Fire In His Fingertips

She was walking down the hallway of the Engineering Department. It was too early yet for her afternoon class. She still had an hour of free time, so she went straight to the old library building to pass the time there. She also intends to sleep there if she can. She didn't want to hang out in the new library building because the couches there were often full and too crowded for her. She prefers a quiet place, especially in the afternoon when she is sleepy. After entering the old lib building, she turned to the hallway of monobloc chairs and cubicles lined up outside the office of the VP Acad. She sat on one of the chairs there and placed her white tote bag on the other empty chair next to her. There wasn't even a single person sitting in the chairs there, so she was glad because she got the entire hallway all to herself. There are a number of people who go from the Science building and go through the old library because it is a shortcut to get to the Faculty building and the Education Department. She was fine by it because she was listening to music on her earphones anyway. The light inside the VP Acad office was also on so she knew there was someone inside. The blinds on the glass door were down but she could see the silhouettes of the people inside. But because her chair was turned away from the office, she couldn't see the office much. After a while, someone came out of the office and sat on a chair two seats away from her. She turned around and saw that the person was also glancing at her. A tall guy with messy hair. That was the first thing she noticed. She immediately avoided looking at the guy and cowered in her cubicle and closed her eyes. The music of the band Sunkissed Lola can be heard from her earphones... ...and she had fallen asleep. She woke up when she suddenly felt something in her right ear. She opened her eyes and the first thing she saw was a man's face upclose. Pointed nose, thick eyebrows, and beautiful brown eyes-- She turned back and hurriedly sat up. The man also looked away and turned his face away from her. She looked at him again and fixed the hair that had escaped from her ponytail. She realized that this was the man who was sitting in the chair far away from her earlier. And now he is sitting in the seat next to her on her right. "Sorry. I just returned your earphones, they fell." The man suddenly spoke in his baritone voice. Now he was looking at her once again. She blinked when she saw the man's face again. He looks like he is of Spanish descent because of his thick eyebrows and pointed nose. "It fell out of your ear. It was on the floor so I picked it up, it might break if you stepped on it." The man explained again when she said nothing. She immediately grasped her earphones in her right ear. He can just wake me up. Why does he have to wear them on me? She thought. Suddenly, someone peeked from inside the VP Acad office. "Sandro, can you come inside?" Mr. Almendras, the VP Acad of their university. The man next to him stood up and went straight into the office. Then, she suddenly remembered the time, so she looked at her phone and saw that she was already 2 minutes late. She quickly put on her white tote bag and went straight to the Engineering Department. When she arrived, Teresa waved at her, so she went straight to the chair next to her friend. "Where were you? I sent chats at you nonstop. It's good that our substitute teacher is late." Teresa immediately ranted at her. "Sorry, I fell asleep. Mr. Casas has a sub already?" She asked. Their instructor in the Engineering Mathematics-I subject is on leave because his wife with Lymphoma is in chemo therapy and he would probably be back next month. Suddenly, someone entered their room. Tall and messy hair. They turned to see who it was. Then, she heard gasping at the back, mostly her girl classmates. "I apologize for being late." The man started walking to the front lectern. Then, he stood in front of the lectern and placed his brown folder and laptop on it. She blinked when she realized who it was. "I am your substitute teacher for EGR 1010. Please call me Sir Alejandro or Sir Sandro. Whichever you prefer is fine." The man in front introduced himself while his eyes scanned the whole class. The whole class started murmuring. The girls, all of a sudden, felt excited. Then, their eyes met. Stared for two seconds and both looked away. She swallowed and immediately gazed at her friend. Teresa has a big smile and seems to be thrilled. It's a good thing that her friend didn't notice the staring contest between her and the man who was now their substitute teacher. "Girl, oh my gee! He is so fine!" Teresa excitedly whispered at her and even pinched her arm. She grimaced. "Ow, Terry." Teresa immediately removed her hand that was squeezing her and gave her a peace sign. She shook her head at her friend and looked ahead once again and caught the man already looking at her. She immediately avoided it when she saw it. "Let's start? I think Mr. Casas left some activities with you? Please pass it forward." Their substitute teacher gave instructions and not long after, the discussion started. "See you, class. Thanks for today." Their substitute teacher bid good bye to the class when it was over. He didn't look her way and went straight to the door. Teresa suddenly hit her on the shoulder. "I can't believe it! Our sub-teacher is so fine!" She rolled her eyes. "If Mike hears you, you'll be crying." She threatened her friend. Teresa's boyfriend is studying Criminology and they've been in a relationship for two years now. Teresa then hooked her arm in hers and smiled. "Of course, my baby is even more handsome. He's the best!" She proudly said. She smiled at her friend and they went out together. *** She got home and found her mother cooking something in the kitchen. She went into her room to put her tote bag and got dressed. Then she went straight to the kitchen to peek at her mother. "Mom, what are you cooking?" She looked at the pan that had some bananas in it. "Banana cue, dear. This is my second time cooking. I ran out a while ago but the kids outside are still looking for it, so I cooked again." Her mom replied while still busy cooking. "Do you need help? You can rest now, let me finish it." She offered. "Don't worry, it's almost over. Boy is outside, can you check on him?" Her mom ordered while still not taking her eyes off the pan, busily stirring the food on it with a long ladle. She went out of their small house and looked for her eight-year-old younger brother. "Boy!" She found him sitting on a monobloc chair facing the small table with a food container on it. For sure, that container is for the banana cue that they're selling. Her brother waved at her while eating a piece of banana cue. "Did you eat our goods?" She peeked into the food container and saw that it was empty and only a banana leaf was left. "No! Mama gave it to me!" He answered and moved the banana he was eating away as if she was going to grab it from him. She laughed and ruffled her brother's hair. Then, their Aunt passed in front of them. She smiled sparingly. "Good afternoon, Auntie." She greeted her Aunt. Her brother also immediately kept quiet and snuggled up to her side. Her Aunt first looked at her from head to toe and raised an eyebrow when she saw that she was wearing a jean shorts. Isabel swallowed a lump in her throat and stood straight. She got nervous all of a sudden. "Next time, don't wear something that short." That was all her Aunt said and walked away carrying her rattan fan with her. Her teeth clenched. She knew exactly what her Aunt wanted to say. Her Aunt Linda always went back and forth with her crooked ideals, essentially rubbing it to her system so Isabel had already memorized it; Don't wear short clothes because she might get pregnant early, or maybe get r***d. She rolled her eyes. "Your mindset is rotten." She whispered to herself. After her father's death of cardiac arrest, his family's true colors have also begun to emerge. They started to care about them too much, especially her. They always have something to say. Just because she's a female and almost all the young women in their area get pregnant early, they have become a comparison to her future life. She always thinks that she'd become like the girls in their poor neighborhood and would eventually ruin her own life. It's exhausting to know that your own blood doesn't support you and thinks of you as a trash. She knows that they only want what's best for her, but the way they are doing it is just so wrong. How she wished that they'd be more considerate of her feelings instead of rubbing salt on her wounds. "Come on, Boy. Let's go home." She led her brother and carried the banana container with her. "Oh, why did you go home right away? There's still a second batch of bananas." Their mother asked as they entered the kitchen. She has finished cooking and is now skewering bananas. "Auntie Linda was there earlier, Ma." Boy answered their mother. Her mom then looked at her, worried. She smiled at her reassuringly and sat on the seat opposite her. "Let me help you, Ma." She said and also started skewering bananas. Her mom looked apologetically at her. "I'm very sorry that I can't protect you. I'm a useless mother to my children." Their mother laughed sadly. She rolled her eyes and laughed. "Mom! There you are again! You're so dramatic. Isn't she, Boy?" She turned to her brother who just nodded at her and was busy eating a banana. Her mom just smiled at her. She knew exactly how she feels. If only there was money, they might have moved away from this place. Away from her father's side of the family. But they couldn't leave. The house they live in is paid for by their Uncle Carlo, their father's younger brother. They had nowhere else to go because her mother had no other family to help. Her mother grew up in an orphanage and her father's siblings didn't like the fact that their mother is an orphan. "Just a little bit, Mom. I'll take care of you and Boy." She held her mother's hand and squeezed it gently.