Heiress (Hanazono Series #2)

Heiress 35: Intrams Day II

Chelsea's POV

It's Wednesday afternoon and a sudden announcement was made. There would be a Mr. And Ms. Intrams pageant tomorrow night and the registration of contestants wound be today. Of course that caused panic and trouble for all of us but we kept our cool. Panicking in this kind of situation would only worsen it and we could make mistakes by making hasty decisions.

"So our representative would be Jaxith and Jira, am I right?" Mrs. Conchia asked us

"No, I think Valerie would do great." Jess contradicted and looked at Lavalee

"Are you up for it, Valerie?" Mrs. Conchia asked and Lavalee nodded

"So, it's settled, the two of you will be our representatives." Mrs. Conchia said and left to go to the registration

Lavalee is busy with her phone when suddenly Jaxith and Icarus took it away, Icarus held Lavalee while Jaxith distanced away from Lavalee.

"Ayiee~~ Textmate sila ni Jace." Pang-aasar ni Jaxith

"'I ate na nga eh', 'Don't you trust me, Dreice?' –" hindi na natapos ni Jaxith and pagbabasa niya ng replies ni Lavalee dahil nagreklamo na si Lavalee

"That's invasion of privacy, Jaxith!" sabi ni Lavalee kaya nakita ko ang pagtaas ng kilay nina Jess at Irene

"Talaga?" tanong ni Icarus habang hawak si Lavalee.

"Yes, according to the Republic Act No. 10173." Pairap na saad ni Lavalee at inalis ang pagkakahawak ni Icarus sa kanya.

"At sinong nagturo niyan sa'yo ha? Hindi ka naman nakatira sa Seryphil kaya hindi yan applicable sayo!" sabi ni Jaxith at binatukan si Lav

"Dreice! He always scold me with the law!" sabi ni Lavalee at sinubukang kunin ang phone pero ibinigay sa akin yun ni Jaxith kaya inilagay ko sa bulsa ko.

"Bakit mo tinatawag a Dreice si Jace? Pangalan ba yun ni Jace?" tanong ko sa kanya at tumango si Lavalee habang naka cross arms.

"Yep, he's Jace Dreice Scott. 23 years old, 1213 St. Anne, Victoria, Lagresch. Living alone with his Mother, his father owns Scott Enterprises and he'll be managing it soon. I know his birthdate, favorites and such kung balak niyo ko pasagutin sa slambook." Sabi ni Lavalee kaya lalo kaming napangisi

Lavalee ususally doesn't care about people who are not affiliated to the business world or her family so it's kind of suspicious that she knew too much about Jace.

"Ay stalker!" pang-aasar nina Jess at Irene

"I'm not. I just happen to see it on his sss wall, duh!" rason naman ni Lavalee

"Bakit mo naman tinitingnan ang sss wall ni Jace?" tanong ko

"I was looking for something to tease him with okay?" sabi niya at napangiti kami dahil namumula na si Lavalee

Her cheeks are turning scarlet and that is very noticeable with her pale complexion. Its a rare thing to see because it was always the other way around, Lavalee is great at teasing people.

Biglang naramdaman kong may nag vibrate kaya inilabas ko ang phone ni Lavalee at nakita ko ang pangalan na nakaflash sa screen. Jace the gay?

Lavalee seriously sticked with that nickname she gave him on their first encounter.

"Natawag si Jace." Sabi ko pero agad yung nakuha ni Jaxith habang sina Hendrix at Icarus hinawakan si Lavalee.

"Lavalee, chill, we won't do anything, promise." Sabi ko kaya umupo nalang si Lavalee sa upuan niya

"Hello, Jace." Sabi ni Jaxith habang hawak ang naka speaker mode na cellphone ni Lavalee.

Nakaupo siya sa upuan at pinakinggan namin yung reply ni Jace. Nakapabilog kami at si Lavalee naman ay nakadukdok sa lamesa, mukhang ayaw makinig pero alam naming nakikinig siya.

[Where's Flamelinne?] tanong ni Jace.

"Tulog siya eh. Napagod ata kanina." Sabi ni Jaxith at nanlaki ang mata ni Lav dahil sa kalokohan ni Jaxith. Well if Jace has a malicious mind it would mean another thing but basing on Jace's personality, he would take it the positive side.

[Good. She should rest.] pagkatapos nun biglang namatay yung tawag

"Hindi manlang nagselos?" tanong ni Jaxith na parang hindi makapaniwala kaya napailing ako. I knew it.

"Because there's nothing to be jealous of." Sabi ni Lavalee at kinuha ang phone niya

Pagbalik dito ni Mrs. Conchia, pumunta na kami sa villa na nirentaham namin, dito kasi sa Tagreesha ginanap para daw siguradong hindi biased yung choice, tapos lahat naman ng delegates dito lang rin panapayagang magrent ng villa or apartment para daw sa security. Magkakasama kami ni Lavalee sa room, sina Irene at Jess naman ang magkasama sa isa pang room habang yung mga lalaki naman ay sa kabilang room, si Mrs. Conchia may sarili ring room na nasa tapat ng room nung boys.

It's a two-story villa actually, there's a living room, small kitchen in the dining room and a comfort room near the living room and dining room, there's also a garage for our van. Biglang may bumusina na mga sasakyan sa tapat at nakita ko si Lavalee na pababa.

We all went out and we were surprised when we saw Jace, Ethan, Caspian and Elijah coming out of the cars.

What are they doing here? They're not suppose to be here if I remember correctly.

I looked inside the car and I got the answer. They brought the clothes that Lavalee and Jaxith would be using.

"She missed you." Jace said while caressing Mnemosyne

"Mne!" Lavalee said and took Mnemosyne. She even hugged and kissed the tiger.

"Eto na yung mga gowns at high heels mo, Lavalee." Caspian said making us shift our attention to the rectangular boxes in their cars.

"Saka yung suits na sabi mo." Elijah said and the guys helped them unload the boxes,

"What's all of this?" Mrs. Conchia asked making us look at her

"The clothes we'll need for the pageant, Mrs. Conchia." I answered

"Mrs. Conchia diba kailangan pa natin ng players para sa soccer?" Hendrix reminded

"Yes, we do. Why?" Mrs. Conchia agreed

"What if we make them join?" Hendrix suggested and Mrs. Conchia's face lightened up

"You have a point. Mr. Scott, Mr. Luar, Mr. Sandoval, Mr. Gonzales, would you like to join as the additional members for the soccer game tomorrow?" Mrs. Conchia asked them

"We're prepared for it." Jace said and I looked at Lavalee with narrow eyes and she smirked before flipping her hair.

Lavalee's really manipulating. She can manipulate things with just one move.

"Good then we're set. Boys, you may stay." Mrs. Conchia said and we helped unload the things.

We unboxed the gowns and prepared it inside the cases. Lavalee tried all of it and Irene took a picture of her which she sent to Jess' iPad and from their, Jess tried different kinds of looks that would fit Lavalee's dress using a simulator app.

"I'm going out." Lavalee said while carrying Mnemosyne

She had just opened the door when Jace appeared and seemed to about to knock. Mnemosyne jumped from her arms and jumped to Jace.

"Where are you going?" Jace asked coldly

"Somewhere." Lavalee replied

"Where?" Jace asked

"Just accompany me." Lavalee said adn walked pass Jace.

"They're adorable." I said after the two disappeared'

I laid on the bed beside Jess who's laying on her stomach and still busy with her iPad.

"How do you say so?" Jess asked still not lifting he gaze from the screen of her iPad

"Lavalee and Jace, their names contradict each other and their personalities clash but still they compliment each other, you know?" I said and placed my arms under my head and crossed my legs.

I'm wearing a long black socks and black shoes and a white dress with red collar.

"You have a point, and I think Jace brings out Lavalee's full happiness." Jess said and rolled to lay on the bed

"Full happiness?" Irene asked and sat on the bed

"Hmm. Lavalee... you know, she didn't change at all. She's still the selfless Lavalee we met years ago." Jess said after nodding

"I wonder when Lavalee's happy. Minsan kasi napapaisip ako kung masaya ba talaga siya o pinipilit niya lang na maging masaya." I said and sat up.

"You'll know when she's happy by looking in her eyes." Jess said and pointed Lavalee's eyes on the picture on her iPad

"Huh?" Irene asked confused

"As I've said, Lavalee never changed nga, diba?" Jess said and I nodded

"Sa mata niya mo makikita kung masaya ba talaga siya. She can cover up the pain, sadness, anger and everything from her eyes but she can't hide her happiness." I said in realization

*KNOCK *KNOCK

I stood up and opened the door.

"Itatanong lang sana namin kung nakita niyo si Jace?" Caspian asked while scratching the back of his head

"Kasama ni Lavalee kanina." I said and he nodded

"Ah salamat." Elijah said and they left I looked at him confused and he smiled awkwardly

"Uh busy ka ba?" he asked and I looked at Jess and Irene from my shoulder.

Irene has her headphones on and Jess is busy with her iPad again.

"Hindi naman. Bakit?" I answered and he placed his hand in his pocket

"Ano, pwede mo ba ako samahan maglibot?" he asked and I nodded

"Magpapaalam lang ako kay Mrs. Conchia." He said

"Uh okay, I'll tell Jess and Irene too. So, let's just uh meet in the front door?" I said and he nodded before leaving

I closed the door and sat on the bed.

"Anong kailangan nila?" Irene asked and removed her headphones

"They asked if we saw Jace." I answered and took a small sling bag and placed my phone and wallet in it.

I combed my hair in front of the mirror and applied a little lip tint. I saw Jess and Irene looking at me from the mirror.

"Where are you going?" Jess asked with a raised brow

"Um I'm going out." I said and I saw Irene looked at me with narrow eyes

"With?" Irene asked so I faced them and placed the comb down.

"Ethan asked me – out on a date? Right now?" Jess asked and sat in an indian sit

"No. We'll just go around to familiarized ourselves with the place." I said and Jaess crossed her arms over her chest

"How naive and numb could you be, Chelsea?" Jess asked me which made me confused

"We're just hanging out as friends, it doesn't mean anything." I said and Irene shrugged her shoulders before wearing her headphones again

"Okay. As you say so." I went out of the room after Jess said that.

I met Ethan in the front door and we went out.

We just decided to walk around the village. There are some students and professors looking at us probably wondering who we are and if they recognized me as one of the delegates they might be wondering why I'm with a guy.

"Kumusta ka na?" he asked me while we're walking

"Ayos lang. Laging tagasaway nila." I answered

"Ikaw?" I asked back

"Ayos lang rin. Ang hirap pala talaga ng lessons. Si Jace nalang yung napasok nitong mga nakaraang araw." He said

Oo nga naman. Why would they go to school when they're already working. That's exactly the reason why they went to school, to guard us.

Napatango nalang ako, maya-maya hinila niya ako palapit sa mga street vendors. Maraming mga nabili.

"Anong gusto mo?" tanong niya

"Libre mo?" Tanong ko pabalik

"Oo." Sagot niya kaya tiningnan ko yung tinda.

I'm not really familiar with their names but I've tasted them before because Ravien used to bring us those kind of foods all the way from here to Japatrein, New Jadecry or Breakore. He and Bloom are the one making it though so I don't know how it would taste when it's sold in the streets. There's not much difference, right?

"Uh yung white na parang fried cotton and yung orange." Sabi ko at narinig ko siyang mahinang natawa

I knew it. It's embarrasing that I don't really know its names.

"Manong, dalawang limang fishball po at dalawang kwek kwek." Sabi niya sa tindero

Pagkakuha ko ng baso mula dun sa tindero binigyan niya ako ng stick and si Ethan na yung kumuha para sa akin.

"Yung sabi mo na parang pritong bulak –" Bigla siyang natawa kaya hinapas ko siya sa balikat.

I admit that I'm naive with street foods okay.

"Ethan naman. Wag ka ngang mang-asar." Reklamo ko sa kanya

"Sige na. Ito na, seryoso na. Ito yung fishball tapos yung orange ang tawag dito ay kwek kwek, okay?" pagpapaliwanag niya at tumango ako

"Yung kwek kwek yung egg na binalutan ng flour, right?" tanong ko at tumango siya

We kept on walking around while eating, after we finished our food we threw it to the nearest garbage bin and continued to tour around until we encountered a group of girls.

"Hi, Kuya." Bati nila kay Ethan

"Uh hello?" Sabi namn ni Ethan na parang naguguluhan

"Kasali ka po?" tanong nung isa na halatang hindi pinansin na may kasama yung kinakausap nila.

"Yes, he's a delegate and your opponent." Seryoso kong saad dahilan para mapahiya at umalis yung mga babe.

"Salamat." Sabi niya pagkaalis nung mga babae

"Uh wala yun." Sabi ko at tiningnan siya.

"Tara, baka hinahanap na nila tayo." Nakangiting sabi niya at naglahad ng kamay.

"S-sige." Sabi ko at hinawakan yung kamay niya.

I averted my gaze and I can feel my face heating up. We continued to walk and I pretended to be busy looking around when in fact I'm just avoiding him which is quite ironic since I'm holding his hands.

"Uh Chelsea." Sabi niya kaya napatingin ako sa kanya

"Sina Lavalee at Jace ba yun?" tanong niya at itinuro yung mga taong nasa ilalim ng puno. I narrowed my eyes and I realized it is indeed Lavalee and Jace with Mnemosyne on their lap.

"Oo." Sagot ko at nagpatuloy kami sa paglalakad.

We kept on talking about random things, well our favorites mostly, as we walked toward the tree where Jace and Lavalee are.

"Sweet." Sabi ko dahilan para mapaupo si Lavalee at kuhanin si Mnemosyne.

Lavalee's head was on Jace's lap and Mnemosyne is on Lavalee's stomach so when Lavalee sat up, Mnemosyne rolled down.

"What are you two doing here?" Tanong ni Lavalee habang nilalaro si Mnemosyne

"Touring around. How about you and Jace, what are you two doing here?" sabi ko

"While holding hands?" Tanong ni Jace at doon ko lang naalalang nakahawak pa nga pala ako sa kamay ni Ethan

I felt my face flushed so I let go of Ethan's hand but he kept on holding mine.

"Stop teasing them, Dreice." Saway ni Lavalee at inilagay si Mnemosyne sa lap ni Jace

"Babalik na kami sa villa." Sabi ni Ethan kaya napatingin ako sa kanya

"Okay, we'll stay here for a while." Saad ni Lavalee kaya tumango ako bago kami naglakad ni Ethan paalis doon.

"Ang mahiyain mo talaga." Sabi niya habang naglalakad kami

"Huh?" naguguluhan kong tanong

"Hindi ka ba sanay?" tanong niya na lalong nagpakunot ng noo ko

"Sanay? Saan?" tanong ko

"Holding hands." Sabi niya at napatungo ako

"Uh well... I'm not." Sabi ko at narinig ko siyang mahinang natawa

"Hayaan mo'kong sanayin ka." Sabi niya at hinigpitan pa lalo ang pagkakahawak sa kamay ko

When we arrived at the villa, we separated ways, I helped Mrs. Conchia cook while he left to go to Caspian and Elijah.

"Nakita ko yun." Jaxith said while leaning on the counter

"Nakita ang alin?" I asked a little confused

"You're holding hands with Ethan." He said and I felt my face flushed

"Ayiee~~ Ikaw ha." I glared at Jaxith when he started teasing me

"Aw you're no longer our baby." Jess said while leaning on the table

"Stop it." I said and called the others to eat.

Jace and Lavalee had just arrived when I was about to go to the dining room.

"Let's eat." I invited them and they followed me to the kitchen

"Ittadakemasu." Lavalee said with clasped hands.

We ate while Mrs. Conchia continued to remind us what we'll be doing.

Tomorrow, we'll be having many soccer matches to win and then in the evening Lavalee and Jaxith will be participating in the Mr. And Ms. Intrams Pageant.

We'll be tired for sure but I doubt that I'd hear Lavalee complain.