I'm Not The Heroine

Prologue

ASHLEY

"Please, Ashley! Just give it a try!" Nicole said while walking beside me with pleading eyes

"No, Nicole. I am not reading that," I said with an irritated tone.

Hanggang ngayon kasi'y sinusundan pa rin siya ng best friend niyang si Nicole upang kumbinsihin siya na basahin ang librong hawak-hawak nito. It's a romance focused novel-precisely the kind of story she couldn't stand.

"Sige na! Pramis, last na 'to," pangako n'ya sa'kin habang nakataas ang kaniyang kanang kamay.

I rolled my eyes.

Sinabi niya na din sa akin 'yan last time.

I remembered the incident a while ago when she handed me a thick binder in our PolSci class, which I initially thought was for our project at the time. Hindi 'ko na-check ang nilalaman nito beforehand kaya nanlaki ang mga mata 'ko nang bumungad sa akin ang picture ng isang lalaking naka-topless, posing with one of his arms behind his head, smiling seductively at the camera.

Nagsitawanan ang mga kamiyembro namin noon ng makita nila ang ipinipresenta 'ko, habang paunti-unti namang namumula ang aking mga pisngi sa hiya.

Internally I screamed, "Putang Ina!"

Later on, I found out that it was a cover draft of one of Nicole's other friend's spicy nobela that she 'accidentally' handed out to me. Inakala niya kasing gagamitin namin 'yon as a reference book dahil na kulay nito. She apologized profusely to me after finding out what happened, but still, I'm mad at her regardless.

Isang buwan 'ko siyang hindi pinansin no'n, at kahit ano pang pagpapacute at paumanhin niya sa akin ay hindi 'ko siya kinibo.

I only spoke to her again after n'yang mangako sa akin na hindi niya na ako aabutan ng ganoong libro, at ako naman si tanga naniwala. Ang buong akala 'ko ay matutuldukan na ang panghihikayat n'ya sa akin, pero I was wrong.

Applicable lang pala sa erotica ang pangako n'ya at hindi sa romance novels. Ang ending kinukulit pa rin siya nito hanggang ngayon.

"Hindi na gagana sa akin 'yan Nic. Remember last time?" I pointed out while picking up my pace.

Sinabayan niya ang bilis ng aking paglalakad, and in the corner of my eyes, I saw her biting her lower lip. Na gu-guilty ata si loka. Too bad, it's not enough to convince me otherwise.

Sinipat 'ko ang aking relo at nataranta ng makita kong malapit nang mag alas-otso ng umaga.

Crap! Ilang minuto na lang pala at male-late na ako. Binilisan 'ko pa lalo ang aking paglalakad, at napangiti ako ng hindi ko matanaw ang instructor namin sa loob.

Mukhang sinuswerte ata siya ngayon.

Akmang papasok na sana ako ng may biglang humarang sa daraanan 'ko. Napahinto ako bigla at naitukod ang mga kamay 'ko sa pader para hindi matumba.

Arms wide with blazing eyes. In front of me was my persistent best friend.

"Ash, sige na, kahit isang chapter lang."

Sinubukan kong dumaan sa gilid ni Nic pero hindi siya nagpatinag. Tinulak niya lang ako palayo sa pintuan, at hinarang ang mga kamay niya sa harapan para tuluyan akong hindi makapasok.

Sinamaan ko siya ng tingin.

I tried once again na lumusot, ngunit wala talaga siyang balak na tantanan ako hangga't hindi ako pumapayag sa gusto n'ya.

Running out of patience and with the pressure of the ticking clock. I begrudgingly reach out for the book. Nang makita n'ya namang kinukuha ko na ang libro. She squealed happily, and held both of her hands up in the air.

Nagtatalon siya na parang bata, which brought a lot of attention to ourselves.

Napangiwi ako sa ginagawa niya.

"Mag hanus dili ka nga," ani 'ko.

Tired with her antics, I half-heartedly took the novel and shooed her away. Nakangiti naman siyang umalis at palaktaw laktaw pang pumunta sa kabilang kuwarto na kung saan talaga ang klase niya.

With her now gone and with my newly acquired peace, I found myself a decent chair and seated myself at my designated position.

Ang aga-aga pa lang inubos na ni Nicole ang energy niya ngayong umaga.

Recharging myself, naisipan kong silipin ang librong inabot sa akin ni Nicole. I saw the title of the book "Till We Meet Again," at base sa pabalat ng libro that features a woman trapped in between four men who held her in many ways. I'm guessing that this is a reverse harem story where one woman links into multiple guys.

Reading further confirmed my theory, which made me groan.

Sa dinami dami ba naman ng romance trope na ayaw niya, which is lahat. Reverse harem pa talaga ang inabot sa kaniya ni Nicole. Reading with one male lead is already taxing enough. But reading with four? Oh, how much drama will she have to sift through.

Mabigat ang nobelang nasa palad n'ya, and she knows that it will take a lot of hours of reading. Ang hinihiling na lang sana niya ay hindi na siya hingian pa ni Nicole ng detailed review, kasi tuluyan na siyang mababaliw kung oo ang sagot.

Deep within my thoughts. I was startled when a yellow piece of paper was passed in front of me.

"Huy, babaitang tulaley pirmahan mo na 'to," sabi ng presidente namin na kanina pa pala kinukuha ang attendance ko.

Sinimangutan ko siya at kinuha ang papel.

Hayyyst... I really need to pay attention right now. Malapit na ang exam week namin and I can't afford na matambakan pa ng gawain. Focus self, ilang araw na lang ay ga-graduate ka na.

I put the novel inside my bag, and glanced at it one last time. And for some reason, I felt an ominous feeling behind Nicole's last few words.

"I hope you like it Ash. See you soon."