Alvierra's P.O.V.
"You look so nervous," Rade said, laughing. I glared at him. "It's okay, I know you can do it."
"I hope we win, right?" I asked.
"Win or lose, we should do our best," he said with a smile.
"Group 4!" the emcee shouted.
We took our positions and they played our music.
I could hear our classmates cheering for us.
The song started, and we began to dance. The contest theme was Hip Hop.
The song was almost over, I could finally breathe a sigh of relief. When there were only 8 seconds left, I suddenly tripped over my partner's foot. I thought I was going to fall, but Rade grabbed my arm and pulled me closer to him. That's how it ended. He was holding my waist, and I had my hand on his chest.
"When I count to three, we'll both look at the audience. 1... 2... 3..." That's what I did. We both turned our faces to the audience and smiled, which caused even louder screams and applause. Instead of messing up our performance, we still won.
I went to the bathroom and held my chest because it was pounding so hard.
I came out of the C.R. and saw Rai coming out of the venue.
"Hey Rai! Where are you going?" I asked.
"Oh My Gosh, Alvi. You were amazing. I was so kilig," Rai said.
"Wait, where are you going?" I asked.
"I was going to buy some drinks from that place across the street. Do you want some? Let's go, join me," she said. I nodded because I was thirsty and hungry.
Rai treated me to food, so I enjoyed it.
"Alvi, I have a question," Rai said.
"Hmm?"
"Have you forgotten Crystal? Have you forgiven her for what she did?" she asked.
"I don't know. When I remember it, I can honestly say that my Elementary Days weren't good," I said.
"I have news for you about her," she said. I just turned to her while chewing. "She's pregnant."
I was so shocked that I swallowed the bread whole, so I coughed and coughed. Rai gave me some softdrink to drink.
"What?! Pregnant?!" I asked in shock when I recovered.
"Yeah, I bumped into her. Her stomach was big, and it was obvious. She didn't see me because she was busy talking to her boyfriend, I guess, because I heard them call each other 'babe'," she said.
"Maybe she saw you, but just pretended she didn't," I said.
"Yeah, maybe."
"Vierra! Let's go inside. We're going to take pictures. Ate Cleah brought a camera," Nash called out to me.
"Ah, okay, sure," I said. "Rai, I'll be inside."
She nodded and continued eating.
When I went inside, I saw them all gathered. Nash and I immediately ran towards them.
"Hey, Raiden and Alvierra in the middle!" the president of the other section shouted.
They pushed me closer to Rade, and I was surprised when he put his arm around me. I just smiled when they said number 3.
"Hey, why are you putting your arm around me?" I asked.
"They're proud of us," he said with a smile.
"Tss, I tripped, so I almost fell earlier. I almost messed up our performance," I said.
"And thank you for tripping," he said. Thank you too, because you made my heart beat faster again instead of this feeling ending.
"Where are you going to college, Vierra?" Nash asked.
"I don't know."
"I'm going to the one near here. That's where my course is," Leo said.
"Why? What's your course?" Nash asked.
"Criminology," Leo said.
"You look more like a criminal," Juls said.
"Ah, really? If you're accused of something, I won't defend you," Leo said.
"I know, lawyers defend, and cops arrest," Nash said. "Are you sure you're taking Criminology and not Law?"
I laughed at Leo's reaction because he seemed confused about what he was going to take.
"Okay, class, go back to your seats," our teacher said.
"The 4th Grading Exam is coming up, and I expect all of you to march together at Graduation. So study and review well, okay," our adviser said with a smile.
And Graduation Day arrived. Luckily, we all passed and will graduate. Ma'am Rochelle was so happy to see us all wearing our graduation gowns.
Rai and I hugged each other. Happy and grateful. Even though, it was so difficult to study hard. 
"I told you we'd graduate," Rai said, laughing. 
"Ms. Mendoza, you're one of the honorable mentions," Ma'am Rochelle said with a smile. "Let's go, get ready."
"Me too! I'm included. I'm going to cry," Rai said. 
"Let's go?" I said with a smile. I took her hand, and we both greeted our parents who were behind us.
"Papa!" Rai said.
"Pa," I said with a smile and kissed Papa's hand. I did the same to Mama. Then I hugged Vince, who was so happy. He also graduated last week, and I can say that time flies.
"Hello po!" Rai said cheerfully.
Papa and Mama just smiled at Rai and congratulated her. Mama and Tita May, Rai's mom, just chatted.
We marched, and we were behind Rai. I was given a medal, a certificate, and a diploma. I shook hands with the teachers and our principal.
When we got down, Papa seemed to be on the verge of tears.
"Papa, are you okay?" I asked.
"Yes, I'm just happy that you graduated from high school. In four years, I'll have a college graduate too," Papa said, crying.
I just hugged Papa, and he hugged me back.
"Papa, thank you for all your hardships to educate us. Thank you for supporting and loving us," I said.
"Thank you for not defying us with your Mama. I'm proud of you, anak," Papa said.
I smiled and turned to Papa.
"Let's go, Papa," I said with a smile and pulled Papa towards Mama.
"Congratulations, Vierra," Tita May said.
"Thank you, Auntie," I said with a smile.
We all gathered, and they decided to just stay at Rai's house because it was bigger, and we could all fit in with our other neighbors. Ate Cheska and her son were also invited to the celebration.
Rai was just talking to Vince, and I was looking for university brochures to see where I could go.
"Rai, what school are you going to?" I asked.
"Hmm, Arts and Design Univ," she said.
"There's a school like that?" I asked.
"Of course, in Manila. Wait, where are you going? I wanted us to be in the same school, but we have different courses, so it's no use, right?" she asked.
"I'll just go to EB International school," I said.
"Oh, for sure you can make it there. The entrance exam is hard. But there are more engineers and business majors there, I know."
"A lot of engineers and business majors? So my major isn't there?" I asked.
"It's there. But they don't have Fashion Design, so I looked for another school," she said.
I looked at the list of courses and found mine: BSED MAJOR IN ENGLISH.