Chasing Mr. Prefect

by Katt Briones

  “I didn’t know we were showing this today,” interrupted Summer, which was a relief as I was already blushing to the roots of my hair.

  “Cholo gave us the go signal,” Kristine said. Seth and I nodded in agreement.

  “You should have given me a heads-up at the very least,” Summer said calmly, though I could see the warning in her eyes. I clenched my fist, trying to bite back the hundred or so replies I had already come up with in my head. “Ephemere isn’t just a DMC event. The Student Council should have their say in this too, that’s why I was put in as Cholo’s co-chairperson. I don’t appreciate being bypassed.”

  The relief I felt when she interrupted was now replaced by a sharp desire to kick something.

  “I sent you an email, right?” I replied, unable to stop myself now. “How is that bypassing? Should we wait for your approval for everything? Besides, DMC has been doing Ephemere for years now, even without SC’s help.”

  “Funny how you’re standing up for DMC now,” Summer said with a cruel smile. “Considering how you’ve only been active like... I dunno, two or three weeks ago?”

  “Someone had to do so, I guess,” I snapped. “Considering how Carina backed out at the last minute. Isn’t she your Student Council buddy?”

  Summer’s smirk vanished. Seth and Kristine were exchanging glances, both nervous.

  “Carrie was a good teammate with a great track record when it came to creating publicity materials, academics, and she didn’t have any trips to the disciplinary office. I wouldn’t have put in my word for it otherwise,” Summer retorted, one eyebrow raised. “So I don’t really think much of Miss Co’s, uh, decision to vouch for you. What reason do you have in participating, anyway? Aren’t you just here to make up for some other mess you’ve made?”

  Oh, she did not just go there.

  “Mess? Your friend was the one who volunteered to make the publicity materials, begged off with a half-baked promo concept video, and left everyone hanging when we were supposed to have sent themed letters to prospective event sponsors already,” I replied, with a mirthless laugh, my head buzzing with the effort of not cursing. “Disciplinary sanctions aside, didn’t you think about the fact that I’m actually cleaning up after the mess she’s made?”

  “Vinnie’s right,” Kristine cut in. “I wouldn’t have finished the Ephemere letters in time if she hadn’t helped out.”

  “And besides, punishment or not, Vinnie’s doing her job well,” Seth added. “She’s done more in less than two weeks than Carrie ever did in a month.”

  “Congrats, then,” Summer snarled, folding her arms as she stared me down. “Looks like you’ve got fans. Just be careful, please. The last time I checked, it’s not these two who would be reporting to Miss Co and the disciplinary office about your performance.”

  Dread settled in my stomach like lead. Shit, how could I be so stupid? Summer was still chairperson. Useless as she was, she still had a say in whether I passed or not.

  It still didn’t make me want to apologize, though. Manigas siya.

  “Sure, you have Cholo on your side, and he seems to find your antics cute. But you have yet to impress me,” Summer said, taking out a piece of paper from her file case. I recognized it as the draft of the poster I had pitched last week, printed out with substandard paper and ink. “That video was good, but you have to work on the still ones too.”

  She threw the paper on the table in front of me. “Please do it over,” she said with her best smile, and I wanted to smack it right across her face. “I find it rather unfit for public viewing.”

  She walked away with her head in the air. I clenched my fist and pouted, hating how she had won that round.

  “Don’t mind her,” Seth said, giving me a light punch on the shoulder. “Epal ‘yun eh. She’s just mad she can’t charm her way into getting credit and titles with this one.”

  “That bitch,” I seethed, shredding up the paper into pieces with my hands. “She dares question my motives when she’s the one trying to get more mileage by collaborating with us on an event she’s not willing to exert time and effort for?”

  “She’s running for University Counselor next year,” said Kristine and I wanted to gag. “That’s why she wanted her name on the one event that’s known by the entire university.”

  “Ugh! I hate her! And what’s wrong with my poster?” I demanded now, a million things running through my mind at once.

  “Well, for one, hiwa-hiwalay na siya,” said Seth, who pointed at the torn pieces of paper I had in my hands.

  “Unfit for public viewing? Ugh! I’ll tell you what’s unfit for public viewing—her face! Kinatangos ba ng ilong niya ‘yun?!”

  “Don’t worry, Vinnie. We got your back on this one,” Kristine said soothingly, her hand lightly patting my shoulders to keep me from my rampage. “Wanna go get merienda?”

  I just nodded and went along. This was the first time I felt like I hadn’t defended myself properly. The thought ate away at me and a couple dozen retorts surfaced in my head, one after another—each one better than the last. I knew, the first time I saw her, that she would not be easy to deal with. As usual, my first impression of her had been on point.

  If I only got the chance to say those insults in her face.

  Ugh. L’esprit d’escalier much?

  CHAPTER 7

  I stayed up late that night. Finishing all of my homework (and some parts of my term papers) early, I went straight to making the poster after eating dinner. As it was a Friday, I thought I could just catch up on sleep after—I just wouldn’t be able to rest if I didn’t finish it.

  At 2:30 a.m., my eyes were bloodshot, my head heavy from exhaustion, and my stomach was rumbling from hunger. I had wolfed down my supper (rice and reheated beef salpicao) four hours ago and now my tummy wouldn’t shut up. I tried to continue but I couldn’t think straight.

  Stupid tummy.

  I grabbed my door keys, phone, and wallet as I got out of the house. There was a fast-food joint four streets away, and I suddenly got this random craving for chicken nuggets.

  I had no choice. There wasn’t food at home. Well, none that didn’t require cooking or preparation. Dad was in an accountants’ conference in Bohol. Cris and Liana had gone on a road trip with their side of the family, so I was home alone. I had no idea how to cook and I didn’t want to set the house on fire. I thought having the house to myself would be great, but it pretty much sucked. Didn’t think I would ever need them, but I guessed there was a first time for everything.

  The cashiers were having a chat when I came in. One of them just brought out a tray when I approached, not bothering to look up, but I was far too used to this to care. This was practically an extension of my house—I hung out here a lot, too.

  “One chicken nuggets meal,” I recited, mentally computing how much it would total if I ordered everything I want, and deciding I had enough in my wallet. “Go large with the fries and coke. Then can you add an extra rice plus an apple pie?”

  I counted my money and heard someone speak.

  “Gutom ka talaga, ‘no?”

  I recognized the voice, but I had to double-check just in case. I didn’t know if it was because he sounded different in Tagalog, or because my village was around forty kilometers from Dresden, where I normally saw him.

  When I turned to look, Cholo was behind me, holding a paper cup in one hand and a stack of sugar and cream sachets on the other.

  “Yeah, so?” I said, resisting the urge to give him another once-over. His hair was sticking out in every direction, eyes sleepy but alert. The flip-flops on his feet were just as depressing as the ones on mine. “Ba’t ka andito?”

  “I needed a boost,” he said, raising the cup to eye level. “Had to finish my Rizal term paper.”

  I just nodded then paid for my food, waiting for the staff to assemble my order.

  “Order is complete, Ma’am! Have a great morning,” said the cashier, and I made an effort to return the smile. When I turne
d, Cholo was still there.

  “You going to eat here?” he asked.

  “Hindi, iuuwi ko ‘tong tray,” I snapped, walking past him towards one of the tables. Cholo shook his head and followed me, clicking his tongue all the while. For a moment there, I thought he was aiming for the exit but he ended up joining me.

  “Are you sure you can finish all that?” he asked, emptying five cream sachets on his large coffee. I gave him my best glare as I opened my nuggets box.

  “Shoo,” I snapped, now tearing the plastic seal off the barbecue sauce tub. “I didn’t say you could join me.”

  He rolled his eyes. “Sa’yo ‘tong table?”

  “No, pero itong McDo, oo,” I answered, sloppily putting a handful of fries inside my mouth, and that seemed to gross him out. “Alis.”

  “You wish,” he snapped and he stirred the contents of his cup. “You live near here?”

  “Yeah. I thought you were from the north parts of Manila, what’re you doing here?”

  “I live two streets away, but stay in a dorm near Dresden on school days. Are you still in that two-storey green house?”

  “What the fuck, totoo ka ba?” I sputtered, my mouth still full of fries. The guy knew where I lived!

  “Ikaw ‘tong weird, don’t you remember me?” he asked, laughing. His eyes were doing that adorable crinkling-at-the-sides thing again. “We had the same school bus in first grade.”

  “Seriously?” I said, unable to believe it. I would have noticed if my college crush (ew) was in my yearbook, right?

  “Yeah! You always wore this pink headband with a bow at the side. Your watch was . . . Barbie, I think?” he said, waving his stirrer in the air as he narrowed his eyes at a point over my shoulder, as though trying to remember. “And your bag had a Sailor Moon design.”

  There was a picture of me in my room, wearing the exact same things he had described. It was getting really creepy. “You remembered that? Even the bag?!”

  “Of course, you wouldn’t stop hitting me with it!” he said, now laughing openly. “Sapul pa lagi mukha ko.”

  “Should I say sorry?” I asked. “If I had been aiming at your face, I must have had a good reason.”

  He snapped his fingers so suddenly that I jumped in my chair. “Alam ko na!” he said, eyes wide, all traces of sleepiness gone.

  “Alam mo na what?” I asked, sufficiently annoyed.

  “The trend back then was to call people by both their first and second names, buo,” he said, sounding excited. “That’s why you don’t remember me. You all called me Charles Paolo.”

  My eyes widened. He was that scrawny, Chinoy kid who made fun of my name. The reason why I became Lavinia the villain in every single play!

  “You!” I said, gripping my fork as though to stab him. “I hated you!”

  “Chill!” he said, holding both palms up, eyes focused on my plastic fork. “Seriously, Lavinia Magdalene—”

  “Do you really want to get skewered?!” I demanded as the son of a gun was laughing his head off.

  “You haven’t changed one bit,” he commented, taking a sip off his coffee. I could see his dimples making deep gouges on his cheeks as he grinned. “I was surprised you didn’t recognize me in the disciplinary prefect’s office.”

  “Kaya pala ang lakas mo agad mang-asar!” I seethed, taking a spoonful of rice and half a nugget in one bite and chewing on it furiously.

  How come I didn’t recognize him? Sure, he had better arms and an even better wardrobe nowadays, but I should’ve known it was him the moment he impishly suggested that I needed checking. The thought of me crushing on a childhood bully (the same one whom I had vivid dreams of drowning in a pool when I was little) was just so infuriating!

  “Some things just never change, noh? I still find it really cute when you get pikon,” he reasoned. Taking his stirrer off his cup, he raised it again and tipped it to his own mouth. “Wait, why do you eat here? Don’t you have food at home?”

  “Hindi ko pwede kainin pagkain ng amo ko, magagalit ‘yun.”

  Cholo laughed and choked hard on his coffee. I watched in amusement as the liquid started coming out of his nose, which looked hot as the cup was still steaming. I shook my head and handed him some tissue, which he gladly took.

  “Ayan kasi,” I said with a nasty smile. “Karma!”

  He glared at me and sloppily wiped his face. Even his eyes were red from so much coughing.

  “Do you ever stop being mean?” he demanded, and I gave him my best smile.

  “Does the sun ever stop shining?” I asked sweetly.

  “Ewan ko sa’yo,” he said, stealing the rest of my tissues.

  He walked me home after that. I felt a bit awkward at first and was even telling him to go ahead as he was pulling a bike along, but he wouldn’t have any of it.

  “Wanna bet on the next finance exam?” he asked me, just after he pointed out his street, which was nearer to the fast-food joint than mine.

  “Absolutely not. And you just had to pick my worst subject,” I snapped. “Marketing na lang.”

  “Asa, you’re Patsy’s favorite,” he told me, pouting.

  “It’s an exam!” I said. “That’s not gonna count.”

  “Of course it does! She gives essays and she would grade that subjectively,” he pointed out. “Wait, so you agree? You really think you’re her favorite?”

  “She told me so. Jealous much?”

  “Shut up, Vinnie,” he snarled, and I ended up laughing.

  “Wow, wait, that’s the first time you called me that!” I told him. “It’s always Miss Exconde or Lavinia, but never Vinnie. Are we close now?”

  He gave me a weird look. “Well, you weren’t Vinnie in primary school, it took some getting used to,” he answered defensively, making a show of shrugging his shoulders. “Who came up with that nickname, anyway?”

  “Gian did.”

  “I thought you weren’t friends?” Cholo asked, his tone accusatory. He even had one eyebrow raised.

  “We were classmates in high school.”

  “What?” he sputtered. “You’re not friends but you stuck with this nickname he gave you?”

  “Technically, our classmates stuck with the name and I had no choice because no one wanted to call me with an ancient name anymore. And thanks to someone in first grade, I did want to outgrow the name so I stuck with the new one.”

  “On second thought, I think I’ll just stick with Lavinia,” he said, teasing.

  “Wait, I just got an idea. Let’s bet on the 161 exam.”

  “Shit, ObliCon?” he said, which caught me by surprise as I wasn’t used to hearing him swear. “Why?”

  “We both suck in that class,” I replied, shrugging. We both got floored by the prof the other day for not being able to answer his question correctly, so Cholo and I spent the remaining forty-five minutes of that class standing up. (Apparently, that was a form of ‘training’ in law school. Shudder.) “It’s a safe one. If I get a higher score, you’ll stop being a bully.”

  “I’m a bully?” he asked, actually stopping in his tracks, which was just timely as we had already reached my street.

  “Yes!” I said with all conviction, folding my arms as I faced him. “If I win, you need to stop calling me Lavinia and reminding me of my days as the perennial school-play witch. You need to stop being such an ass to me, too.”

  “Why do I have to stop? You’re an ass to everyone you meet, how come you won’t give me a free pass?” he protested, following me as I made my way to our house.

  “I’m not a school prefect, Cholo. I can be a bitch all I want.”

  “Fine,” he said, cutting me off and smiling back, looking challenged. “If I win, you’re not allowed to swear for one week.”

  My jaw dropped, and it was my turn to get caught off-guard. “No way!” I said. Cholo’s eyes disappeared as he grinned so wide, it reached his ears. “You were cursing just a while ago!”

  “Um, well, take it or leave it, Lavinia,” he coo
ed, even inching closer to my face as he said the last word just to be annoying. Damn it, he sure knew which buttons to push.

  (He smelled so good, though.)

  “Well, here we are,” I said, finally reaching our house’s gate and taking the keys out of my pocket. “Shoo.”

  “Wow, that’s how you say thank you?”

  “Thank youuu,” I replied, rolling my eyes and doing a mock curtsy. “Okay na?”

  “I give up,” he said, shaking his head. He steered his bike the other way and climbed on it. The way he turned his head around a hundred and twenty degrees in my direction made me notice his jaw line.

  Man, I really needed sleep. Even after all the cursing we subjected each other through today, I still found him attractive.

  “Good night, Lavinia.” He gave me a smile that felt like a punch in the face.

  “Good night,” I replied, smiling back and turning away, before I could do something stupid like blush.

  He waited until I got inside the house before he sped away. When I got to my room, my phone beeped.

  From: Cholo

  I haven’t laughed this much in a long while. Thanks, Vinnie. See you on Tuesday.

  I laughed out loud and fell asleep smiling.

  CHAPTER 8

  The BA 161 (Law on Obligations and Contracts) exam took place the next Wednesday. I was pretty confident that I did well on the exam, but I wasn’t so sure on whether I’d beat Cholo on that bet or not.

  Still, I seemed to make him nervous. I left that exam early and he took that as a warning sign.

  He called me that same night just to grill me about my answers. (Competitive much?)

  “Cholo, I have a seatwork for Finance 2 tomorrow,” I said, looking at my watch. It was 12:30 in the morning and I’d have to leave early the next day. “Can’t this wait?”

  He chose the most inconvenient time to be a prick. I wasn’t sure when we started talking on the phone almost every night on Viber, but it quickly became a habit. At first he was just asking about our Ephemere duties, but eventually moved to other topics like people in school we both disliked, food, and of course, Era of Maidens. We’d almost always end up where we left off.