CHAPTER FOURTEEN

HAPI messaged Sapphire that morning, telling her to see him at the Students Affairs Office. It was her vacant period, so she went there after reading his message. But instead of Hapi, she found his friend Rinbie sitting comfortably on one of the swivel chairs as if he was a hot shot CEO of some company. Yes, she knew him by name now. She memorized all their names so that she knows whom to curse when the time comes.

“H-hi, good morning,” Sapphire greeted. She thought it was the right thing to do.

And just like what she heard and read about him, Rinbie remained silent and continued staring at her. Sapphire looked away. There was something in his stare that made her feel…awkward.

Why is he staring at me like that?

She fished her phone from her pocket and sent a text message to Hapi.

Where are you now? I’m here at the office…

At the corner of Sapphire’s eyes, she could see Rinbie still looking at her. It did not piss her, but she grew curious why he was doing that. She sauntered towards Rinbie. And it seemed that he was surprised by what she did, he straightened his back.

“Is there a problem?” she asked as calmly as she can. “It’s kinda awkward that you’ve been staring at me for that long.”

Rinbie’s brows arched, and his lips twitched. He rose from his seat and leaned towards her without warning, leaving a thread-like distance between their lips. Uh-oh, one wrong move and their lips would meet.

“I think I like you, Sapphire…” he drawled and moved away.

Her mouth dropped open. He what?

Sapphire’s mind couldn’t understand what was happening. The message seemed blurry, or maybe her brain was simply rejecting that thought. With Rinbie’s character, it was impossible for him to like her. And then, Sapphire suddenly thought of something. That incident at the coffee shop with Piewie, then now with Rinbie. Hapi, Piewie, and Rinbie were friends, right? What if they are playing some sort of game? What if they’re betting on who among them could woo her?

Ah, that was…

She shook her head to erase that thought.

Erase! Erase!

Hapi would not do such a thing to her. He was a good man, and she trusts him.

She heaved a deep sigh. She must pull herself together.

“Are you nuts?” she snapped.

Rinbie looked at her intently with furrowed brows as if he has no idea where she was coming from. His mouth opened, and she waited for him to say something. But he just shut his mouth and sighed. Well…he would not be Rinbie if he speaks more than one sentence. And it did not matter for Sapphire if he chose to stick with that character. At least, she did not have to argue with him.

They continued with their staring contest until her phone rang.

She answered the call when he saw Hapi’s name.

“I’m in the middle of class, Sapphire. I just stepped out for a while so I could call you. Why did you go there so early?” Hapi said when she answered his call. She heard a door creaking in the background.

“Not my fault. It was you who messaged me to come over without telling me what time I should see you.” She turned her gaze on the clock hanging by the wall. “I have classes from nine to six. I don’t have time to see you later than this.”

“Ah.” Hapi heaved a sigh. “How about I go to your place tonight?”

“Why not tell it to me over the phone? That would be convenient, don’t you think so?” Sapphire suggested. 

“I’ll just see you tonight,” he said and hung up.

Hapi hung up on her just like that? She scoffed.

Okay, he’s in a hurry because of his class…

She turned to her right, where Rinbie was standing a while ago, but he was no longer there. He escaped from her. Sapphire shook her head and strode towards the door. Now that Hapi would not be able to see her, it was time to leave.

She was about to twist the doorknob when she heard voices just outside the office. Her eyes grew wider when she recognized one of those voices.

Hapi!

He told her just a while ago that he was in class. What was he doing there now?

The knob moved. Someone opened the door from the outside.

Sapphire ran and hid beside a file cabinet. She peeked and saw Hapi and her cousin Amethyst came in.

She saw Amethyst a lot of times inside the campus, but they never engaged in a conversation.

“Amethyst, I’m so sorry, but I can’t do what you want,” said Hapi without looking at her cousin.

She could only see her cousin’s back, so she was not able to see her reaction. But she could tell that it pissed her off. Who would be happy to be rejected, anyway?

“Why, Hapi?” Amethyst sounded annoyed rather than disappointed. “I don’t see anything wrong if you’re my date at Ruby’s birthday party.”

Sapphire cupped her mouth in shock. No way!

Does it mean that Amethyst likes him too?

If her assumption was right, then she would be truly pissed. Darn, she did not wish to have any more conflict with her cousins. The family feud was already giving her a never-ending headache. Why does life have to keep throwing rocks at her when all she ever wanted was to live a happy life with her mother by her side? It would stress her out if she had to plot her cousin’s assassination. Well, that was for plan Z, of course. There might be a less morbid way to get them out of her way to Hapi. For now, she will just bear the pain of that imaginary stake that pierced through her heart.

“Why don’t you go to Koby and ask him to be your date? He will say yes in an instant. I’m sure of that,” Hapi said with a wide grin plastered on his face.

HAPI was a few steps away from the office when he heard something crashed from the inside. His forehead creased. He did not see anyone inside when he and Amethyst got in. Hapi ran to the door and pushed it open. Sapphire standing with the shattered pieces of the vase near her feet, greeted him.

“Sapphire, you’re still here?” But he was more concerned with the welfare of her feet. “Are you okay? Did you get a cut?” He pulled her to a safer spot.

She looked at him with teary eyes. “I’m sorry, Hapi.”

He turned in the direction of the file cabinet. Sapphire must’ve hidden there and accidentally nudged the vase when she came out. He heaved a sigh.

“Did you hide from us, Sapphire?”

She bit her lower lip and nodded.

Hapi put his hands on his sides and stared at her intently. “Why hide from us?”

Was she afraid of Amethyst?

“Don’t worry. I’ll clean this mess,” Sapphire said.

Hapi could only shake his head. It was not the answer he’d like to hear.

Sapphire was about to crouch to clean the mess when he stopped her. He was worried he might hurt herself.

“No, Sapphire. “Let’s ask the janitor to do the cleaning,” he told her.

“I’m really sorry…” Sapphire sniffed.

Hapi was not prepared when Sapphire suddenly threw herself on him for a hug. He shut his eyes and counted from one to ten to calm himself. He had been doing that since she met Sapphire because every time they touched, he got that feeling…

That is why he would always choose Sapphire over anyone else. She was the only girl in the world who could make his heart flutter like crazy; a roller coaster ride of emotions he had never felt before. There was something in her that made him feel more human…

“I…I didn’t mean to eavesdrop on your conversation…I was about to live that time when I heard you two talking outside,” Sapphire explained. “I don’t know why my instinct told me to run and hide. And the vase…it was an accident. I tried to catch—”

“It’s okay…What’s more important to me is that you’re fine.” He caressed her hair and sniffed its fruity scent. It must be the shampoo.

Surprisingly, the scent calmed him.

Sapphire distanced herself from him. “Wait. How about your class?”

“Well…” Hapi brushed her cheeks with his thumb to dry them.

“Go back to your class, Hapi.” She pushed him out of the office.

“I’ll call the—”

“I’ll call the janitor, Hapi.” She kept on pushing her.

“Fine. But you don’t have to push me,” he complained.