OVERDRIVE #1 According to Google, burnout is more than just a fleeting feeling of stress. It is a state caused by prolonged, unmanaged pressure that leads to a profound sense of emotional, physical, and mental exhaustion. It thrives in toxic environments fueled by unfairness, poor treatment from the people around you, and a total lack of recognition despite everything you do to make them accept you. It is a deeper state of depletion that strips away your light, leaving you hollow. Once you are full from keeping it all in, you will eventually be triggered by a single circumstance. A breaking point that forces you to drop everything you love in exchange for the only thing left to find: peace.

Kio Soledad de Merced always kept his life quiet and private. He never wanted anything flashy and grand. Attention and spotlight were the two things he never wanted to have. Calm and easy, that's how he preferred his life. Shiloh Lumiere Bendia's life was far from what he wanted, she was born for the spotlight. Living under the scrutinizing eyes of the world, Lumiere's life consists of cameras and flashes following her whenever she moves. The world gravitates around her, and everyone who sees her is drawn to her light, including him. The moment he saw her on that stage with the spotlight shining on her, he knew he would spend his whole life admiring her from afar. But with the twist of fate and a little luck, his fate might have changed. A secret moment. A lingering stare. Quick stolen moments behind the camera that no one knows about. But to what extent can they sacrifice for a losing battle they knew they would never win? To love is to risk. To risk requires courage and courage is only found in places we're too scared to take. ---- Date Started: March 2025 Date Finished: June 15, 2025

Disclaimer: This is the first book that I've ever written. Proceed with caution and understanding. --->> Hiraya Francesca is the golden child of Eunthastica University Foundation, the genius prodigy is bound to nothing but success. She treaded her life with grace and confidence. For her, failure isn't a roadblock but a redirection for something greater. A perfectly curated diamond amidst stone and sand. A perfectly curated success in a world full of commonness and mediocrity. Hiraya can have anything in this world, may it be beauty, brain, or boys. Everything. Except for Deimos Soledad de Merced. Kaya noong nagkaroon ng pagkakataon at hinayaan nitong makapasok si Hiraya sa buhay nito ay hindi na niya pinalagpas pa ito. She seized her chance and gambled, ngunit tama nga yata ang sabi nila; lahat ng matatalino, pag dating sa pag ibig ay nagiging bobo. She poured her heart and soul into all the oceans that she sailed and the spaces in between that she crossed, only to be welcomed by betrayal and loss. She loved him, he despised her. She trusted him, he betrayed her. She watched him tore her kingdom, and offer it to his own queen. Stripped out of her own title, the golden child lost her kingdom and crown. Date started: December 2023 Date finished: December 2024

Kairos Levi Soledad de Merced was chaos and wildness altogether. A lover of the world and all the pleasures it has to offer. Love and commitment? That never existed in his vocabulary. He was the type to give you the highs and all the best things in life, leaving you wanting more, only to be forgotten by him the next day. Chasing the wild tide of life and living without inhibitions was his way of life. He prefers all things physical and casual. He wants his life to be simple, easy, and hot- the same way he wants his woman to be. Ma. Anisa Sta Ines is smart, confident, strong-willed.... and smart again. Matalino, matapang, magaling. Pero hindi maganda. All her life, she has been nothing but an extra in everyone's story. The wingman, the third wheel, and the go-to person for everyone interested in her friends. She knew she was never meant to be chosen, never meant to be pursued. She was the calm of a Wednesday morning; The stability that people usually take for granted. But her stability and peace ceased to exist when Kairos rejected her love letter in front of the whole Eunthastica. Not because he rejected her in front of the whole school. But because the letter wasn't for him, it was supposed to be for Iñigo, his cousin. ---- Started: June 2025 Completed: September 2025

Valerie Dana F. Encarnacion, a senior high school student, hates this particular guy because no matter how much hard work she puts into everything, she always ends up being second. Kaya naman, para makaganti, harap-harapan niya itong sinasabihan ng masasamang salita pero sa huli, hindi pa rin siya nananalo dahil wala naman itong pakialam sa kanya. But circumstances changed. They became close, and she never thought she would end up liking him...given that she has a boyfriend. Book Cover by: Jasmin Chew

Varsity Boys: Zed

Sheena Co was once engaged to Joaquin Ontengco, Jackson's older brother. It was an arrangement, nothing more. A deal made by families, not by hearts. Yet somewhere in between formalities and expectations, she found something real. Not in the engagement itself, but in the bond she unknowingly built with them. She became one of them-an Ontengco, not by name, but by presence. Joaquin may have failed to make Sheena an Ontengco. But Jackson? He wasn't the type to fail. He wasn't the type to let go. And this time, he'll do whatever it takes No deals, no arrangements, just sheer determination, to make sure Sheena becomes an Ontengco.

For some, life is a battlefield-ruthless and unforgiving. For others, it's a less lethal but equally competitive play, full of unexpected challenges and struggles. But everything in life is like a game. There are wins and losses. Prizes and rewards. And most of all? Rules. For me and Erebus Davis, there are simple ones. Obvious ones. Three rules. Easy to follow. Easy to remember. But one move changed everything. One moment, we are who we've always been. And the next second... there's a misstep. A violation of the game. A decision I could never take back. Out of all the rules, I broke the most important one. In this grand play of our lives, there's a zone I shouldn't have crossed... and a silent rule that shouldn't have been broken.

B and K

stand alone complete [unedited] To quote someone, no one can teach you how to write-because life is the one who would teach you how to pen the beginning, climax, and end of your story-but what if you don't like how life writes it? Athanacia Norainne Samonte only has one goal in life-to write until she's out of breath. She loves writing, as much as how the sun always shine after the night has fallen back to slumber. Kaya naman nang makita ang oportunidad na maging script writer ng isang student director na si Kiran Conjuanco-she did her best to be the only option that Kiran could consider. He was her stimulus to write better so he could only set his eyes on her written crafts. Yet, writing was never easy. In this economy, she has a lot to consider when it comes to pursuing passion over practicality. She has to brace herself from the criticisms that barks and bites her whenever they can. She has to see that she's never going to be the best writer-because there will always be someone who writes better. She has to accept that sometimes writing. . .isn't just writing. When life gives her a script that should have been shelved, can Nacia act off script from this film turning into tragedy?