Alvierra's P.O.V.
"I told you to come home early so we could eat together! I didn't eat so I could wait for you. Then I find out you ate with your workmates?" my mom said angrily. I could hear them arguing from outside my room, which I shared with my brother.
Vince was asleep, which was good because he wouldn't hear Mama and Papa fighting. To be honest, Mama was the only one talking. Papa just mumbled something to avoid making things worse.
I was organizing my things for school tomorrow. I was nervous for reasons I couldn't understand. I didn't know what it felt like to be in high school. I didn't want friends anymore, I simply didn't.
"I was going to text but my phone died. You know what time I get off work. You could have eaten an hour ago when we were supposed to eat together. It was Noy's birthday, so we had a celebration." You could hear the annoyance in Papa's voice.
"Oh, is that so? I waited for you and you're the one who's angry?! I'm your wife, Bert! Not just anyone! I'm your wife and we have two kids! You could have at least tried to text us." Mama said. I heard the door slam shut.
When I couldn't hear anything anymore, I went out and found Papa sitting on the sofa, his hands covering his face as if he was troubled.
"Papa, mano po." I said and Papa looked up, so I took his hand to kiss it.
"Oh, why aren't you asleep yet?" Papa asked.
"Ah, I'm still organizing my things." I said.
"Were you waiting for Papa, Vierra?" Papa asked. I smiled and sat beside him. "Sorry I got home late. Papa will make it up to you and we'll eat together again."
"Papa, you should enjoy yourself sometimes. It's okay with me. I don't know about Mama though." I said, laughing. Papa laughed too.
"Hays, I have a high school student now. Time flies." Papa said, laughing.
"I hope there aren't too many expenses at my new school." I said.
"Don't worry about the tuition. Papa will work hard so I can earn more. Just tell us if there are any school activities that require payment." Papa said.
I nodded.
"Okay, go back to your room with Vince. Is Vince asleep?" Papa asked. I nodded. "Good, so you go to sleep too. It looks like I'll be sleeping in the living room."
"Papa, just sleep with Vince. There's enough space for you." I said.
"No, I need to wake up early tomorrow." Papa said.
"Okay, I'm going to my room now." I said, and Papa nodded.
It was Monday and the first day of school. Mama join me to school and told me to be careful on my way home. She gave me a lot of money for lunch. She also reminded me to study hard.
I didn't know anyone at this school. It was far from our house, so I knew I wouldn't have any neighbors or former classmates here.
When I entered the classroom, I saw some people sitting quietly and others laughing. It seemed like some of them already knew each other.
I sat in the second row because there were still vacant seats there. I didn't want to sit at the back because sometimes, teachers pick on the students at the back on the first day of school. If I sat at the front, it would be easy for the teachers to notice me. Sometimes, they're the ones who get assigned tasks.
Then, a group of boys entered. There were five of them and they were the loudest in the room. Maybe they were classmates before or maybe they were neighbors.
"Okay Class! Attention. Since it's the first day, we're going to introduce ourselves in front of everyone. Those at the back will go first." said our teacher who had just entered. She was in her 40s and looked grumpy.
It was good that I didn't sit at the back.
When it was the turn of the person beside me, I got nervous. My heart was beating fast because of the anxiety. My throat was dry, so I just swallowed my own saliva.
"Okay, next." our teacher said. I slowly stood up and faced my classmates.
"Hi! My name is Alvierra Kate Mendoza. Vierra for short." I said.
"That's it? How about hobbies?" our teacher said gruffly, which made me even more nervous.
"Ah, my hobbies are dancing and reading books." I said.
"Reading books? So I have high expectations for you Ms. Mendoza. You may now sit. Okay, next!"
During recess, I just ate the lunch Papa gave me earlier. He left early so he didn't drive me to school.
"Hi, do you want to join our squad?" asked a girl in front of me, smiling.
"Squad?" I asked the three girls in front of me.
"Yes! Join us." said another girl, smiling.
"Are you an agency? You're recruiting, right?" I asked, and they laughed. I wasn't joking.
"We're making a group of friends. And we want to be friends with you, so we want you to join us." said another girl, smiling.
"I don't want to." I said and started reading a book.
"Don't bother her. She's reading." I heard a boy say.
"Raiden, you're always such a spoilsport. If you weren't a crush, I would have punched you." said the girl in front of me.
"Who has a crush on me?" Raiden asked and sat down next to me.
I saw the other girl elbow the girl who spoke earlier.
Our teacher suddenly entered, so they went back to their seats. I put down the book I was reading. I looked at my watch and saw that recess was over. During our second subject, our seats were rearranged. Because I wasn't tall, I was at the front.
"Hi!" said the person beside me, smiling. I ignored him and just looked at the front.
When our subject with him was over, I turned back to my reading.
"Hello again!" he said, smiling.
"Why?" I asked, my eyes still on the book.
"Ahm, the girls who approached you earlier? They're nice." said the person beside me.
"Ah, okay."
"I want to be friends with you." he said. I lowered my book and looked at him. I saw his smile and his dimples appeared.
"I don't want to be friends with anyone." I said. I saw him frown, so I felt guilty. "Tss, fine."
"Really?" he asked, smiling. I rolled my eyes and went back to reading.
"Good Morning!" we heard, so we all stood up.
"Good Morning Ma'am." we said, and she gestured for us to sit down.
When it was time to go home, we all cleaned the classroom. Since it was just the first day of class, no one was assigned as cleaners yet. It was fair to everyone. When we were done, I went outside.
I went outside and saw one of our neighbors outside our classroom.
"Rai?" I asked. She looked at me and smiled.
"I saw you when I entered. I was going to call you, but you already entered your room." she said.
"You're studying here too." I said. She nodded.
"Let's walk home together, okay?" she asked. I had no choice but to nod.
When we got on the jeep, she spoke again.
"How was your first day?" she asked. I was about to take out my book to read, but I decided not to because I was sure she would have a lot of questions.
"It was okay. They gave us assignments. Some teachers are grumpy, but some are nice." I said.
"Oh, good. Do you have any friends yet?" she asked.
"I don't want to make friends." I said.
"Ah, right, because of Crystal." she said. I remembered what Crystal did to me last year. She humiliated me and told everyone that she only used me to do her projects and assignments. I considered her my best friend and because of her, I never made friends again. "Sorry I mentioned it."
"It's okay. What about you? Do you have friends in your classroom?" I asked.
"Yes, I have three. They're nice." she said, smiling. "If you have any problems with your classmates, just tell me, okay?"
"Thank you, but no thanks." I said, smiling.
She just smiled and patted my shoulder. She got off the jeep, so I followed. Her mother and my mother are close friends. She was my classmate, but we weren't friends.