Chapter 1

CHAPTER 1

“ S iya nauna, I swear!”

I sounded more like a first-grader shifting blame rather than a nineteen-year-old with a valid argument on why I should not be suspended but the adrenaline and the blood pounding in my ears made it hard for me to think straight. I was at the head disciplinary prefect’s office, my hair disheveled and clothes rumpled, waiting for my verdict.

“You know that brawling is a serious offense, right?” my professor asked me as she leaned against the edge of the table beside my chair with her arms crossed.

I flinched under her stare. “Yes, Miss Co,” I replied. “I’m sorry. But I swear I only fought back to defend myself. Can you imagine what could have happened had I let her on? I’d be left with no hair!”

“I know, Vinnie,” Miss Co said, gliding off the table with such ease and grace. “But I can’t let you off so easily.”

Miss Co was my professor in Business Administration 170, also known as BA 170 or Marketing Management. She was only seven years older than I was but I respected her more than all my professors put together. I admired her, too. She was a genius in the field, immediately recruited by a multinational consumer goods company as a management trainee after graduating magna cum laude. She stayed there for a couple of years before deciding to return to school for further studies, where she accepted the offer to teach undergrad subjects to lessen her tuition fees.

I wanted to pursue a similar path so I considered Miss Co a mentor. Disappointing her was the last thing I wanted.

“Fill this out while we wait for Cholo,” she said, handing me an official-looking bunch of papers with formidable red letters on the heading. It basically spelled out that I was in serious trouble but my mind was stuck on her last word.

“Cholo?” I sputtered, fingers shaking as I put the form down on the table. I could feel my soul wanting to leave my body at that moment. “As in… Cholo Valiente?”

“Who else? You’re in the head prefect’s office, remember?” my professor said with a short laugh.

I closed my eyes tight and swore under my breath, bringing out a pen from that trusty pocket in my bag and willing the ground to eat me alive. First, Miss Co, and now him ?

Too late for that, girl . Cholo saw everything, anyway.

Sighing, I concentrated on the form instead.

Name:

Exconde, Lavinia Magdalene L.

Program:

BS, Business Administration

I was nearly finished when the door opened. A tall, bespectacled figure with a red Jansport backpack slung over his broad shoulders entered the room. I held my breath and noticed how he had our Managerial Accounting textbook tucked under his left arm. The muscles were taut from carrying the book’s weight.

The Cholo Valiente.

I took a deep breath. Lavinia, NO. Focus.

“Sorry, I got caught up at the dean’s office, too.” Cholo flashed Miss Co a smile before his eyes settled on me.

I became around ten thousand times more conscious of my bodily functions and hoped to the heavens that I did not look as ridiculous as I felt.

Ay, asa. My fresh-from-sabunot hair must still have looked like a bird’s nest, judging by the look on his face.

“Does she need checking?” Cholo asked Miss Co like I could not hear him. He placed his things on top of the table and then sat on the office chair, giving me another look as he pushed his glasses up his nose. “She might have bruises.”

I wondered if I had any on my face and arms but realized that Cholo was just pulling my leg when I heard Miss Co shush him.

Sipain ko ‘to eh.

“Stop that, Cholo,” said Miss Co, giving him her best attempt at a glare. “In case you haven’t formally met, this is Lavinia Exconde.”

Oh, we knew each other very well, I was tempted to say. I knew him from childhood but given our complicated history, I pretended not to.

“So I’ve heard,” Cholo said, eyes with a twinkle of mischief as he gripped my hand. He sure was finding this entertaining—me having to acknowledge him when I had been doing such a good job of not doing so the past three years. His expression showed deep amusement, if not a little of schadenfreude.

I let go of his hand and shifted in my seat, avoiding his eyes. Any other situation would have been better than this. I had planned to keep my dignity and composure by ignoring him up until graduation but no. I had to take Winona’s bait and land here , where Cholo was free to judge, tease, and laugh at me again like he did when we were kids.

I got it—to everyone, he was the overachieving pretty face walking around campus and snatching perfect scores. But to me, he will always be that kid who christened me Maleficent in grade school because I was taller than the rest of the class and had a perma-frown that made me look annoyed even if I was not. With my sharp features, the other kids easily made the connection and Cholo would say I just needed to add horns. He was the same pain in the neck—just promoted to a position of power.

Prefect Brat.

“So, shall we get started?” he asked, taking on a business-like tone, the mischievous look on his face no longer there. “I heard Miss Hidalgo’s version of the events earlier at the dean’s office but we also need to hear your side.”

This was the Cholo I was more accustomed to these days. He was always so formal—standing up in our general curriculum classes to introduce himself as a candidate for batch representative in our freshman year, leading activities in our college organization, and…just being awesome and sparkly. He seemed like the college dream boy who would end up breezing his way through business and law school while leaving hearts broken in his wake.

I cringed. I built him up in my head like that, only for him to end up as this arrogant prick. I did not even realize it was him until I saw his full name on the student council ballot in freshman year.

“Lavinia?” he said, cutting into my thoughts. “Care to explain what happened back there?”

“Explain what? Weren’t you there with us?” I asked. Even though I did not mean to, I was sure it sounded rude by the way Miss Co raised both eyebrows at me. I could not help my annoyance from coming out because sometimes my brain had a hard time catching up to my damn mouth.

I cleared my throat and muttered an apology. Miss Co looked satisfied and faced Cholo again. He must have taken offense but it looked like he got over it right away because he cracked a smile. One, I noticed, that did not reach his eyes.

“Annoying little piece of work, aren’t you,” he mumbled, shaking his head.