~It Was An Accident~

Dolores Huerta stepped out of her car in blind hurry, dropping a few books in the process as she attempted to shut the door. She groaned out in frustration at her forgetfulness. She had locked her bag in the car as well. Blowing her hair out of her face, she opened the door again to grab the object sitting in the passenger side.

As the car gave a satisfactory beep, she picked up the books that had fallen while trying to push up her glasses before they fell off her face like the previous ones. Her Dad had opted for her to use lenses but she didn't do so well with them as she often went to bed without taking them out.

Of course, she was capable of seeing clearly without the glasses. She merely needed them to read on some days and today was one of those days. Gathering momentum, she took in a deep shuddering breath then walked up the stairs.

The second bell signifying a warning for latecomers went off the moment she stepped a foot in the hallway. She still had to drop some things off in her locker before she could proceed. After a quick debate, she decided not to, shoving all books into her bag while at the same time in a sprint to class. The door was in her line of vision the moment she rounded a corner. Her heart was beating laboriously in her ears as a result of her 'marathon'.

Someone stepped out the class door and into the hallway but it became too late for Dolores to press the brakes as she helplessly bumped into the person. With a loud "oof" she dropped to the floor. Staring down at her were the most emotionless grey eyes. His eyes were hooded and masked with a strange countenance she couldn't decipher. Still dumbstruck, she half expected him to ask if she was alright then pick her books along with her but he stood still in a place.

A curse to those romance movies and chick flicks I've watched, she thought. She looked up again at him but he wasn't watching her. His head tilted as if to be sure what he was seeing was indeed what it was. Her head turned to follow his gaze and she realized that amongst the contents of her unzipped bag which spilled out unceremoniously, the one she kept hidden from the rest of the world, laid a few feet away from where she was.

Abandoning every other thing and with the said object solely in her line of vision, she crawled to get it but grey eyes beat her to it. Her mouth fell open in shock and all colors drained from her pretty face when he lifted it to observe the blue container.

"An inhaler? Interesting." His deep voice reverberated in her head causing her face to flush in shame.

Of all people, you had to imagine a romance scene with Nicolas De León. Have you lost your mind? She berated herself inwardly. Feeling awkward, she took it off his hands then packed the rest of her books.

When he made no move to leave the entrance to the class, she had to ask him to step away. "You're the one who bumped into me. I deserve an apology, don't I?"

Indeed he did. "I'm sorry about that, it was an accident." Her eyes couldn't remain locked to his for long as her brain was already a melting mess in her head. Again, she berated herself for acknowledging Nicolas as handsome.

Since when did you find him attractive?

He stepped back into the class, walking back to his seat situated behind a black haired girl. Dolores had forgotten she had English class that morning as she walked in, awkwardly apologizing to the teacher who simply waved her off and resumed teaching.

As she approached her seat, her seatmate turned best friend took her bag from her, setting it down by her feet underneath the desk. "Dolory baby, you look like you woke up in a dumpster. What happened to you?"

Her lips stretched out in a smile that couldn't be stopped at the unusual nickname for her. She was tired of reminding her friend that it wasn't 'Dolory baby's as she fondly called her but 'Dow-Low-rez'.

"Good morning to you too, Adelina. My night was great, thanks for asking. You're a loving bestie, keep it up." The latter gave a cheeky grin and mouthed an apology.

From behind them, someone wheezed like one with an asthma attack. Startled, Dolores whipped her head only to find her nemesis cracking up with laughter alongside his friends. She tsked, deciding to ignore them for now.

"Do it again, do it again." She heard Carlos say as he snickered once more. She simply shook her head at their childish behaviors. Paying attention to them always managed to rouse her asthma attacks. Nicolas might have spread it to his friends that she carried an inhaler about in her school bag but she didn't give a hoot. So what if he knew about it?

Adelina's face contorted in anger as she snapped at the boys behind them. "Can you both be quiet now? Unlike you, other people whose lives have worth are trying to pay attention. You know what that means right? We're trying to listen and we would appreciate it very much if you could just shut the holes in your faces."

Dolores' heart swelled with pride as sge gazed at her best friend. When Adelina arrived the school three years ago, uncertainty and fear in her eyes, she had been the one to approach her first. She had thick, dark mane like her late best friend used to have. What's more, her name was also Adelina. While the former was brown eyed, the latter's green eyes shone with laughter and mischief each time she looked at Dolores.

Her parents were abroad in another country while she had to live all alone with her Nanny since infanthood along with the other housekeepers. It was rumored that her parents were business tycoons who were really wealthy than they often appeared to be. Having being with their daughter for three years, she realized the brunette reeked of nothing but humility and kindness. Oh, she was filled with empathy, one of the extra points Adelina scored against the defences of her heart.

"Or what?"Nicolas leaned forward in his seat until his breath fanned her neck. Her body shivered involuntarily as she turned to look back at him.

"You get kicked out of class and trust me, this break wouldn't be a short one. Your educational ambition would be killed forever." That seemed to put the annoying dark haired boy in his place seeing as he sat back down and remained quiet, grinding his jaw in anger.

Nicolas had been on her neck since forever, always teasing her and playing crude tricks on her. One time after P.E in third grade, he had placed chewing gum on her seat and in a disguised manner, asked her to 'rest her tired frame'. Unsuspecting, young Dolores took the gesture to be out of his good nature and did as he said. Long story cut short, she had to get new P.E shorts.

She didn't even want to think about the other demon she had for a classmate, Carlos Alejandro. More than a few times in her dreams, she had tortured them as they begged for their lives and then she had strangled them both to death. With complete satisfaction, she always woke up feeling like that day would be the best only to have it ruined by one silly trick or the other. Not like she didn't fight back, she wasn't scared of them. On one of those rare occasions, she grabbed them both by their ears into the principal's office who in turn gave them a week's suspension for bullying a student. After then, they kept a low profile but not exempting the little jabs they threw her way sometimes which really didn't matter to her until today.

When her thoughts stopped wandering, she was relieved to find that she was no longer the topic on their lips. At least, she would be able to pay attention for a little while before they remembered she existed. Tuning out their neverending chatter, she opened her textbook to match Adelina's.

~~~{•}~~~

In a way, I kinda wish I could know what's going through your minds while you scroll down this page. If you'd kindly leave a comment or two, yunno, or a few pointers here and there, I'd be able to understand if I'm getting it wrong somewhere or I need to maybe like...slow down the pace or something.
Anyway, please leave a 🌟 if you enjoyed this chapter

~~Tequila~~