Campus Royalties (Kingdom University, #1) | Published under Psicom Publishing

Chapter 17

It was so embarrassing that I had to take a long shower to clear my thoughts.

Going on a date was something I did not expect doing during my college life. Sure, I had watched a lot of romantic movies and series before, but I didn't have any desire to pursue romance after. Madalas ay kinikilig lang ako dahil sa chemistry ng actors at sa plot. Even Alice thought I was weird for not having any crush during high school. But could I do? I was more interested in food and fashion than guys before . . . until that guy came into the picture.

Madalang lang akong makipag-interact sa guys noong high school dahil lagi kong kasama sina Alice at Yna. Madalas ay nag-e-entertain lang ako ng conversations kapag tungkol sa subjects o kaya naman kung kailangan. It's not that I hate them or scared of them, I was just uninterested. However, after crossing paths with Darryl and annoying the heck out of me during the first few weeks of the semester, some unfamiliar feelings started surfacing.

I had always been known as a patient and calm person, but interacting with him made me realize I could get hot-tempered, too. Well, I guess it wasn't that surprising knowing how that guy could easily get into someone's nerves. I had been praised as a mature person, too, but there were times when I could get petty, especially toward him. And earlier, I got flustered, too because of his words.

Napabuntonghininga na lang ako dahil hindi ko alam ang dapat maramdaman. Perhaps I was just confused because he was the only guy around me for quite some time, so I guess not seeing him or speaking with him would help me sort out this confusion.

I went online to get my mind off that subject matter. Chineck ko lang ang social media accounts ko at wala naman masyadong nangyayari. I was about to put down my phone when I suddenly thought of the university portal.

Wala naman talaga akong madalas na pakialam sa university gossips, but somehow, I had the urge to see the trending articles. Ugh. Nahahawa na ako kay Yna.

My heart was beating fast as I visited the portal. Pakiramdam ko ay may ginagawa akong mali.

As I was scrolling through the site, one article caught my attention. The headline read, "A love triangle between campus elites."

The article was a blind item about a current campus elite couple and a campus princess who was allegedly a girl from the campus prince's past. It was insinuating that the guy was probably cheating since he was meeting both campus princess.

It felt like a fiction written by a nosy writer, but knowing how some absurd articles turned out to be true, this one could also have some truths in it.

I-e-exit ko na sana iyon nang bigla akong naka-receive ng message. It was from Darryl.

Let's meet next week. This will be the last time, Tricia.

I was staring at the message for a few seconds. It looked like he sent it to the wrong person. But Tricia, huh? I wonder who that was?

***

Medyo gumaan naman ang course load ko after midterms dahil puro lectures na ulit kami sa bawat subject. The papers had also been returned and I was glad my scores were good. Medyo nagsisisi nga lang ako dahil 92% lang ang nakuha ko sa Philo 1 when I could have done better.

Dahil 11:30 a.m. pa naman ang next subject ko ay pumunta muna ako sa likod ng CAL building para magpahinga dahil puno ang garden ngayon. I didn't want to stay in the library since I might fall asleep and miss my class.

I thought I could have the place all by myself since students don't really go here, but someone was already comfortably lying on the grass. He was facing the other side, so I wasn't sure if he was sleeping, but I only know one person who could sleep nonchalantly like this.