Beauty Under the Lens

CHAPTER 11

Amanda's POV

It's a gloomy weather today. It's not raining, but the sky is overcast, which has made my day at school even more peaceful. I love the gray skies. If I could be in a place where the skies are gray every day, I'd live there.

Amidst my daydreaming by the window while our teacher was discussing the fundamentals of accounting and business management 1, I heard a knock on the door. The head of the Senior High School Department's Student Council President peeked in.

"Sir? Excuse me, may I make an announcement?" she smiled broadly at Sir Guzman. They were close. Our student council president is a member of the varsity badminton team, while Sir Guzman is their coach.

Sir Guzman rolled his eyes. "Oh, Rochelle, you're really teasing me, aren't you! Every time I have a class, you're always announcing something, I'm getting tired of your face," he jokingly patted her head. "Alright, come in!" he said with a playful voice.

"Thank you, sir," Ate Rochelle pouted before entering our room. Sir walked towards the boys' side at the front to isolate Ate Rochelle in the middle.

"Good morning, 11-ABM! As you know, our intramurals s***h foundation day is fast approaching. And this year we will have a Mr. and Ms. Intrams. I've already talked to your president," Ate Rochelle glanced at Asher beside me to signal that he was aware of her announcement. "I told him that you need to choose your representatives. Have you already chosen someone, Asher?"

Asher cleared his throat. "I had already informed the muse and escort so it would be easier to choose. Supposedly, we will have Kara and Karl," Asher gestured to the individuals he mentioned for Ate Rochelle to see. "But just this morning, Kara came to me and said she can't join Ms. Intrams."

Kara nodded and explained. "My mom didn't allow me, Ate. She said it's a hassle to find outfits."

Ate Rochelle wrote something down on her paper and looked at Karl. "So, Kara can't join, but Karl is still in?"

Karl gave her a thumbs up. "Yes, Ate."

Ate Rochelle wrote Karl's name on the paper.

"So, who will replace Kara?" she pointed her pen at Kara.

"I haven't approached any other classmates yet. We will discuss this with the whole class later because someone might want to volunteer. At least if it's voluntary, we're sure they won't back out," Asher replied.

Ate Rochelle nodded in agreement. "Okay, just come to me after dismissal once you've confirmed who your representative will be." After thanking Sir Guzman, Ate Rochelle left our room, and Sir went back to the front. Murmurs spread around the classroom, speculating on who would be chosen to compete as our Ms. Intrams.

"I want to join. I've been in pageants recently."

"Me too! It seems fun to strut on stage."

"I'll show off my skills to my crush in grade 12."

"Sorry, excuse from class lol!"

Sir banged the table, not in an angry way, just enough to interrupt the chatter that suddenly filled the room. "Enough for now. Let's talk about Ms. Intrams later. Let's finish this discussion first, so when we have a quiz tomorrow, don't say I didn't teach you anything."

My classmates groaned.

"Quiz again!"

Axel turned to me. "Pst! Callie, do you have notes? Can I copy them? Their handwriting is so ugly!" He pointed to our three friends.

I looked down at an empty page in my notebook. I pursed my lips, internally facepalming. I got so lost in my thoughts while looking out the window that I forgot to take notes.

I showed Axel the blank page of my notebook. Now, both of us will be unable to answer the quiz tomorrow.

"You're such a daydreamer," Elara teased.

Axel shrugged but brightened up when he looked at Asher.

"Dude! Do you have notes? Can I borrow them? If you don't want to give me your notes, just give me the answers tomorrow. I prefer that," Axel smiled, with both thumbs up.

"As if," Astrid interjected.

Asher simply picked up his notebook from his desk and handed it to Axel. I couldn't tell if Axel was happy because Asher had notes or disappointed because Asher declined his request to copy his answers.

"Elara, let's switch, I'll write the notes too," I requested. They were sitting next to each other, so it would be faster if we copied notes together rather than Axel going first before me.

"Sure," Elara agreed. But before I stood up, Asher stopped my hand.

I gave him a puzzled look.

"You can... borrow my notebook later," Asher offered.

I shook my head. "No, it's better if Axel and I copy together. It will take longer if we take turns using your notebook."

"You can have my notebook, then. I have already memorized everything in my head," he insisted.

Astrid, who was listening to our conversation, exclaimed, "Ooh!"

"So, if I don't have notes, will you lend me your notebook too, dude?" Astrid asked with a smile.

Asher paused for a moment before nodding. "Yeah, if you really need it," he said coolly.

I swallowed hard during the conversation. Why does everything Asher does now seem to have a deeper meaning since Aria's birthday party? He's one of the few people who can talk to me without bringing up anything about my looks or my sister, making me feel like those issues didn't exist in the first place.

We only had 20 minutes left before our dismissal, but almost all of my classmates were already packing their bags, not paying attention to what the teacher was saying in front of us.

"No one is leaving yet! We still need to discuss about Ms. Intrams!" Rose crossed her arms as she gave her commands to the class.

"This is such a scene, Rose being all bossy, and she's just the secretary," Elara whispered.

"Yeah, I’m the vice president here. Before her, it should have been me," Benjamin added to Elara's comment.

Astrid raised an eyebrow at him. "You are the vice president? All this time I thought it was Anne! My life's been a lie!"

Axel burst into laughter. "It's because he's lazy! He only has the position, no action!"

"Yeah, he barely did anything. He could be removed from the officers, and no one would even notice," added Astrid. Benjamin pouted like a child because of what Astrid and the others were saying.

"Why? Are you all just picking on me? I said I didn't want to be an officer. I don't know why so many people voted for me," Benjamin retorted.

"Let's hurry up and finish that discussion already!" one of my male classmates said.

Asher was already in front of the class.

"Who here is willing to join as Ms. Intrams?" Asher asked. Six girls raised their hands.

Rose moved closer to Asher, who now had a whiteboard marker in hand. "So, shall we vote?" Rose said as she looked at Asher. She was purposely making her elbows touch Asher's body. I didn't know if Asher noticed what Rose was doing.

But somewhere inside me, I didn't like what I was seeing. A bad feeling crept into my system. Maybe it's just that I don't like the idea of pushing yourself onto someone who clearly has no interest.

Astrid snapped her fingers in front of my face. "Hey! Your eyebrows are meeting there."

I snapped out of my inner feelings and once again made sense of the world around me. I shook my head and smiled faintly.

"I-I'm... just... thinking."

I glanced around at my classmates who confidently raised their hands. It must be really exciting to participate in events like that. It's like being a doll that's dressed up and displayed for everyone to admire.

Just the thought of the cheers and shouts of the crowd as you walk on stage instantly sets my heart ablaze.

I let myself daydream that it was me walking on stage, with everyone giving me heart eyes as I gracefully moved around the stage. Waving to the audience and judges, smiling at the people who supported me.

Surely, Aria would be participating, representing their section in grade 10. I heard that grades 10-12 will compete for Mr. and Ms. Intrams. She'll win for sure. If she doesn't become Ms. Intrams, she'll surely be a runner-up.

"Me, Rose! I promise I won't back out," one of my female classmates said.

"I won't back out too! I also want to join!" others competed.

Rose looked stressed while Asher remained calm and composed, as if he could keep things under control. He tapped his foot on the floor and then shot a curious glance at me, catching me daydreaming.

"Let's vote for it then," he decided. Then he spoke again as Rose stood beside the whiteboard to write the possible candidates' names.

"On paper. Get any piece of paper. Whether it's from a notebook or torn into quarters or any scrap. Choose among the six girls who raise their hands. Fold the paper and pass it to the front, so there won't be hard feelings if someone votes differently."

Our section is full of friends who end up arguing, and this eventually becomes a problem that Asher has to deal with. As much as possible, he tries to find other ways to avoid these conflicts among friends. Instead of just letting them argue, the whole class gets involved.

Benjamin had a mischievous grin on his face while writing the name. I didn't know what was going through his mind, but I was already getting nervous about what he was doing.

Axel peeked at what Benjamin had written. Axel burst out laughing and high-fived Benjamin while nodding in agreement, commending Benjamin's choice of candidate.

As the papers reached the front, they were unfolded one by one and the names were written on the whiteboard.

When Rose opened one of the last few papers, she froze. Her jaw dropped as she stared at the name. She raised her eyebrows and flipped the paper to show it to everyone. She put her hand over her mouth to stifle a laugh.

I squinted because I was all the way in the fourth row and couldn't really see what was being shown in front.

"Someone's bold enough to be ambitious. Really Amanda Callie? Writing your own name?"

In a domino effect, heads from the first to fourth row turned to look at me. I furrowed my brows. Huh?

"I..... don't.... understand," I said honestly.

Rose snorted. "You're playing innocent. Your name is written here!"

My eyes widened. I definitely did not do that. Did I get so lost in my daydream that I mixed up imagination with reality? Did I unconsciously put my name there?

I slowly stood up from my seat to go to the front. To confirm if I had indeed written my name on the paper.

"Rose, you're wasting time. Move on to the last few papers," Asher's tone was authoritative now. His expression showed irritation.

Rose immediately obliged and opened another paper, then wrote on the whiteboard again.

I could tell that it wasn't me who wrote it. I didn't use 1/4 paper. I just tore a blank part from my scratched paper earlier. Even the handwriting isn't mine.

A sudden realization hit me. Benjamin used a 1/4 paper earlier. And he was laughing about his choice of candidate with Axel. I'm sure he's teasing me again.

I went back to my seat while giving Benjamin a glare. Benjamin seemed confused by my sudden change in attitude towards him.