The room was silent, except for the shuffling of papers, tapping of pens and, occasionally, sighs of frustration. The intimidating aura of the wide-eyed Philosophy professor by the name of Dr Leni Moran seemed to have put the class in a tension spell.
Thirty minutes had passed since the pop quiz began and Ella was the only student who had finally submitted her papers. Troy watched her pick her dark blue Jansport backpack and prance out of the classroom, a wide grin plastered on her face.
Gabriella Salome. The girl appeared too confident of herself. She had such a strong personality, very different from Tina’s. Troy’s gaze lingered to the girl in front of him. Her eyes were half closed, pen threatening to fall from her slacking grip. She had just finished answering a quarter of the questions and she only had fifteen minutes remaining to finish the rest.
“Mr Mendoza, are you done?” the professor asked, glaring at him. She must have caught him looking at Tina and thought that he was copying.
Troy decided to give the strict professor his most charismatic smile and said, “Yes professor,” before handing over his papers.
Dr Moran looked insulted, half expecting Troy to look guilty and flustered. Instead, she got the shock of her life when she saw the neatly shaded circles of the answer sheet right to the very last number.
She looked at Troy, unsure of what to do. Finally, she cleared her throat and said, “Very well. You may go.”
Troy kept his things and slung his backpack over his shoulder. Before he left, however, he turned to the staring professor and said in a low, worried voice, “Dr Moran, Ms Ramirez looked sick. She told me she has been feeling sick all day. Could you, like, let her off this quiz and, you know, just give her a special quiz instead? I think she needs the clinic.”
The professor’s gaze turned to Tina, who was dozing on her chair, bangs hiding her closed eyes. Her ballpoint pen fell from her hands to the tiled floor in a soft click but she did not stir.
“Hmm… yes. I’ve noticed she’s becoming thinner these days,” Dr Moran said, nodding her head as if contemplating what to do best.
Troy urged on, “She’s a very busy girl for her age. You know… taking care of her sick mother and working part time. I just… I think it finally got to her.”
The sincerity and hesitation in Troy’s voice seemed to have touched a soft spot.
“Take her to the clinic then, Mr Mendoza. Tell her that she can take the quiz tomorrow.”
Troy thanked the professor and tried to wake Tina. The young woman didn’t even bat an eyelash. She must be really exhausted. Troy thought. He tapped her shoulder again and this time, she opened her eyes.
“Come on Tina. I’ll take you to the clinic,” Troy said, holding Tina’s arm.
It took her a minute before she was able to process what’s happening. She looked at Troy as if he’d just said something very offensive and shrugged his hand from her arm.
“I-I’m so sorry Ma’am. I didn’t realize I… I mean. I didn’t mean to. I was just—” the young woman stuttered, her expression a mixture of panic and frustration. Panic because it was already impossible for her to finish the quiz and frustration because she made a fool of herself again.
“Calm down Ms Ramirez. Mr Mendoza will assist you to the clinic. You will take the quiz tomorrow. Off you go now,” said the professor in a strangely kinder voice.
“N-no Ma’am! I’m alright. I-I just… I didn’t realize…” Tina trailed off. Based from the blank stare of the professor, there was no changing her mind.
Tina roamed her eyes to the rest of the class. As expected, they were all looking at her now. The commotion was obviously more interesting than their blank answer sheets. She lowered her gaze and let out a shuddering breath.
Troy knew that she must be feeling bad. Troy saw the different expressions of Tina’s friends. Katie Rivera was looking at him with a mixture of jealousy and irritation. William Carlisle was looking grim. He got up and volunteered to bring Tina to the clinic.
Ms Moran just shook her head at Will and said, “No Mr Carlisle. You’re not yet done. Go back to your seat and finish the exam. Mr Mendoza will bring her to the clinic.”
The professor then turned to Tina and Troy, “Go now, you two. You’re disturbing the class.”
Tina looked at Troy with utter disgust, as if he was carrying a highly contagious disease. She grabbed her things and went out of the classroom, Troy trailing behind.
AUTHOR’S NOTE:
Hey guys! Thanks for reading! Share your thoughts. I’d love to know them!
I dedicate this chapter to Girl_Princess. If you haven’t read She’s rich; He’s Richer, and you love roncom, you might wanna start reading it now. It’s a very entertaining Filipino story. The characters are just adorable!
I’m sorry for any grammatical and/or typographical error/s. Please tell me if you find some so that I can edit them. I’ve been editing and reediting my Chapters whenever I spot typos.
You can vote, share and promote if you like! :)
P.S. Merry Christmas! :)
-SpeckyPrince
12012014
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The Notebook
RomanceSYNOPSIS: A refined man met an ordinary High School student in a mission so valuable he could not dare to fail. The task was easy: hand her over to his master. But the mission he was bestowed with, which he accepted with pride and honor, would be th...
