Signed, Gaius

Chapter 6

Ophelia and her roommate, Warney, watched as the two girls gushed and squealed and pinched and hit each other.

"Come here," Warney beckoned her to the window and gestured outside. "There, at the gate. That's Gaius and Korong from your class, delivering the morning papers."

"This is the deal?" Ophelia asked, astonished and a little amused.

Warney giggled. "Oh, you have no idea. Girls here go crazy over them. Just wait; Sister Marina will be yelling at us any moment now."

Ophelia glanced down at the gate and saw the boys riding off on their bikes toward the teacher's quarters, dressed in shorts and vests as if they had just left the gym.

"GIRLS!! WHAT'S ALL THE NOISE?! COME OVER TO THE CHAPEL! QUICK!" Sister Marina's voice boomed from the foot of the stairs, making every floor echo.

"Are they the paper boys?" Ophelia inquired as the other two girls hurried out, clearly fascinated. It puzzled her why students of St. Peter's would be working as paper boys, especially someone like Gaius Ronglo, who came from a well-off family.

"Korong's the paper boy," explained Warney. "Gaius just wants to accompany his friend, and for fitness. They bike every morning. Because of this, they were actually banned from entering the campus in the morning." Warney laughed. "They would leave the papers at the gate and the security would bring them in. It seems he's quite busy this morning."

"What about Korong's family? Are they not so well-off?"

"No, his father passed away, and his mother sells groceries to make ends meet. He could afford to study here only because he landed a scholarship. He's actually very smart."

"Oh... Good for him."

At the breakfast table, all Ophelia could hear was the girls excitedly discussing the sighting of Gaius and Korong delivering newspapers like they were some Unidentified Foreign Objects that flew past the Earth by chance. Ophelia listened and grew more anxious at the thought of ever approaching Gaius as she realized he had a fanbase for God's sake! And worst, they had eyes to peep and mouths to gossip. She realized it was best to keep her distance from him if she planned to get through high school without drama and unwelcome attention.

Three hours later, Ophelia found herself still deep in contemplation, wallowing in her dilemma as she made up the crowded stairs from the school's main entrance - to tell or not to tell. The usual morning chatter of students surrounded her. A girl, in her haste, accidentally bumped into her, sending her teetering towards the wall. The girl briefly apologized. Ophelia sighed and brushed it off. It was only when she set her backpack down on her desk that she noticed her cherished spaceship key chain was missing. Immediately, she hurried back toward the stairs in search of it, scanning the steps frantically. She was quite certain it must have snapped off in the crowd, most probably when the girl collided with her.

She tried scouring the steps through the bustling flow of students and their footsteps but she couldn't find it. Soon enough, the bell for the morning assembly buzzed and she had given up the search. Disappointed and a little heartbroken too, she went to stand under the sun at the football ground. She barely heard a word Mother Agnes spoke no matter how loud the microphone amplified her voice. With her face turned to the ground, hiding from the sun, she followed the girls standing in front of her to their classroom. Quietly and quite sadly, she settled down next to Sonia, taking her backpack onto her lap and fiddling with the chain where her little spaceship used to dangle. She felt nearly in tears as she thought of it. After all these years... It was her little treasure. Gone now.

"Hey. Are you okay?" enquired Sonia, looking at her with concern.

"I lost my favorite keychain on the stairs. I looked for it but I couldn't find it."

"Oh! What kind of a keychain?"

"A small rubber spaceship."

As they discussed it, two knocks on Ophelia's desk interrupted their conversation. She looked up and saw Gaius Ronglo standing there, tall as a tower in front of her.

"Good morning." He smiled, "I believe this is yours," he said and placed the terribly-missed blue and yellow little spaceship on her desk.

Ophelia gasped, widening her eyes in surprise. "Where'd you find it?" she asked, shifting her gaze between his face and the little spaceship.

"Down at the entrance hallway. I remembered seeing that on your backpack yesterday." He replied with another smile.

Ophelia was momentarily speechless. Out of all the people, it had to be Gaius Ronglo from Bethel Village who found it, who noticed it on her backpack, and he had no idea he had given it to her nine years ago on a Christmas Eve. She swallowed hard, her heart racing as she continued to stare at him.

"Well, have a great day!" he said, turning to leave. Just before he walked away, she managed to thank him.

"Thank you!" she said.

He nodded and made his way to his seat.

She didn't tell him that day.

She didn't tell him even in the week that followed.

🌼🌼🌼

I hope you're enjoying the changes ❤ Do lemme know how you feel about the story so far.

Also, you can find me on Instagram under the same username "HermyneKhaling".

I'm planning to post more about my books, updates, and snippets about the chapters I'm working on. I'm literally thinking of paying my younger sis to make reels for my books since I don't have the time 😁 A good way for her to earn some bucks, and for me to make my writing process more fun. I'm planning to be able to devote full time to writing by next year. So, I hope I'm back on track. Anyways...

Hope you enjoyed reading this chapter too (:

Love, Hermyne

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