PHILLIPS ACADEMY: THREE HEIRS ONE HEART

5

Heirs. Empire. Academy. Now that I get to remember how Josephine and I met, I think it’s safe to assume that I’m supposed to meet the heirs – no matter how ridiculous it sounds. Oh, shoot! I have already met the oldest heir, followed by the youngest heir. The middle one is the only heir I haven’t met yet. I won’t deny it, I’m looking forward to meeting him.

Ms. Josephine had already mentioned the heirs when we first met. My bad, this is the perk of being anti-social. My mind tends to drift away from reality at times. Anyway! Jenna and I finally exchanged numbers and sent each other the follow-requests on Insta-book – a widely known social media platform used by people, yes including myself. I know you’re asking, how can an anti-social person like me even have social media? Well, everyone in this world is a slave to technology, no matter how much we deny it.

Before Jenna left, I told her how I got to the university. I told her that my father managed to secure a scholarship grant for me directly from the school owner, Mr. Ben Phillips. She was so shocked; she thinks that I’m so smart to get a scholarship grant directly from the school owner, unlike her who was on the waiting list because she almost failed the entrance exams. Now that I think of it, I was so busy grieving the death of my father that I failed to ask Ms. Josephine how I simply got to the academy without even taking exams. What did my father do? What did I do to deserve this? That’s a question I’m going to ask Ms. Josephine soon. But for now, I have other things to do.

After the break, Jenna left first to finally go to her next class. I still had fifteen minutes to spare before my second class, so I decided to do some exploring for myself. I left the cafeteria; I went to the school field.

I saw the fun-filled sweaty students roaming the field while playing dodge ball. Oh my! I love this. I remember as a kid my dad and I used to play dodge ball in the yard – the sight of these students takes me on a trip down the memory lane. It’s so beautiful, I – “Ah!” I was so busy reminiscing that I didn’t notice the ball coming for my head.

Wait! Who’s that? A familiar voice once again came from behind. So gentle yet loud at the same time, a man of familiar tone said, “You guys need to watch out, okay!” I felt his presence surrounding me, wrapped by his scent so good. “Are you okay?” He said before I turned my head to see his face. It was Alvin, the ever so charming, the eldest Phillips heir. His prince-like face, a literal royalty, embodied with charm and a golden retriever vibe.

He helped me stand back up, “You don’t have to be so nice. Mr. Alvin, people are looking at us,” I told him after I saw Edith’s annoyed face, about a hundred meters away from us – she was with the group of senior interns at the side of the field who were assisting the other athletes. Why is this girl so mad at me? If she’s so obsessed with Alvin, why can’t she flirt with him? Unless she already tried but got friend-zoned? Shush! I don’t care.

“Come on, you got hit in the head, of course I’m going to help you.” He added, “Why are you here anyway?”

“I have a few minutes to spare before my next class, so I decided to go for a walk.” I then asked him as he was away from the group of senior interns, “Why are you separated from them?”

Speaking of senior interns, I find it fascinating that Alvin Phillips, the heir of the Phillips empire, hangs out inside the campus as if he was a regular student. Interesting. Anyway, he replied to me, “I was about to go to the choir room to get something from my brother.”

“Choir room? Is that next to the Admin. Building near the south gate?” I denoted. For the sake of information, the Phillips Academy of Art is a giant square with four entrances, respectively, the north, east, south, and west. Earlier this morning, I entered the west gate, while my dorm, and my classroom earlier, the cafeteria, and the school field, are on the north side of the academy. Luckily, the academy has its own group of pedicab – pedal distances vehicle – drivers to help students who dislike walking far distances; the drivers themselves are pretty much scattered everywhere. After my short walk to the field, I plan to take a short pedicab ride to reach the admin building located at the south side of the academy for my next class.

“Yes. My brother is there.” He looked at me, unknowingly still wrapping his thick and toned right arm around my shoulders, assisting me. “Why? Are you going there too?”

“Well, yeah. I mean no. I’m not going there for your brother. I’m going there for my next class.” Why am I so awkward? I always explain myself when I don’t even have to. Oh Gosh! He giggled.

“Can I have a request?” He said so enticingly. What request could it be? Oh my! Why am I nervous? It’s not even that big of a deal?

My overthinking self then responded, “you want me to get you something from your brother Karl?” He squinted his eyes with slight curiosity.

“No, not Karl,” He leaned towards me a little bit – Oh my God! I feel like I’m in heat. This man is so gorgeous I’m literally panicking. “You know Karl?” He asked me.

First of all, knowing his family isn’t hard. Who wouldn’t know about Karl and his brothers – the literal owners of this school? Anyway, I responded, “Yes, he’s my classmate in Cinematography class.”

Hold up! He said, it’s not Karl. Does that mean it’s Sid?

“Oh. Nice. Uhm. About my request, can you please meet my brother Sid in the choir room? Give this to him,” he lent me a flash drive from his pocket. He added, “I have to help my fellow interns, we have a lot of duties in the academy.”

Oh, my goodness! Three heirs in one single day! I’m panicking. Is this a good thing? Perhaps it is bad? As much as I love staring at these attractive young men, I also don’t like being the center of attention. Shush! Whatever! I responded to him, “Okay, anything to give back after your display of kindness.” Shoot! I just trapped myself.

He smiled once more and told me, “I’ll tell him that I entrust you to give this to him. It’s his report for his project proposal. Thank you, this means a lot.”

Give and take. Give and take. I’m overthinking again, but what I did was right. He’s nice to me, so I have to follow his request. “I would give it to him.”

He then called a pedicab and guided me to it. Alvin told the driver with a bright smile, “bring my friend to the Choir room. Thank you.” He then looked at me straight in the eyes, “Are you sure your head does not hurt?”

I smiled at him. “I’m fine. I have to go now.” The pedicab then started leaving. I turned around and looked at Alvin’s well-proportioned physique getting smaller and smaller before my eyes. I have to admit, who wouldn’t be attracted to him? He’s literally got it all. It’s barely my first day at the academy and I already have someone at the top of my crush list.

After the short trip, we reached the hallway to the choir room – a few blocks away from the choir room. It was pretty gloomy there. I was surprised, as no one was there but me, the pedicab driver, and a beautiful student with messy hair and messy clothes running away from the choir room. I asked myself, why is she so happy? I smell something fishy. I don’t want to sound judgmental, but she ran like a hooker who just got caught trying to leave the scene. The pedicab driver even laughed at her.

The driver left. I walked slowly when I heard a subtle voice. I reached the choir room, no one was there. Wait, could it be, Sid? Or is it someone else? Dang! Is he moaning? What is he doing at the back of the choir room?

Inside my head, it’s fighting interest and fear. Jenna told me that Sid falls into the rebellious middle child archetype with a bad reputation. Could it be true? There’s one way to find out.

I walked slowly, silently, like a detective catching a criminal. Way before I reached the back of the choir room, I heard a girl squeaking. Uhm. What is going on back there? I stopped eavesdropping and went to a place where I would see what was happening without being noticeable, and I – “What the fu-”

-TO BE CONTINUED-