SAPPHIRE’S heart skipped a beat the very first time she laid her eyes on Hapi. And not only that, her heart would always summersault whenever she sees him. Even staring at his picture makes her happy. It was love at first sight. She was sure of that. No one has ever made her feel that way.
It has been a month since their first encounter. But she still couldn’t approach Hapi because her cousin Ruby was always with him. All she could do for now is to stalk Hapi on his social media accounts. There, she learned that he was a campus figure. Hapi was a member of the university’s basketball team, the Warlords. Aside from that, he was also the current president of the Supreme Student Government. He was tall, handsome, smart, and super friendly—a complete package. But she still couldn’t comprehend why he was friends with Ruby when he was her cousin’s exact opposite. Could it be…
“Here you go again, starring at your phone like there’s no tomorrow,” said Danna when she walked past the sofa where she was lying down. She was her mother’s private nurse.
Danna was six years older than her, but she acts like they were the same age. It made her feel comfortable around her.
“I was just browsing,” she said nonchalantly.
Danna took a peek at her phone’s screen. “Is it really necessary to follow someone who’s wearing briefs?”
“Hey!” She slapped Danna’s arm. “Lower your voice. Mama might hear you. I don’t want her to think that I am… you know.” Sapphire cleared her throat.
“Aren’t you?” She narrowed her eyes on Danna. “Ah, by the way… you should go downstairs. Your friends Hannah and Claire came. They brought you food, but they’re eating it now.”
Sapphire laughed. “They’re always like that.
The two were her friends back to her old school. She was glad that even though she stopped going to school, they remained faithful friends to her.
She stared at her phone’s screen again. She couldn’t help but laugh at Kirei’s post on social media. It was a picture of Hapi wearing briefs while posing in the gymnasium. The caption states that it was a penalty for Hapi because they lose in the inter-school competition. Hapi was too young back then, but he has quite a sexy figure for a man. He even has abs at that age!
“Wow, this family room is really awesome!”
“Should we watch a movie?”
She turned in the direction of the door and found her friends sauntering towards her. They sat on the sofa with her in the middle.
“Oh, look, Hannah! Sapphire has a new phone. Wow, our friend’s leveling up,” said Claire.
“I didn’t buy this, though. It’s a gift from my grandma.”
“Oh…” Claire grabbed her phone and saw the picture she was staring at a while ago. “Sapphire, what is this? Are you a perv?”
Sapphire tried to grab her phone back, but Hannah stopped her and joined Claire in browsing the pictures.
“Whoa! Whoa! So many handsome boys!” Hannah giggled. “Are they from your new school?”
She just nodded in response.
Claire stopped scrolling when she saw the Warlords group photo and counted the boys on it.
“Twelve. Each of us could have four boys each.” Her friend laughed exaggeratedly. Claire pulled her. “These four boys in the middle, they’re yours.”
“Fine.” Hapi was one of those, no need to fight with them.
“She agreed that easily. No thrill at all.” Hannah hissed.
Sapphire shrugged and laughed.
“THE ASSIGNED facilitator must submit the soft copy of the PowerPoint presentation one week before the date of the report so that I can approve it.”
“Yes, Prof…” the class said in unison.
Sapphire was packing her things up when their professor called her.
“Miss Rosales, come forward.”
She left her seat immediately and strode to the front.
“Yes, Ma’am?”
“I know you are aware that you transferred here when it’s almost midterm. If not for your grandfather, who’s one of the directors of this school, you wouldn’t be accepted.” Miss Santiago shook her head. “Anyway, my point here is that… we don’t know where to get your grade for half of the semester. Your other professors and I decided to give you a special examination.”
“I understand…”
Her professor’s words only hurt a little because Sapphire was well aware that what she said was true.
“I am telling you this to give you a heads up since I am your class adviser. You can ask your classmates for their notes. You will need that.”
Sapphire heaved a deep sigh after Miss Santiago left the room. She looked at her classmates. Who should she approach? There was no one close to her yet. She had been doing things on her own since she transferred. The only person she knew around was Hapi and his friends. They’re not even in the same class. She grabbed her bag and went to the powder room to freshen up.
“Are you enjoying your life now, Sapphire?”
She clutched the strap of her bag when she heard Ruby’s voice behind her. Her cousin was slowly getting on her nerves. Sapphire turned to Ruby and sneered. If she would keep up with that kind of attitude towards her, she should put up a fight.
“All my life, I live in the slumps. Of course, I will enjoy every second of this new life. God, I thought I’d be poor forever.”
Ruby’s lip twitched. “Well, you should really savor every moment because it only takes one mistake before your bubble pops.”
“Thank you.”
Ruby walked past her.
“Anyway, how come we’re cousins? I mean… I didn’t know how we became one.”
Sapphire suppressed her laughter when she saw Ruby’s brows furrowed. She looked like she was insulted or perhaps annoyed.
“Look at you, throwing yourself in this family without even knowing.”
She just shrugged. “We never talked about it.”
“Your mother was the eldest among the four Marias, and then there’s Auntie Beatrice, my mom Queenie, and Auntie Sandra.”
“Oh… I see. I’ve only seen everyone’s face last time, but I don’t get to know their names. It would be nice to know them.”
“Oh, well… you might regret knowing them later.”
Sapphire didn’t have the chance to ask Ruby why because she already left the powder room.
“My goodness, what is wrong with this family?” Sapphire heaved a sigh.