If there was one thing Rhaine knew about Maya Serrano, it was that she never forgot a crush sighting.
And unfortunately, Maya had seen everything yesterday.
It started the moment Rhaine walked into the cafeteria. Maya was already waving her over like she was signaling a rescue plane.
"Morning," Rhaine mumbled, dropping her bag onto the bench beside Maya.
Maya smirked like a villain in a telenovela. "Soooo… how's history class?"
Rhaine narrowed her eyes. "It's fine. Why?"
Eli, sitting across from them with his sketchbook open, didn't even look up. "Translation: She's pretending she didn't almost combust when Sam said hello."
Rhaine rolled her eyes. "I did not combust. I… maybe warmed slightly."
"Rhaine," Maya said, leaning forward, "you froze. You stared at her like she was the answer to all your exam prayers. Which, for the record, you only do when"
"I am very hungry?" Rhaine interrupted, grabbing a piece of Maya's sandwich.
"Nice try," Maya said, yanking it back.
---
The thing was… Rhaine really wasn't looking for trouble. Or romance. Or anything that involved putting herself out there for the school rumor mill to chew on. She liked her bubble. She liked her quiet anonymity and, okay, maybe she liked staring at cute girls from a safe distance. But that was where it ended.
Usually.
She stole a quick glance toward the lunch line, where Sam was paying for her food. Sports jacket again, hair up, tray in hand. Rhaine looked away fast, but not fast enough Maya caught it.
"Ohhh, it's worse than I thought," Maya whispered dramatically.
"It's not anything," Rhaine hissed. "She's just… aesthetically pleasing, okay?"
Eli chuckled. "That's one way to say you're in love."
"I am not"
"Hi," a voice interrupted.
Rhaine looked up to see Sam standing there. Right there. With her tray.
"You're Rhaine, right? From history?" Sam asked, her smile faint but genuine.
Rhaine blinked. "Uh… yeah. That's me."
"Cool. I think Mr. Villanueva's pairing us for that project he mentioned."
Rhaine's brain briefly short-circuited. "Oh. Right. Yeah. Okay."
Sam nodded, gave them all a polite wave, and headed toward an empty table by the windows.
---
Maya was the first to speak. "Congratulations. You're officially doomed."
"Why doomed?" Rhaine asked, though her stomach was buzzing in a way that definitely wasn't hunger.
"Because," Maya said, "now you have to talk to her outside of the safety of 'accidental hallway encounters.'"
Eli raised an eyebrow. "And you'll have to do it without short-circuiting."
Rhaine slouched against the bench. "I hate both of you."
---
After School – History Class
Mr. Villanueva was one of those teachers who always looked like he was two cups of coffee away from running for political office. He launched into an overly enthusiastic speech about the project: choose a historical figure, present their story creatively, and don't "just Google and copy-paste because plagiarism is a crime against education and humanity."
When he finally got to assigning partners, Rhaine tried to look neutral. Like she wouldn't care if she got paired with the school janitor.
"Sam Alcaraz and Rhaine De Fuentes," he announced.
Her stomach did a weird flip.
Sam turned toward her with that same polite smile from the cafeteria. "Guess it's official."
"Yep," Rhaine said, voice squeaky, then cleared her throat. "Yeah. Official."
---
They decided to meet at the library after school to pick a topic.
Rhaine, being Rhaine, spent the whole walk over giving herself a pep talk in her head: It's just a project. She's just a classmate. She's not going to bite. Probably.
The library was quiet except for the hum of the aircon. Sam had already claimed a table in the corner, a notebook open, a pen in her hand.
"I was thinking we could do someone less obvious," Sam said as Rhaine sat down. "Everyone's gonna pick, like, Rizal or Bonifacio. What about someone underrated?"
Rhaine tilted her head. "Like who?"
Sam's eyes lit up. "Gabriela Silang."
Rhaine smiled before she could stop herself. "The badass woman who led a revolt against the Spanish after her husband died? Yeah, I could work with that."
Sam grinned. "Cool."
They started brainstorming ideas, and for the first time, Rhaine noticed something about Sam's voice steady, low, with a slight rhythm like she was telling a story instead of listing facts. Rhaine caught herself leaning in without realizing it.
---
By the time they packed up, the awkwardness had faded into something easier.
Still, as Rhaine walked home, she couldn't shake the thought that this was exactly how trouble started: not with a dramatic confession or a single life-changing moment, but with a smile in the cafeteria and a shared love for a revolutionary.
And Rhaine?
Yeah, she was definitely in trouble.