Traces of Midnight Fallacies

CHAPTER EIGHT

My father repeatedly asked random questions about my mother, while I played with my spoon. They just keep on laughing, while I, on the other hand, feel so upset for myself and for what I did last night to him.

I don't remember how many times I apologized to him that he just laughed and nodded in response. I don't know, but I feel so disappointed in myself because of what I did to him. I know I hurt him when I pushed him away. I feel so regretful whenever I remember what happened last night.

"Your friend tells me that there was an incident that happened with you the other day," my mom asked.

Finally, she finally opened the conversation between us after a long moment of conversation between the two of them.

Dad looked at me curiously while I remained in a panic because of what she said. What if they scold me for what happened to me?

But my mind keeps on asking me who exactly the friend was that she was referring to. I don't remember if I begged Celeste and Kevin not to tell my parents what had happened to me these days, especially what happened yesterday.

"Who?" I asked curiously while puckering my lips.

A small smile crept on her lips before she adjusted her seat. My mother turned her gaze on my father, who remained silent while analyzing my reactions to what my mother said.

"Your ex-boyfriend, Maine," she giggled while mentioning my friend's name. "Kevin dela Fuentes."

I felt that my face gradually turned red when I heard her mentioning one of my ex's names. I did nothing but cover my face because of so much embarrassment. All my life I never expected her to mention something like this, especially that I’m not used to her attitude in terms of this kind of discussion. Now that she mentioned it, I don’t know how to react to what she said.

How come she knows about Kevin? Did Kevin already face my parents? Until now, I had no idea how Kevin and I started our relationship, but I'm sure I'll remember everything just like what happened the other day.

My mother kept on blabbering on about my relationship with my ex-boyfriend while Dad, on the other hand, remains his attention to his phone calls.

I could do nothing but silently pray that it would not be too late. Hopefully, whatever I have in this world will also be brought back to reality. I thought of just staying here instead of seeking a way to get away from this place. Why would I waste my opportunity to have a complete family and be kind in this place? Why would I waste my opportunity to have a good life in this place even though I’m aware that I’m just inside an illusion?

Sometimes we can't help but side with things that we know won't be good for us, but it makes us happy. Maybe it's not bad if you can think of temporarily choosing the things that will make you happy, right? It has never been bad to choose yourself instead of choosing the people who bring you disappointment and regret. Choosing the right choice makes us happy, even though that choice will also bring us disappointment sometimes.

Dad drove me to school. He keeps on blabbering about how I threw pranks at him and how close we were to each other. I could do nothing but listen to all his stories. A smile crept on my lips as I looked at him blushing while recounting the moments we both had. He even mentioned his shitty manager who always fights with him whenever he gets something wrong about the reports he passes.

"If I have time later, I'll pick you up," Dad said, which made me nod before I left the front seat.

The weather is fine today. Many students are already rushing to get to their classes before the bell rings. I let myself look across the quiet field before I decided to walk down the pathway.

Some students turned to me to greet me. There was a smile that crept on their lips as they looked at me. I did nothing but reciprocate with a smile before I decided to walk towards the classroom.

Just like I expected, Celeste was standing in front of our classroom when I arrived. Kevin was on her side, and he didn’t seem in the mood to fool around with us. When Celeste saw my arrival, she hurriedly pulled me towards her to kiss me on the cheeks. Kevin looked at me seriously before he handed me his blanket. I did nothing but stare at it before I accepted it in his hand.

"What are we gonna do now?" Celeste asked Kevin while Kevin remained in his posture.

I turned to them curiously while she kept staring at the man seriously standing by our side. I don't know if what we are doing here in front of our class. It's a bit early to start our morning class, so I know we're not completely done in class yet.

"What happened?" I asked them.

Celeste looked at me with a smile creeping on her lips. Kevin looks intimidating in his posture. I don't know, but it seems like he doesn't have time to make fun of us right now. His eyebrows were thick, giving him an intimidating look. His lips are slowly curving his hidden smile. I don't have an idea what's going on, but it seems like they were planning something.

Is it something they're planning for me, or something they're planning for someone else?

"Georgina asks us to attend her party this weekend," Celeste said before she leaned on Kevin's shoulder. "What do we need to do? Do we need to attend to her request or are we gonna continue the errand of the three of us like what we both agreed on?"

Kevin sighed. "Ask her. I don't want to attend her party, but if Charm insists, then it's up to you," he said before he looked away.

Celeste looked at me confused, while I looked at her, asking questions. I do hope that she will understand my look.

I don't have any idea who the woman they are referring to, so why do they even have to ask me?

"I don't…" I said, groping for what they wanted to happen. "I don't want to attend her either. I just want to be stuck with our plan."

Celeste slightly covered her mouth because of shock while Kevin looked at me seriously. A slow grin plastered on his lips while Celeste was still shocked by what I'd said a while ago.

Is she seeking another answer from me? As if she didn't expect my decision in front of them.

"That's good, Charmaine!" Kevin cheered before he hugged us with so much happiness. I did nothing but smile a bit. "This is the first time you reject her," he chuckled.

Celeste pulled me away from him before she faced me with shock in her eyes because of my decision.

"Are you sure?" she asked, which made me nod. "Lawrence will attend the party!"

I shrugged.

I answered, "I don't mind, Celeste," which made her eyes widen.

"Y-You don't mind?" she asked, to which I nodded. "Are you f*****g sure?"

"Don't force her, Celeste!" Kevin hissed before he pulled me into the classroom. "There's nothing wrong if we don't accept her invitation, Charmaine. Let's just say that we have our own errands this weekend. I'm sure they will understand us."

Celeste stayed in our classroom to check on us. She even played card games with our classmates until the time came and she needed to go back to her original class. I distracted my eyes from reading the book to review my chemistry exam today because I didn’t make it last week. I felt the stare of one of my classmates, but instead of confronting him, I decided to just continue what I was doing.

"Our exam last week was so easy, so I'm sure you can answer everything," Kevin said, prompting me to nod. "I know that you love this subject, so I know it will be easy for you."

"I love this subject?" I asked. He nodded while laughing at my reactions. "How come…"

He leaned on my side. He put his arm on the back of my chair before bending down in front of me to point out the points I needed to review for my exam.

His face is too close to mine. I don't know if he meant it, but I'm sure he just wanted to help me. I can feel his breath on my left cheek, so I can't help but blush, especially when he smiles and looks up at me every time he asks me.

"I can teach you about minor equations if you want or if you forget something," he said before he stared at me and smiled sweetly.

I felt my lips rise a bit as we both stared to each other. I don't know, but I feel this weird kind of feeling as we stare at each other. It seems like someone is urging me to come closer to him so that I can stare into his eyes more deeply, and it seems like something is lurking in there.

"Live show?"

I immediately averted my gaze and shifted to my seat when someone intervened between the two of us. Kevin looked at his left side, while I, on the other hand, looked at my right side. My classmate laughed at the two of us before she walked away. When she got away from where Kevin and I were, Kevin blushed as he faced me before taking the blanket he had placed on my shoulder a while ago.

He laughed. "I'm sorry," he said while avoiding looking at me. "It's been a year, but I still have this strange feeling for you."

This time, he laughed and I was silenced by what he said. Someone faked a cough from our side, but I didn't look back because Kevin continued to teach me.

Kevin is not that good at teaching, but still, I can manage to listen to his explanations. Sometimes he stutters, which makes me smile, but that doesn't stop him from teaching me.

A few moments later, our professor came inside. Just like I'd expected, he asked me again about my condition, to which I just sweetly nodded. I watched him pull out two papers from his belongings before handing one to me and the other to my side.

My eyes widened in shock at what he said. "You can take your exam with Lawrence at the library," he suggested. "I trust you two that you won't cheat because that's not your habit."

He ordered us more, but my eyes remained on the man who was now seriously staring at his paper while puckering his lips. I could do nothing but be anxious in my seat as I listened to the professor ordering in front of me and Kevin, who was now relentlessly cheering on me.

My classmates did the same. They did nothing but make noise and cheer me on about what would happen to the two of us. Lawrence was seriously staring at his paper, but I saw a ghost of a smile on his lips as he stared and seemed to be looking at his test paper.

When the professor asked us to head to the library to leave his class, I could do nothing but pucker my lips before grabbing the blanket that Kevin handed me. It seems like Lawrence has no plan to wait for me. That's why I intentionally slowed down my walk behind him so we wouldn't be together.

There is something strange about his walking style, but that is no longer what I focus on because passing my exam is more important than him.

"Ms. del Real, here's the library," Lawrence called to me as I stopped from walking.

I never realized I could almost get past the room he was referring to. Even before I could look at him, he entered the room he was referring to. I could do nothing but breathe heavily before deciding to follow him to face what everyone was referring to.

What is Lawrence's story and why is Charmaine almost crazy about him?

"I know that you are anxious about my presence in front of you," he began as I shuddered in astonishment in front of him.

He chose a table for the two of us and he purposely placed it at the far end of the library. His gaze remained on the paper while I could not help but stare at his serious face.

"Focus your attention on the examination and ignore my presence in front of you," he suggested.

Even though he couldn’t see my face, I just nodded before deciding to take the examination he was referring to.