▬▬ C L A I R E ▬▬

TODAY WAS THE WORST DAY EVER.

Especially when I saw that man. When I saw his smirk, I already wanted to wipe it off his face and smash that large ego of his.

It's annoying. It seems so silly even though the situation is not funny.

Also, because of him, I missed my first subject.

I also can't copy notes to my classmates - because I'm new, they'll think that I'm one of their competitors when it comes to the top list.

And not to mention, I already had a warning from the professor.

So much for my first impression.

Picking one of the trays in the cafeteria, I immediately lined up next to Sam - who was very busy peeking at the dishes that were in front of us.

There were a lot of students ordering as well so we had a hard time getting in line.

After all, this was a university. It's pretty normal that the cafeteria's crowded.

I will not be surprised if some random woman would fangirl again just because of these handsome students - either popular or a transferee - who would still come here.

Turning around for a few seconds, I immediately felt relieved when I didn't see the familiar face of that guy.

If he was here, maybe he would have ruined my time here in the cafeteria too soon.

Even though Sam didn't look at me, I felt like she knew that I was stressed right away even though it was our first day as transferees at the university.

It was hard being the ones to adjust. It feels like you have nothing to hold on to but your friends.

"So..." she started before continuing to speak but an evident frown was plastered on her face.

She may not even admit it, but I know that she's worried about my situation - since that was the first time I got scolded by a teacher and that encounter may actually affect my grades eventually.

"How were your subjects before? Did you copy some notes from your classmates?" I shook my head so she sighed before speaking again.

"To be honest, it was hard on our section as well. They just stared at me as I tried to chatter with them. I almost felt like I came from another planet. An alien or something, "Sam complained to me as I looked at her sadly.

"It almost felt like we shouldn't have transferred at all. I'm not even sure if transferring here was such a great idea," she said before pointing to the chicken adobo.

As for me, I just pointed to your porkchop next to it and immediately moved the tray to the left - because we are in line now and many more students have been waiting for their turn.

"It's not that, Sammie. Maybe it's just like this when you're a transferee. I mean, you should be the one to adjust, right?" I reassured her as she shrugged at me immediately.

Maybe she wasn't even sure what she was going to answer there.

I mean, it's really true that when you are new to a university, you have to adjust yourself.

As others say, 'The only one who could help yourself is you."

"Sure. But, hey, did you read that message in our former group chat?" she immediately asked me before taking her chicken before she handed me my order. Taking it from her hands, I immediately put it on my tray.

Raising an eyebrow at her, I immediately replied, "Not yet. Why? What's up?"

"They said that they'll have a hiking trip this Saturday. They asked if we would go too. Scarlet Peaks," she said before we left and brought the tray to look for a table immediately.

"The group will be the ones to provide the food. But, we might as well bring our own too just in case." I just nodded as I then looked around the cafeteria.

"Let me think about that for a minute." She nodded at me and also looked around to find a spot where we could sit.

When we saw an empty table, I immediately pointed to it and invited her to sit there.

When we were finally seated, I answered her immediately but I soon stopped as a group of men who were also talking about mountaineering passed by.

Wait, one of them was the same guy who made my first day miserable. Oh, this is terrible.

I started to stare at him as he just returned it but he wasn't letting himself get caught by his other companions.

They just walked away from us and sat down at one of the tables near us to eat.

The good thing was, he didn't make a scandal just like those boys in the books I read - where the boy would embarrass the girl. 

I sighed and looked at Sam again - who was eating right in front of me. Her eyes stared at me intently as I then grabbed my spoon and started munching. 

"Sam, you know, rather than looking at me, just focus on your food," I stated with a smile even though it was still hard not to get awkward in this situation.

When she swallowed her food, she couldn't help but ask questions. And let me tell you, I was very shocked by what was in her mind.

"Is that a loving gaze I see? Don't tell me that your type is that kind of guy?"

Wait, what?

I was just stunned by her as she smiled at me. As soon as I realized what she said, I immediately frowned and shook my head to disagree.

Like, how can I like that guy when I don't even know his personality?

From the very beginning, I didn't even like him one bit so how'd you expect that's my type, right?

"What the hell? No," I replied to her as she raised an eyebrow at me.

"Have you ever seen the ego that guy has?" I added as Samantha laughed at what I said.

I could almost see her eyes watering because of her sudden burst of laughter - which almost echoed through the cafeteria.

When she stopped laughing, she immediately looked to my left and grinned.

"Hey, you have such a charm, Claire. They're all looking at you, " she said to me as my eyes widened and I couldn't stop asking. I mean, it's better to know who.

"Who's looking at me?" I hesitated for a bit and the tone of my voice already gave it away.

He raised one eyebrow and he couldn't help but have that glint in his eyes as if he was teasing me.

"Not 'who', Claire. The correct question is 'How many of them are looking at you?' because almost all of the members of the basketball team are staring at you."

Hearing that from her, I buried my face in my hands in embarrassment. Seriously, what did that guy say?

No, Claire. You should not be like this.

You are just a new student here. You should not avoid such a person, he should avoid you himself.

I then looked up, adjusted my seat, and turned my attention toward him.

And what Sam told me was right. Almost all of them, even his best friend, are looking at me.

But, I did not let it affect me.

I even raised an eyebrow at them - laughed and glared.

The rest of them went back to what they were doing - eating and talking to each other. But that 'Ethan' or so I heard from before, still did not take his eyes off me.

Even his friend didn't avert his eyes from our direction but he did not look at me - he was probably looking at Sam.

When Ethan smiled, my blood rose and I was the one to break the eye contact. He's definitely doing this on purpose.

Irritated, I turned to Sam - who was still looking directly at them.

"Hey, Sammie," I called to her and she blinked, turning her gaze right towards me.

"Why?" This was her only answer to me as I sighed and tried to bring back our subject earlier - just to lose the image of that guy smiling earlier.

"Mountaineering with our former batch? All right, I'm ready, "I replied as her eyes widened, and came closer to me.

"Seriously? You're considering the trek? I mean, will your aunt even allow you? " I frowned.

Wait, how could my aunt agree with this? She's strict. I'm sure she won't let me go.

How can I convince her?

Maybe she'll allow me since these are my former batch mates we're talking about.

I know my aunt. She always does a background check when I tell her who my friends are.

So I wondered how she would react if they were just my batch mates.

"Maybe she'll agree to that." It's obvious from my tone that I wasn't so sure.

But even so, I will still try to persuade her. I think this trip might be another stress reliever for me anyway.

It's been a long time since I had fun, after all.

"Okay, if you say so. You said that not me, "Sam replied before trying to finish up her food.

"'Don't you even try to be mad at me if your aunt won't agree with this trip. Don't tell her that it was my idea too," she added while trying so badly to hide her uneasiness.

Taking the glass of water in my hands, I couldn't help but hear the basketball players talking as they walked away and passed us.

When I heard the word "mountaineering" and the word "Scarlet Peaks", I almost choked on my drink.

Don't tell me that they're going to be there too. I do hope that they would just take a hike to another mountain.

I coughed too loud, catching one of their attention. Ethan looked at me and it was obvious on his face that he was satisfied with what had happened to me.

Even before Sam approached me to tap me on the back, I heard Ethan speak.

"Good for you. Looks like Karma got you too fast."

This guy is getting on my nerves every time. I coughed for a few seconds and saw them leaving.

When the cafeteria doors closed, I slammed my hands on the table - surprising Sam as she almost jumped at my sudden outburst.

"That guy is really annoying!" I huffed in anger, glaring daggers at the door.

Everyone was looking at me so I just sat back down and hid my face once again in frustration.

Claire, calm down. That guy has a large reputation in this university. Don't ruin your own name because your goal now is to be on the honor list.

Taking a deep breath, I immediately called Sam - who was sitting next to me too, listening.

"Look, Sam, I was suddenly hesitant on our trip," I told her sadly as she shook her head.

"Why? Is it because of my aunt or because of that man? Come on, this is a one-time opportunity for you to enjoy, " she said to me before grabbing a hold of my shoulders.

"Don't let that man ruin your trip. You wanted to go mountaineering, right? Then, we should go."

I thought to myself as well. Of course, why should I let him ruin my day again? I won't tolerate this anymore.

I'm going to enjoy my trip to the fullest. I don't care if he was there.

"All right, let's continue the trek, Sammie. He will not ruin our day there. I'll make sure of it, "I said smiling as Sam took her cell phone to text our batch mates.

She smiled back at me and replied, "Shall I tell them?"

I nodded immediately and immediately thought about what might happen on the trip.