November 13, 2015

Chowing down the dinner that mom made, chicken adobo, I chuckled at the memory of how I realized that I have a crush on Claire. I have always known that I was a lesbian since high school – my dad insisted – and I have to say that Claire can really make this lesbian drool. Well, that blonde can make anyone, man or woman, drool.

Then the reason why I felt annoyed at that Matthew Chevalier? It was a funny thing indeed.

December, 2009

Two weeks. I have been skipping instructor Le Creuset's class and spending my free time with Raine. Between the continuous ramblings of Raine, and the stares of instructor Le Creuset whenever she catches me somewhere in campus, I chose the lesser evil and stayed with the rambler. And after spending time with Raine, I joined my friends and asked what they learned about the webpage class, and asked how they covered for my absence. They also informed me that our instructor didn't seem to believe whatever excuse they told her.

"Oh this is priceless!" Marie said out loud.

Jean Racine once said, 'there are no secrets that time does not reveal'.

Before, I never believed that secrets can be revealed. There are possibilities that a secret will always remain a secret. But now...

It was our I.T business class and my friends and I were working on our group project; a café slash carwash business proposal. With Marie's taunting smirks and laughter, my right brow twitched whenever I hear her laugh. It was bad enough they guessed that I have a crush on our instructor and what happened in the cafeteria, but being laughed at by Marie was downright annoying.

How did they even figure it out?

Was it because they noticed how I was staring at instructor Le Creuset during classes? That I was zoning out and focused mostly on her?

Or was it they noticed my enthusiasm when I go to the advance webpage class that instructor Le Creuset teach?

Was it the non-stop glaring at those who are fawning over the instructor?

Or was it the mood swings I have with her?

Marie stopped laughing but her grin never left her face. "Seriously par. Of all the people you will have a crush on, it has to be the one sought by all."

"I can understand though," said Micah. "Almost everyone in campus is smitten by Miss Le Creuset, so I'm not really surprised Elise here has a crush on her too."

Jeanne nodded. "But I find it amusing how you reacted in the cafeteria. Did you really say 'I don't like someone stealing what's mine' in front of instructor Chevalier and instructor hottie?"

Again, Marie laughed loudly. Why did she even find it funny?

"Yes, yes, Marie. Laugh about it. And how did you guys even know about that?" I asked, glaring at my friends.

Jeanne smirked at me. "Because of my lovely girlfriend of course." She showed me her mobile phone with a long conversation between her and another woman whom I swore I would strangle.

The other woman was none other than Raine. As the conversation went, it seemed that Jeanne had asked Raine why I was spending time with her. That annoying girl actually told Jeanne about the cafeteria incident!

Then I realized something...

"You're her girlfriend?!" I asked incredulously. All three of my friends nodded their heads. "What the hell?! You're committed and you never told me?" the three of them shook their heads in unison.

"Are you serious?" Micah asked me.

I looked at Micah with a deadpanned expression. "No, I'm Elise. Serious is my cousin."

My response irked Micah and she literally threw her pen at me, hitting my forehead. "Quit your jokes. Dammit! You were there when Raine said yes to this steampunk."

Marie placed a hand over Micah's shoulder and shook her head. "No use explaining there, Mi. Raine became Jeanne's girlfriend just a few days ago. And this oaf-" Using her free hand, she pointed her thumb at me. "Was pondering why her crush is hanging around instructor Chevalier. Though she's not the only one..."

I stopped the urge to roll my eyes. Of course there are a lot of people out there who are dying to separate those two instructors as well. And there would probably be a line too. 'I would go at it, again and again, if needed, just to separate- wait a minute... why am I even... gah!' my conflicting thoughts were disrupted when I suddenly felt a jolt of electricity on my left sides. Like someone poked me with a stun baton. My body reacted, like it should, and I jumped off my seat and my knees hitting under my table. "For the love of Asgard!" The pain was enough for me to bent down and groan.

It took me half a minute to realize the cause of the sudden pain on my sides and knees. To realize that I was nearly done with my share of work and that somebody poked my sides – very hard I might add. "Alright, why did you ladies do that?!" I asked with a low growl.

Guessing who poked me, my three friends has a shocked expression on their faces as they looked behind me. "What are you looking at? You look like a school... of..." Slowly turning around, I saw a pair of stormy grey colored eyes, looking at me like I accidentally placed a magnet over their hard drive. Grey colored eyes that I know would change if ever the owner moves away from the room's lighting. Those familiar grey colored eyes that would turn either green, dark blue, or clear blue depending on the light, was staring at me with an unpleasant look. "Fishes... Hi?" I said with an awkward smile and avoiding eye contact.

Standing behind me, a foot to my right, was my I.T business subject instructor, Vincent Valdez, and to his left, was instructor Claire Le Creuset. Instructor Valdez has an amused expression on his face as if I finally flunked one of his exams; which never happened before. Now I wonder why my instructors are keen on seeing me fail. First that damn Frenchman and now this guy.

"Ah, Miss Zaragoza." Instructor Valdez has a grin on his face that tempted me to whack it with a keyboard. "Mademoiselle Claire here wants to speak with you," he said, trying to imitate a French accent. Of all the time I spent with instructor Le Creuset and hearing her godly accent – I swore that if the goddess Freyja has an accent, it would be French! No one can compare to the way she spoke in French. Even that mother freaking-

The touch of Instructor Le Creuset's hand over my shoulder snapped me out of my inner cursing. My eyes, who seemed to find the blonde instructor's eyes more beautiful than before due to the intense stare directed at me, decided to gawk at it openly. All thoughts forgotten, my brain went to 'French beauty queen alert mode' and I was like a mindless zombie before her, waiting for her to speak.

"Mademoiselle Zaragoza, eef you may, follow me, s'il vous plaît?"

Not wanting to sound like some bitter old woman, but the way she spoke to me sounded arrogant. It was like the blonde didn't not care about me anymore. My brows involuntarily furrowed and I eyed my webpage instructor carefully. "As you can see, instructor, I'm in a middle of a groupwork-"

"Which you are already feenezed wi'z. Now come, mademoiselle. Monsieur Valdez already granted you 'iz permizion to leave early."

I was familiar enough to know her voice and I could tell how she was feeling just by hearing her voice. And right now, the heavy French accent and those burning stares proves that instructor Le Creuset's pissed.

Why? I had no idea.

"Indeed she is right, mademoiselle," Instructor Valdez said. Oh, if not for him being older than me and an instructor, I would really hit him with a computer case. "Your groupmates can work on your share, if you're not finished yet, and you can go ahead and follow Mademoiselle Claire," he said with a prideful smirk.

The way he spoke of instructor Le Creuset's name, he looked so smug about it. Having a first name basis with the said foreign instructor. Looked like he was part of the Claire Le Creuset fanclub and looking high and mighty coz he's talking to her face-to-face.

I take it back. I would hit him with a whole computer system!

Holding back a growl, I was about to tell them that I don't want to go, but my dear 'ol friends took my things and threw it to instructor Le Creuset. All three of them were looking like 'we know you will ditch, and we are tired of covering for you' at me.

"Take it, take her, and go!" my friends demanded. Micah even stood up and pulled me away from my seat and pushed me towards instructor blondie.

I was thankful for the gap between the chairs that I didn't hit any of them but hated how they forcefully pushed me forward that I stumbled and closed my eyes as I was about to hit the wall. 'Oh shit.'

I was expecting my face to be hitting the solid, dully decorated, wall that I would've probably be sporting a bloody nose and bruised forehead after this oncoming hard hit. But instead of feeling the excruciating pain, I felt something soft breaking my fall. My head was wedged in-between two soft marshmallow-like cushions and my body was held protectively by two slim limbs and it was the most comfortable places that my head's ever been in.

Gasps and wolf whistles filled the room but I was focused on the two mounds that my head was currently wedged on and the limbs that's currently tightening around my waist. The cheers from my friends were easily heard but the warmth from the soft wall in front of me overpowered the urge to look at what they are cheering about.

"Est ce que vous allez bien, ma belle?"

It did not take me too long to realize why everyone were either wallowing in sorrow, wolf whistling, or cheering on me. The close proximity of those French words, a question I can assume, was enough for me to know my current predicament and I can already tell that my face now resembles one of those Fuji apples.

Without even facing anyone, be it my friends or the blonde that's currently has me trapped in her arms, I pushed myself away from the soft and comfortable cushions – making instructor Le Creuset to release her hold on me – and grabbed hold of my blonde instructor's left hand. Feeling her soft hand on mine, I pulled her out of the classroom and dragged her away from the laughter and cheers of my classmates.