Weeks passed, and Gabriela's determination to find Daniela grew.
Her popularity in The White's Academy also grew. And with her presence, Claudia's friends couldn't bully anyone. She was always ready to save the day.
"You called me, Miss. Gabriela." She didn't respond.
"Please be quick with it, ma'am. I sneaked out of the house just to come here."
"I understand, okay? I miss Daniela and I want to know where she is." The maid's eyes widened and she blinked away the surprise that showed clearly on her face.
"You see, I can't share that information."
"Oh yeah? Even if I pay your daughter's hospital bills?"
"No ma'am. I can't. Mr. Flores asked us not to share the information to anyone. Not even you."
"Not even me?" Gabriela was disappointed. She bit her lips in anger.
"Okay, you know what? Tell me where she is. I'll pretend I don't have an idea. You won't be exposed, I swear. Just tell me. You've been with us even before Daniela was born. And when she was born, remember how much I loved her. And I still do. How would you feel if your sister was taken away from you just like that?"
"Please...I'm begging you. Name whatever. A new car, a trip to Miami, a trip to Maldives. Just tell me where Daniela is, that's all." The maid thought for a while before saying,
"I don't know."
"Fuck." Gabriela cursed under her breath.
"Please leave..." She ordered in a whisper.
"Miss. Gabriela, I don't know exactly where..."
"Get yourself out of my fucking house!!" Gabriela roared, causing the maid to flinch and walk out of the house immediately.
"Who was it?" Isabella was walking down the stairs.
"Arghhhhh!!" Gabriela threw herself on the sofa and closed her eyes. Isabella sat down next to her.
"What's wrong with you?" Isabella asked calmly.
"Everything is wrong with me. I called this maid, pleading, promising her the world, and she refused to tell me where Daniela is right now. I need to see her. I need to bring her here, and probably start taking care of her on my own. " Isabella nodded.
"Its...a good idea."
"The underwater dream, it keeps coming. And I don't know what to do about it. Sometimes I see fishes professing love, water gods going on dates, its funny but its crazy. All I want to dream about is cars, money, properties, my own success life. Not mythical shit."
"Gabriela. I don't think what you dream about is gonna do anything about your properties or your position as the Flores' family heiress."
"But why am I dreaming about it? Since I was 3, this underwater stuff keeps recurring."
"What exactly is it about?" Isabella was curious.
"A sea prince falling in love with a sea witch's daughter. Utterly ridiculous!" Gabriela exclaimed with a chuckle. Isabella smiled.
"Interesting."
~~~~~ MIGUEL'S APARTMENT~~~~~
Miguel was sipping coffee, his eyes glued to the TV screen, while Rafael and Damien were on their phones.
"Hey Damien, look." Rafael turned his phone screen to Damien, showing him a picture.
"Who is she?" Damien asked in admiration.
"My online crush." Rafael grinned.
"Aw, she's not bad."
He scrolled, his phone screen displaying more alluring pictures of her. Damien continued to compliment her good looks and curves.
"Miguel, what do you think?" Rafael turned his phone to Miguel's direction but he didn't take his eyes off the TV screen.
Rafael frowned, holding his phone tightly to himself.
"Miguel, what the fuck gets into your head whenever you watch these movies?"
"He just doesn't speak to anyone."
"I think watching movies is better than dreaming about a girl you'll never meet." Damien and Rafael exchanged glances.
"The girl's body structure is cool but Gabriela is much better." Damien continued.
"Gabriela Flores? I'm in love with her body confidence."
"She sways her hips so uniquely."
"And her lips? Did she get fillers?"
"She's so exotically charming."
"She's the Latina Mami." Damien glanced at Miguel with a smirk, ready to tease him.
"What about you, Miguel? Is there any feature about Gabriela Flores you admire? Tell us about it. Don't worry, its top secret." Damien winked.
"Yeah. I admire the fact that she looks very much like my favorite teapot." Damien and Rafael gasped before bursting into uncontrollable laughter.
"I used to drink with it when I was five, but sadly it broke. When I laid my eyes on her, I got emotional, recalling the teapot breaking." The two couldn't stop laughing, till their stomachs hurt.
Miguel smirked too, thinking of how Gabriela would feel if he said it in her presence.
"I'm a little teapot, short and stout, here is my handle, here is my spout..." Rafael and Damien sang, still laughing.
~~~~~ THE WHITE'S ACADEMY, LUNCHTIME ~~~~
"How was the lecture?" Damien asked Gabriela, zooming over to sit next to her when other students exited the lecture room.
"It wasn't bad." Gabriela replied.
"I like your outfit. Its sporty. What brand?"
"The crop top and pants are Adidas, the necklace is a Tiffany and Co diamond, and the ring I'm wearing which is also diamond is an antique type that costs $15,000. I'm wearing Nike sneakers. My gold hairpin costs $30, my belly chain costs $45, I'm wearing a Calvin Klein bra and - "
"Stop." Damien said at once and they both laughed.
"I'm wearing over $100,000 in total." Gabriela boasted.
"Wow. You lavish on your wardrobe." She nodded confidently.
"Gabriela, can you help me?"
"Help? Of course!"
"I told you I didn't like Nadia because of how fake she was. There's more," He lowered his voice, "I've got my eyes on someone else." Gabriela was amused.
"That sounds cool! Who is she?"
"Over there." Gabriela turned to look at the girl who was sitting alone, far away from them. She was wearing glasses, her pouty lips and small physique made it certain that she was the school's quiet, nerdy, hottie.
She was reading a novel and she was so engrossed that she didn't even realize there were two more students in class.
"She's a novel lover." Gabriela smiled at Damien.
"What's her name?"
"Michelle. She's Miguel's sister."
"Oh..."
"She has been like this since high school senior year. She never talks to anyone. She just sits...alone. She doesn't eat lunch. She doesn't go to the restroom. She doesn't have friends. She doesn't smile, she doesn't laugh, she doesn't have tattoos, she doesn't go clubbing, she reads - alone." Damien said sadly. Gabriela's eyes were fixed on the girl. The only movement she made was flipping the pages of the book every 35 seconds.
"Why is she like that? Her brother is the opposite. He's the social type. Does she get bullied? Does Miguel ignore her?" Gabriela asked, curiosity in her voice.
"She joined us in 10th grade. When I discovered my feelings, I tried talking to her but she didn't respond. She has always been quiet but it got worse when Miguel told us that she was his maid's daughter. She experienced bullying at it's highest in our school, at Miguel's orders."
"How dare he? Is Michelle really a maid's daughter?"
"Yeah. Their dad was being a jerk and r@ped one of their maids. She gave birth to Michelle and after Miguel's mom died, Miguel hated Michelle even more, because he felt she was enjoying undeserved privileges. Mr. Jackson, Miguel's dad enrolled Michelle in The White's High School and that made Miguel happy, because he had a plan of suffering for her." Michelle's story built immense hate for Miguel in Gabriela.
"When we were in 11th grade, Claudia and Michelle had a heated argument that caused them to wrestle like cats. The next day, we saw pictures of Michelle n*ked glued to everyone's lockers, the walls, the cafeteria tables, everywhere! She was stripped in the cafeteria with everyone making videos and laughing. It was deleted on the school's website when Claudia tried to post it."
"What the fuck?!" Gabriela exclaimed loudly and Damien reacted.
Despite that, Michelle didn't flinch.
"Shhhh..what if she hears you?" He whispered.
Gabriela fumed.
"Claudia will get a taste of her own medicine. I promise you that."
"Arghhh!! What a bitch!!!" Gabriela tried not to yell, clenching her fist with gritted teeth.
"I can't believe this innocent girl went through all this in school! You own the school, Damien! How could this be done to the girl you like and you didn't do anything to get Claudia punished? Huh??!!"
"Miguel and Claudia. I'll make sure their dreams get shattered in the end. They'll be kicked out of college soon. Mark my words."
"No! Miguel isn't the vilian anymore. He has changed. He...he's trying to get his sister back."
"Get his sister? All that happened to her and he didn't do anything about it. Is it now, he wants to get Michelle back?" Gabriela snapped.
"He has realized his mistake. He's doing everything to win her back. It just isn't working. But I don't care about that right now. All I want is you to help me."
"Why should I help you? Miguel is your best friend, and no matter what he does, you are always on his side. Tell him to help you." Gabriela frowned.
"C'mon Gabriela. You said you'd help."
"I want you to talk to her. I want you to be her friend. If you help her get over this trauma with the pictures, it'll be easy for me too. Please Gabriela." Gabriela stared at Michelle, imagining how terrible she must have felt.
"Okay. I'll help you." Damien was overexcited, about to hug but Gabriela stopped him with her hand.
"You can't! You can't - cheat on her." Damien blushed.
Gabriela stood up to leave.
"Gabriela. Please don't tell anyone what I told you about Miguel & Michelle." He whispered.
"I won't. Top secret." She winked.
★★★CAFETERIA★★★
Gabriela, Diana and Isabella were eating and chatting, laughing heartily.
Nadia and Sandra walked to their table, facing Gabriela with angry looks.
"Why are you here? Wanna join us? Dig in." Gabriela offered them a fork but Nadia snatched it and threw it away.
"Gabriela. What is your fucking problem? It feels like you're blocking our freedom in this school. We've been given repulsive stares ever since you set foot into this school. We can't carry out our usual activities anymore. You're trying to change it all!" Nadia yelled.
"You think you're all mighty just because you're the heiress of the Flores' family? When you look back at The White's Academy, you'll cry bitterly because we'll ruin your future plans! You'll pay dearly for stepping on our toes!" Gabriela chuckled.
"That's not why I'm here. Gabriela, I want you to keep your ass away from Damien White. He's mine!"
"Oh. I knew that was the reason you're trying to create a scene." Claudia stepped forward. All eyes were on them.
The kitchen girl served Gabriela's plate of spicy macaroni and Claudia glared at her before she turned to leave.
"Why are you so obsessed with me, Claudia?"
"The wedding's this week, remember? Eat up, so you can have some energy reserved to dance with your new mother and sister." Claudia and her minions laughed mockingly. Gabriela ignored them and when she tasted the macaroni, she started coughing uncontrollably.
Her friends tried to offer her water but Claudia stepped closer and grabbed a chunk of macaroni, stuffing it in Gabriela's mouth, making her cough even more. The students watched, some laughing, while others, who badly wanted to give her water just couldn't because of the death glares Sandra was giving them.
"What the fuck?! Gabriela warned you guys not to add cayenne to the spices because she was allergic to it. How could you??!" Isabella yelled at the kitchen girls, and they bit their lips in guilt. Gabriela's skin was itching. Diana wanted to stop Claudia but Nadia punched her nose.
"Hey, Claudia stop!!" Miguel commanded, as he walked towards them with his friends, Rafael and Damien. Damien took his sister away from the scene and Isabella followed.
"Take her to the nurse." Gabriela's eyes flashed as she coughed, infuriated at the sight of Miguel, at the same time, struck by surprise.
"Is he here to save me?" She thought. Miguel squatted, pulled the chair she sat closer to himself and cleaned her lips and cheeks gently and neatly with his white napkin.
He was holding her hand and caressing it slowly. Gabriela felt her heart race and the cough stop.
She thought he had some magic effect on her. Miguel collected a glass Rafael was holding and gave it to her. She thought the content was water, parted her lips and she tasted it before she realized....
"Fuck!! Are you crazy?! This is vinegar!" She exclaimed and the cough continued. Miguel burst into mocking laughter, making other students join in.
"Next time, you'll learn to order a bottle of water, instead of a bottle of juice."
The school nurse saw them and rushed to the scene.
"Why are you watching her cough? Such heartlessness!" The nurse lifted Gabriela and took her to the clinic.