TRENT'S POINT OF VIEW

TWO days passed by and Marco's kiss was still lingering inside my mind. Trust me, I tried to brush it off multiple times but to no avail. Why would his kiss leave that kind of effect on me? It wasn't the first time that I've been kissed by a guy. It wasn't even that special.

Who was I kidding? Of course it was remarkable! His kisses left me breathless. It was too passionate and mind-blowing to be forgotten. But I should forget about it if I didn't intend to complicate my life even more.

But I decided that it would be better to stay away from him. He was bad news! I didn't need someone to make my life even more complicated. I went to Cebu to have a fresh start and that's what I was going to do. I wouldn't let anyone change or destroy my plans.

That day, I went to Samaniego University to enroll. I've heard that it was one of the best schools in the city so I decided to study there. It took me twenty-five minutes to reach the school because the traffic was terrible and I decided to commute to familiarize myself with the route.

Samaniego University looked really elegant and historical. It was huge and surrounded by lots of trees. There were many students when I arrived so I quickly started doing the enrollment process. I didn't want to stay there until afternoon.

"Hi," a chinky-eyed girl approached me while I was falling in line. She was probably an inch shorter than me and looked really nice and friendly.

"Hello," I greeted her back with a smile.

"What's your course?"

"Uhm, Film Arts."

"Wow. That's awesome!"

"How about you?" I asked her back out of courtesy. It was obvious that she only wanted to have a small talk with me. It wasn't really my thing, but for the sake of being nice, why not?

"Business Ad."

"Nice." I nodded.

"Boring, right?"

She sounded like she was disgusted with her course. That piqued my curiosity.

"It's not boring if it's really what you want to study. Why? Aren't you interested in business."

"Duh. Not at all. That's capital B-O-R-I-N-G!"

"Then why are you taking that course?"

"Apparently my parents think that Fashion Designing wouldn't take me far. I'm their sole heiress and my only role in their life is to take over our family business in the future. So my passion doesn't really matter to them as long as I get to serve my purpose in their life."

I felt bad for her. It was really tough when you have to give up your dreams because of your family. I personally experienced her dilemma. When I told my parents about my interest in film making, they did nothing but to discourage me. They belittled my passion and made me feel like my dream wasn't valid. Why? Because they already planned my life since day one. They already have their own dreams for me. I wasn't allowed to create dreams of my own. Sucks, right? But that's the reality that I had to deal with.

"Don't let them dictate your life," I suddenly blurted out.

"As if it's that easy. They're the one paying for my tuition. I'm basically dependent on their money."

"It's your life and happiness that's at stake here. Years from now, you might regret not fighting for your dreams."

Now that I was finally away from my parents and now that they finally allowed me to chase my dreams, I would make sure to seize the opportunity to pursue my passion. It's just sad that I had to go through a personal tragedy before they let me go for my dreams. But it didn't matter anymore. What's important is that I was finally free.

"You know what? You're right!" she said enthusiastically. "Let me get another form and change my course. My parents can scold and curse me all they want but I'm going to pursue my dream."

"Go for it."

"Thank you. You're an angel!"

She happily stepped out of the line and I looked at her with a smiling face. I helped someone and it felt so great. I know I did the right thing and said the right words because it came from personal experience. I didn't want her to suffer in the future.

It's good to be practical but I also believe that you can be more successful if you're doing something that you're passionate about. You have to be in the right field in order to be successful and happy at the same time.

"Hey!"

I was spacing out when somebody tapped me and put me out of my reverie.

"Mariella?"

She beamed and gave me a peace sign.

"I'm glad you still remember my name."

"Of course. Why wouldn't I?" I faked a laugh.

"I dunno. Maybe because you haven't replied to my text messages? What's wrong with you? I thought we're friends?" she pouted which made her look like a cute emoji.

"I'm sorry... I was just..." I tried to come up with a good excuse. Of course I couldn't tell her that I was avoiding her because I made out with her brother that night. "I've been busy with family stuff. But I was about to text you back tonight to catch up."

"Really?"

"Yes."

She finally stopped pouting and returned her wide smile. I felt relieved that she bought my excuse. We weren't that close yet, but for some reason, I didn't want to upset or disappoint her. I didn't want her to be sad because of me.

"Okay, I forgive you. But don't you ever ghost me again, okay?"

"Ghost?"

"Don't go MIA again without telling me why. We're bestfriends now."

"B-bestfriends?"

"Gosh! Please stop repeating everything I say."

I just couldn't believe that she wanted me to be her bestfriend. We barely knew each other. Plus being close to her would mean being close to her brother as well. No, no! I couldn't do that! I told myself that I would stay away from Marco in every way possible. How could I do that when his sister wanted me to be her bestfriend?

Life was seriously trying to play a big joke on me and it wasn't remotely funny at all.

"Don't you want to be my bestfriend?" she looked sad again which made me feel alarmed.

"Hey, no! It's not like that. It's just that—"

"Mariella, who are you talking to?"

My heart skipped a beat the moment I heard that familiar voice behind me. Shit! Everything was a mess. I wasn't supposed to see him again. Why did we have to be in the same university? Why did we have to cross paths with each other?

"It's Trent. You remember him, right?"

He didn't say anything which made me really nervous. I even thought he already left, but when I turned around, I saw him looking at me intensely. I gulped and heaved a deep breath to calm myself.

"Of course I remember him," he seriously answered without breaking our eye contact. God, I felt like I was melting because of his gaze. "How could I forget him?" he said with a meaningful smile.

Shit.

"H-hi, Marco. Good to see you here."

"Yeah, it's good to see you here."