Down For You

Chapter 3 Unexpected Connections

The following day, Tuesday, our Computer and IT subject is coming up. Our class will start at 7 am, so I woke up at 5 in the morning to get ready.

"Another day, another adventure," I muttered as I went to the bathroom to take a bath. After finishing, I took my uniform and prepared my things, including my laptop for our subject. Once I finished, I put everything in my bag.

"Hey guys, don't wait for me. I might be late as well," I messaged our group chat, even though I wasn't really late.

"As always, nothing new," Aly commented.

"Okay," Allen replied.

And what about Kayla and Rhamil? They just saw our chat.

So I rode a tricycle because I was too lazy to walk to school. When I arrived, it felt really odd-I just wanted to go there alone, with no friends to wait for. I really don't know what my mood was like that day. By the way, this is our first class in this subject, so we are combined with BSCA 1st years.

"You freaking b*tch!" Kayla exclaimed as they arrived. Some of our classmates looked at us, but I pretended not to hear anything and just listened to music with my earphones. Kayla then snatched my earphones and gave me a hard stare, like a volcano about to erupt. I responded by flashing a peace sign.

"Hehehe, so you're all here?" I asked, even though I knew they had already arrived.

"Nah, it's just a picture," Aly said, rolling her eyes at me.

Rhamil and Allen sat beside me, while Aly and Kayla followed and took their seats next to Allen.

Our seating arrangement was as follows: an empty chair, me, Rhamil, Allen, Kayla, and Aly. That's how we were arranged at the last row at the back. The BSCA students had all arrived; we were just waiting for our teacher to come in.

As we waited, someone opened the door of our classroom, and a guy came in. We thought he would be our professor because he looked like one and came to the front of the door. However, he was just a student. He came near me and asked, "Is someone sitting here?"

I didn't speak, so Rhamil answered his question, "No, it's an empty chair."

"Can I sit here?" he asked, now staring at me. I just nodded in response.

After he sat down, he approached me again. "Hey, are you a first-year?" he asked.

"Yeah," I replied.

"From BS Accountancy, right?" he questioned, and I nodded.

"By the way, I'm Archer from BSCA. I'm also a first-year," he said, offering me a handshake. I hesitated for a moment before shaking his hand. "Ellaine," I said.

"Ahem, ahem," Allen interjected, cutting off our handshake.

"By the way, I'm Rhamil, and these are Allen, Kayla, and Alyssa, friends with Ellaine, also first-year college students in the BS Accountancy course," Rhamil introduced himself and our friends. Alyssa, Kayla, and Allen nodded and waved at Archer, who smiled back at them.

"If you need anything or have any questions, feel free to ask or talk to me, okay?" Archer said.

"Okay, thanks," I replied. When my friends weren't looking, he winked at me, which felt strange.

During the discussion, Archer passed me a piece of paper and whispered for me to open it. I saw a handwritten note asking, "Can we be friends?" with a checkbox for yes or no. It felt cringe, but I checked "yes" and gave it back to him. He smiled after reading it and whispered thank you.

I didn't understand why he was acting that way. After our class, I packed my things and prepared to leave the room because my friends were waiting for me outside. However, Archer appeared in front of me.

"Ellaine, can we take a picture together as friends?" he asked. It felt odd, but I nodded to indicate it was okay.

After that, he said goodbye, and I joined my friends, telling them what happened.

"I think he likes you," Allen said.

"I think he just wants to be friends with me," I replied.

"I think he likes you. I'm still a guy, so I know," Rhamil said.

"Whatever, guys, let's just go home," I said, and my friends agreed. We walked home together as usual.