Two days have already passed since Donna becomes a new student in their school. But Rhianne's days still remain the same after that. Donna did not try to talk or approach her this time unlike in the past. It seems like Rhianne is just overthinking ever since she met her again.
Donna Delgado can be considered as a side character who also contributed to Rhianne Cartel's misfortune in the past. That's why when Rhianne first met her when they were still kids, she was so wary of her. When Donna discovered that Rhianne comes from a rich family, she suddenly made a lot of ridiculous requests from her such as buying the latest items made by the famous brands in their city.
Rhianne felt so uncomfortable with Donna because of her requests. Then all of a sudden, they just heard that Donna transferred to another school. That really made Rhianne to let out a huge relief. Soon, she discovered from Dr. Calvin that it was him who made all those troubles.
He made it possible by sending Donna's father to another city. It was really coincidental that her father was an employee of Lancester's company. Dr. Calvin used his connections and did all the trouble of transferring Donna's father to one of their company branch in a different city. To make it less suspicious, Dr. Calvin gave him a temporary position of assistant manager to a very urgent project and raised his salary a little.
When Rhianne first heard all of it, she does not know whether to be surprised or be afraid of him. Rhianne feels like she accidentally saw one of Dr. Calvin's hidden facades at that time. She only knows the eldest Lancester as a smart doctor who wants to torment his younger brother every time he gets a chance.
Rhianne suddenly remembered Dr. Calvin is originally the one who will inherit their family company if not for his passion for the medical field. Keith told her before that their father tried to teach him how to handle their company as an early preparation. But his brother quit after a few days because according to him, he cannot find any interesting person that can he can tease without getting bored. And Keith swore that his older brother is being honest with his reasoning at that time.
No wonder both Keith and Francis are calling him lunatic and crazy sometimes. It turns out that doctor can really make crazy things as long as he means it. And he just proved it after doing all the troubles of transferring Donna away from them and their academy at that time.
In his defense, Calvin said he only did such things because Keith asked him to do something about it. Keith told him that Donna Delgado is trying to take advantage of Rhianne by trying to get the things she wants from her. And as Rhianne's doctor and her self-proclaimed brother, Calvin decided to stop Donna from disturbing Rhianne and irritating his young brother all the time.
When Rhianne asked him why he is he telling her these things, Dr. Calvin just simply said that he is trying to look good on her. He only did it because for him, Rhianne is now his little sister that he needs to protect all the time. Dr. Calvin does not want her to be bullied or to be used by people who's intentions are obviously bad.
Then all of a sudden, Dr. Calvin seriously gave her a piece of advice. He said that having a good heart is never a bad thing. In fact, Dr. Calvin is happy that she has this quality that only a few people can possess in their generation especially in their social circle. But having it is also not an excuse by letting other people use and step on her just to get what they want. After that, Dr. Calvin gave her a pat and returned to his silly self who keeps on teasing her.
Rhianne has no idea how did she become friends with Donna in the past. Maybe it was mentioned in the book. There is a possibility that Rhianne missed it since she was more focused on the other part of the story.
But it does not matter anymore. Rhianne is no longer following the flow of the story. Instead, she is now following the path that her efforts and hard work are paving for her this time. Everything that she can see, hear and feel are now her reality.
"Rhianne, is it not to your liking?"
"Hmm?"
Blinking her eyes, Rhianne sees Candice while looking at her with a raised brow.
"Is the graham cake I made not to your liking? Or did I put too much condensed milk on it?" Candice asked. "I knew it. I should have put another can of condensed milk to make it sweeter."
"...I still want to enjoy having my teeth intact, Candice."
Rhianne really loves sweets. It is something that she will not deny until the end. But it does not mean she is ready to face the consequences of eating too many sweets. Rhianne still plans to cherish her body and health and live a long life.
Rhianne and Candice are now eating their early lunch at the cafeteria. Keith is nowhere to be found because his class still has a long quiz to take in one of their major subjects. She is a bit worried about his performance today. Rhianne is hoping that Keith will write all the answers correctly on his paper.
Last night, Rhianne was busy playing a game on her laptop when Keith suddenly called. He was taking a short break from studying their lesson and decided to give her a call. Rhianne humored him and they talked about random things. When she was about to end the call, Keith stopped her saying she does not need to do it since he can still study while talking to her.
Rhianne was worried that Keith will lose his focus on their lesson. But he reassured her a lot of times that talking with her can actually make his fatigue disappear and give him the motivation to study more. Although Rhianne called him silly, there was still a sweet smile on her lips. And so, they continued talking with each other and ended the call after two hours.
But maybe Rhianne does not need to be worried about him. She knows very well how amazing Keith is in every situation. Rhianne believes that Keith will surely do well because he puts his focus and effort into everything he does.
"Rhianne."
Turning her head, Rhianne sees Donna approaching her with a smile on her face. She is holding a tray of food in her hand. Even Candice is also looking at Donna.
"Is it okay if I can share a table with you? All the tables in the cafeteria are now occupied." Donna said.
It is true that there is no vacant chair or table in the cafeteria. It is probably because the freshmen have the same time of lunch break as for them. Since that is the case, Rhianne nods her head and Donna sits next to Candice.
"Rhianne, do you still remember me?" Donna asked after putting her tray on the table. "We used to be classmates before."
"Of course, I can still remember it. You were one of our classmates for a few weeks before you transferred to another school, right?" Rhianne said with a smile.
If Rhianne noticed the small flinch on Donna's shoulders or not, she did not try to point it out anymore.
"By the way, I want you to meet my friend. Candice, this is Donna. She is a new student in our school. Donna, this is Candice. She is a good friend of mine."
"Hello, Candice." Donna said and smiles at her.
"Hi, Donna." Candice simply said.
"..."
Donna does not seem like she noticed Candice's attitude so she looks at Rhianne again.
"By the way, Rhianne. Is it true that you are now dating Keith?" Donna suddenly asked.
"Why are you curious about it?" Rhianne asked.
"I am just curious." Donna replied. "Well... I guess you two will really end up with each other. I can still remember that you two are so close with each other that I sometimes envy your friendship."
"Oh, okay."
"So is it really true?" Donna asked again. "How did you become his girlfriend?"
"Donna..."
"So who confessed first? And how did you two become a couple? Did you have another boyfriend before you got together with Keith?"
"And why do you care?" Candice asked Donna. "I am sorry for butting in, but I just cannot keep myself from doing it."
"Huh?"
"Why do you care so much if Rhianne is Keith's girlfriend or not? Based on my understanding, you two just happen to meet again after knowing each other for a short time. So why are you asking such a question to my friend when you are not that close to her?"
The first time she meet Donna just a few minutes ago, Candice's instincts are telling her not to get close to her. The way she smiles is obviously practiced and does not even reach her eyes. Candice also noticed the way she approached their table is a bit weird since the food she bought are only two packs of small cupcakes. She literally does not need to bring a tray just to carry those cupcakes.
Those are just her props so she can have an excuse to approach Rhianne. And it turns out Candice is right. She has no idea about Donna's history with Rhianne and Keith. But it is obvious that she is not Rhianne's friend nor a close acquaintance of her. And she even has the guts to ask about her friend's private life without batting an eye.
Rhianne is actually thinking the same. The moment Donna tries to recall their past quickly gave a feeling that she will not enjoy her lunch anymore. Donna has had a lot of chances to approach her in the past two days. But she remained quiet and acted like a stranger so Rhianne also treated her like one. Then all of a sudden, Donna approached her and tried to recall their past.
"Why are you so suddenly attacking me like that? I am just curious so I asked Rhianne about it. And it is not like a secret since the whole campus knows that they are a couple." Donna said.
"And just because you the whole campus is talking about them suddenly gives you the right to pry too much on their private matters? Well, news flash! That is privacy invasion, missy."
The three of them are now getting attention in the cafeteria. Candice is looking at Donna with a raised brow. Rhianne noticed it but she is not in the mood to stop them. She is quite upset that Donna tried to ask her those questions to her.
Donna hasn't changed at all. Although she looks a bit reserved and quiet on the outside, but she is still the same Donna who keeps on pestering Rhianne in the past. Although she is not asking her for any expensive items today, but she is asking questions that only those people who are very close to her have the privilege to ask from her. Rhianne had a small hope before that Donna has completely changed since she did not try to cause any trouble for her these past two days.
Maybe she is just asking for too many miracles to happen.
"You are so rude." Donna said before rolling her eyes. "Whatever. You destroyed my good mood now."
After that, Donna stands up and starts leaving their table. But before she can disappear, Candice suddenly called her again in a loud voice.
"Hey, rude stranger! Bring your food with you. We do not accept food donations from a gossipmonger like you!" Candice said in a loud voice making the other students laugh.
Donna's cheeks turn red from embarrassment as she walks back to their table and brings the tray with her.
"Tch. That girl is the rude one here." Candice said as she sits properly again on her chair. "Because of her, the cream on our dessert has already melted."
"I will ask the person in charge in our cafeteria if we can put our graham cake in the freezer for a while." Rhianne said.
"Okay." Candice nodded. "But are you alright? That girl is so rude to her. Is she always like that? She is such a gossip girl."
"Well... I guess you can say that." Rhianne replied with a wry smile on her face.
"What is her name again? Donna, right?"
"Yes."
"Hmm... Where did I hear that name again, huh?"
Candice crossed her arms while thinking where did she hear that name in the past. When she finally remembers it, Candice almost jumps on her seat making Rhianne startled a little.
"I remember it now! Is she the one who..."
"Hmm?"
"Oh. It's nothing."
Candice finally remembers it. The name Donna is familiar to her because Keith told the reason why he is so wary of her when she becomes friends with Rhianne. He said that one of their classmates before tried to trick Rhianne to give her a lot of expensive gifts because they are friends. And that person's name is Donna.
Picking up the information she gathered from Keith's story and the conversation she heard with that woman earlier, Candice concluded that she is the same Donna who just wants to use Rhianne for her personal interest.
I should have shoved her face in this graham cake if I just realized it sooner." Candice muttered to herself.
"Huh? I'm sorry. I did not hear you clearly, Candice."
"Oh, it's nothing. I just remembered the leech I found in our backyard yesterday after seeing that Donna's face."
"..."
"Nevermind. But Rhianne, be wary of that woman. Okay? I think she is not genuinely trying to become your friend." Candice advised in a calm voice.
"I know. Thank you for your concern, Candice." Rhianne said with a smile.
"Being concerned is just a normal thing to do between friends."