Chapter 3:

Like Psalms chapter 30 verse 5 says: "Pain may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning." Processing what miracle has wrought on me right now hasn't healed all of the bad things that have happened this day.

It was all a twisted wonderland a second ago and yet a-joy-you-call-it has already occurred when the day hasn't even moved forward yet. I feel like the whole universe is playing humpty dumpty with me. It messed up my life so badly just out of the blue, then put it back together again.

And now all the Kings' men and all the King's horses put on a good show and a grand romantic gesture to flutter little Ms. Dumb Pathetic Danielle She. And though I wanted to feel great about it, my anger outweighs the validity of celebrating this outrageous engagement.

I know the oxygenated balloons were supposed to go up, but when I saw his face, everything went completely a hundred eighty degrees.

"Ms. Danielle She. Will you be my Valentine?" He handsomely confessed in the crowd as he boldly extended his right arm towards me with open hands, waiting for a reply.

Valentine!?! Hey! Do you think this is just how simple it is!?! You messed up my day big time, lover boy! How dare you make a fool out of me! I even prepared a grand apology for you, Mr. Dumbass-Arrogant-Pompous, Sir!

Hey! Do you think that was nice?! Because it's not! And I am so going to bust you off out of your skin that you'll exactly feel how I feel right now! Argh, I am so mad that I utterly want to ruin your big day, handsome guy!

I went silent as I fumed in anger. That made Mr. President begin to feel awkward. With the situation at hand, he retreated his hands, and the look of desperation was all over his face.

Yes, that's it. Grieve with the wrath of my agony bastard! Feel that excruciatingly painful humiliation, Turd!

To my knowledge, when everything was going according to my plan, I never presumed that Mr. President would resolve it to the extent that he swallowed his pride and kneeled on the floor to pursue me further.

To my surprise, I suddenly felt flustered and it took me aback.

And for the second time, "Ms. Danielle She, will you be my Valentine?" he patiently asked.

You're being persistent, huh? Well, not on my watch, pretty boy! I swear that I'm gonna crumple your reputation tenfold right here right now in this grand romantic gesture in front of everybody else! And this is how your Valentine's Day is going to end.

"Nnn..." I was about to finish the word when I felt a powerful wicked vibe pass by right downstairs. I went with my gut instincts, and when I looked...

DANICA SHE!?! Just why is she here? Ooh, that snoopy brat! Why does she appear when she's not even supposed to?!

Wait, what if this is a breakthrough to win over her? And what if this will change my life forever? If I say no to this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, everything will be a goner after that. But if I take advantage of the situation, I bet it'll completely change my prehistoric life.

With all of my mind-panicking and calculations popping inside my head in a significant overheated brain cell interval of 1.00 seconds, I discreetly smirked at Danica and sent off a mocking eyes at her with a 360 degree turn of...

"Nnn--- Yes. Yes!"

Yes. Because I'm super jealous with my sister.

"The ship has finally sailed!" Ms. Mary loudly announced.

"Ooh... Give it up, give it up, give it up your wagers losers! HA-HA! Kaboom!" she added.

The crowd erupts, as if it were New Year's Eve. They blew the confetti canons, sprinkled all over the blossom petals, and partitioned the cake among themselves.

There were cheers and squealing and jumping all over the place, as if they were the ones who received my positive remark. I wanted to hide in embarrassment, but considering that Danica was still downstairs, I pretended to get along with them and go with the flow so that I could see that rotting jealousy scribbled across her funny face.

HA! Die watching Danica She!

I looked downstairs and saw Danica fuming in anger and envy. Her extravagant gal pals had their jaws dropped, and the expressions on their faces were dramatically twisted. And to her uncontrollable fury, she thoughtlessly took off her eye patch and made an exaggeratedly distorted expression that she almost looked like an angry dotted-Pomeranian.

I wanted to burst out laughing right in front of her face, but come on, we're still on the show little sister. A little poise and bearing won't hurt your ego, right? So, bear with it, crybaby.

Pretending to put on a very delighted smile and a bit of drama from here and there, suddenly, Mr. President grabbed my hands and led me downstairs.

Personally, I irk at the idea of holding hands with men, because that would potentially trigger my Androphobia. However, I'll try to treat this as a special occasion, just once, so I can see my little devil sister erupt in jealousy. And I'm so desperate to see her Go Gaga for losing the bet.

HA! Who's the clown now, Danica?!

And so, as I was saying, Mr. President Handsome Prince led me out of the crowd, and we happened to pass by the group of Danica She. I was relishing the moment of success of winning over her when she snapped out and said:

"Hey! Danielle! Didn't Mom tell you to take her snacks to the canteen right now? As in, I mean, right now?" Danica deliberately made a lie to swat me out of the picture.

However...

"I beg your pardon, Ms. She. But I still have very important business to talk about with your sister. But if Teacher Rachel is that really famished right now, as Student Council President and on behalf of your sister, will you please do the favor for the both of us?" Mr. President inserted an interpolation.

"If it be for your sake, Mr. President, I will gladly do so." Danica tried to flirt.

My, my, what a b*tch.

"Then do the favor for my sake, Ms. She." He coldly replied.

We left the site as he pulled me out of the multitude. While Danica was left silent and dumb for a couple of seconds. I'm pretty sure it must be so painful for her ego to be ordered around by the man she flirted with. Well, too bad Danica, your lucky patch must have taken a day off. And it's your fault for spatting out those nonsense lies in front of a skeptical person.

ONE HUNDRED PERCENT, DESERVED!

Going back on track, me and Mr. President Sir went back to the student council's office to finish our matter. As soon as we stepped inside, he let go of my hands and began searching through his closet.

It was not long before he pulled a tiny box out of his drawer and went back to me. Honestly, it was a nerve-racking experience to have a private chat with him for the very first time. But I was dead silent when he adoringly presented the fancy box to me and slowly opened it right in front of my eyes.

It was so brilliantly shining and shimmering that I was almost lost my focus and said incoherent things. Yet, too bad, this was just all a pretend.

"(Sighs in relief) You know, I was so nervous back there thinking you would reject me. And I am deeply grateful for accepting my confession. I know it's a bit fast and all, but I want you to have this crystal heart necklace as a token of my commitment."

He said his speech perfectly and took the necklace from the box. He showed it to me, then made an ostentatious move without my permission to wear the necklace on my neck.

Yet as fast as my reflexes were, when he nearly landed the string on my collar bone, I quickly raised my hands just above my shoulder to hamper his sensational offer.

"Umm, is something the matter?" he asked.

"(Huffs) Actually, yes, Mr. President Sir. Because you see, it may seem like we are already dating, but technically, we are not. This relationship is clearly not official yet. And there are underlying extreme conditions that you must comply with first before getting there." I replied.

"Ok, I'm listening," he continued.

"(Coughs awkwardly) Um, I said... it was an extreme condition to comply, Mr. President Sir." I reiterated.

"Yes, I heard it loud and clear. But I assure you, it's all fine by me, so go on."

"(Coughs loudly) (clears throat) You see, it was not just extremely complicated, but it was also so incredibly challenging that you'll pop your head out. You know what I mean, right?"

"I'm prepared for any consequences, Ms. She. So please, do tell me all about it, because I am all-willing to conform to these tremendously challenging conditions. And trust me, I am well-committed to fulfilling it."

WHAT!?! Can't you read my lips, genius? I meant to break this relationship as early as it is right now! Don't you get it!?!

"Are you sure about this?" I stalled him.

"Definitely," he replied.

"How sure exactly?"

"Ten hundred and one percent."

"Rate from one to ten."

"Eleven."

"Probability?"

"Absolute zero margin of error."

"Blast it!" I snapped.

"I'm sorry, what did you say?"

"Um... blast it, now that I know how committed you are."

"Exactly. Now, can you lay down the conditions required?" he insisted.

"(Exhales frustratingly) OK, then. It's your risk. Rule number one: you're going to convince my parents to agree to our relationship. Rule number two: if you cannot fulfill rule number one, then you can't proceed to the succeeding steps and our relationship will be deemed null and void. So, do we have a deal?"

I made up the rules out of desperation and extended my hands for a shake to finish it once and for all. Actually, I wasn't serious about this, but I hope he backs out now.

"Deal." He shook my hands.

Oh, blast that cretin!

So, I have no other choice but to abide by the agreement that I thoughtlessly made up, which immediately took effect right after the discussion. I went out of the office and bid my farewell to the President.

I can see that he's eager to offer me an escort back to my Mom's room, but I politely decline so to prevent any commotion. And speaking of commotion, I bet the news has already spread throughout the campus and surely Mom already knew about this too.

Aish! I'll definitely be grounded for it.

And as expected, she knew all about it.

"You, young lady, are going to have a long discussion."

Was it from Danica or from her colleagues? Why would I care to know anyway? Either way, she'd still know about it.

So, I had an earful of a sermon all the way back home. And when we arrived, I thought it would end by the 3 km. road and by the walls of the car. But it just got worsen and even louder when we went inside the house.

Plus, when Dad arrived, the verbose lecture added up. And speaking for myself, in my view, I am entirely unaffected by this argument because I know that this was all a pretext. But of course, I had to suffer the consequences.

Nah, that's fine. Nonetheless, I am confident that this relationship won't even last a day. And the argument will pass too.

"Danielle, we know that nobody noticed you for a long time, but that doesn't mean that you have to be so desperate to say "Yes" to the man whom you have never even befriended once. Yes, you have been associates in the student council for like four years, but that doesn't change the fact that both of you are estranged towards each other." Dad calmly explained.

"And technically, she can't have a boyfriend at such a young age!" Mom exclaimed.

"Calm down, honey. I got this. OK, where were we?" Dad interrupted.

"Um, estrange towards each other?" I replied.

"Ok. Darling, when I was your age, I had my teenage love life too, but it was all a waste. Your mother and I are just so worried about you getting into this relationship. Because, darling, teenage love is clearly just a puppy romance. Nothing is certain, and everything was a game. And it would break our hearts to see you broken when the end of your relationship comes. Because I know that it'll hurt really badly." Dad continued.

"Ok, that's it! Promise me that you'll reject him by tomorrow immediately, ok!?" Mom demanded.

"Hey, wouldn't that be too rude?" Dad interjected.

"It'll be ruder if everyone knows that our daughter has a boyfriend, Donnie. She'll be the star of the gossip and I cannot allow that!" Mom pressed.

-----Door Bell Squeaks-----

"(Sighs) OK, I get it. You and your blabbermouth colleagues are responsible for it. No wonder it spreads too fast around the campus. Wow, you're all way better than the CCTV cameras." Dad affronted her.

"Hey! Don't point that at me. Even if I wanted to keep things secret, gossip would just naturally spread like wildfire. And you cannot control that, Donnie. Hence, it is best for her to cut off their relationship at the soonest possible time. Now, am I making myself clear!"

"Sure, Mom. Expect it right exactly tomorrow." I gave my word.

"Now that's better!" Mom snapped out.

I didn't mean to give them trouble. However, the situation at hand was so complex that I had to do the thing that I know I shouldn't have. I gave my word today and surely first thing tomorrow they'll have the answer that they yearn for.

-----Door Bell Squeaks-----

"Oh, this is a serious pain in the head. Danica!?" Dad called to Danica in the dining room.

"Yes, Dad?"

"Do see who's outside the gate!" Dad commanded.

"Ok!"

And speaking of the doorbell, I believe it's been years since no one touched that screeching old carillon. I wonder, who might it be at this hour?

Danica peered out the window to see who was outside, while I concentrated on cuddling my whimpering, cute, furry chubby dog. She was my stress reliever and it gave me the best comfort. And it was not long before Danica had her greatest discovery.

"O-M-G!!!" Danica squealed.

"Hey! What happened?" Dad worriedly asked.

"EEEK!!!" Danica ignored dad as she gleefully jumped in excitement.

"Hey! What was going on in there?" Mom also inquired.

Dad scurried over to check on what Danica was rejoicing about. And when he got there...

"Wait... is that..."

"Yes! It's Mr. President Arren Bane!" Danica cheerfully announced.

Oh, BLOODY HELL NO.