four and one // roxy x archie [senior high]

The Third Time

The classrooms were empty and the hallways looked deserted. An event was being held in the auditorium today and almost everyone was there. Except for Archie who just walked through the school entrance late and without a care in the world. Wala namang classes so it's not like he needed to be there. He just dropped by for the attendance and because wala rin namang gagawin sa bahay. Today, different universities had built multiple stalls in the auditorium to endorse their schools and encourage students to enroll in them. He thought his friends would skip the event and have fun in his house but it looks like he was the only one who skipped. Mga duwag.

It's not like he didn't care about his future. As a matter of fact, he's already decided on a particular university and a particular program. He already knows what he wants. He just thought his friends would too. But he guesses they still need to attend this stupid assembly.

Hiking his backpack higher, Archie walked up the stairs to get to the venue. The quiet and empty rooms suggested that almost everyone was probably at the top of the building, attending the event. Which doesn't make sense. It's supposed to be for seniors who are graduating and looking for a college to attend. Hindi naman lahat ng nasa Northford ay seniors. Whatever gets them out of class, I guess.

From the floor below, he can hear the loud chattering and music from above. The sound was loud enough to penetrate the thick walls and floors of cement, hinting at the indefinitely large number of people upstairs. Archie is not necessarily an introvert but he wouldn't call himself an extrovert either. He can be both depending on his mood. And right now, he's undoubtedly not in the mood for a loud crowd. Tangina, why am I here again?

He gets his answer soon enough once he gets off of the final set of stairs and on the same level as the event. His eyes immediately zeroed in on the small figure standing by the opened double doors of the auditorium. Roxy was alone and looking at a pamphlet, talking to herself rather affectionately.

With his right hand inside his pocket and the left holding onto his backpack strap, Archie stared at her for another second before walking towards her.

He snatched the pamphlet right out of her hands and ignored her protests of "huy!"

"Aetheridge Colleges Bachelor of Science in Business Administration," he read the page she was reading before he snagged it, "Wow," he nodded. Roxy tried to grab the paper back but he raised it higher and out of her reach.

He looked at her and said, "Afford mo there pala?"

She only raised her brow and crossed her arms.

"Pero even then, I shouldn't be surprised na baduy yung school na pipiliin mo," he loved to see all kinds of emotions pass through her animated face; from surprise to anger to annoyance to disbelief. It was amazing how he could make her feel all those feelings at once. "Roxy, top three ka pa naman tapos dito ka lang papasok?"

"Ang yabang mo talaga kahit kailan 'no? Ikaw na pinakamataas. Ikaw na pinakamagaling!"

Archie smirked, "your words, not mine."

"Akala ko may pa-character development ka na pero back to zero ka ulit eh! Hindi na dapat ako nagulat na mababa tingin mo sa ibang schools na 'prestigious' sa paningin mo."

"'Akala mo'? Aww, Roxy, you think of me?" He put his palms up to his chest to dramatize the effect. "Anyway, I thought you were smarter. Nowadays, it's not about which university you're from, but who you know. Your connections. Which," he paused, pouted mockingly at her and shrugged, "you have none."

Her eyes squinted at him before saying, "At siyempre you know all about connections, Archie. Sinusubo na lang naman lahat sa'yo eh. Nakatayo ka lang naman ngayon dito sa harap ko dahil sa daddy mo. Kung wala siya, matagal ka nang expelled dito, repeater."

Appalled, Archie didn't know what to say. He just frowned at her and his inability to get completely angry at her no matter how much she drove him up the wall with all these remarks. It's truly frustrating how he has a different tolerance when it comes to this girl. It's embarrassing and he'll never ever let anyone know about it.

"Ano? Natameme ka ngayon? Wala ka nang masabi kasi pati ikaw agree?"

He just softly threw the pamphlet back at her, "Ewan ko sa'yo."

She chuckled at started walking back inside the auditorium, "wag kang mag-alala, Archie, sa UP ako mag-aaral kaya hindi mo na ulit ako makikita dahil hindi naman sila nagpapapasok ng mga katulad mo."

His eye twitched, "I heard that!"

She turned back towards him, walking backwards to the event, "Sinadya kong marinig mo. Goodbye."

Roxy was annoying. Truly. The way she could effortlessly grab his attention by simply being in the same room is annoying. The way she was able to make him apologize with just one look is annoying. And the way she's acting as if she's not as affected by what this is between them is annoying. Really truly annoying.

Because he must not be the only one who feels it. The tension is always palpable between them; the atmosphere is always so thick that it's almost suffocating. If he thought too much about it, he might spiral.

But UP. Interesting. If he's thinking of the same campus as she is, then he will definitely still see more of her.

And for some reason, the thought did not upset him at all. Not one bit.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: i kow i said na the next chapter will take a while pero i got inspired okay ? 💀 inspired na magsulat ng fic instead na gumawa ng reqs 😭 also, i invented a college just in case may ma-offend 'tong archimedes na 'to sa mga pinagsasabi niya.
but 🫣 ! which ph unis do u think each character would be from ? let's see if tugma sila with my new roxchie au soon hihi