Someone Who Will Peel Off The Fish Bones (2022)

CHAPTER 5: Greed knows no bounds

LIKE A SWIFT BREEZE, THE DAYS FLEW BY QUICKLY. Narra was finally in her third year of high school and to her shock, she still got elected and won as the student council president despite the backlash she had gotten from punishing the volleyball and the basketball team. What surprised her even more was that Primo was able to join the student council by winning the position of public relations officer.

For almost the whole summer vacation, Primo had been with Narra, so she kind of got used to his presence. But because she had to visit her grandparents who lived in a different province, she had to cut her summer with Primo short. She hadn't seen Primo for a month and they hadn't exactly exchanged numbers either, so Narra was excited to go see him and talk to him again.

At first, it was weird to have someone that she could easily talk to, especially an organic life form from the opposite sex, but after spending time with Primo, Narra thought it wasn't so bad. Primo accepted her for who she was and did not have any unreasonable demands like her previous friends had. He didn't tell her to stop being so cold and serious all the time or to act warm towards him. Or maybe... that's because Primo doesn't see her as a friend at all?

Narra felt like she was splashed with cold water. That's right; Primo never said they were friends. She shouldn't assume anything. She shouldn't be so greedy; he's already someone she could freely talk to, should she really wish for him to become her friend, too? Isn't that being too greedy?

"Wow, we have two student council members in our class!"

"Yeah, it's so cool! So the other one is the P.R.O, right? I heard he's hot!"

Narra's eyebrows furrowed. Is she hearing it right? Did Primo not win the election? Who was that P.R.O that they were talking about?

Before Narra could listen more, she heard a lot of sighs around her—the kind of sigh a girl makes when her crush is around, which made her frown in confusion. Narra turned to look at what they were all looking at... and she couldn't believe her eyes.

"Primo! How have you been, man? You've gotten taller! What's your secret?"

Primo suddenly looked different. He was different from the boy Narra spent her summer with. The boy then was an inch or two shorter, had really messy hair, and always wore clothes that looked like it just got out from the dryer. The boy in front of her now seemed mature, taller, had his hair styled, and wore a freshly-ironed uniform.

Primo was dazzling. No wonder those girls sighed like that just at the sight of him. He was a sight for sore eyes.

When Primo saw her, he smiled, but Narra just remained expressionless. He looked so good, but she was mad and hurt. She wanted her Primo back. But she couldn't be selfish towards someone who wasn't even her friend to begin with. She should already be satisfied that Primo had spent time with her that summer, she shouldn't be asking for more.

Narra just shook her head and focused on reviewing the notes from their former subjects. Meanwhile, Primo's forehead creased. Did Narra not see him? Why did she ignore him?

Primo was walking towards her when the homeroom teacher suddenly went in. When she saw a student still standing, she scolded Primo and told him to sit in his designated seat. Dejected, Primo sat in his seat—two seats back from Narra's.

He pouted as their homeroom teacher started their orientation. Primo just figured that he would find a way to talk to Narra later and a way on how he would be able to sit beside her in class for the whole school year. He's determined to get closer to her... because, well, she basically saved him from despair and she was his first ever girl friend.

Primo also felt a bit sad that Narra didn't seem to notice anything different about him. After all, he tried his best to improve his appearance. He wanted to finally grow up and mature. He wanted to be someone Narra could be proud of, and not someone she would be ashamed to be seen with because he always caused trouble. Primo didn't care about his reputation before, but now that he was friends with the student council president, he wouldn't want the other students to pick on Narra just because she has a friend like him.