Cai are here!”

“What a coincidence!” Danielle said happily.

“Dwight, come on!” Audrey pulled Dwight’s shirt while she was looking at Tania.

But Dwight didn’t seem to hear that for his attention was completely and exclusively drawn on Tania.

He swallowed hard. “Y-You can go now, Audrey. I have something else to do.”

Of course, Andrei’s also here. Using a spoon, he scooped the ice cream and let Tania tasted it. Cai was the first one to see us, and so she was too shocked to process everything. She moved her hand, asking us to leave before Tania could see us.

Stacie gave me an elbow nudge. “Look what you’ve done. If you just kept your mouth shut…”

“I’m sorry. I was just surprise to see them here,” I responded apologetically.

Audrey pulled Dwight’s arm. “Let’s go! It’s just Tania!”

The latter removed her hand off his arm furiously. “What did you just say?!” He, then, exhaled heavily. “Go home, Audrey. I told you I have something important to do.”

“Oh, no…” I murmured when I saw Tania looking at us.

She almost spit the ice cream while Andrei was continuously feeding her. She… froze. When Andrei looked at what she was looking, he dropped the spoon and glued himself on the glass wall to be able to see us properly.

“Excuse me, Audrey. I need to talk to him,” I stood in between them, so she had no other choice but to move away.

“What will you do now? It’s like you two just caught yourselves cheating on each other. You and Audrey. Her and Andrei.”

Dwight was really speechless ‘coz we’re thinking the same thing. But when Tania’s parents noticed us, I know it’s time for him to pull himself together and get her girl from her… best friend.

“Guys, let’s go! Uncle and Auntie want us to join them!” I announced loudly.

Dana and Danielle went inside the restaurant as quick as possible.

“Can’t say ‘no’ to free food!” Matthew followed them shortly, but the truth is, he just wanted to be with Cai.

I raised my eyebrow at Dwight. “What are you waiting for? Are you just going to stand there?”

He shook his head and handed the paper bags to Audrey. She knew she couldn’t do anything about it anymore, so she left even if it’s against her will.

Looking so nervous and excited at the same time, Dwight ran towards the restaurant.

Stacie smirked at me. “That’s what she got for acting like his girlfriend.”

My mouth rose up as I put my arm on her shoulder. “Come on, Stace…”