Beauty Under the Lens

CHAPTER 12

Amanda's POV

"You're acting like you want to kill me, Amanda Callie! What did I do now?" his tone was innocent. I couldn't tell if he was telling the truth because he sounded convincing or if he was just so used to acting innocent when playing pranks that it came naturally.

I showed him the 1/4 paper he had used earlier.

"You wrote this, didn't you?" I asked.

"Oh no! Not me!" he denies.

I snarled. "You're still lying, and this is your paper. And who else would write my name as a candidate for the Ms. Intrams other than you?"

He shrugged. "I don't know! Am I the only one with a one-fourth paper in our section?" He points to Astrid and Elara. "Maybe they did it, I just asked Astrid for the one-fourth paper. We all used the same paper."

He sounded annoyed with what I was insinuating, so I stopped insisting that he might have written my name.

"I know that the pageant wouldn't even cross your mind, especially a beauty pageant. Why would I write your name?" Benjamin added more reasoning.

My ears perked up at his additional statement. I feel like I'm extra sensitive and sentimental lately. I tried to even my breathing and calm myself down. Don't shout at him, Amanda Callie. Just keep your cool and be unbothered. You didn't hear anything. That's just how Benjamin talks, he doesn't mean anything by it.

"Dismissed. You may now leave the room," Asher announced. Since our teacher from the elementary department handles afternoon classes, it's usually Asher who dismisses us.

Asher gave Benjamin a sharp look. Asher shook his head at Benjamin, showing disapproval at whatever their silent conversation was about. Benjamin gave him a peace sign.

The students in the first row left first because they were closer to the door. The second, third, and fourth rows followed.

I was about to leave.

"Amanda Callie," Asher's voice echoed.

Is he going to tease me about my name being put on the paper earlier? I closed my eyes tightly and took a deep breath before facing him.

"Yes?" The bitterness of my anticipation did not escape my voice.

His jaw clenched and his Adam's apple moved. He fixed his necktie and cleared his throat.

"What day is it today?" he raised an eyebrow.

I looked at the ceiling and started counting. "Uhm... Thursday?"

"Hmm..." he says nonchalantly. "Aren't you forgetting something?"

I gave him a confused expression. There's nothing important that I'm forgetting today. There are no activities that I need to collect.

He grinned when I didn't answer. He gestured his hand towards our whole classroom.

"Today, you're on cleaning duty. Are you going to try to escape again?"

I groaned. I'm already getting muscles every time I clean. Our classroom has tiles, so instead of floor wax, we need to mop the floor.

The other cleaners had already gone home since they finished arranging the chairs and sweeping the classroom, leaving just the two of us, me and Asher, in the room.

My eyebrows furrowed as I mopped the floor. Sweat was dripping, even though the classroom was air-conditioned. I bought Downy from a nearby store and also got water from the restroom. Good thing I was able to borrow the spin mop from the staff.

Asher was watching me closely, leaning against the teacher's table as he observed what I was doing.

I heard a knock on the door. It was Cedric.

"Ledesma," greeted Cedric.

"Herrera," nodded Asher.

Cedric looked at me and slowly said, "Hi Amanda Callie."

"Amanda," Asher corrected with a stern voice. Though I don't mind being called Amanda Callie. That's how he calls me.

"You let her mop the floor, Asher?" teased Cedric. "I expected you'd be more gentlemanly than that."

"She's assigned to do so, hence it is her responsibility. Making her own up to her responsibility doesn't mean I'm being ungentlemanly," he squared his jaw as he talked in a controlled manner.

Cedric approached me. "I'll do this for you, Amanda Callie," he smiled genuinely.

I smiled back. "No thanks. It's not like I haven't done this before."

"But I insist-"

"On with it, Herrera! What were you really here for?" I could sense Asher's growing impatience. He also moved closer to where Cedric and I were.

Cedric had a satisfied smirk on his face. "This is the biggest reaction I've gotten from you my whole life."

Asher did not answer. He just stared more darkly at him.

"Well, I was sent here by Ate Rochelle since she's a bit busy, and I was told that you need to give the name of your candidate. Since I am the vice president, I came instead."

Asher shook his head. "I’ll message her. Social media exist for a reason. Maybe you were the one who decided to come here on your own?"

Cedric chuckled.

"Okay," he said in an amused tone. "Maybe I just really wanted to come here," Cedric glanced at me as he said that.

My eyes shifted back and forth between Asher and Cedric.

Cedric turned to me. "Are you the one joining, Amanda Callie?"

I quickly shook my head. Is Cedric going crazy? Why did he suddenly think that I would join the Ms. intramurals?

"Oh! But Zed mentioned that there would be a vote for your section representative. I told him to vote for you if ever."

So, Zed wrote my name and not Benjamin. I almost lashed out at Benjamin for nothing. It's a good thing I managed to stop myself from getting annoyed with Benjamin.

"B-but... we just voted for the ones who wanted to join. There were a lot of them, so we made sure the decision was fair. By the way, why did you do that?"

Cedric shrugged. "The idea of you joining the pageant is just appealing to me. You're beautiful, Amanda Callie. And I'm sure you can compete with your sister."

And my guesses were proven right. Aria was indeed chosen as their section representative. Mama will surely never put her in a position where she'll be threatened. As much as possible, mama will never put us in the same circle. If Aria wants something the same as what I want. Mama will always tell me to compromise with Aria since I am the eldest.

This competition is important to her. So even if I were a competent candidate, I would never put myself in the same competitions as her. Because this is for her.

"Not interested," I replied. Deep inside, I felt like crying because of the footprints Cedric left walking all over and following me. Seriously, he's so annoying. I'm already having a hard time, and he adds to the mess.

"Get out, Cedric. Your footprints are on the floor. If you want to make her job easy, leave her alone," Asher's voice was filled with tension. Maybe they're not on good terms?

"Fine then, I'm leaving. Jeez!" Cedric looked entertained as he raised both of his hands in surrender. He walked out of the classroom laughing to himself. He looked back at me. "See you around, Amanda Callie," he winked.

I blushed at his sudden boldness.

Asher raised an eyebrow when he saw my reaction. "Don't tell me you got swayed by Herrera."

"Huh?" I laughed at his expression. I huffed. "What do you mean, got swayed?"

"You were blushing, Amanda Callie!" his voice boomed around the classroom, as if I had committed a crime just because I reacted to Cedric.

"W-well... s-so what?"

He looked even more angry with my response. "As your brother-in-law, it's my responsibility to keep you away from guys like that. I'm telling you, he's bad news."

"I can handle myself. And besides, I know that. Cedric is just messing with me. It's impossible for him to suddenly find me attractive and be interested," I answered.

"But you blushed for him!"

"I can't help it, Asher!"

"Still," he persisted.

"Why? Am I not allowed to feel giddy?!"

"So, you are getting giddy over him?" he accused me.

So annoying!

I mopped the floor aggressively because of what Asher was doing to me. Why is he picking a fight with me just because my cheeks turned red? It's rare for me to receive compliments like that, so it's natural for me to react that way.

"Hmp! You're so irritating, Asher!" I grumbled even though we were the only ones in the room.

"You're getting pissed at me looking out for you?"

I stopped what I was doing. I placed the mop on the floor and rested my elbow on the mop handle.

"Maybe you just don't like the idea of someone being interested in me?" I raised a brow.

Before he could answer, I continued.

"Why? Only beautiful people supposed to be appreciated by others?"

He furrowed his brows. "What the f*ck are you saying? I didn't say anything like that," his voice was stern.

I returned the mop back to its place and started carrying it to return to the staff downstairs. Asher walked towards me and took the mop from me.

"Asher!" I protested. He gave me a sharp look, so I let him carry the spin mop.

"I'll take care of this," his bag was slung over his shoulder. He held it with his left hand while the spin mop was in his right hand.

"Go get your things, Amanda Callie. Let's go down together."

As we descended the stairs, I was nervous that the water in the spin mop might spill, but Asher's balance was good so it wouldn't happen. If it were me holding the bag while carrying the spin mop, it would have surely spilled. I needed both hands to safely bring it down or up.

"Hey! Asher!" one of the cleaning staff greeted him.

"Kuya Marlo!" Asher nodded at Kuya Marlo since he couldn't use his hands to wave.

"You've been sticking close to Callie these past few days. If you weren't engaged to Aria, I would think you two are dating," he gave us a cheeky smile.

Even our school cleaning staff is updated on the gossip. Really?

Asher didn't give any response and we continued down.

"Don't forget about the dinner tomorrow," he began.

Dinner? Where?

"What dinner?"

"Your mom didn't tell you?" he asked. "Your family and mine are having dinner at our house tomorrow. My mom kept reminding me to remind you."

If my mom didn't inform me about this, they probably wouldn't have included me in this dinner plan. Maybe it's just for formality's sake. Since they're already engaged, they need events like this. I'm slightly comforted by the thought that I'm not obliged to be present at these events, but also a bit disappointed that they don't consider me an important part of it as a family member.

"You only need to get to know Aria, Asher. I don't need to accompany you. I'm sure Mama won't forget about that dinner, but I won't be able to make it."

"You talk about it as if it's a normal thing. Do you often not get involved in appointments like this?"

Should I be involved often? It's not necessary so it has never been a problem to me.

"As one of the future heirs, you should start interacting with people in our circle."

I don't even know if I'll really inherit our company. Aria will do a better job at it since she knows more about the industry. I might even branch out on my own after I graduate. I want to live like an ordinary person. Look for my own job and earn without using my family name.

"I won't be coming," I said firmly.

"Let's see about that."