“MER! Is that what I requested from you the other day?”  Shanaia asked Meredith when she arrived at the drama club.

Meredith handed over the two paper bags that contained the sandwiches she had promised her friend. “The entire cooking club worked together to complete everything on time.”
Shanaia looked around at her companions who were assisting her in carrying the two plastic bags. “Thanks for helping my friend!”
Her companion smiled at Shanaia. “It’s a small thing!”
“What smell is that? Is that what I smell delicious, Shanaia?”  Shanaia’s co-member asked as she began to distribute the snacks to them.
Shanaia turned to introduce her to everyone in the drama club. “Yup! And my friend here from Cooking Club made those sandwiches just for us, so don’t be shy about getting one for yourself, okay?” She proudly introduced.
“What’s this commotion all about?” asked by the drama club President, Luke.
Shanaia put her arms around her to reintroduce her.  “Ahm. . . Hi, Pres! I’d like you to meet my friend, Meredith. She’s from cooking club.”
Shanaia handed the snack to him which he immediately ate.
“Hmm.  .  .  It’s delicious!” he commented.
Meredith smiled shyly. “T-thank you!”
“By the way, I’m Luke!” he introduced himself after swallowing what he ate then offered his hand for a hanshake which she immediately accepted.
“I’m Meredith,” she replied, smiling. 
Luke nodded. “Right! Now I know you. You’re the one Randall’s dating, right?”
She smiled awkwardly. Don’t know what to say.  He even looked at her from head to toe and came closer to her.
“I didn’t know that you’re cute up close. No wonder Dacles likes you. Aside from being cute, you’re also good at this.” Then he took another bite of the sandwich she had made.
Meredith forced a smile and turned to face Shanaia, who was busy on her phone. “Ahm, S-Shan, I think we should get going. We still have a lot of work left in the lab.”
She couldn’t stand Luke’s gaze any longer because she felt like it meant something else.
“Hey! Why you’re such in a hurry?” Luke asked as he wrapped his arm around her shoulders.
She simply took his arm off. “W-we promised our President that we wouldn’t be here for long.”
She turned to her two co-members who helped her. “Right, guys?” Then she widened her eyes to convince them of her alibi.
“Y-yes! She’s right!” they agreed in unison.
She turned her gaze to Shanaia, who showed her displeasure with their President’s actions. “I’ll see you tomorrow then.”
“Alright!” Then they quickly left the place.
Luckily Randall wasn’t there because it could have been a disaster if he happened to be there with her.

__________________________

“I’VE NOTICED that you haven’t been spending time with your friends recently. What happened?” Clayton asked Barbara during their snack break in their tutor class at a café near BSU. Saturday is the day they agreed on for their third tutoring session.
Barbara sighed and shrugged. “That’s how it goes when there are differences of opinion.”
“And you’re okay with that?” She nodded.
“Y-you’re fine with it even if it means giving up your friendship for me?”
“I’m not the one who abandoned them. They are the ones who turned their backs on me.” she said as she sipped her coffee.
“To tell you the truth, even I was wondering why you suddenly became nice to me.” 
“Let’s just say that I realized a lot from your sacrifices for your family and I don’t want your dream to be ruined just because of me. I’ve shattered many dreams in the past, and I don’t want you to be like them. I bullied them because I was envious of them. I envy their freedom to do whatever they want. They were born poor, but their parents were always there to support them. Many people tell me that I already have everything, but I can’t seem to get what I truly desire in life. I feel like a prisoner. It’s like he should know all my every gestures and movements I make. That he is capable of serving others but cannot focus on his own child.”
Now he understood why she was so angry and irritated with him before. “Parents raise their children in various ways. But you’re still lucky because you get what you want.”
She shook her head. “All I get is pure luxury. And it isn’t the luxury that will make me happy. What I seek is the love of a father that I have never experienced from my own father.” 
He held her hand on the table. “Don’t think that way. Even if he can’t show it to you, I’m sure he makes you feel it in a way he knows how. You may not see it but he loves you. Believe me.”
Clayton holding Barbara’s hand stunned her. She moved her hand away from him as soon as she felt electricity flowing from his hand to her heart, causing it to beat faster.
“S-sorry.  I-I didn’t mean to—”
“No! It’s okay. I should be the one to apologize to you.”
At that time, Barbara held Clayton’s hand. “I’m sorry for humiliating you.”
Clayton was speechless. He was just looking at his and Barbara’s hands in shock.

____________________

“WHAT happened earlier in the drama club?” Randall suddenly asked Meredith as he drove her home. It’s her day off at the café, so he can take her home early.
“At the drama club?”  He nodded.
“Nothing. We just drop off the snacks we prepared for Shanaia.”
Did he know something?
“Are you really not going to say anything or are you really not going to tell me?” he asked which made her nervous.
She frowned. “W-why? Do you know something that I don’t?”
“Shanaia send me a video of what really happened right at the drama club earlier.” 
“About what?” 
Because she doesn’t recall doing anything contrary to the agreement they discussed.
“Regarding Luke.”
Why does he sound like he’s jealous?
“Oh, the president of the Drama Club. That person just introduced himself.”
“But that’s not what I saw or heard in the video.”
Oh no! She bit her lower lip. What else did Shanaia say to him?
“Stay away from him,” he said all of a sudden.
Her chest heaved.  “P-pardon?”
“I said, stay away from him because I don’t like the way he looks at you,” he said angrily.
She swallowed the lump in her throat. She had never seen him angry before, not until now. “E-even if you don’t tell me, I will avoid him. The way he looks at me makes me uncomfortable.”
“I’m relief that you already know what to do.”
She looked at him. “Why you are so serious! Are you jealous?”
She wished she could hurt herself for asking him that. If she could have removed her tongue, she would have done so by talking excessively.
He glared at her. “You know we’re engaged, right? What if Grandpa finds out? All our plans will be ruined.”
She looked down when she felt something painful in her heart. Why did she even hope that he would be jealous? She forgot that whatever they were having right now was extremely pretentious. They’ve been pretending for a month now.
And she can’t help but be smitten by what he’s doing and showing her. He’s extremely gentle and caring. She had the impression that it was all true.
She looked at him straight in the eye. “Don’t worry, I’m not forgetting our agreement.”
“That’s great!” he said then focused on driving again.
Randall didn’t say anything to her until she arrived home. 
“I’m home!” she shouted as she entered their house.
“I’m glad you’re here! Wait, where’s Randall? Was he the one who drove you home?” 
She nodded.
“Then why don’t you let him in so he can have a snack?”
Randall usually having a snack first at their house before he left.
“H-he didn’t come in because he was in a hurry.”
Her mom nodded but suddenly noticed her sadness. “Hey, why does your face look like the land and heaven collided? Did you two fight?” 
“No, Mom,” she replied.
“Mer, I’m your mother. And I know if you have a problem or not.”
She let out a deep sigh. “Mom, is it possible that even though you know it’s just a pretense at first, you can still feel like it’s all real?”
Her mother moves closer to her. “Do you know that from the way you asked me your question I already know what is true?”
She stared at her in awe. “And?”
“That your feelings for Randall is genuine. That you’re falling for him.”
She bowed her head. She couldn't stop herself from falling or becoming accustomed to his presence after a month of pretending. She proved that to herself when she once saw him with another girl at school. When there are women around him, she easily becomes annoyed and irritable. She wanted shout it out to everyone that she was the only woman whom that Don Warrick wanted to reconcile with his grandson.
She looked at her mom, teary eyed. “W-what should I do now to stop this feeling, Mom?”
Editha held one of her hands. “Are you certain you want to put an end to your feelings for him?”
She was speechless.
Does she really want to?