Let Me Love You

Chapter 2: Serendipitous Turn

"Friendship is the
inexpressible comfort of
feeling safe with a person,
having neither to weigh thoughts nor measure words."

- George Eliot

...

A

lyana

“How's your new school, sweetie?” Mom asked.

We're in the middle of dinner, kaya nagulat ako sa biglang pagtatanong niya.

My new school is... not great, honestly. I already got into a big argument on the first day and almost got in big trouble because of it.

Luckily, this nice guy helped me got out of the situation. But overall, it's been a tough experience so far, and I'm not really happy being casted there.

As I sat down to dinner with my family, I was nervous to tell them about my day, but I knew I had to be honest.

When my mom asked me how it was, I tried to be vague, but it was clear that I was hiding something.

I smiled shortly and said, "It's good," even though it wasn't.

"Honey, I told you she'd fit right in at that school," Mom exclaimed, beaming with pride. Dad smiled in agreement, sharing her excitement. “Oh, sweetie, did you have any trouble finding your room?”

“Clarkson is big,” segunda pa ni Dad.

They both glanced at me, as if they were waiting for my answer.

I shook my head and smiled

“No,” I replied.

After the major incident and a confrontation with a rude guy, there's a two kind girls came to my aid. “Fellow students helped me. They were nice to me.”

“Oh, so you've already made new friends?” Mom asked, her pride evident in her expression.

She seemed genuinely happy and couldn't hide her excitement. It was as if I made a significant progress or achieved something great. “I see. I know you're going to do great things, sweetie.”

“I'm glad you've found new friends, anak,” dugtong pa ni Dad. “If you have the time, invite them over to our house. I'd love to meet them. They must be incredible for having become friends with my daughter.”

I simply nodded, feeling a bit bored, as I absentmindedly stabbed the meat on my plate with my fork.

“I'll call Maddie to arrange the invitations for our housewarming party,” Mom said, referring to her secretary.

I sighed in relief. I'm glad dahil hindi nila napansin yung pekeng mga ngiti ko. They do really believe na nagustuhan ko ang Clarkson University.

I don't know if I should be proud of myself dahil ang galing ko mag pretend, or should I feel bad dahil nagsisinungaling ako just to conform to their expectations.

But, despite of that rocky start, things started to look up for me. That incident taught me to be cautious and aware of my surroundings.

Specially, kapag nasa loob na ako ng Clarkson University.

But I also realized that not everyone at the school was unfriendly or confrontational.

With a sudden surge of recollection, I remembered a particular moment happened earlier.

In the midst of the bustling hallway, a vivacious and outgoing girl approached me, exuding contagious energy.

Her pretty face lit up with a vibrant smile as she confidently stepped forward, extending her hand in greeting. "Hi there! I'm Shyle," she exclaimed, her voice brimming with lively enthusiasm.