Cupid's Outlaw

Chapter 14: Convince

"Have you heard the news? Break na sina Reider at Aeiana."

Ito ang bungad sa akin ni Spencer unang araw ng pasukan ng second semester namin.

"Yeah, so I've heard."

Naturally, since it's a big news involving two of the most popular students in our university, it spread very quickly among the entire student population. People had been talking about it nonstop.

The truth was... I was both surprised and a little bit worried because of this sudden news. Surprised because I really did not expect that even the match made in heaven could one day split up...

"I can't believe it! They were so perfect. I really thought sa simbahan na ang tuloy nila," puno ng panghihinayang na sambit ni Spencer. "Why do you think they broke up?"

...and a little bit worried because a part of me felt like I somehow helped cause the split.

I swallowed and shrugged without looking at her. "No idea."

Spencer turned to me curiously. "Didn't you ask him about it during class?"

"No, he's extra quiet today. I don't think he wants to talk about it..."

Napangiwi siya. "Sabagay. The wound's still fresh."

It's true. A lot of people had been sneaking glances on Reider to see if he's okay, but he stayed quiet and indifferent the whole time.

I mean... a lot of girls looked at him on a daily basis, but today, it was more than usual. Unsurprisingly, that's not the only thing that's more than usual. He's also more distant to everyone today. It's as if he's mentally building thicker walls to prevent people from asking him about the issue.

And I was sensible enough to respect that. If he managed to comfort me without prying into my personal mess, then that's what I would do now that he's a mess, too.

Dumiretso ako sa gym para sa Ice Age training. Silence welcomed me when I got there. They were all there, but they were neither having fun nor exchanging jokes like they normally did right before our trainings.

Everybody was silent, and the only things I could hear were the frequent water chugging and the balls dribbling from a distance. It seemed like every Ice Age member was also affected by the news.

I looked at Reider who was silently preparing the speakers. Then my eyes searched for Aeiana.

She's not here.

"Let's start with a few announcements," Reider spoke as he looked around. "First, Aeiana Sanchez has quit the Ice Age."

I heard a collective gasp, but no one dared to talk.

"We'll need to vote for a new vice president to replace her. We will also promote one club member into an official compet member, but details about these election and evaluation for promotion will be further discussed on our club day. Any questions?"

After a few seconds of silence, he continued, "okay. For the second announcement, we're invited to join and participate in a national dance competition on May, which is around the end of the semester."

At that, napalitan ng pagkinang ang kaninang matamlay na mata ng mga members.

"Legit?" Teejay asked with a huge grin on his face and with his palms touching in an excited manner.

"Yeah," Reider smirked slightly, "but first, we have to win the regionals on March. We win it, then we move onto the nationals."

A lot of them cheered. Napapalakpak at ngiti na lang din ako dahil kung sakali, first real competition ko ito.