Chapter 2:

Budding Friendship

Jewel Reina's POV:

The exam ended and it's the start of a new week. I'm eating alone at the canteen for lunch when suddenly, Francis appeared and sat in front of me. Is it just my imagination or the other students are really staring and gossiping about us?

This is the first time for us to eat together at school. He did ate with me last time but since then, he was never around. I also noticed how different he is in front of other students. That time at the restaurant he was smiling and talking a lot but here in school he rarely speaks and have this cold bad boy image. Even right now, he's eating quietly without even looking at me.

I shook the thought out of my head and continued eating.

Today's lunch is quite good. Rice, spicy mushroom soup, kimchi, sweet and sour pork, strawberry, and flavored milk. I don't eat bell pepper and cucumber though, so, I'm stacking them up at an empty space on my tray.

"What are you? A kid?" Francis said with a hint of mockery as he starts eating the pile I made.

I didn't bother replying to him and just let him be. I finished my food and saw him staring at me. "What?" I asked.

"I was done years ago. You're such a slow eater. Here." Francis complained and gave me his box of flavored milk. "Drink that too."

"Thanks. But I'm full." I grouched and stared at him ambivalently.

He still put the box in front of me and patted my head. He stood up, pick up both our trays, and walk away to return it and he went out of the canteen.

I sighed in defeat and just drink the milk on my way back to our classroom.

—afternoon self-study

"Jewel..." Gwyneth whispered and lightly nudged me.

I looked at her and asked, "Hmm?"

"Is it true that Francis is making moves on you?" She asked.

She looks too pretty and innocent to be interested in gossips but here we are...

I shook my head, "No. He's just friendly."

Gwyneth's eyes widened. I didn't know her eyes could be that big.

"Friendly? Most of us started attending this school since our primary years. Francis, on the other hand, was able to attend this university because of the varsity scholarship during middle school. He never befriended anyone since. Also, he was quite popular when he transferred since he's a new face and have a quite decent visuals but he rejected all those girls who confessed to him. He's also very quiet, rude, and he even have rumors about joining gang fights and stuff. You should be careful..." Gwyneth said not sounding like a gossip but sounded really concerned.

"Are we talking about the same Francis..." I whispered underneath my breath.

"Huh?" She asked me probably because she didn't heard me.

I smiled at her. "I'm not saying that you were lying but I think that none of us really knows what kind of person Francis is. You may have known him for years but you never talked to him before. I might have talked to him but that's not enough to judge him. I don't think we should judge someone based on what we hear from others but from what we see for ourselves."

"Oh." Gwyneth gasped. Her eyes are fixed behind me.

I look back and there he is. "You eavesdropping?" I asked jokingly.

A smile formed on his face and he covers it with his hands as he chuckles softly. Everyone was staring and probably shocked to see this new side of Francis that they've never seen before.

He messed my hair. "Do you want snacks?" He asked.

I shake my head no and he walked out of the room.

Gwyneth tugged on my sleeve which made me look back to her. "You're nice. I like you." She said and smiled at me. "Our theater competition ended last Saturday and we won. Let's grab something to eat after class?"

"Yeah sure." I replied. I look back in front and saw that Chloe was looking at us but she turned her back again when she saw me looking at her. "Gwyneth..." I called.

"Oh sister, you can call me Gwen now." She replied to me.

"I wanna ask this because it seems like you know a lot... But why does Chloe not hang out with anyone? I've never seen her with anyone." I asked.

"Hmm... Now, this is not a gossip. It's a fact. Chloe was able to enter this university because of her straight A's and she passed the entranced exam with 97% so, she was given a scholarship but she need to maintain her grades to have an average of 95% with no grades lower than 90%. She's always the top 1 since middle school. For the rumored part which I haven't confirmed, they say that her family wouldn't be able to afford this school without her scholarship so, she needed to really work hard on her grades." She explained.

"But she still shouldn't avoid everyone..."

"Let's invite her later then." Gwen suggested.

"That would be fun." I replied. "Wait... You will be given a scholarship for maintaining gpa?" I asked.

"Yeah? You didn't know? Anyone with grades 95% and above will be given a 100% tuition scholarship. 92% - 94.9% will be given 50%. You didn't know that?" Gwen asked back.

"Anyone?" I asked in awe.

"Yes. In our class, only Chloe has 100% scholarship. For the 50%, it's me. Ah! But it's only for the tuition, okay? Other fees still need to be paid." she replied.

"Was it hard to get those grades?" I asked.

"If they only use grades on our exams it would be easy but there are other factors too like class performance, attendance, and there are demerits on dress codes and other violations so, it really wasn't that easy. If I didn't participate on the theater club, I probably wouldn't even have that 50%. Why? Are you planning to apply for a scholarship?" she asked.

It wouldn't hurt to try, right? I'll have extra money for myself. The tuition costs a lot so if I could even at least have half of it, I could save up for emergency funds. "I'll think about it. I guess, I have to wait for our monthly exam's result before I decide."

"Oh. Right! It would be fine to invite Francis if you want to." Gwen said and smiled at me sweetly. She's such a sweet nice girl.

I smiled back at her and we stopped talking. While I was scrolling through my phone, someone put a cream bread and strawberry milk on my desk. I look up and saw Francis passing by me back to his seat acting like he didn't do it.

I saw him sleeping on his desk and I knocked on it to catch his attention.

"What?" He asked without looking at me and sounding muffled.

"Our group's gonna meet after class." I said, still standing beside him.

I heard him groan but I didn't understand what he said. "What?" I asked.

Francis, finally, sat up straight and arranged his hair. "I said, I have practice later."

"I won't force you." I said. "Thanks for the snacks."

I went back to my seat. I still can't understand why he was nice to me. I keep thinking but I can't remember if I know him before. The Francis that invited me to eat at the first day of school and the Francis that this school knows are almost two different people.

Why is he like that?

Curious... Curious... I want to figure it out.

(( BONUS #1 ))

I quickly changed into my trunks and wore my cap as I ran to the swimming pool. My goggles are hanging on my neck as I try to catch my breath as I get there.

"No running in the pool area! Hernandez, you're late! I don't care if you're the best athlete, if you don't follow the rules and don't go to practice on time, I don't need you in my team." Our swim coach scolded me.

"I'm sorry sir!" I said while standing attentively and my hands on my back.

But then I saw him smile. "I'm glad you decided to join the swimming team again. Welcome back, Francis." Sir Yazon said as he patted my back.

He was the one who scouted me and the reason why I was able to attend this university. He was like the father figure to me and me leaving the swimming team to do part-time jobs as I enter high school made him sad but he understood me anyway. Now, I decided to comeback and he accepted me warmly.

"So... who was that girl?" Sir Yazon smirked as he teased me even poking me on my side.

"What girl?" I replied acting like I don't know what he's talking about.

"The one you ate with at your favorite restaurant. You don't bring just anyone there. C'mon! You know you can tell me." He kept on teasing me.

I sighed. I look at him and said, "She's the reason why I returned to the team."