The Trip To Subic

Evo's POV

"Why isn't Sebastian here?" I asked.

"Maybe she's just late, Pres," Laurie said. "She told me last night that she was coming."

The faculty gave us one day and one night in Subic for a day tour as a reward for the last event going well. At first, Bella refused to go because she thought she would have to spend more money on a one-day trip. Still, the group persuaded Bella to go when I said I would pay for everything.

"Hi, Evo!"

We all looked at the newcomer. Kaycee stood in front of the van, and Bella was behind her.

"Hi, guys! Hi, my name is Kaycee. I want to go on your tour." Kaycee said.

I could tell what everyone was thinking, so I immediately spoke up.

"I invited her over," I said. The gang looked at me. "It's okay, isn't it?"

"Of course. It's fine with me." Laurie smiled as she came up to Kaycee. "Hello, I'm Laurie, by the way."

"Hi, wow, your skin is so pretty," Kaycee said.

"Are you serious?" Laurie said it shyly, but his face showed a hint of pride. "It's just cheap soap I bought online."

"Yeah. Anyway, do you like this?" Laurie took the lollipop when Kaycee handed it to her.

Everyone rushed over and asked Kaycee for a lollipop. I smiled because Kaycee had instantly won the hearts of the gang.

We were in the backseat together. Kaycee asked if she could sit near the window, so she did. She then pulled me closer to her. Bella had to sit next to me because Laurie was carrying a too big bag for him. He no longer fit it in the compartment; he put it on his lap.

—-

We immediately put everything in the room when we got to the hotel. Boys and girls have different rooms, and even Laurie came to ours.

"Wow, the room and the view are beautiful, too."

"Do you own this hotel, Prez?" Laurie asked.

I chose the bed near the glass wall to lie down and look at the beautiful view.

"It's my father's property," I said. "I can't say it belongs to me because I'm still in school."

"It'll be yours, too. Your father is the owner."

I just smirked and said nothing. I made sure the girls had the best view room, even though they liked the room I chose for us all. Hearing their amazement in the other room made me smile.

"We should probably eat. We will have more places to go if we leave early." I said.

Others agreed and left quickly.

The hotel had set up a food buffet, which he and I took advantage of. When I saw Bella and Kaycee's plates, I frowned because the food was almost too much for them.

"Wow, I didn't know you were starving on the trip," I said.

"One of a successful detective's secrets is that their brain needs to be healthy. Don't you know that?" Kaycee asked me.

I smirked. "I understand. That's why I'm curious. Will you finish all that?"

Bella just looked at me and didn't say a word. I simply smiled, as I was unaware that their slim bodies concealed a monster within their stomachs.

'Where are they going to put all those foods?' I thought.

We sit at a big round table and eat together. Even the driver, Manong, ate with us and looked at what was on Kaycee and Bella's plates. While we were eating, we observed Kaycee and Bella closely.

In addition, I observed the gang whenever I heard their thoughts, and they were astounded as I was that the two women consumed such a substantial amount of food, given their size.

"Hmm, Pres, have you and Kaycee been friends for a long time?"

"Ah..." I looked at Kaycee. "Yeah," I said.

"So he knows some of your other friends are like Migs?"

"No," Kaycee said. "My friend is Bella. We're friends, and it's not just obvious."

Everyone glanced at Bella. "Does it matter what I say?" Bella asked. Everyone chuckled. "We better hurry up so we can leave."

–

The driver was with us, so getting around was easy; what we saw amazed everyone. Zoobic Safari stands out from a typical zoo because it allows visitors to see beautiful animals up close. We were amazed to find that we could even hand-feed and bottle-feed some of the big cats.

"Oh my gosh!" Bella held on tightly to me. "Damn, can you move them away from our car?" Bella snorted.

Everybody laughed at what she said. "Jeez, Bella, if you want a hug, just tell me. I am willing to hug you." I said this as if I were teasing her.

"You're lucky I'm not in the mood to hit you," Bella said sternly.

I chuckled. "You've already ruined my clothes, and now you want to hurt me? You're impossible!"

Bella looked at my torn clothes. She tore down the middle.

"You need to change my shirt," I told her. "I don't want to leave looking like you raped me."

"Fine, I'll buy you a new one," Bella said. "Just be quiet."

"There's no need for you to be afraid of them. Look," I said.

Bella turned to face me. I had stuck my finger into the hole in the net. I abruptly leaped out, causing Bella to scream in shock. Later, I laughed, as did the gang that had screamed with me.

"Your joke isn't funny," Bella said, wiping away a tear and pushing me away. She sat quietly in a different seat.

"Haist, I didn't know you were crazy. You can't rely on appearances alone." Kaycee replied with a frown.

"Huh? What did you say? I was kidding." I said.

"Well, it looks like Bella wasn't pleased with your joke. If you decide to joke around with me, I may ride with you."

I glanced at Bella.

–

On its 25 hectares, that amusement park has tigers, crocodiles, giant snakes, sea lions, and other animals. After our experience with the tigers, we walked around the rest of the zoo to see what else was there. I quickly grabbed Bella's wrist to stop her from walking.

"Hey, you have a promise, right?" I asked. "I'm not going to walk while wearing this."

Bella frowned and stomped towards the booth where the souvenirs were for sale. I went after her.

"Pick your shirt," Bella said, annoyed.

I smiled and immediately looked for clothes. When I noticed a couple's shirts, I looked at her. I immediately took it and gave it to Bella.

"Why do you need two?" Bella asked.

"It's a couple's shirt." I smiled.

"What?" she asked in a confused tone.

"One is yours."

Bella scoffed. "Well, I don't need a new shirt, so..." A T-shirt fell, so she sat down to get it.

A drink unexpectedly stained her clothes, surprising Bella. "Oh, my gosh," was her surprised response.

Bella glanced at the boy and grasped his hand, erasing the annoyance from her previous response. I grabbed Bella's hand and helped her stand up.

"Are you all right?" I inquired, glancing at the young child. "Hey, where's your mom? Why are you?"

I was surprised when Bella covered my mouth with her hand to prevent me from speaking. I scowled.

"I'm fine. Go ahead and see your mom." Bella responded, and the boy swiftly departed.

"Wow, you're suddenly being nice. Perhaps you would have raised both hands in my face if I did that." I said.

"You are numb. Haven't you noticed that this child is special?" Bella was annoyed, so she went to the counter and paid for the shirt. I gazed at the boy in the distance.

'A tiger with a heart,' I thought.

—

When our friends saw what we were wearing, they were shocked. They gave us big smiles and began to tease us. While Bella was frowning, I was riding on the joke.

"We've been in Subic for less than 6 hours and haven't had a date yet."

"It seems like the university's reward brought us something good."

–

Bella's POV

I ignored everyone's joke. They're making fun of Evo and me because of our shirts. I kept walking and followed them without knowing where we were going.

To be honest, this place is beautiful, isn't it? Also, it is clean. I had anticipated that the animals here would be uninteresting. Kaycee said this while she was walking with me.

As we walked, I noticed nothing else inside that place but cages with glass walls. Kaycee grabbed my hand and quickly pulled me close to one of the glass cages. I turned around, and when I looked in front of the glass wall where Kaycee and I were standing, I didn't expect to see snakes. I turned around right away to avoid seeing that, but the whole area was full of glass cages with different kinds, colors, and lengths of snakes. Like a statue, I was breathing heavily and not moving at all. My heart was beating fast, and at the same time, my chest hurt. I could feel the numbness in my neck, and my whole body shook.

"Bella, are you okay?" I heard Kaycee's voice.

"S-snakes," I said, trembling.

Kaycee noticed I didn't move, adjusted, and stood before me. We were almost in the middle, and everyone was looking at the different kinds of reptiles.

Kaycee smiled at me. "Here, take my hand."

I slowly raised my hand to reach for Kaycee's hand, but I was surprised when Evo suddenly approached me and grabbed my hand. Kaycee turned to face him.

"Are you okay?" Evo asked.

"Help me get through this, and I will make this a huge debt to you," I whispered.

Evo wrapped one of his hands around my shoulder and covered my eyes.

"Walk with me," Evo said in a whisper.

When Evo started walking, I followed.