In the entire three years she studied in South Pacific High, Bella was never late until came the first day of her final year.
She clutched her bag and sprinted towards a corner street miles away from school lecturing herself what a bad decision it was to sleep in for another five minutes after her alarm went off.
Tomorrow she swore to get up the first time her alarm would go off. Or maybe set extra time for fifteen more minutes before her usual alarm just to be safe.
She was almost out of breath when she was about three blocks away from the school gates. Her feet started to feel sore from running and you can almost see patches of sweat forming in her uniform. She didn't mind feeling icky from sweat as long as she reaches school before her second class starts. With hesitation, she dared to look at her wristwatch and almost had a heart attack to see that it was nearly nine. Oh my god. She was twenty minutes late. The school gates closed off by now and will be guarded by annoying prefects.
Thinking detention is not a good sign to start off her final year she turned to a corner to the side of the school and planned to sneak her way in to avoid the prefects roaming around the school gate.
When she reached the side fence, she stopped to gasp some air and thought for a moment on how on earth is she going to climb up that high fence. She threw her bag in one of the bushes and didn't realize the fence was that high. There are a lot of other students who do this kind of stuff. I am not the first one. I can totally climb up there. She thought to herself.
"Totally," she gulped.
While her mind races off on ways on how to climb up the fence without tearing off her uniform or hurt herself from the bushes a deep-raspy voice asked, "Are you going to climb up or what?"
Startled, she turned to see a guy standing behind her looking grumpy waiting for her response. There isn't much to say about him. He was tall and has a medium length dark black hair with a streak of blonde on the left side of his bangs. He looked like one of those mob gangsters in a mafia movie. He was surrounded by an ominous aura around him that screams danger. Definitely not someone you can trust. But you can probably add some handsome there too if he wasn't looking like he ate a bitter gourd for breakfast.
To her relief, he was wearing a South Pacific High uniform. She smiled and replied, "I am"
"Well?" he asked sounding impatient.
Thinking to herself how could a guy like him be so rude in the morning, she turned towards the fence and finally walked slowly towards it and grab hold of the bar. She started calculating how high she needs to jump to reach the top of the fence and land on the other side safely and tried a bunch of test jumps to hype herself up. She was totally in the zone to the point that she couldn't care less what the guy muttered to himself, he was growing frustrated and she could feel that because she was getting frustrated as well. She didn't know how long she was standing there looking at the top of the fence when the guy finally asked,
"Do you need a boost up?" He sounded and looked irritated which made her decide to finally give up and nodded.
He stood next to her, held her waist and hoisted her up the fence with zero effort. She then, realized it's her first time being held by a guy especially a stranger and started to feel like she shouldn't be so trusting. She took a second look at the stranger next to her and saw that one of his hand has bandages and another on his shoulder.
He could be one of the gangsters that kidnap students. Or he could be a rapist for I know.
Her face felt pale and her body tensed feeling the regret of asking for help to a total stranger when she caught a whiff of his sweet perfume which made her feel nostalgic. It reminded her of the beautiful flowers in her mom's green garden in the backyard when she was little.
She was back to their old house and the scent of roses in the air lingers early in the morning as she wakes up. She would always run into their backyard and find her mom checking her plants, watering them and digging up holes to add another one in her collections of different kind of flowers. It made her mom feel so calm and happy every time she was surrounded by them but she takes extra care of all her roses.
"I don't like the roses, Mama." Little Bella said with a disgusted look. "It looks pretty but is full of thorns"
"Honey, their thorns is what makes them more beautiful than all the other flowers in the world" her mom explained. "If a rose loses its thorn no one would appreciate their true beauty."
She never understood what her mother meant that day but could still remember her adding with the warmest and kindest smile, "They are my favorite kind too because you were named after it, my Bella Rose".
A gust of wind slaps her back to reality and lets herself jumped off to the other side of the fence. After landing on the other side, she grabbed her bag and was about to thank the guy who didn't kidnap her when she caught sight of his toned abs while he jump up the fence easily in front of her and find his strong biceps flex as he grabs hold of the bar. Her heart fluttered and looking awe at the magnificent human being before her.
Ddu-Ddu. Ddu-Ddu.
There was something that sparked inside her chest which made her smile idly and thought, okay so, I guess he is handsome, and cool, and awesome, and hot. I mean, just look at those piercing sad looking brown eyes that make you want to take care of him.
When they were both able to get to the other side of the fence. She kind of panicked, she feels the need to say something cool rather than just say, thanks.
Think. What would Kim Bok Joo say in this kind of situation?
He was already reaching for his bag when she turned her back on him and gushes on ways on how to thank her knight in shining armor. All she could remember was nothing.. She wasn't sure what to say. How could she?
Every time she felt like this, she'd normally and automatically do her hair-lip-line strategy towards boys that she memorized by heart as told by her handy guidebook.
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She tends to deliver the strategy pretty well but somehow guys often ended up running away to the other side. She's sure that it's not because she is ugly or anything. She may be short and skinny, but she's sure to put on enough makeup to make herself look presentable. She just has a habit of falling hard on a random guy the first time they met and happen to know a little to none about flirting---except of course from what her guidebook has.
Finally, she thought of a cool way on how to ask for his name and thank him without using her hair-lip-line strategy as to not scare this gorgeous looking guy.
Hi there! I'm Bella, Bella Rose by the way. Are you perhaps the man of my dreams? she practiced with all her heart running the lines again and again when the man of her dreams pointed out, "Umm... your skirts caught in the bushes"
She turned in horror looking at her skirt and then looking at him. Everything around her slowed-down, her face turned bright red and couldn't believe what was happening. Her undies were showing off saying hello to the world and to the man of his dreams. Her horror turned into shock and she just couldn't help it. Her hand instantly went up to the air and onto the guys face. Smack!
"Pervert!" she shrieked.
She grabbed her bag and bolted to the school building without looking back. It was like zombies had finally spread out in the country and the apocalypse has begun. She was running so fast, dust might've come out in the air.
It was decided, in her 15 years of existence, she never felt so humiliated. When she finally turns to a stop inside the building. She kept rewinding the incident again and again like an old black and white movie and eventually covered her face in embarrassment. Her fantasizes turned into a nightmare in an instant like that time where the Avengers turned into dust in one snap. It was horrible.
It was all her uniform's fault and whoever decided to make it like it was. They were in the Philippines for Pete's sake, there's no need to wear a sailor moon skirt in the middle of June. It's a rainy season. Summer is long gone. This isn't Japan. She sighs in defeat and tried to fix her skirt to make it a little longer. With all her might, she prayed to all the Gods that she'll never have to cross paths with that guy ever again even if he may be her true love and walked towards her next class.
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"I can't believe you're late on our first day!" said the girl sitting in front of Bella. After the incident, she went straight to English for her next class. She was seated in the far side corner of their classroom near the window while her friend seated right in front of her talk endless nonsense about reasons being late in the first day of the year is bad luck.
It was hard for her to focus on what her friend was ranting about because of the incident at the school fence. She just couldn't get over the fact that she was starting to feel something for him and then a room full of nightmare decided to ruin it. I definitely regret investing my feelings for him. Oh god. What if he's the one and I ruined it?
"Are you even listening?" the girl snapped raising her eyebrows at Bella. She finally looked at Leslie's annoyed face and replied, "I am. It's just... I had the most terrible thing happened to me this morning."
"Why, what happened?" Leslie replied with concern. "Oh god. Please tell me this has nothing to do with your guy handbook again?" she added with a sour face.
She buried her head on the desk in embarrassment. She was talking about Bella's handy guy guidebook. It has been with her ever since the failed attempt on confessing to a guy she liked.
The day that she tried to confess to her first crush and hoped to be soulmate, they've known each other since their childhood that it's nor much of a shock that she developed strong feelings for him.
It was supposed to be simple, she was planning to just give the love letter she wrote for him and tell him that she likes him but disaster struck when she was sister-zoned, pass unnecessary gas, fell face first, and had it all on tape. She wasn't really that good at talking to boys before and even now, but that is why she has her trusty guidebook.
Ever since that incident six years ago, a lot has changed and her guidebook helped her confess in the smoothest way possible and have pointers on how a guy would like her back.
Remember those paper magazines where there was a lot of information on how to get a guy? She takes her time in collecting those articles making a masterpiece into a big fat book of hand guides to a boys heart. With delight and belief that it will help her find her true love. She always makes sure that she has it inside her bag at all times and use it whenever the need to. Among other things, it has helped her how her hairstyle should be. Boys practically love long-haired girls. Thus, the reason why she keeps her hair that way.
It never fails to help her in times of boy trouble. It was her beauty bible, her go-to adviser, everything that she needs related to boys was on those cute cut-out pieces of a scrapbook. She learned and memorized every tips and advice in those columns like a genius and never had any trouble with telling how she feels with a guy she liked. Well, except for the fact that all of the boys she confesses with always find her too aggressive and dense.
It never really occurred to her about keeping tabs on what to do in a totally-majorly-earth-shattering incident. And yes, she triple checked, there was nothing on her book that could help her with that kind.
"I told you it does not work in every guy you just randomly met," Leslie added. Bella let out a deep sigh and thought about starting to add a page for What to do when in a totally-majorly-earth-shattering-situation on her guidebook, and told her trusty friend what had happened earlier.
Leslie is one of her closest friends in school. They've known each other since the sixth grade which made them inseparable and practically sisters except they look nothing alike. Leslie has more of a round S-line body with chinita eyes and curly lioness short brown hair while Bella is more pixielike with small features and jet black hair, gently waving to the middle of her back.
She had Leslie by her side at all times, through her ups and downs, she was kind enough to go with the flow when it comes to Bella's wild ideas about how true love works and getting advice from old cut-out pieces of a magazine instead of listening to hers. So, she trusts enough to tell her what had happened with the guy and her skirt.
"Hahaha.. you.. he.. hahaha" Leslie bursts out a deep loud hearty laughter that filled the classroom. Everybody started to look at their way with confusion thinking what was that about, but Leslie didn't mind, she was laughing so hard she had tears in her eyes.
"You actually... what did he do.. did.. after you... haha.. after you.. pfft.. slapped him," she said while trying to control her laughter.
"I don't know. I don't want to find out." Bella mumbled. "It was embarrassing."
"Do I even know this guy?" Leslie chuckled.
"No," she thought for a moment. "I don't think so. I don't even know if I know him"
Bella suddenly had an epiphany and thought about the time she confessed to her 37th true love last year on their Junior-Senior prom night. Remembering how embarrassing it was since that was the first and sworn last time she will ever confess publicly.
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Knowing Caleb and being friends with him for two whole months, she was so sure that this time, they were meant to be together and they would live happily ever after.
Bella prepared day and night to make sure to perform the perfect song for Caleb. On the night of their dance, she planned to perform a love song for him and finally build her courage to confess on stage, "I dedicate this song to Caleb."
It was the most heart-melting moment she ever did for a guy, but sadly the guy changed schools after that.
"Oh my god. What if he totally knew who I was?" struck in horror she started begging Leslie to help her find the guy and think of a good way on how to apologize in order for him not to tell about the incident earlier.
"Please.. please.. please.. I've already lived through the humiliation being tagged as the girl-who-got-dumped last year. I don't need another title as the one who has undies in pink."
"You've had thousands of crushes every month and never had any problems confessing to each and every one of them consistently. You practically confessed half the guys in school," Leslie said in a matter-of-fact, "Don't you even at least recognize who it was?"
"I don't have thousands of crushes" Bella retorted. "And I didn't confess to all of them."
"Uh-huh..."
"You'll probably not understand since you haven't been in love"
"I did too" Leslie gasped. "For your information, I had a guy I really liked before. But it didn't end well, he turned out to be a frog."
"That's not true," Bella countered. "He liked you but you didn't like him back because you said he smells like an old sock that's haven't been watch for weeks."
"Okay, enough about me," her hands up in the air in defeat. "What do you know about love anyway?"
"I know tons!" Bella said feeling good about herself.
"Besides what's written on your handbook?" she added while crossing her arms.
Love is when you feel full even if you haven't eaten in days, Bella remembered.
It was summer of 2008, she could still remember the smell of the ocean and the waves lapping the shore making her feel sleepy. Bella cried the whole morning, insisting on going to the beach today as they promised her that she can go to the beach during summer. Her mom and dad argued whether they'd go or not. Their little fight went on until the way to the beach as her mom can't stay too long in the sun. They said it was bad for her.
Little Bella and her mom were laying in one of the hammocks near the beach, when she finally asked, "Are you and daddy mad at me?"
"Of course not, honey" her mom answered. "What makes you say that?"
"I heard you and daddy fighting because we went to the beach even if you aren't allowed"
"It's okay, honey. Mama is strong and I love you very much that I can never say no to my sweet little Bella" she smiled, trying to make Bella feel better.
"Even if I don't eat my vegetables when you told me to?" little Bella questioned.
Her mom laughed in amusement. "Always," she replied.
"Even if... I broke one of your pots in the garden?" little Bella said sheepishly.
"Mmm.." her mom thought for a minute. Little Bella looked at her mom worried that she might get angry.
Her mom looked at her and put on a smile then answered, "Always" she kissed her forehead and gave her a warm hug.
"Honey, love is more powerful than all your faults and mistakes in life," her mom added. "Love keeps you going. It's so powerful that once you meet your true love you'll feel satisfied, complete, and full."
"Like when I eat my favorite strawberry cake and then feel full?" little Bella said cheerfully. Her mom laughed, "Yes, like eating your favorite cake" she replied.
"Then, I'll make sure I find my true love. So I can have more cake" little Bella exclaimed.
"Yep! I know tons!" Bella replied. She started rummaging into her bag looking for the guidebook, "And for your information, this book knows more a lot about love than you and me."
"Yeah, right" Leslie's eyed rolled. "Like the time you used it to check whether your true love of the month is the one.."
"Exactly!" she agreed.
Leslie lets out a deep sigh, "Uh-huh." She was still ransacking her bag, unbothered by Leslie's response. "Now, now where did I put it?"
She swore she remembered putting it inside her bag last night after taking notes from one of her Korean drama favorites but she already pulled out all of her stuff and turned her bag inside and out, but no handbook. Oh no.
"It's not in here!" she said looking bewildered.
Eek!
There was a bit of commotion outside the classroom and one of their classmate Melissa who was known as the President of Affairs (aka gossip) run full speed to their room and brought out the biggest news for the day, "There's a new hot transfer in 401!" she shouted with delight.
"Here's the ditch," Melissa continued. "He's a fourth-year transfer from Reale Academy--where the hot and rich guys are--, 5' 10''--perfect--, super friendly---according to the welcoming committee--, into sports--so hot-- and totally A-V-A-I-L-A-B-L-E." Another round of shriek with delight, only this time all the other girls joined in including Bella.
All the other girls started to gossip and started to daydream about the hot new transfer while the other guys in the room hissed and grumbled, when Leslie knocked Bella some sense, "Hello? You in there?"
"Oh my god! Did you just hear that? A new transfer? I bet he's a total hottie since he's from R.A. We should totally check him out." Bella rumbled.
"I can totally use him on how to befriend a hot transfer student without being too obvious." her eyes glimmer in excitement. Leslie cringed.
"You should really have yourself checked Bella," Leslie replied. "And... I guess... it's better not to find your handbook?" she added.
"OH. MY. GOD!" she exclaimed shooting up on her seat. "We need to find it!"
As soon as she said it, a guy entered the classroom and the whole class suddenly turned quiet, staring at the student standing outside the door in total shocked.
The student looked displeased and almost ready to rip anyone's face whose within two feet distance. He has a bandage on his left hand and one on his shoulders making him look like he's ready to beat up anybody who eyes lock on him but the most chill-tingling that makes him scarier was his face. It was red as a tomato with a vague handprint as if he was slapped hard recently.
"Is there a Bella Rose, here?" he said in a menacing tone with one hand upright carrying a thick book that looks like handmade.
Oh god, no.
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