Back in the classroom after Ponce left the room.
The class became rowdy once again. However, it wasn't the usual chatter between friends, but gossip. With Escuro looking gloomy today, the remaining classmates showed some concern for her.
The girls tried talking to her. At first, they simply checked in, asking how she was. Then, little by little, they kept shifting the conversation, steering it toward their curiosity about her situation. But since Escuro felt dejected, she couldn't answer them properly, as her responses didn't meet their expectations.
Seeing they couldn't get any proper answers, the crowd surrounding her gradually dispersed. Meanwhile, Manzano, on the other hand, watched everything unfold. He kept his eyes on her, even after the people around her had cleared.
After dealing with her classmates, Escuro, already low on energy, felt even more drained and slumped her head onto the table. With no intention of getting up, it seemed she would spend her break like that.
As for Manzano, he continued to stare at her. He had also stayed in the classroom, but unlike Escuro, who was probably skipping lunch, he had bought a Fudgee Barr outside before coming to school.
Tearing the wrapper open, he took a bite. As he slowly ate, someone suddenly approached him.
"Hey, Manzano, wanna join us in the cafeteria?"
It was his second friend group.
"Sure, I'll join you guys."
After replying, Manzano quickly finished the Fudgee Barr in his hand.
His friends seemed to have something to say, but he cut them off, adding, "It's not enough for me anyway."
At that, they swallowed their words. He then stood up and followed them.
When they arrived at the cafeteria, they each bought a rice meal set. After getting their food, they found a table and settled down.
"So… how have you been?"
One of his friends asked while the others listened attentively.
Manzano, still chewing, took a sip of lemon juice to clear his mouth before answering.
"The same as usual."
"Is that it? Nothing bothering you?"
"That's right."
Manzano resumed eating. He raised his fork, pricked a sausage, and cut it with his spoon. Holding a piece on his fork, he dipped it in ketchup, took a bite, then followed it with rice.
His friends only watched him without touching their food, which unsettled him.
"So, are you guys going to eat or what?"
They ignored the question. Exchanging glances, they nodded to one another before one of them spoke.
"Say, did something happen between you, Escuro, and Ponce?"
"No. Why do you ask?"
"It's just that you've been distancing yourself from them. So I wondered if something happened."
"Thanks for the concern, but nothing did."
"Really? That guy didn't do anything?"
"Who? Dalino? No. He's not as bad as the rumors make him out to be."
"What if he's pretending? I heard a rumor that ever since he joined your group, he's been pestering Escuro."
"That's not the case at all."
"Then what? Since Monday, you haven't interacted with any of them. Knowing your personality, it's hard to believe you'd act this way."
Manzano being friends with those two girls since middle school was no secret to the class. Despite having other friend groups, he spent most of his time with Escuro and Ponce. Even so, everyone respected that.
That's why it was shocking for them to see Manzano ignoring the two girls.
"So maybe it really is Dalino's doing," one suggested, and the others agreed.
"Come on, guys. Don't just blame him so easily. No one's at fault."
"Okay then, but why has your group gone quiet?"
At that question, Manzano fell silent for a few seconds before letting out a sigh.
"It was me."
"What?"
"I'm purposely ignoring them."
"Why?"
"It's just that… I don't want to get in the way."
"Get in a way with what?"
"Sorry, I can't tell you the details."
Manzano wouldn't say anything more than that. They could try, but once he said no, there was no point in forcing him.
"Speak of the devil," one of them said.
Walking through the crowd were Dalino and Ponce. After lining up, they bought simple sandwiches and a rice bowl meal for takeout. Afterwards, they headed for the exit, but before leaving, Ponce turned around and looked at Dalino.
"Are they arguing?"
Ponce spoke sharply to Dalino. After saying something, she left him behind. As for Dalino, he stood there for a moment, waiting. He leaned against the wall beside the door, trying to look nonchalant, but only ended up looking awkward. Eventually, he left as well, clearly embarrassed.
"Do you think those two saw us?" one of them asked.
"Probably not," another replied.
But Manzano thought otherwise.
No, they saw us. That's why they acted that way just now, he thought.
***
Back in the classroom, minutes had passed since Manzano left.
Escuro remained in her seat, head resting on the table.
After the earlier predicament, no one dared to approach her again. She stayed like that in silence for a while, until someone finally spoke to her.
"Something wrong?"
That voice was familiar.
It wasn't like Escuro knew every classmate's voice, but there were a few she recognized.
"What do you want, Prez?"
It was Diana Cardano, their class president, and also the one Manzano had a crush on.
"You seem to be in a bad mood today. Did something happen?"
"Nothing."
"Your tone says otherwise."
"..."
Yes, there was a problem.
Manzano had started ignoring her.
That was it.
Lately, she had been thinking a lot about whether giving him the chocolate had been a mistake. Whether she had poured too much of her feelings into it… enough for Manzano to notice, and start avoiding her.
There was no evidence to support it, but she couldn't stop overthinking.
"Perhaps I can help."
Cardano offered her help, but Escuro ignored her.
In her mind, she couldn't accept Cardano's help since she was her rival in love. Even if Manzano was already avoiding her, she refused to believe she had already lost to Cardano.
Since Manzano's feelings for Cardano were one-sided, Escuro believed she still had a chance. She held onto that thought.
"Come on, if it's within this classroom, you can rely on me. I'm the class president, after all."
Was it her responsibility as class president that made her help Escuro? Or was she simply kind-hearted? Escuro believed it was the latter. Even so, she still couldn't accept her offer.
"Please just leave me alone," Escuro retorted.
"I…"
After that, Cardano stopped talking. She knew that if she pushed further, Escuro would only get angry.
Giving up for now, she left her with a final remark before walking away.
"If you need any help, I'm all ears."
From the doorway, Ponce witnessed their interaction. Noticing her there, Cardano walked toward her.
"She seems depressed."
"Yeah, she's been dealing with something lately."
"I see… I wish I could help."
"Sorry, I can't tell you about it either."
"That's fine. I'll wait for her to open up."
Ponce doubted that would happen anytime soon. As long as Escuro and Cardano remained rivals, Escuro would stay guarded around her.
After saying that, Cardano passed by Ponce and left. Ponce then headed to Escuro's seat.
"Camille."
"Andrea…"
Escuro lifted her head. She looked at Ponce with dull eyes and responded weakly.
"Here."
Ponce handed her a plastic bag. Inside were a hotdog and a bottle of C2.
She figured Escuro had probably forgotten to prepare her lunch, so she bought her something to eat. As if confirming her guess, Escuro accepted the bag without a word.
"Say, Andrea… do you think Manzano doesn't want to hang out with us anymore?"
"What?! Don't say that. He's probably just busy with something."
"But… he didn't even greet us."
"Um… maybe he forgot?"
That wasn't something easy to forget. Greeting someone came naturally, unless you didn't notice them, or you were deliberately avoiding them.
Manzano always greeted them, no matter where or when. So neither of them could imagine him acting this way.
Realizing that Manzano was intentionally ignoring them only made Escuro feel worse.
Ponce wanted to comfort her, to reassure her that everything would be fine, but she held herself back. She didn't want Escuro to suspect that she knew their secret. Because of that, she refrained from saying, 'I'll do something.'
At that moment, Manzano returned. As he entered, his eyes briefly met theirs before he looked away.
Escuro dropped her head onto the table again, hurt by his continued indifference.
"L-let's just give him some space for now. No, let's give him three days. Sounds good?"
"…Mm-hm."
That was all Ponce could do, at least on the surface. In her mind, she was already thinking of a way to fix this situation. And the first step was figuring out how to make Manzano talk to her.
As she began forming a plan, her phone suddenly chimed with a Messenger notification.
"Hmm? Who could it be?"
Checking the message, her face frowned.