Babysitting the Campus Jerk (On Semi-Hiatus)

BCJ 26 • picture

***

A month. That was how long Kao didn't see Pete.

He was relieved that Pete finally gave him the peace he'd been wanting.

That was what he'd like to believe in. He had to believe it.

He bit his lip as he watched Celeste fetch Peter from school. She flashed a smile as she spotted him but he just nodded.

"You ready to go?"

He faced Kavine who was already bringing his things.

"You sure about this, Kao?"

"Sure about what, Kav?"

"About you pushing Pete away."

"Yes. I'm sure," he replied lowly as he headed towards the parking lot.

"They are not together, Kao. Trust me."

He didn't reply. He knew Kav was telling the truth. 

"I know," he said as he glanced at Kavine before entering the car. Kavine immediately followed suit.

"Wait. What? You knew about it? Then why are you pushing Pete away??"

"You're supposed to be my boyfriend remember? Why are you pushing me to another guy?"

"Kao, I really like you. God knows how much I want this fake boyfriend setup to be real but I can't bear to see you longing for him. What's the point of having you physically near me but you're emotionally distant?"

Kao didn't say a word. He just kept his head low as he searched for words to say. "I'm sorry."

"You don't have to say sorry, Kao. You are not obliged to reciprocate my love."

"How can I make it up to you, Kav?"

Kavine held his hand and squeezed it gently. "Make yourself happy, Kao. Give yourself a chance. Give Pete a chance."

***

"What's happening?" Kao stood on tippy toes as he tried to look at what the teachers were all gossipping about. He heard that someone had donated a school building and the donor would be visiting their school to inspect the area that day.

"Geez. I wonder if he's still single. He's generous and hot at the same time."

Kao heard his co-teacher giggle which was immediately cut off by another teacher.

"Are you crazy? He has a son already. And haven't you seen his wife fetching their son every day?"

The teacher just scowled and lighly hit her colleague.

He tried once more to know what was happening but their school director called him.

"Where's Teacher Kao?"

His colleagues immediately made way for him. He hastily moved forward but quickly stepped back upon seeing the man standing beside their school director.

"Oh, there you are Teacher Kao. Mr. Ramirez specifically requested you to help him in the entire duration that he's here. With that, your subject loads will be disseminated to your colleagues to give you enough time to help Mr. Ramirez."

"I'm sorry, Sir. But my job here is to teach. Not to accompany someone to build a building!" he immediately protested. He knew he sounded impolite but he could no longer control the tone of his voice. He glared at Pete who was obviously pretending to scan the area.

Mr. Romolu looked at Pete apologetically before pulling Kao away. "That's the condition he asked for, Teacher Kao. Please cooperate or he'll pull out the project."