Against All Odds: My Paramour

Sin 2: J

"Are you really sure you're treating me, Joule?" I asked for the hundredth time.

"Of course! Stop worrying." She pulled a 100 peso bill out of her pocket and waved it in front of my face, as if to tease me.

"See, I have the money," Joule added.

We were already waiting at the jeepney terminal, standing with a few other commuters as we waited for a ride. It was almost six in the evening, and jeepneys were taking longer than usual to arrive. Clases ended at 5:50 pm, and it took us about ten minutes to walk from school to the terminal.

"Oh! Here comes one. Hurry up, let's get on!" Joule statedas she pulled my hand and dragged me inside the jeepney.

Once we were both seated, the driver looked at us through his rearview mirror.

"Where you kids headed?" The jeepney driver asked.

"Riverside sir" me and Joule answered.

After the brief exchange, the jeepney began moving, weaving through the evening traffic.

"Please pass my fare," one passenger said as he handed moeny forward.

Little by little, everyone paid.

Everyone except Joule and me.

I knew it.

I already had a bad feeling about this from the very beginning.

I glanced at Joule, silently begging her with my eyes to pay already.

This girl had the nerve to actually just smile smugly back. That smile really annoyed me. What is she even thinking right now? what if we get called out by the jeepney driver? Why are we not paying the fare? Is she nuts? Could actually get reprimanded by doing this? Isn't this against the law or something?

The other passengers have already paid their fares. The only ones left were the two of us, and to actually make things worst, weare seated just right behind the driver where he could notice us.

Don't tell me she actually plans on doing 1 2 3? (1 2 3 on a jeepney ride means not paying, in short getting a free ride).

By the time the jeepney stopped at Riverside, Joule still hadn't paid.

This girl... She never really planned on on paying the fare at all.

"Hahaha! Why you look so nervous J?" Joule asked me while laughing, after we have already stepped down from the jeepney.

"Isn't that like braking the law or something? What if that jeepney driver actually found out that we didn't paid, what will he do to us? Aren't you scared at all?" Nervousness filled my voice and my whole body.

She didn't answer, she just laughed even harder.

It was my first time doing something like that, and it wasn't even my intention. My chest still felt tight from the fear. I couldn't stop thinking about the driver.

That poor jeepney driver was only trying to earn an honest living.

Meanwhile, my friend Joule couldn't stop laughing as we walked towards the Riverside. Riverside is basically our go to dining spot, since it's very student-friendly when it comes to the price range.

By the time we found a table and sat down, my heart was still racing. I had gone unusually quiet, replaying everything that had just happened.

"J?" Joule called my name.

"I swear, Joulle," I graned. "Next time you tell me you're paying for something, Im never believing you again."

She only laughed.

Seriously, this girl where she even got all her confidence? She really hit all my nerves.

"Oh, come on," she said between laughs. "It only happened once. Besides, now you've experienced something new. Didn't you always say you spent your whole childhood stuck inside your house?"

I sighed. There are plenty of ways to have fun without causing trouble. Then again...

That was just Joule being herself.

She always had another ridiculous idea waiting around the corner, and almost everything she did was completely new to me. I grew up in a family where behaving properly wasn't just encouraged it was expected.

I came from a respectable family that valued discipline, manners, and good behaviour above everything else. We weren't particularly wealthy, nor did we dress extravagantly. We simply believed in presenting ourselves neatly and acting with dignity wherever we went.

I was raised by my mother and my aunts.

Perfection seemed to be the family standard.

Most of my aunts worked long hours, so when I was little, I rarely left the house. Sometimes an entire year would pass with barely any moment for me to be outside because there was no one available to watch over me.

My name is J Versace Kim.

Versace is my mother's family name, and since I grew up with her side of the family, that name carried a lot of weight.

Our family was fairly well-known around Vela City. My grandfather and two of my uncles were respected engineers at one of the area's largest sugar companies. Several of my aunts were engineers as well.

Since I carry that family name, people just casually expect me to be as intelligent as them.

But the truth is, I'm not.

Honestly, I am terrible at school.

Back in elementary, my report cards were full of grades that are 70. I still remember hiding my Grade 4 report card inside my grandfather's old car that nobody used anymore. I managed to keep it hidden for two or maybe even three months.

In our country, the passing grade would be 75, and that grade already means that the student is really weak in terms of intelligence.

My mother found out about my report card due to my homeroom teacher snitching. The disappointment on everyone's faces hurt far more than the scolding itself.

Still...

It wasn't entirely my fault.

Maybe my brain is just a late bloomer, and needs more time to actually develop.

There was also a time when my aunt forced me to memorize the multiplication table.

She literally kept me inside a tiny room at my grandmother's house for days, refusing to let me go outside until I memorized the whole multiplication table.

Funny enough...

Even by sixth grade, I still couldn't recite the whole thing perfectly. All the efforts I took memorizing it just all gone down in the drain.

"Hey J!"

A hand suddenly snapped in front of my face.

"Hello? Earth to J"

"Let's start ordering" Joule said with a laugh while looking through the menu. " I think your soul still at that jeepney."

I rolled my eyes, grabbed the menu out of her hand, and started looking through it.

Of course... The first thing I searched at the menu wasn't the tastiest meal. It was the cheapest one.