Page 5 of Chasing Mr. Prefect

“Yes?” I called out.

Liana popped in from behind the doorway, looking like a lost puppy.

I raised an eyebrow at her. “I’m going downstairs in a minute. Did you need something?”

“I heard what happened today. Are you okay?”

Her concern seemed genuine but it just annoyed me more. It reminded me of her in kindergarten, being all nice and kind to me after my mom’s death, only to break the news to me months later that she and her mom were moving in because our parents were getting married.

I could not trust her after that.

“Does it look like I’m not?” I asked her, inwardly cursing whoever could have told her about what happened today. Unlike me, she had a lot of friends so that was probably how she found out. We were in the same college and program, with her just being one batch ahead of me. She would have figured it out anyway; I just did not expect it to be this early.

“Not really. But, in case you needed help?—”

“No. Thank you, though.”

The way she kept trying to make us be best friends again made me feel sick. I did try to be as civil with her as she was Tita Cris’s daughter but I did not understand why she kept trying to revive a dead horse.

The look in her eyes told me that she took offense but then she just shrugged and smiled. Sometimes I wished she would lose her temper just so I could fight back. But no luck on that, so far.

“Come on then. The food’s ready,” she only said and left the door open for me.

CHAPTER 4

DRESDEN MAIL

[email protected] has invited you to contribute to the following shared folder:Dresden University Management Club - Team Ephemere

Monday greeted me with this email. I browsed some of the folders in the shared drive, careful not to change anything as I tried to get a picture of what was going on. I did not want to look like I was clueless during the meeting on Wednesday so I briefed myself on the basics by browsing the materials.

Come Tuesday, I whipped up a new schedule for myself, swapping around my study times and making room for the club meetings. I was extra aware of Cholo being in all my classes and it was doubly hard to pretend not to notice him. In the past, he would ask if I wanted to join his group or offer to include me in a club study workshop but I would be quick to say “No, thank you”before running off. I was sure he recognized me as the classmate he kept calling Maleficent much earlier than I did him. The offers were to remind me, probably just to have the satisfaction of seeing me recognize him and even get a rise out of me if he was lucky.

Nope. Still not going to give you the satisfaction, Prefect Brat.

I dreaded the meeting all of Wednesday, overthinking everything, but I steeled myself to just get it over with.

The club’s room was on the fourth floor of the building and I was panting hard by the time I reached it. I made my way towards the club room, only to be greeted by merrymaking noise.

Oh, man.

The room was bursting at the seams. I saw people playing party games, eating, and generally being rowdy. There were even benches outside the club room, on one of which I saw Liana’s friends.

Wait, was the club room always this crowded? There had to be a members’ interaction event or something. Gosh, why didn’t I check the calendar?

I stood at the entrance, not knowing what to do. I did not know most of the Ephemere team and the number of people and the noise were overwhelming for me. I was tempted to make a run for it, Prefect Brat be damned.

Where was he, anyway?

“Uy, uy, look who’s here!” said a familiar low voice. “To what do we owe the pleasure, Vinnie?”

“Get off me, Gian,” I snapped, pushing him away as he tried to put his arm around my shoulder. The smell of his cologne was overwhelming. “You stink.”

“You’re hurting my feelings,” Gian replied dramatically, putting his hand on his chest.

Gian Magsaysay was one of the few people in my batch I could stand. We knew each other because he was best friends with Liana, and not to mention, had been pining for her as long as I could remember. I teased him a lot about his choice of perfume, which I had always found too strong.

Our friendship language was annoying each other. I rolled my eyes and gave him a once-over, wrinkling my nose at his crisp-collared shirt.