Vierra's P.O.V.
"Until now, it's still you. Rade, it's really still you." I said tearfully. I could see him from afar. I didn't expect to see him here. The world really is small for us. "Can we be together again?" "Can we start over?" Tss, am I going to be a fool again? He's the one who gave up. Just let it be if he really doesn't want to. Alvierra, you're just making a fool of yourself. You're really funny.
"Alvi, let's go." I heard him say, so I quickly wiped my tears. I got into Kael's car as soon as I composed myself. "I didn't expect Raiden to be here either. I wish I hadn't suggested coming here. It's such a long way here," Kael said. He started his car. I just smiled and didn't answer. They really know that until now, I still love Raiden. "When will you learn to forget?" he asked.
"When I can teach my heart and mind to do so," I replied.
He just sighed and focused on driving. He probably didn’t have the strength to give me another lesson about love. He must be tired of advising me. I'm also tired of trying to convince myself that I can forget what I feel for him. 'There are a lot of other people out there. Why not try looking around?' 'You’re still thinking about him, so you really can't forget him.' 'Girl, he’s not a loss. There are plenty of other people out there,' that's what they keep saying to me. Why does it feel like it’s my fault? Should they blame Cupid for shooting us? It’s just that the shot wasn’t even a bullseye. I got hit. "It's okay, there are plenty of other people out there."
"It's okay, there are plenty of other people out there." When Kael started to speak, I chimed in. "I've heard that a hundred times already," I said while resting my head against the car window. He laughed and didn't say anything else.
"Just play some music if you don't want to be quiet," I said, and he followed.
"Kael, I'm hungry," I said, pouting.
"Yes, Madame. Let's have barbecue, do you want that?" he said happily. I nodded. The restaurant that Raiden and his group went to earlier was supposed to be the one Kael and I would go to. He's a pain, even when just choosing a restaurant, Kael had to make same choices with Raiden. When we got there, we just ate quietly. I was just eating to forget about Raiden, even for a moment. After that, we went home quietly too. Kael probably understands my situation. He dropped me off at my condo and I went straight to bed after taking off my sandals. I heard my cellphone ring in my bag, so I quickly grabbed it.
Ma'am Dahlia's Calling… I answered it when I saw it was our head teacher calling. "Hello, Ma'am," I said as soon as I answered.
"Miss Mendoza, are you free tomorrow? There's a demo for Grade 9 students tomorrow. Sir Rick suddenly has an emergency and won't be able to teach. Besides, the Principal will arrive. Is it okay if you present?" said Ma'am Dahlia. "Huh? Are you sure it's me? But I'm not teaching the subject that Sir Rick teaches. I'm an English teacher and he's teaching Science. I'm really not prepared." I said, almost in tears. Surely Ma'am Dahlia will understand me, right? Oh my, Sir Rick is something else. "I'll just email his presentation. I trust you, Miss Alvierra. It's you after all. You can definitely handle it. I can't take over because I'm part of the observers." "Alright, Ma'am. I'll study it overnight." I said. "Thank you, Miss Alvierra. I'll send it right now." Ma'am said and hung up the call. Soon after, I received an email. I checked it. It is about volcanoes. The first topic is Philippine volcanoes."
I can do this, right? That's why I was Top 1 back in high school. Now that I am now a teacher, I need to show them why I was Top 1 before! Right! Just keep fighting! I got this. I studied this until dawn. I practiced what I’m going to say in front of the panel tomorrow. They even said there would be other teachers from different schools attending. I'm so nervous. Around 2:00 AM, I decided to sleep. I set my alarm for 7:00 AM since I start at 9. I'm move slow so I need more time to prepare. It's like I briefly forgot about my broken heart because of what happened. When I woke up the next day, it wasn’t even 7:00 yet. I woke up before my alarm, crazy! It was already 6:42 AM, so I got my things ready. I took a shower and fixed myself up. When I came out, I wore stockings under my pencil-cut skirt. On top, I wore a green polo shirt with a ribbon near my chest.
I first dried my hair. After that, I did my light makeup. I tied it in a half ponytail. When my hair is in a ponytail, I look like a strict teacher. On my first day of our school, I heard them whispering when I entered the room. They said I looked scary because I seemed strict and could fail students. I also put my flash drive in my bag because I edited my PowerPoint last night. I just fixed the PowerPoint that Sir Rick made because it looked plain to me. Just for me. I made the PowerPoint colorful to make it pop. When I finished, I went out of the condo and waited for the elevator to open.
Because it was still early, there were only three of us going down in the elevator. I took a jeep to save on fare.
"Wow, Ma'am Vierra. You look great today," my co-teacher said as I entered the school gate. "Thank you, Ma'am Nikka. You look beautiful today too," I replied, and we both laughed.
"You look nervous. It seems like it's your first time doing a demo in front of visitors! You're really good at teaching," she said.
"Science isn't my major. You know, that subject was the one I disliked back in high school," I said as we walked. It seems she heard that I would be presenting. "Sir Rick's wife was rushed to the hospital last night, that's why," she said. So I stopped walking. "You’re sub for Sir Rick and you didn't know?" she said, laughing. "I didn't ask yesterday. They just said emergency," I replied, and we continued walking. We entered the faculty room and saw the other teachers were still busy.
I'm teaching Section 1 now, so I'm not that too nervous. I don’t look dumb just standing there like I’m talking to no one. They say they like to do advance study, so it seems like my presentation will be easier later.
"Oh my gosh! The teacher from Diamond Academy is so handsome. I saw him earlier. He even smiled at me," said a teacher who’s almost my age.
“Did you find out his name?” Nikka asked. I immediately looked over because I didn’t know she was interested in that kind of stuff. I just shook my head and organized my things on my table.
“Yeah! Raiden Alvarez.” I suddenly stopped organizing my things.
“What? Can you repeat what you said?” I said in shock to Ma'am Thea.
"Raiden Alvarez, he graduated in Civil Engineering so I was kinda surprised he’s a teacher at the other school." she said as I finally let go of the book I was planning to put in my drawer.
"I even heard that Ma'am Santos is gonna take him to teach Math here. We're apparently short on Math Teachers since Sir Aguando resigned." she added.
"Ma'am Vierra, are you okay?" Ma'am Nikka suddenly asked. I nodded and walked out to head straight to the Teacher's restroom. Rade became a teacher too like me? But why?
I remembered again how we met and where these feelings started.