The familiar empty hallway welcomed my presence and I took slow steps to the door that held my future behind it.
I knocked softly on the door and the deep voice of Mr Rodrigo called me in. I enclosed my palm on the cold knob and gently pushed the door opened.
Most people dread to see the day they'll be called to face or forced to live their worse nightmare, that's what is happening to me.
She sat there with a piercing gaze in her dark green eyes. Fire and anger swirled in them and from her restless body language, it meant she was looking for the perfect opportunity to explode.
Leon sat beside her with the same look on his face. A strong feeling of hate bubbled widely within me and i wanted nothing more than to cook him in a pot of boiling acid.
"Mr Rodrigo" I acknowledged the only person who gave me a bit of comfort. He had no defined emotion in his eyes but I've spent so much time studying Romero and since they had a lot in common I could tell he was giving me silent words of reassurance.
Mother snapped her head to me with fury blazing widely in it and I was certain she wasn't happy with the fact that i didn't greet her nor acknowledge her presence.
"Mr Rodrigo I need have a word with her" he slouched lightly on the chair with a blank gaze while spinning the chair lightly.
"Alone" she emphasized and I shot him a pleading look that asked him not to leave me. "For someone who claims to be perfect, you sure lack manners Mrs Garcia" his voice was cold and his tone sharp.
Her mouth hung low in shock that there was someone who could call out her flaw and rub it on her face without being intimidated.
"W-what did you just say?" I really don't blame her for her reaction because it isn't everyday she gets to hear a crude remark about herself.
"Do you have issues with your hearing aid Mrs Garcia, don't think I won't repeat what I said earlier. You are mannerless" her face could win a contest for the reddest shade on earth.
"How dare you--- "Lower your voice lady this is an institution and I won't have you disturbing the peace of my school"
She hissed out furiously and banged her fist on the table. "Never lose your temper, that's one important rule of being a perfect lady Her words rang like an alarm reminding me of the day she made that statement and right now she's going against her own words.
"Speak about manners Mr Rodrigo, is this how you treat your clients and staff members? And what gives you the right to make such proclamation" a small smirk tugged on his lips and i was certain he was enjoying pushing her buttons.
"You're in my office Mrs Garcia, it's no problem that you have the rights to speak to your daughter in private but you should have asked in a polite manner like the graceful lady you claim to be" she slumped her shoulders and tore her gaze from him in embarrassment after realizing her mistake.
Knowing mother she wouldn't accept her wrong she'll definitely look for an excuse to cover it up and as expected she did exactly what I thought.
"We make mistakes Mr Rodrigo, you should have told me in a more polite way, so we are both at fault" she gave him a pointed look.
"I only did what you would have done to someone else. If you were in my shoes I'm quite certain you would have rebuked or jumped into judgment about the person, So quit acting like a saint. I'll be waiting at the balcony you have just ten minutes" he stood up and left us. Oh lord! You are all I have left right now.
I opened my mouth to say something but it was snapped shut before I got the chance to do so. I held the side of my face she hit and brought my head back to its normal position.
"It's really true huh? You've changed and that too a lot. Tell me Andrea what has gotten into you" she yelled loudly and it made my patience was run thinner than it was.
I didn't give a reply cause I wanted her to be done with her nonsense before I spoke my mind.
"After everything I did for you, this is how you repay me? By hanging out with bunch of ambitionless kids which I'm certain have no home training.
If not for anything Andrea think of the fact i chose you amongst any other kids out there. I gave you shelter, I clothed you, I gave you education and I provided a future for you. The one thing you can do is be grateful but no, you came here to ruin your life and my reputation.
I sent Leon here to be sure you will have a friend to be with, i thought you were alone cause you were trying to impress me by staying away from bad people but I guess I was wrong.
Think of what people will say when you two are together, you two are perfect and when perfect people are together the world will look upon you. You'll be praised and you'll be an idol to people but here you are following some bunches of delinquent friends.
I knew how I raised you and I didn't raise you to be a brat, I didn't raise you to walk out on people and be rude, I didn't raise you to hit someone when he tries to correct you, I didn't raise you to hang up on your mother and block her contact number. I let you do that useless photography course but that would be no more and I'll have you transfer to another course.
You'll major in English and from today onwards I want you to stay away from those brats you call friends and be with Leon only, soon you two will be engaged and I don't want his parents thinking I did a bad job in raising you up.
I couldn't take you out because Mr Rodrigo told me there is a process for that and it will take long before the procedure is completed. For the next month I'll be in Singapore because I've a project there so transferring you to a new school won't work out and I don't want to give Mr and Mrs hunt a bad impression about us. So Andrea Garcia quit this nonsense and go back to the woman I raised you to be.
If I get one more complain about you I'll be sure to have you get transferred and so help me I don't find those people you call friends cause I'll make their lives a living hell for ruining my daughter.
So Andrea are you going to make a promise to go back to how you were or should I go the hard way?" She lowered her voice and pulled my hand in hers.
I looked at my hands in hers then back at her face. "Are you done talking mother, so can i speak now?" Her hands fell and she looked at me with shock.
"Look mother I'm grateful for all you did but i think it's time to let you know that I can't keep dancing to your tune. I've lived with guilt and fear for eleven years of my life and I can't continue that way.
I won't get married to Leon, not in this life not in the next. I'm not going to change my course and I'm certainly not going to leave Westview. You want to kick me out of your house, you want to take my credit card? Then do it because I'll rather live on the streets than share a roof with you.
You've controlled my life for far too long and I'm sick and tired of it. You always told me a perfect person shouldn't make mistakes but you made one, that too in front of a very influential man in the country. Making a mistake simply means one thing mother, you aren't perfect and you can never be perfect
I'll do what I want and I'll keep the people I call friends if you don't like it mother-- I paused for a while thinking of if i should use that word or not.
"Then fuck off" both she and Leon gasp even I was surprised at my boldness.
"I really don't care if you wish to hurt me but leave my friends out of this, you don't know them and you certainly don't know who their parents are. If I were you mother, I'll change my ways and stop being judgmental.
And for the sake of your reputation please tell Leon to stay away from me cause my next action wouldn't be my responsibility" a hard smack stung my face but it didn't hurt as it use to.
"You ungrateful whore you---
"Go ahead and keep hitting and calling me names cause it will take nothing for me to walk up to the media and tell them who you truly are. You wish to be a US ambassador in the UN right? Trust me mother, I'll ruin that before the government recognizes you.
I'll make sure the twenty years you worked for that will be in vain" I threatened and they looked at me like they had seen a ghost.
Once I was sure I had nothing left to say i stormed out leaving them yelling my name.
I took in a deep breath and ran my fingers in my hair. Finally i got rid of the weight I've carried for eleven years because of the fear of being a disappointment or a disgrace but it did happen at the end. Now I have just one problem, Romero
I wanted to be alone so I went up to the toppest floor of the school building where people never visited.
"Good evening ma'am" I greeted the janitor mopping the floor and I wondered why she did it, no one ever visits here.
She smiled at me and returned my greeting. "If you don't mind me asking ma'am, why do you always clean this floor no one ever visits here" she stopped working and gave me her attention.
"I don't always clean it, I do it twice every week but you sometime happen to meet me doing it besides you aren't the only one who comes here" I raised my brow with a questioning gaze because I'm pretty sure I've never met anyone here.
"Is she regular cause I've never met anyone here before?" She shook her head with a little smile. "It's a 'he' and he recently started coming here, I see him every evening" curiosity kicked in and I made more inquiries about the mysterious guy.
"He's always in there" she pointed towards a door at the end. "I didn't know there was a room here"
"You never came to this end child" True, I always sat on the top part of the staircase or watch the sky at the other end, I've never explored the entire corridor.
"I'll leave now" I bid her goodbye and she took her cleaning kits with her and left. I contemplated on leaving whoever might be in there and mind my business but my curiosity led my feet to the door.
I slowly turned the knob and pushed the door to a level where I could peek my head in
I scanned around until my eyes met a broad back at a hidden corner. A black beanie was pulled over his head, the black t-shirt he was putting on colled to his muscular frame that looked similar to Romero's.
There was a serene aura about him and it seemed like he was lost In something. Maybe he really needs his privacy and considering the fact I'm not the word social i decided not to interrupt his moment and leave but the bleeding sound from a piano held me back.
A soft melody was created from the piano as an introduction before the master took over and when he did I couldn't control the way my soul drowned into the hollowness and serenity of his voice.
"Don't the water grow the trees
Don't the moon pull the tide
Don't the stars light up the sky,
Like you need to light up my world,
If you need me anytime
You know I'm always right by your side
See I've never felt this love----
My mind completely zoned out and i rested my body on the cold walls and let his voice lead my spirit to where it wanted to be.
His masked up emotions laid under the melody of the lyrics, his fingers created a soft backup words using the piano as a media to express himself.
It seemed like the world stopped moving as he played and sang. If the room was quiet before, now it's frozen because I'm certain even the air lingering around stopped and silently transported his melodious voice.
The lyrics blended with his voice and was garnished by the sound of the piano waved thoroughly into my ears and slowly drowned in my heart.
I watched him caress the keyboards with his fingers and soothed it with the lyrics as if giving it an assurance of its worth in his life, he spoke to the instrument he was romancing with his fingers like a human he was appreciating.
From the side I could tell his eyes were shut and his always closed up emotions spoke to the piano telling the instruments their problems. It's true when they say never judge a book by its cover because Romero is a living example of that proverb.
Sometimes he shows off his closed up and cold personality, the one that ask you to stay away from him. Sometimes he lets out his mysterious self; the one that tells you not to try and read him or leave him if you can't handle the treasures that hid in the deepest part of the heart that we lock up to hide from people and not let them see easily, all our secrets and lastly is his cocky and playful personality
I really don't know which drew me to him but the fact is that I am drawn to him.
Maybe it's his cold eyes that makes me want to swim in the ocean filled with tsunami or maybe it's his mysterious gazes and actions that makes me want to unlock him and see him like a mirror or maybe it is his smutty, cocky and teasing personality that always has me flushing and pleading silently for more of his touches.
I was so lost in my thoughts thinking about the Adonis I didn't know when I had began crying silently as I listened to him. He drew closer to the end of the lyrics and I took it as a cue to leave but my feet weren't ready to.
His voice died an octave low after he was done talking to the piano and it was time for it to speak to him. He played the ending tone signaling the end of his session with the non living therapist.
He left light random strums and finally my feet decided to let us leave. I wiped the tears off my face and reached forward to open the door when I felt an arm enclose around my waist and the other on my knuckles that was wrapped around the door knob.