Reckless And Refined

Same room,Same World

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**Kylie’s POV**

Of all the schools... all the classrooms... bakit dito pa talaga?

I stared blankly at the massive blackboard in front of me, half listening to the teacher drone on about the school’s rules and regulations. Day 2 pa lang, pero ramdam ko na ang pagiging outsider dito sa Rosewood Academy. Hindi naman ako inosente pagdating sa rules, pero sa dami ng bawal dito, parang lahat ng galaw ko mali.

Sinuot ko ang hoodie ko ulit. Bahala na kung bawal! Nandito na ako, at wala akong balak magpanggap para lang maka-fit in sa mga elitistang ‘to. I glanced around the room, observing how neatly everyone looked uniform pressed, ties perfect, shoes shiny. Tch. As if buhay nila nakadepende sa uniform.

“Alright class, settle down!” boses ng teacher na biglang nag-cut sa train of thought ko.“We’ll be having some new classmates today.”

New Transfer?Paano yun? I was the transfer, so sino pa kaya? Psh, like I care.

The teacher motioned toward the door, and in walked two students parehong mukhang galing din sa mga well-off na pamilya. Typical Rosewood material. I sighed, already feeling out of place.

Just as I was about to tune out again, the door creaked open a second time. This time, isang pamilyar na mukha ang pumasok. That stupid perfect hair, the sharp eyes. Ace Fronda. Mr. Perfect from yesterday. The same guy I bumped into. My heart did a small flip before settling into annoyance. Of all people.....

“Alright, Ace, why don’t you take a seat,” sabi ng teacher, unaware of the tension silently brewing between us. Ace scanned the room, and of course, the only open seat was... next to me.

Great, I thought, pulling my hoodie down further to hide my face. I was already sticking out like a sore thumb in this school, and now I have to sit next to Mr. Rosewood Academy himself?

As he walked closer, our eyes met briefly, pero ako, I quickly looked away. Not today, Satan.

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**Ace’s POV**

I didn’t expect this.

Walking into class and seeing her the girl who bumped into me yesterday. What was her name? Kylie? Her whole aura screamed ‘I don’t belong here,’ but for some reason, that only intrigued me more.

I’ve seen countless new students, pero si Kylie lang ang parang... iba. Defiant. Most people here follow the rules like their lives depended on it, but she, with her messy hair and that oversized hoodie, didn’t care about any of it. It was almost impressive.

The teacher told me to find a seat, and of course, the only available one was next to her. Perfect, I thought sarcastically. It’s not like I had a choice, so I walked over, ignoring the looks from my classmates as I took my place beside her.

As soon as I sat down, napansin kong mas lalo niyang tinakpan ang mukha niya ng hoodie. I couldn’t help but smirk a little. She’s trying to avoid me.

“Hey,” I whispered, glancing at her. She didn’t respond.

“Kylie, right?” I tried again, mas mahina this time. Still nothing. She was acting like I didn’t exist.

Well, two can play at that game. I settled into my seat and pulled out my notebook. Kung ayaw niya makipag-usap, fine. Pero somehow, may parte sa akin na gustong malaman kung ano ang kwento ng babaeng ‘to.

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**Kylie’s POV**

Of all people why him?I thought, feeling the heat rise to my cheeks as Ace settled into the seat beside me. Tinatamad akong makipag-usap sa kanya, pero alam ko, nararamdaman niya na awkward din ako.

He tried to talk to me, pero I ignored him. Alam ko na ang type ng mga tulad niya—pa-perfect, pa-good boy. I didn’t need that in my life right now.

The teacher started talking about the lesson, pero wala na akong pakialam. My mind kept drifting to the guy sitting beside me. His presence was too... strong. Parang kahit hindi siya nagsasalita, ramdam mo pa rin na nandiyan siya.

The bell rang after what felt like an eternity. Nag-ayos ako ng gamit agad, hindi na hinintay pa na magbigay ng instructions ang teacher.

“Hey,” he said again as I stood up, but I pretended not to hear him. I was out the door before he could say anything else.

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**Ace’s POV**

Well, that was something.

I’ve never been ignored so blatantly before. Usually, people want to talk to me. They seek me out, try to be friends, ask for help with school stuff, or even just to get close to the Student Council President. But Kylie? She didn’t care at all.

As the bell rang, she grabbed her things and bolted out of the room. *Okay, challenge accepted.*

I packed my stuff slowly, watching her from the corner of my eye as she slipped out of the classroom, her hoodie still pulled low over her head. I don’t know what her deal is, pero something about her made me want to figure her out.

“Bro, what’s up with her?” Ethan, my best friend, asked as he approached me.

“Who?” I asked, kahit alam ko na kung sino tinutukoy niya.

“That new girl. Yung nakatabi mo kanina.”

I shrugged. “No idea.”

Ethan raised an eyebrow. “She’s... different.”

“Yeah,” I muttered, standing up and throwing my bag over my shoulder. “She is.”

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**Kylie’s POV**

After escaping the classroom, naglakad ako papunta sa garden ng school. It was one of the few places where I felt like I could breathe. Walang masyadong tao, and the view was nice.

Sitting on one of the benches, I took out my phone and put on my earphones. Dapat dito lang ako palagi, I thought. Far away from Ace, far away from everyone.

As the music played, I couldn’t help but think about how different life was at Rosewood compared to my old school. Dito, everyone was so put together. Sa dati kong school, people were real—no pretensions. But here? Everyone seemed like they were trying to live up to some invisible standard, including Ace.

I hated it.

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**Ace’s POV**

By lunchtime, I had already heard the gossip going around the school about Kylie. People were talking about her like she was some kind of alien. Typical Rosewood behavior—if someone doesn’t fit into their perfect little boxes, they gossip about them.

“She’s weird.”

“Did you see her hoodie? Ugh, parang hindi bagay dito.”

“I heard she got expelled from her last school.”

The comments were flying everywhere. And yet, none of it fazed Kylie. She walked through the cafeteria like she didn’t care, with her hoodie still pulled over her head and her headphones in. She didn’t even bother to get lunch; she just walked straight past everyone and out the door.

“Bro, she’s a mystery,” Ethan commented as we sat down with our food.

“Yeah,” I agreed, watching her leave. I wasn’t sure why, pero I wanted to know more about her. There was something about her attitude, her resistance to everything around her, that pulled me in.

“Thinking of adding her to the student council?” Ethan joked, raising an eyebrow.

I chuckled. “She doesn’t seem like the type to join.”

Ethan laughed, but then his face grew serious. “She’s not like the others, Ace. Be careful.”

I gave him a look. “Careful of what?”

“Of getting too curious.”

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**Kylie’s POV**

I spent the rest of the day avoiding Ace as much as possible. It wasn’t hard, really. The campus was huge, and he seemed busy with his student council stuff. I could feel the whispers about me, but honestly, I didn’t care.

It wasn’t like I came here to make friends. I just wanted to get through the year without any more trouble. Pero bakit parang ang hirap? Just being around people like Ace made me feel... off. Like I didn’t belong.

But then again, maybe I didn’t.

As the last bell rang for the day, I packed up my things and headed out of the building.

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**Ace’s POV**

I watched as Kylie hurried out of the building, the same hoodie still covering most of her face. There she goes again.

I didn’t know what it was about her that kept drawing me in, pero there was something different about her. Something that made me want to know more.

Tomorrow, maybe I’ll try again.