Chapter 11 - Science Quiz Bee

"HEY, Hero!"

Hero was awakened when Belen hit him with a pillow. "Hmmm..." he moaned lazily.

"Get up now! It's past seven o'clock. You'll be late for class," she told him.

He suddenly rose and turned around when he remembered Max next to him. But there was not even her shadow. "Where's Max?"

"She left first. In fact, she was the one who went to the market. She told me not to wake you up just yet because you were up late studying last night. But now, you'll be late. Hurry up!"

He quickly got up and went to the bathroom to take a shower. After a while, he got dressed and ate a little before leaving. He was forced to ride a tricycle to Cas-U.

Just on time. Their adviser came just a few seconds after he arrived. He sat quietly next to Max, who was sitting quietly in his old seat near the window and did not seem to notice his arrival.

"Are you okay?" he asked her.

She just nodded but still didn't look at him. He did not know if she was embarrassed at what happened last night or if she was angry with him.

Lunch break came and Max still did not talk to him. She didn't say a word. He didn't want to annoy her so he just set it aside for the meantime.

"Hero, do you know?" Darwin asked as they were eating in the cafeteria. He did not know when it started but Darwin's group had recently become friendly to him that they even ate lunch together at the same table.

He looked at him. "What?"

"Max fought yesterday with Alpha Gamma Omega," Darwin replied in a hushed voice.

"They ganged up with a single woman?" he asked softly, but deep inside he was burning with rage especially when he remembered Max's appearance the night before.

"Oh, what happened to you?" Greg commented. "Your fist is clenched. Don't tell us you're concerned about Max."

He pulled himself together. "Why, of course! She's our classmate. Besides, she once saved me from you so I kind of feel responsible for her."

"Oh, come on! You obviously like her, don't you? It's written all over your face," Darwin replied again.

"Of course not! How can I like someone like her, a woman who's more masculine me? I don't think she ever likes a guy."

"Is that so?"

He immediately stiffened when he heard Max's cold voice from behind him. He felt his hair on his nape rising.

"Ah, Hero, we'll go back first," Darwin said goodbye to him and immediately stood up in fear. His colleagues followed suit.

"All right, Max. We'll leave you first," Shawn said as he caught up with them.

Hero was left there unable to move or look at Max. He swallowed his own saliva several times.

She sat across from him and laid down her food tray. "Some guys are looking for you outside. Your friends," she told him.

"Really? All right, thank you. I'll leave you first," he replied and hurried away.

He immediately went to the entrance gate and was surprised to see Miggy and Lance waiting for him.

"Surprise!!" the two yelled in unison.

"What are you doing here?" he asked.

"We have already asked permission from our parents. We will enroll here at Cas-U next sem," Lance said happily.

"What?"

"What do you mean 'What?'? Aren't you happy? The three of us will be together again," Miggy asked.

"It's not like that ..." It's just that, he wanted to live a different life, far from his former life. But with these two around, he couldn't be sure they wouldn't get into trouble especially when they met Max.

"Hey, Hero! Promise, we won't bother you here. We'll be good boys like you," Lance promised, raising his right hand. Miggy did the same.

"You still have to take the entrance exam, though. That is not going to be easy," he said.

"That's why we came here early so you can help us review. Auntie Belen already agreed for us to work in her eatery before the start of the second sem," said Miggy again.

"Huh?"

"You heard it, right. We rented a room in a boarding house nearby. That means, we will often meet and be together," Lance seconded.

He secretly shook his head in disbelief. He wanted to regret why he befriended these idiots.

"I need to go back inside. I'll see you later. And don't just go wandering around. Gangsters are everywhere in this area," he warned them.

"Yes, we heard. All right! Take care," Miggy added.

He left them and returned to the cafeteria where he left his lunchbox in a hurry to leave Max. He was surprised to see that she was still there and had not finished eating.

"Why haven't you ...? Where is my lunch?" he asked, seeing his lunchbox being emptied.

"I ate it. I thought you would never come back. I don't want to waste Nanny Belen's cooking," she replied as if it wasn't a big deal.

He sat across from her with a scowl on his face. He was about to speak when she threatened him, "Try to make a scene here and I promise I will break your face." Her voice was soft but dangerously firm.

But he's not scared at all. "Really, huh? After what I did to you last night, you're treating me like this?" he reproached.

She raised an eyebrow. "Are you blaming me?"

"It's not like that..."

"What do you want to eat? I'll just buy you so you don't have to complain," she asked, annoyed.

He stared at her. A smile flashed on his lips when suddenly an idea came to his mind. "I want steak. I want to experience eating steak in a fancy restaurant."

"So, you're getting tired of Nanny Belen's cooking?"

"Of course not! I just want to taste expensive food. That's it."

"Fine. I'll treat you to dinner after class. Happy now?" she promised.

His eyes twinkled. "You sure?"

She rolled her eyes before standing up. "Time for class."

"OKAY, class! As I've promised yesterday, we will have a quiz today to determine the top five who will participate in the Science Quiz Bee. Don't worry, these are just easy questions," said their Science teacher, Mrs. Tuazon. "I'll distribute the test papers. Get one and pass."

"Dinner would be better if I get to the top five."

Max glanced at Hero from the corner of her eyes. She saw his desire to participate in the quiz bee. She suddenly thought of something.

"Start!" the teacher signaled.

The room went quiet for some time. She answered her test paper as correctly as she could.

"Five minutes!" shouted Mrs. Tuazon when the class period was almost over.

Max saw that Hero was having a hard time answering and he was still halfway there.

"Ballpen's up! Pass your test papers forward."

"Give me yours," Max ordered Hero.

He looked at her in confusion but still did what she asked. She checked his answers. Almost all of them were wrong.

"Your paper does not have a name on it," she said as she handed him her test paper with no name.

"Huh?" Hero's forehead wrinkled.

"Mr. Gaston? Miss Mejares? What is that?"

"Nothing, Ma'am. I just told Hero that his test paper has no name," she replied while placing her bag on the armchair to secretly cover his test paper.

"Oh, don't forget to write your names. How can we know the top five without your names?" said the teacher.

Hero hesitantly wrote his name on the test paper she gave.

"Pass it on," she ordered him.

"Alright! I will announce the winners tomorrow. That's all for today," Mrs. Tuazon said before bidding goodbye.

Her classmates sighed almost at the same time.

"At last, it's over!" said Gretchen, Lisa's seatmate.

"I'm glad, too," the latter replied. "I heard they've has got big prizes for the winners."

"Really?"

"Apart from the medals, there is also a cash prize. As I recall, it's five thousand at the year level, then ten thousand at the department level, and fifteen thousand at the campus tournament..."

"Is that true?" Hero quickly squealed at them.

The two frowned as they turned to him. "Of course! That's why, I really did my best," Lisa answered. "My BS Math friend said they went to Boracay last year with the money they won."

"Wow!" he exclaimed.

"You seem so excited. Do you think you got in?" Darwin laughed mockingly.

"I see nothing wrong with that. Why, aren't you excited?"

"I'm not interested in that. I also can't use that to handle our business in the future," he replied arrogantly.

"If you can't get into a simple quiz bee, do you think you've got what it takes in handling your business?" she interfered.

"Hey, Max! You're already crossing the line," he complained.

"Why, did I hit the bullseye?" she replied coldly while staring sharply at him.

He did not answer and just shook his head.

After some time, her cellphone suddenly vibrated. When she looked at it, Cedric's name was on the screen. She stood up and went out before answering him. "I'm in my class, what do you need?" she asked in a low voice.

"I've got a tip from someone that Liam was in Casa de Oro," he replied directly.

"What did you say?" she asked as if she misheard what he said.

But Cedric did not repeat what he said. "I just called to warn you. Keep your distance from Hero. I don't want you to get involved in their mess again."

"He won't touch him. I won't let him."

"Max, you know Liam."

"I know him that's why I will not allow him to mess up Hero's life again."

"Are you really that concerned about that man?"

"I am just taking responsibility for what YOU did to him."

"That's not fair."

"I know you can't do that so let me just do it."

He heard him sighed deeply. "You take care, okay?"

"I will. Bye!"