• Classes start early morning, as usual.

    The students went up to their respective classes. Maru had noticed something strange as the teacher started to discuss. She noticed that her best friend, Patricia was not present in class. Patricia was seated a person back from Maru. Maru was worried. While the teacher was discussing, she kept on glancing back and see if Patricia had arrived.

    Five minutes passed and Maru had still not seen Patricia enter the class.

    Patricia was late. She got out of the car, bade her father goodbye and shut the door. She quickly rushed inside the gate and the guard gave her a tardy slip. As she was about to go to the office of the Prefect of Student Discipline to let her tardy slip signed, she saw Marco standing in front of the door, waiting for the Prefect to open the door.

    Both of them were really late. They both thought that the bell didn't ring yet so the teacher would let them in. Patricia was afraid to move forward and talk to Marco. Marco glanced a little at the back and saw Patricia. "Pat, have you gotten your tardy slip signed?" He asked. Patricia has this feelings toward Marco...she was nervous and she hesitated on answering. "Pat?" Marco called on when he noticed Patricia speechless. "Huh? Uh...nope, I just arrived," she slightly blushed.

    Finally, the Prefect opened the door and signed both their tardy slips.

    Fifteen minutes passed. Maru had not stopped worrying and she kept on glancing at the back to see if Patricia was there. She had not thought of Patricia being absent because she is always present and never skips a day without going to school (except for weekends).

    Patricia and Marco both hurried out of the lobby but they noticed that it started raining. The shorter way of getting in class is to pass the school grounds. Since it rained, the ground is all muddy and they will be soaked, wet. They had to take the longer way of getting in class.

    Passing the longer way will consume a lot of time and they were already really late, and first period was about to end. "What will we do now?" Marco asks Patricia, worried. "I guess we have to take the longer way...shouldn't we?" She replied, questioning and blushed slightly. She had this soft, fuzzy feeling inside when Marco started to converse. Her feeling towards him was intimate.

    A teacher passed by and saw both of them together.

    "Why aren't you both at class?" The teacher asked angrily.

    "Ma'am, we were both late and it was raining. To get to our classroom was to take the longer way and it consumes much time. We had not thought of a solution yet," Marco replied.

    "Well, take the longer way, then." The teacher said as her voice was mixed with a bit of sarcasm and walked away.

    When Marco was about to talk to Patricia, he had not seen her beside him. He looked straight at the ground and saw Patricia walking under the rain. The rain showered heavily. Marco ran after Patricia. They were both under the rain.

    "Pat, the teacher advised me to take the longer way. It would've been better than getting ourselves soaked and getting sick." Marco said worriedly.

    Patricia was out of her mind that time. She didn't want Marco to fail his conduct because of tardiness. Well, because Marco is the top student and he is usually late. He was given the chance to go to school early by that day. However, he still failed to be punctual. On the other hand, that was Patricia's first time being late. Her solution was to get herself sick and let Marco run after her so that they would get a good excuse of being late.

    "I DON'T WANT YOU TO GET A FAIL AT THE CARD BECAUSE OF YOUR DAMN TARDINESS! This is the best way I could think of. I know it is very stupid and out of control but at least you get to save yourself from failing." Patricia replied, shouting her first sentence and her tears started dropping as she said the second sentence of her reply.

    "Are you an idiot?! I'd rather get a failing mark than getting ourselves sick. Why would you be doing this? It is just your first time being tardy!" Marco replied, angrily. He also felt guilty since he'd be getting Patricia sick.

    "Goodness, you're slow. I've always been looking at you...and when I look at you, I fantasize about you and me being together. I like you, don't you get it?!" Patricia had nothing to cry out but the truth. This made Marco blush slightly and made him feel more guilty.

    "Pat, I am sorry-" it was Marco's turn to speak but Patricia interrupted him.

    "I knew it. I am not good enough for you, aren't I? I understand...my standards are too low for you," Patricia was out of control. She cried out words that she wasn't supposed to say. This made Marco speechless thought that she was drunk (Lol, and early at the morning). The bell rang, Patricia fainted because her body wasn't able to endure the strong wind (Not enough immunities?). Marco had no choice but to carry her and bring her to the clinic.

    They were not able to attend classes that day because they both got sick and stayed at the clinic.

    It was the end of the day, Marco and Patricia were both still sleeping in the clinic. It already stopped raining that time, though, it left small puddles of water on the ground.

    Maru rushed downstairs, still wondering why her best friend did not attend classes. She ran towards the ground. She slipped on a puddle and wounded herself on the knee. She had no other choice but to go to the clinic because the incision had not stopped bleeding.

    As she arrived there, she saw Patricia and Marco sleeping on different beds. 'So, this is where she was all day and she made me worry so much, I'll kill her when she wakes up. She wasn't able to attend classes and she gets to be with the person she likes. How envious!!!' Maru thought, screaming in her mind.

    "May I help you?" The school nurse noticed Maru. She saw her wounded and treated her immediately. She asked about Patricia and Marco's cases. The nurse told her about what happened before.

    Patricia woke up. She saw Maru. She grabbed the blanket and tried to hide herself. "I saw you!" Maru cried as she saw Patricia hiding in the blanket. "SORRY!!!!" Patricia cried out. "It's ok, I already know why you're here. I asked the nurse. It's still unfair that you get to sleep in the clinic all day AND get to be with your crush at the same time." Maru ranted. Patricia sighed.

    "So, what happened? Something good happened, right? You were able to confess-" Maru's speech paused as Patty angrily inserted her words, "I don't want to talk about it OK?! And don't ask me." Patty answered with her head down. "OK, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to-" Maru paused again as she saw tears roll down Patricia's cheeks.

    "He rejected me..." Patricia said. Her expression looked sorrowful. This made Maru worry and felt like killing Marco. However, she grew a conscience and thought that she can't blame Marco for liking someone else.

    "Pat, don't worry...you still have me and the others. And...I knew he was gay." Maru thought of joking to cheer Patricia up. Patricia laughed slightly and replied, "You're such an idiot Maru...and I praise you for that."

    We both laughed and rushed out of the school gates and walked each other home.

    (I guess Marco isn't the right person for Patricia and she still had not found romance. However, her friendship with Maru is interminable and cannot be replaced by damn mutual relationships that will only last for three weeks. 8DD)