Secret Diaries (Heartlake Cliche #1)

Chapter Thirty-Three

              August 25, 2008

             Oh how time flies so fast…

     A new year had come and in three months, Rachelle’s life as a high school student would end. She smiled eagerly as she cooked breakfast for the first day of school after their Christmas break. It was amazing how the Yuletide season seemed to have made it a lot easier for everyone to start anew.

      Her Rachelle’s stint with the students of the Heartlake School of Fashion had immediately made her a favorite and they enlisted her again for their summer spreads. She read online that some people pitied her because of the drop in the number of her modeling projects. They assumed it had caused her to have a difficult time adjusting to her lack of popularity. If somebody would bother to ask her, she would have wholeheartedly disagreed.

      She liked the feeling of working in a less stressful environment. Big accounts had the tendency to make her feel pressured, considering the amount of money at stake. People involved in such projects tend to be all-work and professional that an easy-going and friendlier relationship with her coworkers was somehow forgotten. In all truth, working with those students practically made her feel like she was simply playing a real-life dress-up game—a game she rather had fun playing.

      Ian had to go back to America the day after New Year with a promise to be back in time for Rachelle’s graduation. Come the third of January, the people at Harlow residence promptly went back to their routine: Vivian going to work, Matt practicing with Quarter-To-Five and Rachelle posing in front of a camera. Although gossip still lingered about Rachelle, in some ways, their lives had become peaceful once more.

      There was one thing however, that Rachelle knew she could never see the same way again.

      Nick.

      Ever since their conversation on Christmas Eve, it was like he transformed into a totally different person. That lopsided, good-boy grin he always had when they were kids was back in his face while his eyes seemed to radiate happiness with a glint that made them shine like blue diamonds. He looked like someone who had just recently been released from a cage.

      She had gotten used to his aloof, mysterious demeanor that the moment she saw him grinning at her during their band’s Christmas day gig, her feet almost tripped on air. It made her thank the gods that she was able to save herself from humiliation when her heart simply made her entire body freeze as the impact of that smile hit her. The effect was overwhelmingly staggering.

      When Nick agreed to help her move on with her life, she hadn’t really expected him to actively remind her of the change in their relationship. Not that she didn’t like it but whenever she ends up receiving flowers or cards or presents from him, a sense of disbelief and surprise still surged through her. She had asked him to remind her that he was no longer just a best friend and it seemed that he really enjoyed doing it. He even came up with this silly idea of writing down the words Reminder of the Day in every present he decided to give her.

      She chuckled as she turned a piece of chicken in the grilling pan.

      In a way, getting all these gifts from him was slowly becoming more and more special to her. It was not something she hadn’t experienced but knowing they were from Nick made her feel loved and respected—something that had always been missing from all the gifts she had received before.

      Her phone rang and she lowered the fire to keep the buttered chicken from getting overcooked just in case the call distracted her. She wiped her hands on her apron then reached for the iPhone lying on the counter just behind her.