Chapter 7 – Confusion

An unknown emotion keeps on emerging within Nice that made him irritated to the point that he decided to leave them and get some fresh air, hoping that the abnormality he felt within him will soon disappear. While Nice was trying to have a calm himself a white Maserati Levante entered the garage.

Mr. Okamoto then came out from the car once his driver opened the door for him and to his surprised, Nice approached him to greet him politely. The excitement and surprise can be seen in his brown orbs when he saw Nice in their manor, and that smile from his eyes and lips grew bigger as he hears unfamiliar voices coming from the living room.

"Sir, Miss Kasey's friends from her class." the old man's driver whispered to him which Nice confirmed and with that it made him smile more, making the lines in his face shows clearly as he felt relieved and happy to see and hear his beloved granddaughter finally interacting with others.

Nice accompany Mr. Okamoto as they entered the living room to greet his granddaughter's friends. And while Mr. Okamoto was happily talking with their friends Nice's mood immediately flip like a coin as he saw Kasey smiling and having fun with Vincent while the latter was holding her hand -helping her to remove the superglue on her hand. It was like something was burning inside his body as he slowly became irritated by the sight he was seeing.

"Hey bro, didn't you know that Vincent might melt at this rate because of your stare?" James teases him as it approached him.

"They look good together, aren't they?" Kris added to the fire that's slowly burning up inside Nice.

"tch, I don't care!" he hissed as he walks past through the two. "Can't we just finish this now? I want to go home soon." he then mumbled to himself.

"Oho~ someone's jealous!" James and Kris teased him more in a sing-song tone.

"Ha?… Jealous? Who?… Me? No way!" he objects.

"Kids, before you go home, let's have dinner first. Our driver will send you home so don't worry." Kasey's grandfather invited them.

"They'll have their dinner here Lolo, I already asked Ate Len to cook for us," Kasey said as she came towards us with Vincent behind her.

And since it was already been decided they've got no choice but to accept the offer and after that, they already bid goodbye to return to their own homes.

-

The next day, the day before the School Fest, they're almost ready to serve, they finished preparing their booth on time -thanks to Kasey's plan and instructions- what's left on their plate was the menu that they are going to serve and they are already prepared to serve. And since they were able to finish their booth earlier than expected they got enough time to relax and go back to their final practices for tomorrow's match.

"Guys!" their class representative shouted that alarmed all of them. "I forgot to tell you all, we need a candidate for Mister and Miss School Fest" he confessed in a state of panic.

"WHAT!" almost all of them exclaimed.

"I'm sorry." he apologized sincerely. "I forgot to tell you because we're all occupied in preparing for the match and the booth for tomorrow, I'm sorry."

"What are we going to do now?" Claude said worriedly.

"I've got an idea!" Cherry exclaimed as she approached Kasey -who was busy setting the tables. "Why don't you Kasey and Nice represent our class?" she suggested as she pulled Nice and Kasey together towards the center.

"Huh?!" "Are you kidding!" both of them said in shock while everyone was nodding as they agree on Cherry's idea.

* * *

"We're done!" Cherry announced as she stepped out from the dressing room for female candidates while Kasey was hiding behind her, wearing their school's tennis uniform which their class adviser borrowed from the spare uniforms their school has.

As soon as Nice laid his eyes on Kasey his heart suddenly beats at a faster pace than normal. He never not even once thought that she will turn out to be a beautiful young lady in just a minute, it was like she turns into a different person.

"Nice my dear friend, I'm afraid that Kasey might melt at this moment if you keep on staring at her," Cherry whispered to him with a smug look on her face. "But, isn't she extra beautiful today?"

"Huh? I don't think so!" he strongly denied. "But, why didn't you inform us that there will be a talent portion!" he beamed to their class coordinator.

"Sorry!" he apologized, almost crying.

"Tsk. You will be fine, don't worry!" Cherry cheered him up, smirking, as she pats his shoulder. "Right, Kasey?" she asked as she turns to her with a bright smile.

"Huh? Uh, yeah" Kasey answered, confused and nervous at the same time. Her hands are sweating, she could feel her cold sweat dropping on her back, her heart was beating fast too making it hard for her to breathe properly. It was like her stomach is tightening too.

"Kasey, you used to be a model, so what's the difference now?" she thought as she tried to shake off her nervousness. "Standing and walking in front of a crowd was easy for you. You've got experience, professionally!"

"This is hopeless, This whole thing is nonsense. How did I even got involved in this bullshit?" Nice mumbled as he walked past by his friends on his way towards the backstage where the other representative like him is, getting ready for their turn to walk on the stage.

"Bro, can you please stop complaining for a second? Why don't you just appreciate the beautiful lady standing next to you?" Hanz said. "With Kasey's beauty for sure our class will win this competition." he proudly added.

And with that, a small thread inside Nice snapped in just a split second, making him grumpier than he already is.

"You're insane. Kasey let's go!" he shouted as he grabs her wrist. "I'm telling you this beforehand, don't you dare make a mistake later if you don't want our class to lose this competition!"

"Of course, I will do my best!" she said with a bright smile.

"The move and take a close look to her, the more I can saw her beauty, her beautiful smile, her eyes, her soft skin, and her sweet voice. Huh?, what's this, why I am being like this!, what's this kind of feeling, and why am I nervous just being with her? I don't get it at all, is there something wrong with me?!"

On the contrary, while Nice was having a little argument and monologue by himself, Kasey was also in a daze. Her mind was in a mess.

"What is this? Why my heart beats so fast when Nice grabbed my hand. And why does Nice seems sparkling when I look at him earlier, his dazzling smile, his soft hands, his beautiful eyes, those eyelashes. Ghad!, what am I thinking!"

* * *

"Hey, Kasey! Are you with us?" James said as he waved his hands in front of her.

"Huh? oh, James?... why?" Kasey replied absentmindedly as her thoughts flew away again to somewhere else.

"Tsk. We are talking and discussing here for a while now, and there you are, staring off into space." James commented lazily. "You're not even listening at all."

"I'm sorry." she apologizes. "What are you discussing?" she asked awkwardly as she realized that from cleaning and removing the decorations on their booth they are now having taking their break to have some snacks before resuming.

"That was just nothing," Cherry answered with an awkward smile. "Here, you should eat too!" she added as she pushed towards Kasey a bowl of fresh fruits.

"Let's celebrate the success of our booth since we won the competition and we even got a lot of profit," Hanz said smiling from ear to ear. "Our booth was a blockbuster. Thanks to you."

"And then you and Nice won the Mr. and Ms. School fest."

Kasey just nods as a reply as she remembered what happened the other day, where she and Nice were crowned as the Mr. and Ms. School Fest.

After having their snack they continued cleaning and then, after an hour, they decided to go home since they were already done with the cleaning.

And as usual, while they were on their way Hanz and Kris were bickering over nothing as if they are a five-year-old kid arguing about their toys. Kasey was just watching them just like the others when her phone suddenly starts vibrating -since she put it on a silent mode.

"What!" Kasey exclaimed after she heard what the person on the other line said. "Where are you?" she asked worriedly. "Front gate?... Okay, I'm already here at the front gate, where are you?" she asked the person over the phone.

"Who are you talking to? You're kind of panicking?" Vincent asked while Kasey was busy searching for the person she talked to over the phone.

"Huh?… That was my b-"

"Hey!, Kasey, I'm here!" Kei shouted as he removed his cap and waved at Kasey with a big smile on his face...

"Onii-san!" Kasey cheerfully and full of excitement exclaimed as she jogs towards him to embrace him tightly.

(Onii-san means older brother)

"Woah!" Cherry, Denise, and the boys exclaimed in chorus as their jaw almost dropped on the ground when they saw what happened.

While on the other side, Nice was already clenching his fist unconsciously.

"Guys, this is Kei my b--"

"Let's go!"Kei cut her off as he wrapped his arm over her shoulder that made her friend's eyes widen more. "Minasan!" he shouted as he turns to face them while still holding Kasey. "Don't worry about Kasey, I'll send her home," he added. "It's nice meeting you all." he continued, as he opens the back seat's door of the car and shoves Kasey inside without even giving her a chance to speak and explain who he is to her friends.

(Minasan - casual way of saying, everyone. Mostly used in daily conversation.)

-

"Who is that guy?" Nice asked himself as he and his friends watched the car where Kasey vanishes before their eyes. "Tch! Why am I bothering myself over it?" he asked again. "It's not my business anyway."

"Damn!" he muttered to himself as his unknown anger kept on rising as the image of Kasey with the unknown man to them kept on flashing back into Nice's mind.

"Guys, what do you think? Who is that man?" James asked them curiously.

"Maybe he is Kasey's boyfriend?" Kris replied which the rest of them agreed, except Nice.

"Boyfriend? Her?… Impossible! She has this allergic reaction whenever a guy comes close to her." Nice silently replied to their questions regarding the man they met.

"It could be possible, base on what we saw earlier," Vincent said. "They seem to be close, besides, Kasey seems to be much more relaxed with that man."

"But Kasey never mentioned to us that she has a boyfriend." Denise contradict.

"She's right." Cherry agreed. "He might be her close friend or relative," she added.

The longer they kept on guessing who that person is, the more Nice feel irritated. It was like his patience was slowly running out that pisses him more.

"I'll go ahead," he informed them as James's family car arrived.

'What's the big deal about Kasey and that guy anyway.'

"Oh!, what's this, Nice don't tell us you like Kasey?" Cherry asked him with a teasing tone which made their friends' ears and eyes grew bigger.

"Me? Had a crush on that girl, Me?, Nice Tolentino, impossible!" he disagreed.

"What's with that reaction, you're way too defensive," Cherry commented in between her little laugh. "I'm just teasing you." with that his friends also began chuckling as they observe him.

"Tch!, whatever!" he hissed at them before he began driving.

'I'm not in the mood to tag along in their childish act.'