CHAPTER 39: DINNER DATE
THE GIRL WHO CAN’T DATE
By Eleventh
CHAPTER 39: DINNER DATE
“I thought when you like someone, you easily see them through. But I guess it’s not always true.” – Ira P.
Dismounting from his motorbike, Ira rushed to get away from Skye as soon as she can. After she took off the helmet, she threw it to Skye and hit his chest.
Skye dropped his jaw in disbelief at her rudeness. As he watched her leave without saying a word, he shouted, “YOU’RE WELCOME!!!”
[Must get away! Must get away! Must get awaaaaay!]
Her head screams when she ran. When she reached Terrazo Restaurant, she held the door for support as she panted for air. She looked back. Skye was about to leave. And as she watches him turn on his clutch, she admits he is sexy but she doesn’t want to look at him seductively or romantically.
“Stupid thoughts!” she muttered, shaking her head.
She fixed her hair and her clothes before she entered the resto. As soon as she stepped in, she found her date, visibly sitting right in the center of the room. When he saw her, he waved at her excitedly and she waved back with a half-smile.
The look on her face tells that something concerns her. That man at the table waited for her. He was patient, excited, and happy to see her but... she doesn't seem to feel the same way.
[You're maybe preoccupied and tired, Ira but show him you're excited to be with him too.]
“How was your day?” Adrielle greeted pulling the chair for her to sit on.
Ira smiled widely. “Well, great but tough!"
"Really? What happened?"
"There’s an issue at school involving a student of mine and I have been trying to resolve it and… I feel so bad for my student, Carlos, and speaking of him…”
As soon as Ira was seated, she began chatting non-stop and Adrielle could not even reply. To give her a break, he held her hand and looked at her intently.
“Hey! Relax! We can talk about it later, okay? Let’s just order first then we can continue talking. I’m sure you’re hungry.”
“You bet I am!” Ira stopped the chitchat and grabbed the menu. “I’ll have some burger and fries and a glass of iced tea.”
“Make it two!” Adrielle ordered.
The waitress gave them privacy as soon as they were done with their orders.
“I love their burgers here.”
“Me too!” Adrielle’s face brightened up. “You know what? I feel glad whenever we have something in common. And tonight, on our dinner date, I hope we’ll get to know more about each other. What do you think?”
“Sounds like a plan to me,” Ira pressed a slight smile.
“So, is burger your favorite food?” he asked.
“I like pizza more.”
“Hey! Same! How about your favorite drink?”
“Iced tea, I think,”
“Ow. I’m more of a cola guy. Do you drink? I mean alcoholic drinks?”
“Not much,”
“Mmmm, I see. So, does it mean you don’t go to parties?”
Ira shook her head.
Ira was not into the conversation. While Adrielle throws all the questions he could think of, her mind drifts, and her eyes were on her phone waiting for a message, a response from the school administration.
When her phone vibrated and lit up, Mr. Fuentes’ caller ID popping on her phone screen, she jumped with excitement.
“Excuse me! I have to take this call.”
She left Adrielle at the table and went out to talk to the school’s assistant principal. When she came back, the food arrived too but she did not look excited and hungry. Yet, she appeared to be heavily burdened.
“Work?” Adrielle assumed which Ira responded with a nod. “Is everything okay?”
“They did not grant my appeal. My student is about to be expelled.” She explained with a sigh.
“Expelled? Really? Why? What did he do?” he asked while placing the burger on her plate.
“He was caught up in a brawl against a student from another school.”
“Mmmm… I’ve read about it on Twitter!” Adrielle exclaimed, enjoying his burger. “I heard the student was hospitalized. Well, he had no match against that kid. He knows judo.”
“Oh? I did not know it trended on social media.” Ira weakly muttered while slicing her burger.
“There was a video about it actually.”
Ira’s eyes broadened. “Really? W-what’s in the video?”
“How the judo kid beat up the other student of course. He looked enraged that he wasn’t able to control himself from beating him up.”
“Can you tell who started the fight?”
Adrielle shook his head while sipping on his iced tea.
“Not at all. But it doesn’t matter who started it. People will always sympathize with the disadvantaged.”
Ira sighed. He was right. People will always side with whoever is more pitiful regardless of the story. They will always look for evidence. Otherwise, whoever plays the victim will always be the victim.
Adrielle noticed how down Ira looked, but he just shrugged his shoulders and changed the subject.
“Hey! Cheer up! Everything will be alright. We are on our second date. Smile, Ira! Smile!”
Seeing how serious Adrielle was and how he tried to make their date work, she forced a smile at him and thought that maybe it was too early to talk about personal problems. For a second, she was afraid that being chatty on a second date might be off so she decided to shut up.
“There’s a carnival downtown to open this Friday.” Adrielle continued. “Would like to go there on our third date? It’ll be fun, and it’ll help you relax. You look tired and too bothered at work. You need to unwind.”
She wasn’t sure about what he is suggesting, yet she still responded to him positively. Eating her burger, her thoughts were drifting again. She looked forward to this today where she hoped she can talk to him about her troubles but maybe talking about problems wasn’t a good topic on a second date. Adrielle was not empathizing. He wasn’t seeing her through as she expects him to. He heard her tell him her concerns, alright, but he was not listening. She wondered that maybe, they needed a deeper connection.
When she got home, Carlos was having a good time playing Xbox with her brothers. The boys noticed her arrival with a gloomy mood as she watched her student very intently.
“Seems like she had bad news to say,” Orion whispered to Eros who was sitting next to him.
“Must be her work,” Eros replied.
After dinner, Ira discreetly talked with Carlos out in the garden. No matter how she tries to hide it, her disappointment shows.
“It’s okay, Miss Ira! You can tell me.” Carlos emboldened his homeroom teacher, noticing that she has been walking to and fro in front of him while he sat on the wooden bench.
Ira stopped walking and looked at him with an apologetic face.
“I’m sorry. I tried but…”
“I can go to the public school and I’m okay with it. You don’ have to worry, Miss Ira. I think it’s going to be exciting, new school, new friends, new teachers, new environment, new life…”
“Are you sure you’ll be okay?”
Carlos gave her a bright smile to assure her, but the homeroom teacher can’t help but be worried.
“I have talked to your uncle, by the way. He said he’ll pick you up tomorrow.” Carlos’ face became flustered and she noticed it. “I know that you don’t get along well. But you have to go home and makeup with him, okay? Please don’t try to run away.”
He was quiet, unsure what to reply.
“Give me your phone.” Carlos handed her his phone and while she has it, she saved her number. “I might not be able to see you leave because I’m out so early in the morning for work. I’m saving my number so you can call me. Do you understand?”
He was still quiet after he received his phone and his silence bothered Ira, questioning if her decisions were right.