Page 80 of Chasing Mr. Prefect

“Yeah, go and dress up na!” she said with a light push. “There won’t be room in there later!”

I obediently ran and did as I was told. Thank goodness the cubicles were roomier than your average public restroom, because otherwise I would not have been able to put on the dress that Liana chose for the occasion. After hurriedly putting on my shoes, I rushed out, satisfied with how I looked and hoping Cholo would react favorably upon seeing me.

I did not have to wait long for it, though.

“Vinnie!” he said, looking upset. Not the reaction I was hoping for. “Kristine’s looking for you. Can you help her man the beer station?”

“What? You’re kidding, right? I’m assigned to the ticket booth,” I said. “And gates don’t open for twenty more minutes. What’s going on?”

“Vinnie! Cholo!” called out Seth from nearby. “Group prayer time! What’s taking you so long?”

I made a face at Cholo, wondering if stress was getting to him, and then rushed towards the entrance before he could stop me.

He caught up quickly but I was already in the prayer circle when he reached us. I was about to grab Seth (the team insistedon holding hands) when Cholo rudely stepped between us and pulled my hand instead. Rolling my eyes, I concentrated on the prayer people were taking turns in reciting. After the prayer, Cholo went into serious chairperson mode and gave a small pep talk, congratulating us on the job well done the past semester, and telling us to enjoy the night.

After a messy group hug, the rest of us started spreading out to our designated stations. I was about to go straight to the ticket booth when I noticed that Cholo was still holding my hand.

“What are you doing?” I whispered but he was staring at a point about five meters away ahead of me. There, I saw Kristine talking to someone and I felt my eyes grow to the size of dinner plates.

Shit.Miss Mikayla was here. That was probably why Cholo tried to hide me in the beer station.

A tall guy in a crisp shirt joined them. The way Miss Mikayla’s stance eased told me the guy was her senior or something. I was going to bolt right in that second but then our co-officer glanced around the room and found us.

“Vinnie!” she called out.

I looked at Cholo, whose hand tightened around mine.

“Cholo! Over here!” Kristine said.

I had no choice but to come over as Cholo made his way towards them. Miss Mikayla turned to face us, her smile vanishing as we approached.

“Hi, I’m Lance,” said the tall guy in a crisp shirt. “I’m the brand manager for Exonerate.”

Cholo and I took turns with shaking his hand. Behind Lance, Miss Mikayla was giving me the deepest look of dislike but surprisingly did not say anything.

“I’m Cholo. Chairperson for Ephemere.”

“My n-name’s Vinnie,” I stuttered as I could feel Miss Mikayla’s killer stare from where I stood. “Creatives officer.”

“She made the videos for Exonerate x Ephemere,” Kristine said, with an air of a proud mom showing her child’s achievements.

I would have been flattered if it were not for the timing. I caught her looking at Miss Mikayla a number of times and then I understood. Kristine was trying to get back at her for the launch thing, knowing Miss Mikayla won’t be able to act out in front of her boss.

Good lord, I was rubbing off on my friends.

“Oh,you’reVinnie. Those videos were awesome,” said Lance and I felt myself blush. Thankfully, he turned his attention to Cholo.

“Time sure flies. I was in this org, too, you know. Same position as you. Is this your stepping stone to running for club president?” he asked and Cholo nodded. “Good. You’ve got it in the bag. From what I’ve heard, it looks like I’ve put Exonerate in the right hands.”

“Thank you,” Cholo replied, betraying a small hint of confusion on his otherwise smooth façade.

Wait. Was it possible? Could Miss Mikayla have forgotten to tell her boss about what happened?Lance was talking like he had no idea.

“Anyway, I won’t keep you. Good luck with the event,” said Lance. I stole a glance at Miss Mikayla, who looked like she was ready to strangle someone. “And Vinnie—I’ll see you at the interview next Tuesday.”

“Thank you!” I said, not knowing he would be interviewing me.

Did that mean I was going to be in Miss Mikayla’s department? No fucking way.