Forget-Me-Not

Chapter XIV: A Dreadful Call

The echo of the microphone was breaching her very ears everytime the professor uttered a word. Phoebe's very first stupid decision for the day was to take the seat right under the speaker hanging on the wall for she'd known more than anyone else how sensitive her ears were to loud noises. Pages after pages, pictures after pictures, the projected screen hitting the humongous white board didn't seem to be getting docile anytime soon. The other oxygen-craving entities inside the enormous lecture hall were being forced to cage their machine-like mouths that wouldn't stop even for a single day for they knew they would become a batch of disgraceful individuals in a matter of second once they spoke without the permission from the person talking in front. Textbooks, notebooks, and pens were working together on each table as the discussion went on.

It'd been three months since the day she went back to studying. A lot of things had happened, too much to be counted on Phoebe's fingers. Carl had been promoted in the company he was working at, he'd been entitled with a much higher position which had given his family a more convenient life for their income had also been raised. Dorothy had made a name for herself by introducing her cooking skills through different social media platforms. She'd started an online store and that surely had done a remarkable outcome. Phoebe had been secretly cheering for her mom and dad, she was really glad that her parents were doing very well in their own careers these days, because that offered her the opportunity to have a peace of mind. As for herself, she was able to finish all the loads she'd been given due to her absence flawlessly. And to top it all, her grades had also been doing well. She may not be one of those elite students in her school for her name to be written on the topnotchers' board, but she was still more than satisfied with what she'd achieved since she knew she was just an average university student. Sometimes she would ask the Almighty Creator why she was receiving all these blessings as if she was the kindest person on earth—contrary to how she'd used to be—not that she complained about it, but it was still quite odd. In anyway, so much had changed about Phoebe herself, she might never notice any of it but it was certainly factual. The end of school year was around the corner, and each of the students were working very hard, surpassing their own limits just to find an assurance that they were gonna pass.

Phoebe was currently jotting down notes as she followed their professors' lecture which seemed to be in 5x fast forward. You would be surprised to know that the girl was doing just fine which as if she'd been long accustomed to it. Amidst writing, a naughty hand suddenly snatched her pen, leaving a trace of long black line across her notebook in the process. Phoebe's reflex kicked in as her deadly gaze trapped whoever it was that had messed up with her. Much to her surprise—or maybe not really a surprise—it was just nobody but the all time living annoyance, Zerene.

With her pair of deadly orbs, Phoebe stared her down then talked. "What the hell is up with you Zerene? Look what you've just done! You messed it up! Seriously?"

When the latter's eyes landed on her once clean notebook, she gasped and exaggerated it by placing her right hand on her mouth. "Oh, gosh you fucked up Phoebe. Booze upshot?"

Phoebe rolled her eyes. "Booze your ass, I'm not a party go'er nor a bar patronizer. We're not the same."

The girl let out a laugh. "Wow, that's rude of you.", she said then stole all her stuff resting on the desk. "Don't push yourself so hard with these shit, you might end up as A.I robot just like those smartasses."

When Phoebe heard the term, she suddenly went into an utter silence. All her memories with Raine came surging like a gigantic tidal wave after a destructive earthquake, wrecking every pillar inside her, making every foundation collapse, and turning the whole infrastructure that housed her heart into shattered pieces. How did the guy slip off her mind? How long had it been? One week? Two weeks? She'd told herself the moment she went back to Cabanatuan that she would never let a single moment pass without thinking about the guy for that was the least that she could do to fight the guilt of being such an idiot to him. She was not in oblivion on how she had treated him, she was not incognizant of the painful words she'd thrown to him. She was fully aware, she'd always been. And that was the reason why she was torturing herself with these memories. Phoebe had had all the regrets. She'd never thought she would fall for the person she'd used to badmouth. If she had only seen it coming, she would have rewritten the storyline for sure. Now that they'd had to part for a long time, she was feeling so hurt for some reason. They'd had a good moment before she left. There were no hatreds, they were in good terms. So why was she feeling this way? Why did she feel like crying? Why did she feel like something was not right? What did all those things mean? She couldn't understand.