Love Operation: Don't Become The Villainess

CHAPTER 28: ...

Nakipagtitigan ako sa babaeng 'yon na may kulay berdeng mga mata, kasingkulay ng mga dahong nakapaligid sa kaniya. Nanatiling tahimik ang hangin sa pagitan namin at hindi ko alam kung aalis na lang ba ako o magpapatuloy pa.

I let out a short sigh, checking our surroundings first if there's anyone else here but when I confirmed there's no one, I looked back at her.

Well, this is awkward.

"H-hello?" bati ko pero nanatili lang siyang tahimik habang nakatitig sa akin.

Napalunok ako, "You... What year are you?"

Finally, since earlier, she showed me a reaction--she furrowed her brows at me before averting her eyes away, "It's none of your business."

I couldn't help but stare at her in awe, with my lips forming into an 'o'. This is the first time since I entered this school that someone didn't treat me like a celebrity borne out of nepotism.

"O-okay," was all I could muster before silence once again enveloped us.

I fiddled around for a while, not knowing what to do when I realized something. Just like me, she hasn't been moving from where she's standing. She's not moving an inch while using a tree branch as her support, her eyes into the faraway distance. Pero sigurado akong pinakikiramdaman niya lang din ako.

"Were you planning on going this way so you can leave?" tukoy ko sa kinatatayuan ko dahil matapos niyang tumawid sa bridge gawa ng magkakontektadong sanga ay kailangan niyang dumaan sa akin.

She looked around, further away from me and I don't know why but she made me laugh a little.

"I'll go back down then so you can pass by--"

"There's no need."

To my surprise, she ran to the bridge and in the speed of light, stepped onto the top of the welded railings (instead of going to me) and jumped to the ground, rolling over the grass then landed on her left knee. She did it in a fashion like she was used to such stunts, making it seem so simple and effortless.

Nakanganga ko siyang pinanood habang tumatayo siya't pinapagpagan ang suot na uniform. Tinapunan niya pa ako ng tingin and without saying a word nor making any expression, she turned her back at me, leaving casually.

Ramdam ko ang pagbilis ng tibok ng puso ko dahil sa sorpresa at pagkabigla.

Nawala na lang siya sa paningin ko't nandoon pa rin ako, nakatitig sa direksyon kung saan siya umalis.

"So cool..." I uttered, eyes diverting to the oak tree on the other side of the fence where she was, back to where she landed on the ground then to the direction where she left.

While shaking my head, I continued, "That was so so cool."

Nagsimula na rin akong kumilos, carefully crossing the bridge over the welded fence then to the other oak tree.

When I made it to the ground, I looked back to the other side of the fence, of where I came from before continuing inside and deeper into the small forest.

I wonder, will I be able to see her again?

I want to get to know her.

~ * ~

*RING!*

Dahan-dahan kong iminulat ang aking mga mata nang makarinig ng ingay. Ang nakasisilaw na sikat ng araw na tumatagos mula sa maliliit na pagitan ng mga dahon at sanga sa itaas ay tumama sa aking mukha.

*RING!*

I glanced up at my phone beside me on the grass. Iniabot ko 'yon at nakitang yung alarm clock ko pala 'yon na itinakda ko kanina para magising ako ng alas tres ng hapon because I decided to take a nap.

*RING!*

Pinatay ko 'yon at humikab, sabay ay umupo na sa blazer kong inilatag ko sa damuhan kanina para higaan ko dahilan kung bakit ang white blouse ko na lang ang natira na pang-itaas ko.

I scanned around the place to see that everything is still the same before I slept and was remained undisturbed.

Deep in the small forest, there's a small and flat plain surrounded by the trees na pwedeng maging tambayan. People can even have a picnic here but I hope they don't find out about this place. There are no dangerous animals here for the safety of the students. The school just decided to restrict this area to prevent any accidents or dangerous occurances. They might also be reserving this for future building projects.

I couldn't help but smile. This place is perfect for some alone time, just blissful solitude.

As I stared into the trees, the girl with green eyes from earlier suddenly came into mind.

She doesn't seem like the type to publicly announce there's a secret spot here. I hope she keeps this place a secret as well.

I turned my attention to my phone and opened my mobile data. May free Wi-Fi naman sa buong school pero mahina na sa parte na'to ng kagubatan. Even my data is a bit slow but is manageable.

Sunod-sunod na nagpop out ang mga messages ko from Facebook messenger. Ang pinakanangunguna ay si Josie.

From: Josie

Hello, Catherine! Where are you? Are you still in school or did you go home already?

Wherever you are, take care! I told the professors that you won't attend classes today and they said it's completely fine. Just take your time and rest!

Ms. Kelly was wondering why you didn't attend her classes. Even though we told her you weren't attending the whole afternoon, she suddenly became anxious and paranoid if something's wrong with her teaching methods and class LOL.

BIG NEWS!

Napanganga ako sa sunod kong nabasa na mensahe niya.

From: Josie

We're classmates with Luca in Science, and Social Studies. He was asking everyone earlier where were you. He wouldn't shut up about you in every class. He keeps boasting you already admitted defeat against him but I defended you, Cath! I told him you were just fed up with him that's why you didn't attend classes. I did good, right? Haha!

Napatampal ako ng noo sa nabasa.

Telling him I didn't attend class because of him does make it seem like he won against me, Josie! Not that it really matters though.

Napahilamos ako ng mukha, my hand stopping on the lower part of my face, above my lips as I stared at the screen of my phone.

I wonder why he keeps looking for me? Base sa mga alaala ni Cath ay hindi naman siya ganito kalala dati. Was it because of how I acted earlier? He might've noticed I didn't want to keep playing our game of rivalry anymore. He just doesn't want to stop and give up what we have going on so now he's throwing a tantrum. It's probably because he's too competitive and loves the thrill of conflict and fame.

He somehow reminds me of Keith pero mas malala pa rin talaga ito kesa kay Luca pagdating sa obsesyon nito kay Jade. Now that I think hard about it, Luca does have a high chance of snapping like Keith, but I hope he doesn't. He'll be more dangerous then.

Although both Keith and Luca are calculative, scheming, and manipulative in Beloved Jade, Luca still cares about his reputation and image more than Keith. Si Keith kasi sa story ay dumating na sa puntong wala na siyang pakealam sa mangyayari sa kaniya basta mapasakaniya lang si Jade. Luca, being the only grandson of an international business magnate and Italian Mafia Boss, still has his desire for wealth, power, and fame so he stops in moments when he knows he has to.

Unfortunately for him, I do plan on stopping with our competition because I want to try and have a peaceful school life here so I can graduate in one piece before I arrive at Westwood.

Malalim akong napabuntunghininga. Handling him is going to be a lot more harder than I thought but we can take this nice and slow.

I do have a lot of time to spend anyway.