Between The Lines and YOU

Twenty Three

“Pria, your forehead looks messy.” Ivy’s eyes darted over me quickly. I was in a foul mood, and if she kept teasing, I might actually punch her with all my strength.

“What’s wrong with you? Yesterday you were blooming, and now you look like you’re ready to devour someone alive.”

“Shut that mouth unless you want me to toss you into the seasoning of a sizzling plate of sisig.” She shut her mouth and stepped back slightly. It was prelim examinations week, and with intramurals next week, our professors were burying us in lectures and quizzes. We were in the condo now, about to head to V.C.U.

Ivy already knew where I’d disappeared during her party. I only told her the part where Knox dragged me away and that we talked. I skipped the part about what happened inside the room. She’s my best friend, but no matter how close we are, there are still things I can’t tell her. I’m not the type to kiss and tell.

She kept teasing me when I said that the professor wanted to court me. But no matter how much she teased, my mood stayed the same, I wanted to kill that professor. I didn’t want to see him, because the urge to punch him until my frustration was gone was overwhelming. I hadn’t answered his calls or chats. Maybe it stroked his ego that I ignored him, but could you blame me? My frustration was so deep it reached Satan’s throne, and I wanted nothing more than to offer Knox up as a living sacrifice. I’d taken several showers already, but damn it. The frustration still clung to me. Taking a deep breath, I shoved the last notebook into my bag and slung it over my arm.

“Why are you so pissed off? You’re worse than Kael. He’s been throwing tantrums since yesterday, and now you’re next. Maybe we should hold an open forum.”

“Hold your open forum alone.” She just laughed and left the room first. I didn’t want to talk to anyone. If I lost my patience, I might actually throw a punch, especially today.

“So, might you defend yourself for the dirty thoughts running through my head when you were with hotty Professor Sandoval last night?” Ivy smirked. I really wanted to punch her for her sharp tongue. We were already near V.C.U., and she still hadn’t stopped asking.

“I already told you earlier. He said he wants to court me, damn it, Ivy, what the hell!” I nearly slammed into the dashboard, good thing I was wearing my seatbelt. She suddenly slammed the brakes, unbuckled herself, and started checking me, my neck, my forehead, ears, eyes, and mouth until I smacked her hand away when she tried to lift my uniform.

“Like hell no. You’re being delusional, Pria. Do you want to get checked at a clinic?”

“I’m fine, Ivy. You’re the one who’s not okay. What part is so unbelievable? That he likes me, or that he said he wants to court me?” Knox never admitted he liked me. But he said he would court me. It was like a silent confession, ‘tell me you like me without telling me you like me.’

“I mean, you are likable. But out of all people, really? Professor Sandoval, the great? Pria, we’re talking about one of the most famous businessmen in Asia. And aside from that, his partner is Celine. Now tell me, how am I supposed to believe you? Like, how?” I shrugged. Honestly, she was right. I hadn’t thought about that part. When have you ever thought straight?

True enough, I never did when it came to him. My brain went blank whenever we were together. I’d admit it, he made me stupid. It felt like charging into war against an entire army of Celine’s followers. Realistically, I didn’t stand a chance.

“I don’t know. He’s the one who said it.”

“And you agreed?” I nodded. She raked her fingers through her hair and rolled her eyes at me.

“Gosh, how stupid can you be? Do you even have assurance? What if he’s just confused? What if he stops pursuing you halfway? What if he realizes it’s just some fleeting cliché? What if—”

“I chose this, Ivy. What do I really have to lose? If I stop, I’ll get hurt. If he stops in the middle, I’ll still get hurt. If the chance of us being together is as small as the eye of a needle, then I’m willing to risk it. Just to be with him.”

“Do you really like him that much?” I nodded again. I didn’t want to live with a ‘what if.’ If this was my last card to play, why would I stop myself from taking the risk?

My feelings for him were growing deeper every day. From the first time I saw him, when my heart skipped that wild beat, I knew there was something about him. And here I am. It’s never too late. Because I will never, ever say I wished I had stopped myself from falling for him. Because the truth is, everything I felt for him was beyond amazing, painful, yes, but almost magical. Just being able to cross paths with him, to see him even from afar, to witness his beauty… that alone already felt like a blessing. It sounds corny and lame. But the truth is, he struck me harder than I ever expected.

“Have you two talked about Celine about it yet?” Ivy adjusted her seatbelt and restarted the car’s engine.

“He gets mad whenever I try to bring it up.” I let out a heavy sigh, my frustration only piling up with the topic we were having.

“Damn, you’re really stupid. Really, really stupid.” I forced a smile and leaned my head against the car window.

“I know.” I tried calling Kael, but he wouldn’t answer. I even messaged him, but it looked like he’d been offline all day since my chat wasn’t delivered. I couldn’t sit still knowing that one of my closest friends was angry with me. And of all people, it had to be Kael, who was the hardest to appease.

It would be like talking to the wind if I tried approaching him later in the cafeteria. My plan was to go home after prelim examinations, or maybe after intrams. When we reached V.C.U., I said goodbye to Ivy. I wasn’t going to hang out in the library today. My last visit there hadn’t gone so well, and besides, I wasn’t in the mood to read. I had my notes anyway, I could just review inside the classroom. Looked like my day was going to be quiet. Freya was absent, most likely still down with a fever. That meant I wouldn’t have a noisy seatmate today.

I went straight to my seat and pulled out my notebook to scan through it. I had reviewed last night, but thanks to Knox and what he did, my focus had completely scattered. He was the first one scheduled to give us our prelim exam. Just thinking about seeing him again made me furious and excited at the same time. That feeling of wanting to see him immediately, but at the same time hating him so much for what he did, it was maddening. But I didn’t want to show him how affected I was.

The fvck are you even saying? You haven’t even replied to his chats. And now you’re saying you won’t show you’re affected?

I exhaled a deep breath. Sometimes, it’s not a blessing to have your inner self talk back. It just makes you feel stupid, like you’re picking a fight with yourself.

“Pria, can you be the muse for our booth?” I looked up at Dana, our department president. She had a notebook and pen in hand as she sat down in Freya’s vacant seat.

“Muse?”

“A lot of people requested you. And I got ahead of Apple and Andy, I heard they wanted you for their booth too.” I quickly shook my head and returned my focus to my notes.

“There are plenty of others. Someone who isn’t busy. I’m busy.”

“Then how about as our candidate instead?” I snapped my notebook shut and stared at Dana in confusion. What was happening to people lately? Why did it feel like more and more of them were approaching me? I didn’t like this. My life was already too busy to waste time on things like this.

“Dana, I said I don’t want to join.”

“But Freya already signed you up. Either I’ll ask Cheska from the other section to be our muse, or if you agree to be muse for our booth, Cheska can be the candidate for our department.” Freya really loved throwing me into awkward situations. She deserved to be butchered and fed to the sharks.

“Why does it feel like I don’t have a choice in this?” Dana chuckled lightly at my words.

“You have both the looks and the brains, Pria. Either we’ll win if you’re the candidate, or our booth will be a hit if you’re our muse. And it’s all going to charity, whichever one we pick. All you’d have to do is stand there in front of the booth and smile.” Considering her suggestion, I still hated the thought of parading on stage. As much as I wanted to help Freya with her plan involving Cheska and her ex, Calvin, it wasn’t easy to climb on stage with only about twenty percent confidence to my name. I figured it was better to just agree to be the muse for their booth.

And apparently, Knox isn’t just two inches taller than me. He’s really tall, towering, even and beside him I look ridiculously small. If I joined as a candidate, I’d probably just end up being laughed at, standing there among giants. It’s always Knox. Somehow, I keep finding ways to drag his name into everything.

“What kind of booth are you even running?” Dana sighed in relief and broke into a wide grin.

“I’ve heard the gold Oreo cupcakes and the purple macaroons taste amazing, and they sell fast. If someone buys one box, they get a free ticket to the movie marathon booth. If they buy two boxes of cupcakes and macaroons, they get ten minutes to talk to and hug you. And if someone buys all of them, they get the chance to take you out on a date.” No freaking way.

“I thought I’d just be standing there and smiling? And for the record, Dana, I won’t let just anyone hug me. And a date? Absolutely not.”

“Not everyone can afford a whole box of Oreo cupcakes and purple macaroons, let alone all of them. We deliberately set the price high. Most people will still just buy single pieces. That’s our marketing strategy, to draw people in. But with you there? We’ll attract even more customers.”

“How much per box?”

“Five thousand. But that’s for both the Oreo cupcakes and the purple macaroons. We raised the price on purpose, since most of the students here are rich anyway. We’ll only sell up to thirty-five boxes in three days. Who would spend one hundred seventy-five thousand just to buy all of them? It’s impossible, Pria. And even if someone did, it wouldn’t be a loss for them, because they’d get to date you. But I assure you, no one’s going to buy them all.” Their idea was genius, trapping me without leaving me any real choice. But honestly, who in their right mind would spend ten thousand pesos just for a hug? Even a thousand would already be too much. And one hundred seventy-five thousand just to take me out? That was absurd.

Only a lunatic would do that. No, scratch that, maybe not even a lunatic would waste that much money just to date someone as ordinary as me. With the thought that no one would ever actually throw away that kind of money just to hug or date me, I agreed to be Dana’s muse. I was about to shake her hand to seal the deal, but before I could even raise my hand, she pulled me into a hug. She clearly forgot what I’d just said about not letting people hug me.

The moment Dana let go, my gaze instantly landed on a man standing at the front, his cold eyes locked directly on me. How long has he been standing there? Dana returned to her seat, still smiling broadly at me before turning to face forward. I, however, ignored Professor Sandoval and the silent daggers of his stare were throwing my way. I was angry at him, and no amount of glaring would change that.

He didn’t give any lengthy instructions. All he said was that we were literate and had enough common sense to know what to do. He just allowed us time to place our bags and belongings in front. He really did have this way of making teaching inspiring, infuriatingly so.

“You only have one hour and thirty minutes to finish the test. No extensions. No special exams for absentees. No make-up exams for failures. If you fail, you fail.” I forced myself to keep my eyes on the whiteboard. As much as I wanted to look at him, I resisted. I wanted him to know that I wasn’t pleased with what he did back in the library. Just thinking about it brought back that burning urge, an almost physical craving, to punch him in the face.

All of us turned to Rendell when he raised his hand. Knox didn’t say anything, he just looked at Rendell, his expression plain and bored.

“Sir, what about those of us who didn’t get to review because we’re athletes? Won’t there be any removal exams if we fail today?”

“It’s a matter of taking responsibility as a student, Mr. Piedad. You’re an athlete, you should know time management exists.” His words made it clear, he wasn’t changing his mind. And he was right. It would be unfair to the rest of us if she gave them a special exam just because they were athletes. I mean, I manage to review despite having a part-time job at night. It’s not like they practice every single day. His excuse was pure laziness using athletes as a free pass.

Rendell had no choice but to dig deep into whatever stock knowledge he had, if he even had any. Honestly, if you actually listened in class, the exam wasn’t that hard. Some of the questions had already appeared in our quizzes before. With that, the exam finally began. I wondered how Freya would manage, since Professor Sandoval had already made it clear there were no special exams. But… was that really my problem? Probably he and Celine already talked about it. Maybe Freya would be an exception since her reason was valid.

I finished Test 1 quickly, and Test 2 wasn’t that difficult either. It was Test 3 that slowed me down, thirty true-or-false questions, each requiring explanations for why the answer was true or false. Three points each if both the statement and reasoning were correct. Then came Test 4, five essays, each up to 500 words. God. It was like he didn’t want anyone to pass his subject. A true brain-drainer. I had reviewed, but even then I struggled to finish. The ideas were there, but the questions were so tricky that all I could mutter under my breath was, Damn it, seriously.

With one hour and five minutes left, I managed to answer everything. Dana finished at the same time as me, so I let her hand in her paper first. Knox’s glare burned into me as if he wanted to strangle me. He kept staring like I was the one who’d wronged him. I couldn’t help rolling my eyes at him before placing my paper on the table. Then I turned my back and went straight to my seat before I could see his reaction. Should I just reject him outright? God, he was getting under my skin. He’d said we were free to leave once we finished, so I grabbed my bag and turned to face him to excuse myself. But before I could even speak, he cut me off.

“You can’t leave, Ms. Dawn. Not yet. I have something important to discuss with you. You cannot leave unless I say so.” Oh, here we go again. You’re just going to flirt with me, because you know how weak I get when it comes to you. As much as I hated it, I couldn’t exactly defy him. That would be disrespectful, especially in the classroom.

“Did you say something, Professor?” He just looked at me. That kind of look that says you know exactly what I mean. He could stay sulky the whole day for all I cared. I was mad at him. Do whatever you want, Knox.

I sank back into my seat, pulling out my notes for the next subject’s exam. Out of the corner of my eye, I caught him looking over my test paper. My throat went dry, and I swallowed hard. I was confident in my answers, but still, I couldn’t stop the nerves from bubbling up. And then, in a fleeting second, the corner of his lips tugged upward. The nerves disappeared, replaced with a strange, unexplainable feeling.

How could someone like him, this impossibly striking man, be interested in me? What did he see in me that drove him mad enough to pursue me? Or… was I just imagining it all? He kept checking my paper, while I sat there shamelessly staring at him, devouring every detail of his beauty with my eyes. And I knew, without a doubt, I’d never get tired of it.