Beauty Under the Lens

CHAPTER 27

Amanda's POV

"Asher really took after his mother," Astrid stared at Auntie Celestine. She's one of the judges for the pageant because Oakwoods University was also her former school. She used to join pageants at Oakwoods back in their days. Auntie Celestine had her hair tied in a high ponytail. You couldn't see any pores on her face. And she had a fashionable aura.

Asher's mom was very professional. She allowed her son to do his thing while she focused on being a judge. She didn't call him to come closer or anything. Every now and then, you would see students giving milk tea or food to Auntie Celestine. She smiled politely at them but never touched the food. She didn't even touch the food prepared by the school for the judges.

"The last spot on the top 5 goes to...." I crossed my fingers. The top five included Elara, Astrid, Jasper, and Axel. Asher filmed our reactions, but we didn't care about how our faces looked like on his camera.

"Lord, I hope it's Zyna," Jasper kept praying in the air.

It's good that they were here to watch the pageant. Most of our classmates didn't attend. They said they would rest today and we'll be buried in academics next week. The six of us and a few students from ABM went to show support for Zyna.

"Zyna Bello!"

"Zyna-" Axel paused in his prayer upon hearing the announcement. "Hey, it's Zyna! From ABM!" Jasper and he jumped in excitement.

I breathed a sigh of relief as Astrid and Elara shook my shoulders in joy.

"You guys did great, Callie!" Elara said.

I chuckled. "It's not me. It's Zyna who walked the ramp."

"Still! Appearance is part of the criteria, and with your makeup skills, check her out!" They pointed at Zyna, who waved at us as she walked towards the top 5 lineup.

Asher went to the front of the stage to take pictures of the candidates who made it to the top 5.

It was slightly chilly as it was already six in the evening. I rubbed my arms to warm myself up. The Mr. and Ms. intramurals were held at the school grounds.

In front of me, a hand offered a jacket. I looked at where it came from. It wasn't surprising that it was Asher. He seemed to notice everything, even from a distance.

"You keep coming back here. As if you don't seem busy over there in front," I teased him.

He raised an eyebrow and extended his hand further to offer his jacket.

"Get the jacket, Then I'll go back to the front."

Due to the cold, I couldn't refuse his jacket. He smiled at me and returned to the front as he said.

I stood there, dumbfounded, because he smiled at me. Since the realizations I had yesterday, I started noticing all his actions - where he would go, the people he interacted with, how many times he would smile and glance at me, what he was wearing, and how his hair was styled.

I became hyperaware of him. Things that were simple to me before became different whenever Asher was involved.

I blushed as I felt my cheeks warm up. I wrapped Asher's jacket around myself. I sniffed it, trying to catch his familiar masculine scent. I looked ahead again, and Asher's gaze was on me. He raised his eyebrow and grinned. It seemed like he caught me smelling his jacket.

He winked at me.

I caught Auntie Celestine's eyes on both Asher and me. She arched a brow at Asher. I pulled down the hoodie of his jacket to cover my face. Embarrassing!

There were intermissions from the teachers while the candidates prepared for the Q and A portion. The students were noisy, cheering for their advisers. Especially those teachers who seemed intimidating and strict in class but were dancing onstage.

During the intermissions, I went to the rooms assigned to the female candidates. Maybe Zyna needed a touch-up. I peeked into room 104 and saw Zyna looking at herself in the mirror. She smiled at me.

"Good job, Zyna! The 11 ABM is so proud of you."

"Just in the top 5 for now. I'm not a winner yet," she replied.

"That's still great. Being in the top 5 is a big deal. You've already secured a spot as one of the runner-ups. Whatever the result, you're our section's pride."

Our male candidate from our section didn't make it to the top 5. So, Zyna was our ABM's only hope. I fixed her lipstick. Everything else needed no more adjustments. She had maintained her makeup throughout the competition.

"Ah," I gestured for her to open her mouth wider for easier lipstick application.

I heard applause behind me.

"Wow! I'm hurt, Sis," Aria walked towards Zyna and me. My sister examined Zyna's face and pouted. "I'm your sister, yet you're supporting her? You even did her makeup."

"Aria, don't make a big deal out of it. Of course, she's my classmate and she represent our section. So, I will definitely support her," I patiently explained to my sister. I had no idea why she had been acting strange lately. We're not close, but she never looked at me or talked about me as if she were disgusted and regretful towards me.

"Really? Or are you just finding ways to get closer to my fiancé? You attending these events means more time with him! Are you craving attention too much and snatching Asher away from me?" she lashed out at me, not caring that other students were watching.

How dare she say that? I've always tried my best to keep my distance from him. I've lost count of how many times I've reminded myself to stay in my place! Yes, I like him! But I'm willing to suppress my feelings for the sake of order.

"None of what you said is my intention, Aria! Can't I just be a normal student exploring my abilities? I am also a student here at Oakwoods, so I can attend events!"

She scowled. "Now you're speaking up. I thought you'd forever be stuck in your sweet facade. Now, you're showing your true colors, huh?"

I opened my mouth, but I couldn't say anything.

"Enjoy it while you can, Sis. You're nothing but disposable to Asher. He's only fond of you because you're an easy target. Just because no one else is interested in you, his simple gestures make you fall. That's how men like it. Boosts their ego. You're just a lesson he needs to learn. Later on, he'll dream of something more. And that would be me."

I forced a smile to myself. How dare you try to read beyond appearances, Amanda Callie? Maybe the guy was just being nice. You really dream of Asher Rowan Ledesma.

I just got carried away with how gentle and polite he was with me. Maybe it's also a mistake on my part to expect more. It's normal for people to show affection towards their friends. It's not right that I interpreted Asher's actions. Boys and girls can be friends, and even be caring and affectionate with each other. It doesn't always have to be romantic between opposite s*x.

"Save your advice, Aria," my tone and expression were flat. "I don't need it because I'm not expecting anything. It's your fault if your mind is dirty. You're even putting malice in our friendship."

I closed the lipstick and held Zyna's hand. "You can do this, Zyna. Do your best."

I'm glad I am wearing Asher's hoodie. It covered my view so I couldn't see the people who were surely staring at me.

The candidates went back up on stage. The males were the first to face the question-and-answer portion. They had two questions each. The first one was different for each of them, then the second was the same question they would all answer. They had headphones so they wouldn't hear the other candidates' answers.

"What happened, Amanda Callie? Your face looks like it's Good Friday," Astrid said when I returned to our seats.

I smiled subtly and shrugged. "I'm just sleepy. The tiredness is hitting me just now," I reasoned, stifling a yawn which helped my explanation.

"So what now? Are you finishing this event or do you want to go home now?"

I played with the sleeves of my jacket. The jacket was big on me so the sleeves covered my hands. "I'll just call our driver," I took off the jacket and placed it on my seat. "Please return that to Asher." Then I bid goodbye to Astrid and Elara.

"Excuse me," I walked through the crowd. It wasn't just Oakwoods students here. Even people from outside the school attended. Maybe they were relatives of the candidates. Once I got away from the crowded area, I breathed a sigh of relief. I took my phone from my pants pocket and called our driver.

"Are you still at the school?"

"Yes ma'am, I haven't left yet."

"Okay. I'm on my way there. Just pick up Aria after dropping me off, she might have trouble getting a ride later."

"Yes ma'am."

I put my phone back in my pocket and headed to the parking area.

"You're not finishing the pageant?"

I turned to face the person speaking to me. It's Auntie Celestine.