Starting Over Again

Chapter 2

Chapter 2

You Decide

There are things that don't happen every day. Some are fortunate, some are not. I'm trying to categorize this mess that I've put myself into. Rate its horror in a scale from 1 to 10; 1 considerably safe, and 10—Kelsea, abort mission. Abort!

Let's see.

Getting pathetically close to Caleb Sebastian Menezes III is definitely a 10.

I hate myself for being a prude but I have to love the future my parents are planning for me. Oh yeah, Caleb doesn't smoke, doesn't drink, doesn't gamble and obviously doesn't cheat (from what I've observed so far, at the least) but sticking to him is going to screw my morals.

It's my third month as a freshman in this prestigious high school. Sana tatagal pa 'ko.

"Wait up, bonehead!" Galit kong sigaw.

He's obviously heavier than me but that doesn't stop him from being a lot quicker. You see, 12 years of my life have been dedicated to a 'bulleted' set of life goals my parents 'genuinely' came up with.

Kelsea has to graduate batch valedictorian. Kelsea has to be the top of her class. Kelsea must have straight A's on her card. Kelsea must continue 'outstanding academic excellence' in college and be a consistent dean's lister. Kelsea must pick a reasonable pre-law course to quickly climb up the ladder of success and ultimately add an honorable fixation to her name. Yadda yadda yadda.

For short, Kelsea must become a puppet. A perfect one, to be exact.

But I don't blame my parents for that. Everybody, and I mean everybody, only wants the best for the people they love.

Although I'm running out of breath and following him would be the last thing I'd do on Earth, my body is involuntarily chasing him. No, Kelsea. This is not you.

"Apparently, this 'bonehead' aced the Advanced Algebra exams." He sarcastically puffed at my face, still running towards the school's main gate. "Hindi mo rin naman alam kung saan tayo papunta! Let me take the lead!"

I rolled my eyes and panted while chasing him.

This doesn't happen every day and I'm making sure that it won't. Hindi ko alam kung paano niya ako napapayag sa kalokohang 'to! Actually, hindi naman talaga ako pumayag. I was forced to because I had no choice. Akala ko it was for something important, pero he's up to no good for sure.

"I want to be enlightened, for Pete's sake!"

"You shall!" He shouted, several meters away from me.

Nang malapit na kaming makarating sa main gate, Caleb hid inside a bush. Luckily, the whole place is surrounded by shrubs and plants. For sure, hindi kami mahuhuli ng authorities nito.

Fingers crossed.

Nearing a few meters from him, he immediately grabbed my hand and pulled me inside the patches of greens to conceal our faces.

I was about to give him the scolding of a lifetime until he placed his index finger on his mouth to silence me. Apparently, my fall to the ground made a noise the guard immediately noticed.

I'm wishing the guard would think 'no, the students here never cut classes, they're too innocent.' However, by the looks of it, he's thinking about something else. This is one thing that doesn't happen every day kaya for sure, nagtataka ang guard kung ba't may maingay sa area na ito.

Well, time to shut up.

Hindi nga ako sigurado kung magc-cut nga talaga kami ng classes. It's a wild guess but it's definitely more possible than him taking me to the canteen for a treat. Kasi naman, kahit may-ari sila ng isang respected construction company at law firm, ayaw niyang manlibre.