ALEXIS and the Bet

Chapter Twelve: Reality Check

The following day, another totally shocking event happened. I was with Alicia and Madie for our short recess when out of nowhere Benjamin suddenly sat beside me as he placed his tray of food on the table. His friend, Dave, rudely sat between Alicia and Madie and gave both girls a smirk. I was even more dumbfounded when Benjamin said "hi!" with a gorgeous smile and one by one removed the contents of his tray and placed it in front of me.

I looked at the food in front of me then transferred my gaze at him. "Ano 'to?"

"Pagkain," he answered. He gave me a smile again. Why was he always smiling now? He always scowls before when I first met him.

"Alam kong pagkain ito," I told him. "Ang gusto kong malaman ay kung bakit mo 'ko binilhan nito?"

He shrugged his shoulders. "It's my way of thanking you for the cupcake."

One cupcake. It was just one cupcake. And he gave me a sandwhich, a can of pineapple juice, two chocolate bars, a chocolate milkshake and my favorite potato chips. Was he really that desperate to win my affection? And did he have any idea what would happen to someone who drinks pineapple juice and chocolate milkshake at the same time? A stomach upset that would make someone end up having an appointment inside the CR! Really!

I shook my head. "Salamat na lang pero 'wag na. May nabili naman akong--" I was not able to finish my sentence since Madie, who was sitting right across from me, kicked my knee and gave me a knowing look. Right. The plan. And so I pretended to be someone else by acting cute and nice, which was quite difficult since I wasn't cute and nice at all.

I batted my lashes at him. "Uhm... Salamat." Then I gave him a flirty smile. This was so not me. I wanted to throw up. I opened the potato chips pack and offered him some. "Kain tayo."

He took one from the foil pack and popped it in his mouth, his eyes never leaving mine. Okay, when he really wanted to court a girl, he was doing it all right. I mean, even though I was sitting down, I could still feel my knees buckling.

I heard Dave chuckling. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Madie shaking her head as if telling me to snap out of it and focus --focus on the plan. I broke our gaze and cleared my throat. "Baka magalit ang kapatid mo if nakita ka niyang nakaupo rito." Not that I cared that Bianca would go ballistic.

"Don't mind her," he reassured. "Hindi ko nga alam kung bakit parating inaaway ang grupo niyo. Tell you what, I'll talk to her and tell her to leave you girls alone."

A temporary immunity against the Pink Devils? I liked the sound of that. "Talaga, gagawin mo 'yun? Pero nakakahiya naman sa 'yo..."

He gave another toothy grin. "No, it's okay. I'll gladly do it for you."

He was starting his move as my knight in shinning armor. If he wasn't the bad guy pretending to be the good guy in my life right now, I would have admit it to myself that what he had just said sent a rush of electricity in my veins. In short he made me kilig.

And a smile spread across my face unknowingly as a blush gave color to my pale cheeks. And I did what I would never do in my entire life: I tucked a loose strand of hair behind my ear, bit my lip and glanced at him out of the corner of my eye. It was a pa-cute move I saw on TV, and the worst part was I wasn't even aware I was doing it until I saw Alicia giggling! I hastily dropped my hand. "Thank you."

The bell rang indicating recess was over. We all stood and the two guys accompanied me and Alicia to our class room. And while we were walking, I noticed the Pinksters throwing murderous glances at us. I couldn't help it but lift my chin and walked proudly. It took every ounce of my remaining effort not to look at their way and say "ang cute ng kasama ko noh? Mamatay kayo sa inggit". But I wasn't that rude yet. Well, you would be proud, too, if one of the hottest guys on campus walked beside you, if you know what I mean.