Chapter 26
I was lying on Ceejay's shoulder during our trip. He held my hand while I looked outside. I was sitting near the window while he was on the other side.
I'm still restless after seeing another vision. I don't really have a good feeling about this tree planting. But I will do everything to finish this day unscathed and no one will be harmed.
I know Ceejay is about to die of curiosity because he doesn't take his eyes off me. And he was caressing my hand that was locked in both of his hands. Because I have not spoken since I saw that vision. I'm nervous.
After more than an hour of travel, the bus stopped. Ma'am MC led the way to get off the bus and some students followed.
I still didn't take my head off Ceejay's shoulder so he carefully touched my cheek, causing me to raise my head and look at him.
I can see and feel that he is worried about me and he looks like he regrets why we even joined the tree planting. We can take a written exam for the prelim. Maybe because of my sudden change in mood. I also can't help but worry. Not only to him, but also to our schoolmates.
I smiled at him and held his hand tightly. Assurance that I'm fine.
"Shall we get off?" I tried to get my mood back.
"Are you sure? We can go back to school and take a written exam if you're not comfortable." He was hesitant.
"As in?" I looked at him seriously, "Come on, let's go back. I'll just take the written exam."
He smiled slightly, "You're really going to come back even though we're here?"
I hold back my laughter but I can't help but smirk, "You're asking me, aren't you? Stand up now."
I immediately stood up and pulled his hand so he stood up as well. But his pull was stronger so I suddenly stuck to his chest and he tied his hand on my waist.
"You really are a philosopher." He laughed.
From his smile, I know that he has calmed down because he saw me smile and my mood is back. His smile is really genuine. The kind that you won't get bored even if you stare at it for 24 hours.
We giggled together before getting off the bus. The students have gathered in front of Ma'am MC and other NSTP Instructors. The three buses that were quite far from us caught my attention. It was not the same color as our bus and there were only two buses that took us.
Another school? We're not the only ones planting trees here?
"Hello, students. Welcome to Inayangan, Calinan." Ma'am MC's opening greeting, "Maybe there are some of you who have traveled and traveled but have never been here. But today we are here to recover some certain areas that are often abused by illegal loggers." She explained.
"But first, let's go to our camping area." Ma'am Shirley joined in excitedly.
NSTP Instructors led the walk to our camping area. Besides the Instructors, the students were excited about what we were going to do and I could hear them chatting as they walked.
I observed the area as we walked through the woods. Even though Davao is well-developed, there are still certain places that are virgin areas. That type, it's really a forest and there aren't many people.
After a few minutes of walking, we got out of the woods and came to a wide area without a single tree. Not even weeds. But in the front, there were also students who looked like they were from another school who were planting. The view from here is beautiful, you can see the entire green countryside and the clouds surrounding it. Some of the students stopped walking to observe it and others took pictures.
I just kept walking while observing the beauty of the countryside.
"So here we will plant seedlings, but on the other side. Just a few steps." Ma'am Shirley explained as we continued walking.
"Rhea!"
I heard someone calling me so I immediately turned my back. Ceejay also stopped and looked in the direction where I was looking.
The person I didn't want to see appeared in front of me because I knew my hangover could get worse. But she seemed very happy to see me and she was still smiling as she walked towards me.
Wait, what exactly is she doing here?
"Are you planting trees too?" She asked excitedly and her eyes were obviously shining.
I gave her a small smile before nodding and looking in another direction.
"Really? Let's do our best for the seedlings to survive for the sake of mother-nature." She was very happy with what she was saying while I was irritated by her voice.
I didn't even respond to what she said or even turn around. Even though I can see out of the corner of my eye that she is looking and waiting for an answer from me.
"Do you know each other?" Ceejay is still curious.
"Yes. Mary Jane Castino–"
"Clarkson!" I scolded in a high voice, "You have the nerve to take my last name too? After your dad has already stole my mom?!"
"Rhea... Calm down." Ceejay looked at me in a low tone that was almost a whisper, "Everyone is looking at us."
I slightly moved my eyes around. Those who heard us were looking while gossiping. They were all obviously surprised.
I took a deep breath to control the irritation that I had and I might explode in no time.
"Remember this, Mj. I'm not your sister and I will never be your sister." My low and emphatic voice sounded menacing.
She swallowed what I said and I could see the corner of her eye getting wet. She should expect that.
Before she could completely dramatize in front of me, I turned my back on her and started walking to catch up with my schoolmates who were ahead.
- Third Person's POV –
At Rhea's speed, Ceejay ran for a while to catch up with her. He blocked her front causing her to stop walking and she looked at him very evilly.
"What kind of behavior is that?" He calmly looked at the girl, "You were spoken to properly and then you're going to be rude?"
"You don't mind." The girl glared at him and she walked pass by him.
But before she could go further, he immediately grabbed her hand to stop her from walking. So the girl immediately turned to him with a frown.
"I don't know what the problem is with you two, but please don't bring it here." The young man's serious statement.
Rhea's face frowned even more, "Family issues so don't interfere."
Rhea tried to free her hand from the young man's grip but he tightened it.
" At least, talk to her properly because she treats you properly." He responded in his deep voice.
"Who do you think you are to tell me off?" The girl said weakly but pointedly with a narrowing of her eyes.
"Your future husband." He boasted, "I'm part of your life and family. So Rhea, listen when told you."
The girl's blood was really boiling and her vision was gradually getting darker.
She couldn't stop the irritation building up in her chest and she let it got all the best of her. She lost control of her mouth and words came out on their own that didn't pass the analysis of her brain.
"Sorry, soon-to-be-husband of my life. Even if she kneels before me and kisses the ground, she will never be my sister. Her father destroyed our family and she is the result of a sin!" Rhea's words were violent and harsh.
"Stop that." The young man's voice remained calm, "Don't say a word that hurts more than that. If it keeps coming out of your mouth, you will never get it back."
The girl was stunned and suddenly she ran out of words to throw at him. Her eyes blinked before staring at the young man's serious face with her mouth slightly open.
The young man swallowed first to gain the courage to continue, "Words are like swords. If you use them the wrong way, they'll turn into ugly weapons. There are cases of broken friendship that would have lasted a lifetime if not for verbal abuse." Ceejay stopped in the middle to observe the slow change in Rhea's facial expressions as they exchanged glances, "Once you sever your ties, you may not see each other ever again."
The two stared at each other. Rhea couldn't believe what she heard from him. The girl did not think that Ceejay likes anime and she will even hear it from the young man's mouth.
Rhea gathered her courage to form the words again, "I know where you got that. Detective Conan Movie 15: Quarter of Silence. Conan said that when Genta and Mitsuhiko were arguing."
His brows furrowed, "That's not the point. Apply Conan's quotations to your life. The tongue has no blade but it can wound the heart. And no matter what sorry you do, you can't take it back. Even if you can be forgiven."
The two exchanged a serious look. And while they were busy feeling each other, her hand voluntarily released from the young man's grip causing them to break their gaze before the young woman finally turned her back at him and walked away from him.
Because the young man was still worried about her and he was restless, he followed her. Even more, the girl turned off the road and went to the woods. As she walked so fast, the young man ran to catch up with her until they ended up in a dense part of the woods.
The girl knew that he was following her but she still didn't stop walking and he continued to chase her.
Just a few steps and Ceejay will reach her, the young man reached for her hand and pulled her strongly towards him. Rhea went straight to the young man's chest and buried her face on it.
Before the girl could struggle, the young man immediately wrapped his arms around her and tightened his embrace.
On the other hand….
"Renzo, do you really know what we're going through?" Novrine hesitated.
"Of course. We are on the right track." Renzo is still boasting.
"Shhh!!" Vincent said with one finger on his lips, "Duck."
Even though the two young men didn't know what was going on, they immediately followed. And before they could even ask, Vincent pointed to the one who stole his attention. The two's eyes widened when they looked at what his finger was pointing at.
"Is that Gonzaga? And... Castino?" Renzo's demeanor was weak and pouting as he carefully observed the view in front of them, "Hugging?"
They giggled almost at the same time as they waited for what would happen next.
Vincent crawled once to get a better view. The two followed behind him.
Novrine's eyes almost fell out when he saw something disgusting in front of Vincent and he gasped when one of his hands landed there. The two didn't seem to notice the thing in front of them because their attention was still focused on what they were looking at and were still very happy. Except for Novrine who is restless.
He was about to tell the two but Renzo's perverted nature got ahead of him.
"Gonzaga's fast. They haven't dated for a month, something is about to be done." A perverted smile was on Renzo's face as he raised his eyebrows.
"Shhh!" Vincent covered Renzo's mouth with his hand.
A pungent smell entered Renzo's nose from Vincent's hand causing his eyes to widen and his breathing difficult. He tried to get out of Vincent's grip, but he held him tighter. Instead of being self-conscious, Novrine giggled uncontrollably while observing Renzo's almost passed out appearance.
"Don't mess up! They might catch us watching." Vincent responded in a whisper, not looking at Renzo and tightening his grip on his mouth.
He kept hitting Vincent's hand only for him to remove it. But Vincent didn't pay attention to it. As for Novrine, his shoulders were constantly being shaken due to his non-stop giggling that he was almost in tears and clutching his stomach.
"Renzo ate shit!" Novrine screamed and burst out laughing.
When Vincent heard this, he immediately turned to Renzo and quickly took his hand from his mouth. At the same time, Renzo fell lifeless to the ground, gasping for breath as if squinting.
Vincent looked at his two hands and saw one with a little brown color sticking to his palm. He slowly brought it to his nose and sniffed hesitantly.
An inexplicable deterioration of Vincent's appearance prevailed as he vigorously shook his hand to remove the dirt clinging to it. Novrine did nothing but laugh loudly and non-stop even though he was short of breath. Even though there was no place for his anger, Vincent still giggled.
Due to the loudness of Novrine's laughter, Rhea and Ceejay jumped slightly causing them to break their embrace before turning to where the loud laughter came from.
When Rhea met Novrine, whom she called kuya wolverine, who was almost crazy with laughter, she immediately approached them. Ceejay followed behind her.
"Hey! What are you doing here?" Rhea smiled as she watched them. She didn't even understand what was happening, but she almost laughed at Novrine's incessant laughter.
Ceejay and Rhea looked at the three smiling, but their attention was more focused on Novrine who had almost no plans to stop laughing.
"Keep it together, man." Ceejay laughed at Novrine's response, "What's wrong?"
Novrine took a deep breath to calm himself but he couldn't help but laugh.
"Renzo... Vincent fed him shit." He explained this in the middle of his laughter.
The two giggled at the same time while Rhea covered her mouth with her hand.
"What?" Rhea said with a smile.
"Vincent was holding a shit then his hand suddenly went to Renzo's face." Novrine laughed at the story, who was in tears and still holding his stomach.
The two laughed as Rhea clung to Ceejay's arm. Vincent shakes his head in disgust but he's still laughing while Renzo is lying on the ground with his eyes closed and giggling softly.
But, unfortunately, their laughter was overturned by a loud explosion that came from somewhere in the woods. Renzo immediately got up from lying down and his eyes widened as he looked around.
Seconds passed and was followed by another loud explosion, causing them all to panic and exchange glances. Rhea tightened her grip on Ceejay's arm when she suddenly remembered the vision she saw earlier on the bus.