Chapter 33: Supremo.
Zein's Point of View...
Darkness. Total darkness. Where am I?
I ran and ran even though I didn't see anyone chasing me, but I kept on running.
Breathing heavily, I stopped for a moment to catch my breath when someone grabbed my arm. I lifted my gaze. I couldn't see their face. It was like I couldn't make out their appearance.
I tried to pull my arm away, but they kept pulling it. I just realized that someone else was holding my other arm as well. Even my feet.
They were dragging me, so I struggled. I screamed and screamed, but no sound came out of my mouth.
They were laughing while pulling me. It was creepy. My hair stood on end. I kept screaming, but truly no sound came out of my mouth.
I felt someone shaking me, which jolted me awake. The first person I saw was Sir Alvarez, who looked worried.
"Are you okay? You've been groaning for a while now," he said worriedly.
That dream. What does it mean? Why were they pulling me? What do they need from me?
"W-Where am I?" I asked when I realized the place wasn't familiar to me.
Apart from the cream-colored wall, there was nothing else here except a cabinet, which I think served as a wardrobe.
"You're in my dorm; what happened?" he asked worriedly before handing me water.
"I found you near the woods, unconscious," he added.
You could truly see the worry in his eyes, but what really happened?
"C-Celine. She went into the woods!"
Fear grabbed me again as the events from earlier slowly sank in. I looked outside the window; it was already dark outside, and the rain was still heavy, accompanied by lightning and thunder.
"Celine? I didn't see her. You were the only one there."
My gaze returned to Sir Alvarez, and I shook my head.
"There were people in the woods, many of them. Celine went in there! I was about to follow her but..." My head suddenly hurt, so I held it.
"I don't know anymore. Everything suddenly went dark." I just stared blankly after saying that.
If Celine hasn't come out of the woods by now, what happened to her?
"Did you see the people you're talking about?"
"No, but I felt them."
I suddenly remembered what happened to Matt and me before when he accompanied me to the er [emergency room?] and we were caught in a bloody night. When he was suddenly shot with a nail in the leg, the BBG [gang?] was far away then, but I felt someone watching us, mommy.
"They must be one of the gang..." Sir Alvarez concluded confusedly. "Either BBG or DGW." he added.
I just sighed when I remembered my friends. I'm sure they're worried.
"I need to go," I removed the blanket wrapped around me and stood up, but I suddenly sat down because of weakness. It seemed I couldn't walk yet.
"Stay here for now, it is no longer safe outside. It's 8:30 and the rain is heavy."
I looked outside again. I flinched slightly when lightning struck fiercely and momentarily lit up the surroundings, along with loud thunder.
Sir Alvarez closed the curtain when he saw my reaction to the lightning.
"Join me for a meal,"
I just followed Sir Alvarez. I couldn't help but smile. He reminded me of Daddy. He was like a father to me now.
Sir Alvarez's dorm was big compared to ours, probably because he was a teacher.
"Are you the only one here?" I suddenly asked, just in case he had other teacher companions in the dorm.
He just glanced at me briefly before smiling. "Yeah," he replied shortly.
When we arrived in the kitchen, the soup was ready. He probably prepared it while I was asleep. He pulled out a chair for me, which made me slightly uncomfortable. Gentleman.
"You want coffee?" he asked while his back was to me, facing the sink to brew some.
"Sure," I replied.
I just watched him brew it. I suddenly remembered the task he had given me. He never mentioned it because he probably didn't want to pressure me.
I rolled my eyes when he faced me, holding two cups of coffee. He placed one in front of me before going around to the other side of the table.
"Thanks," I said shortly.
He just returned a faint smile before starting to eat. I couldn't help but smile at how delicious the soup was.
"Did you cook this?" I asked, which made him turn to look at me.
"Yeah. Why? Didn't you like it?" he asked worriedly, so I quickly shook my head.
"It's really good. I was just surprised that you're good at cooking," I said, which made him laugh softly.
While I was eating, I noticed Sir Alvarez glancing at me frequently, which made me feel uncomfortable.
"I-Is something wrong?" I broke the silence.
He shook his head at me and sipped his coffee. "Just remembered something..." He smiled at me, so I smiled back too.
What could he have remembered?
We were heading back to the room where I would sleep. Sir Alvarez said he would sleep on the sofa.
"Uh, Sir? I apologize for still not finding their hidden laboratory," I said shyly.
He sat beside me and patted my head. "It's okay, they're just really careful with these kinds of things." he said to soothe the guilt I was feeling.
Perhaps because of my exhaustion, I immediately fell asleep. When I woke up, I immediately got up to go back to our dorm. I wasn't able to say goodbye to Sir Alvarez because he was still sound asleep on the sofa.
When I arrived at the dorm, of course, I went through a Q&A. Vanessa almost made me dizzy hitting my head, but even so, I couldn't help but smile; at least I knew they were worried.
It was the last day of Foundation Day and also my last day here, but I tried to dismiss the thought. I didn't want to think about anything else.
I was facing the mirror, brushing my hair, when Mia suddenly took the comb from me.
"Hey!" I stopped her when she was doing something to my hair.
"I'm just tired of your hairstyle!" she snapped.
"Nyek? [Filipino slang for 'Huh?' or 'Whaat?']"
I couldn't do anything, so I just let her be. Among the three of us girls who were friends, Mia was the fashionista. Every outfit she would wear, she prepared for.
"Woah!" I was amazed at what she did to my hair.
Some parts of my hair were braided on both sides, and then she braided them again. I think I've seen this hairstyle on the Barbie movies we watched before.
"See? You just need a little transformation."
We shyly went out of the room when we heard Vanessa's shrill scream outside.
"Woah! Is that you, Zein? I didn't notice you there!" joked Jerome, patting Matt's shoulder, who was just staring blankly at me.
I couldn't help but feel uncomfortable because he really wasn't blinking while looking at me.
"Your drool!" joked Vanessa to Matt before hitting his head, making Jerome and Matt almost bump their heads together because of the force.
"A-Ah? Woah! You don't need to beautify yourself anymore, you've been beautiful for a long time..." He suddenly flinched, pulled me closer to him, and hooked my arm around his arm. "But it's better if I'm the one beside you," he added, and I almost bumped my head on the floor out of extreme embarrassment.
"Oh yeah! Matthew 101 moves," laughed Dave, and they high-fived.
"Ewww... But you're right though. Zein is beautiful, so a handsome guy should be beside her." Vanessa suddenly pulled me away from him, and we went out first.
I just let out a breath when we finally got out.
"I am handsome though!" He followed us out.
"Show it! You should win!" replied Vanessa, which made me frown.
What was this girl talking about that Matt needed to show?
"What's going on?" I asked confusedly when we entered the Gymnasium.
I just facepalmed when I remembered that the Mr. And Ms. Face of the Year event is today.
"Matt is our section's representative," Vanessa whispered to me, causing my jaw to drop.
I glanced at Matt; Jerome and Dave were patting his shoulder, seemingly giving him courage.
OMG!
I once saw Matt compete in a pageant like this, and my throat tendons almost snapped from screaming. I'm not exaggerating, Matthew is damn so hot!
Another OMG!
"Your mouth..." Mia, who was next to me, whispered giggling.
I quickly closed my mouth, not realizing it had opened slightly.
"No good luck kiss?" I almost jumped in surprise when Matthew was suddenly beside me.
Vanessa and Mia pushed me, causing me to stumble into Matt's chest. I almost fainted from the thrill.
"Eh?"
"Just one..."
"You don't know the rule in this competition?" We almost jumped in surprise at the sudden appearance of Supremo in front of us.
He is in his usual poker face expression, but now it seems he can't control an expression of annoyance.
"What rule?" I asked in confusion, but he didn't even manage to answer me and kept staring fiercely at Matt, who was now grinning back at him.
What kind of rules is he talking about?
"There are no rules in this pageant!" I reminded him when I realized that I was the one who created this event.
Supremo glanced at me before a mischievous smirk appeared on his lips.
"Well, now there is." He returned his gaze to Matt. "If you are one of the participants, you are not allowed to have a kiss to anyone... even just a friendly kiss." He turned his back on us after saying that.
My jaw almost dropped at what he said. What the hell?! What kind of rule is that, Supremo?!
"Supremo is so unfair... okay, just a hug then." Matt was about to hug me when Supremo stepped between us.
What the hell?! I thought he had left already.
"Not even a hug..." Supremo pulled me away from there, so all I could do was signal to Matt to do his best.
I glanced at Supremo, who was staring seriously into space while holding my arm.
"What kind of rule is that?" I asked in confusion. I really couldn't see the point of the rules he made up.
"Shut up."
I just sniffed at the air. I don't know what Supremo's problem is that he's so grumpy today. I mean, he's always like this, but I know and feel that it's different today.
We sat in the front. Supremo was on my left while Vice Ty, who just gave me a faint smile, was on my right.
Everyone applauded as it began. The participants were called one by one, but Matt hadn't been called yet.
Many people were whistling because the contestants were so sexy. I glanced at Supremo, who was watching poker-faced.
Eh? Unbelievable!
"They're sexy." I said without thinking.
"Not really." Supremo replied, so for the second time, I just sniffed at the air.
"Woa!" I gasped when a male contestant suddenly took off his shirt revealing his well-built body.
I was surprised when it suddenly got dark; I mean Supremo covered my eyes.
"Rated SPG, Supremo's guidance is needed." I heard Supremo whisper.
I violently removed Supremo's hand from my eyes, but when I took it off, he was standing in front of me blocking the stage.
"I'm watching, Supremo!"
I almost threw the mono block chair I was sitting on at him out of annoyance.
He also sat down when the guy who took off his shirt was gone. I just grimaced because I was disappointed about the good view that Supremo covered up.
"You look pissed.." Supremo said. I faced him with a raised eyebrow. "You want to watch that fcking guy's body?" He asked angrily.
I just returned my gaze to the front and suppressed the annoyance I was feeling. What is his problem? He's been like this all this time...
My forehead furrowed when Matt and his partner were called, but no one came out.
"Their partner isn't here..." I heard someone whisper behind us.
UGH!
I held Supremo's arm when he stood up. "Where are you going?" I asked with a furrowed brow.
"I will disqualify Matthew Hart."
I really stood up from where I was sitting before glaring at him.
"No!" I insisted stubbornly.
"He doesn't ha-"
"Me... I'll take her place."
I quickly ran to the backstage where I found everyone in a frenzy while Matt was pouting.
"I'll take her place."
I almost felt faint when they all looked at me.
Matt even gasped when he saw me.
"Well then, there she is!" I heard one of them say.
"Are you sure?" Matt asked so I just nodded.
They put me in the dressing room and dressed me in a two-piece. I wasn't uncomfortable in what I was wearing since I was used to wearing it.
They put makeup on my face but they didn't touch my hair because it was already styled beautifully.
Matt held my arm when the styling was finished. He is wearing shorts and a plain white shirt.
His hair was up, adding to the appeal of his aura.
We were called and when we came out, deafening screams echoed around us.
There was a choreographer teaching us what to do, so it wasn't difficult for me. I gasped when Matt pulled me close to him.
"Damn so hot." He whispered in my ear, which made me laugh softly.
For our final pose, my two arms were hooked around Matt's neck while one of my legs was raised. Matt, meanwhile, was just looking at me with a grin.
"Damn, Zein." He said again.
We stood next to the other contestants who had finished, and the next pair was called.
My mouth dropped open and my eyes widened when I saw who the two walking on the ramp were now.
Fritzy and Ace.
I almost sat down where I was standing when Supremo suddenly tore his T-shirt and I almost went deaf from the extreme noise in the gymnasium.
What the hell, Supremo.
He faced me with a raised eyebrow and a smirk. I looked at his body and almost fainted.
Supremo, is so damn hot as hell! Fck!
I really stopped breathing when he suddenly walked in front of me.
"Now, look at my body until you've had enough. At my body only, not others'. This is an order from the highest Supreme Student