Whispers Of the Heart : High School

Chapter 3 : Unforeseen Bonds

The next morning, Selena's alarm clock rouses her from sleep, and she groggily turns it off before heading to the bathroom to freshen up. Unbeknownst to her, Asher's is also up and about. As she enters the bathroom, she's met with an unexpected sight – Asher opens the curtains, having just stepped out of the shower. Their eyes meet in shock, and Selena lets out a startled scream.

A few minutes later, Selena is sitting at the dining table, eating a sandwich, while Asher emerges from his bedroom in his school uniform. Selena turns her back to him, clearly feeling uncomfortable after the awkward encounter in the bathroom.

"Why are you upset? I'm the victim here," Asher says, attempting to break the tension. He places a piece of paper on the table next to her and taps on it, resting his bag on a chair.

Curious, Selena picks up the paper and reads aloud, "I made some rules." She continues reading the list of rules that Asher has written: "One, don't eat my things from the fridge. Two, you have the bath until 9, me, Asher, has it after. Three, we take turns cleaning the bathroom. Four, we don't go in each other's rooms."

"We can talk about the rest later. Also, keep the common area clean," Asher adds, observing the clutter of Selena's belongings. Selena gets up to start cleaning the area.

As Selena reads the list, she notices the seriousness in the rules and the last few instructions make her uneasy. "Don't bring boys over. Not even your friends, even if they're girls. Don't go telling anyone we live together. Don't talk to me at school either. We are strangers, okay?" Asher states firmly.

Selena's response is a hesitant, "Ok..." She watches as Asher heads out of the apartment building, and a thought crosses her mind. She runs after him, catching up to him before he's too far away. She admits that she doesn't know the way to school.

"Stay away at least three meters," Asher says, maintaining a clear boundary. Despite this, they walk together to school. Once they arrive, Selena heads to her class, where they're making rolled cabbage.

As Selena continued cooking, Mari asked her if she was tired from the recent move. Selena chuckled and replied, "Not so much, actually." 

"Living alone in a place like that... it sounds like paradise."Mari said

"After you finish cooking, are you going to give it to Asher?" someone says to her friend

"Do you think he'll want it? He's so skinny; I don't know if he'll eat much," a random girl in their class commented to her friend.

Asher's popularity with the girls was evident, and Mari confessed, "I really like him; he's my type."

Selena was taken aback by Mari's revelation. "What do you mean?" she asked.

Mari and the other girl exchanged puzzled glances. "What?" they both said.

"Well, yesterday you mentioned that you like someone like Felix," Selena pointed out.

"To marry, for sure, Felix. To date, for sure, Asher," Mari clarified.

"I see," Selena replied, understanding Mari's preference for Felix as a long-term partner while having a crush on Asher for a more casual relationship.

As Selena headed to her next class, her senses were heightened when she heard a girl's voice yelling Asher name in the bustling hallway. Curiosity piqued, she decided to take a quick peek and see what was happening.

To her surprise, it was the same girl who had observed her interactions with Asher before, the one who had warned Selena not to be too friendly with him. The girl was holding out some food to Asher, an offering of some sort.