Place

it was a bit too cold for a September morning.

The town was quiet, lazy, like any other small town in

the countryside. Suddenly, the silence was disturbed by

a loud rumbling of a motor engine. The early risers –

joggers, workers alike – turned their heads toward the

source of the noise. A shiny black motorcycle.

The motorcycle veered into the open gates of

Academia de La Consolacion. Without waiting for it

to slow down, a black-haired girl held her bag against

her chest and jumped off onto the pebbled path of

the garden.

"Hey! That's dangerous!" yelled her companion as

the motorcycle screeched to a stop. He pulled his helmet

off, a disapproving frown on his tanned face.

"I pulled off that stunt perfectly three times in my

last movie. It was easy-peasy," the girl smiled cheekily.

"You could have hurt yourself!"

"Did you really have to shout that loud?" she

snapped while she removed her headgear and tossed it

at him with an annoyed look. "Look here, Jared. I'm not

a child anymore."

"Yeah," he scoffed. "You're all grown up. Ever

wondered why I call you 'baby'?"

Faye gritted her teeth. She loved it. Loved how

Jared called other girls by their names, and only she got

to be called 'baby'. So this was the reason? Because he

saw her as someone to babysit?

Jared simply sighed as he parked the bike into

an empty space beside a glossy red BMW. "You know

what? I'm wondering whether you are really a human

or a monkey."

"We share the same ancestors, biologically

speaking," retorted Faye as she rolled her eyes. "Hurry

up. We still have to go to the office to get our papers."

"Like I didn't know that."

"Shut up." She yanked Jared's arm impatiently and

dragged him away.

Jared frowned, annoyed by the fact that this girl

was doing things on a whim again. Then again, he was

more annoyed with himself because he was not doing

anything to stop her. At least not successfully. She was

spoiled, but what could he do? Impulsive brat was her

middle name.

"I'm going to miss your hair," he blurted out, feeling

sentimental all of a sudden. Her once long wavy reddish

brown hair was changed into straight black layers just

below her shoulders. She had bangs and a pair of black

contact lenses too, just to complete her disguise.

"Aww, you shouldn't." She flashed an overly sweet

smile. "You can go bald, and I won't even feel a thing."

"I would limit my bitchiness, if I were you," he

smirked lopsidedly, and she felt a flutter under her

ribcage. She squashed it before it could reflect on her

face. "You wouldn't want to spoil our first day as seniors

and have our secret out of the bag, right?"

She stopped walking. "You wouldn't dare."

"Trust me. I will," he chided, silently enjoying her

tomato red face.

"Huh! Now I'm wondering why I have to put up