Friend.
"Someone who is always there for us when in need. A friend could be someone we know since we were a child, sometimes it could be our colleague, and in some cases, it could also be our ex-lovers."
Just like what this chapter was all about.
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Rychie came as he promised. When he handed the yearbook, JIMHUESH opened it right away and scanned the faces of the students, hoping he could find someone familiar.
"Okay, Jim, I'm done with being patient. I'm at my limit now. So tell me, why did you ask for this yearbook?" Rychie said with his arms crossed over his chest.
Jimhuesh didn't bother to look at him. He flipped the next page and just shrugged. "Hmph."
"Don't 'hmph' me!"
Still not looking at him, Jimhuesh flipped the next page and smiled. "Tch!"
"Don't 'tch' me, too!" he growled.
This time, Jimhuesh turned his gaze to Rychie and smirked. "It's a secret."
"What?" he blurted out. "Then..."
Before Jimhuesh could react, Rychie had already snatched the yearbook from him.
"I won't let you borrow this!" he said, pouting as he was hugging the book.
"Seriously, Ry? You're being childish right now."
"I don't care! We're best friends, there should be no secrets!" he complained.
Jimhuesh leaned his back on the chair. "Okay, got it. I'll tell you."
Rychie raised his brows, waiting for Jimhuesh to continue.
"Remember the girl we were talking about last time?" Jimhuesh began, Rychie's face was now looking puzzled as he handed the yearbook back to his best friend.
Jimhuesh continued as he reached for the yearbook. "The one that I saw you rejected back then when you were in high school."
"Oh, that girl? What about her?"
"I'm interested in her," Jimhuesh answered with a smirk.
Rychie looked surprised. "Huh? No way! You mean romantically? But how? You're not making any sense."
Jimhuesh glared at him as he made a face. "What the hell are you talking about?! Not that way!"
Rychie just smiled teasingly as he raised his brows. He was not convinced so Jimhuesh explained, "I just need to confirm if that's really her. I think I met her but she looks totally different now."
"Ho ho, I think I know what you mean." Rychie chuckled. "You find her very pretty that you can't take her off of your mind, am I right?"
"What are you talking about?! Me?" Jimhuesh blurted out, gesturing his hand at himself. He cleared his throat as he mumbled, "well, maybe she's a bit pretty."
"But you, saying that I can't take her off of my mind?" Jimhuesh's voice was slightly raised and then he laughed. "You're surprisingly funny tonight, you know that, right?"
"Okay, got it. Why so defensive?" Rychie said as he held up his hands in submission.
"No, I'm not!"
"Yes, you're not," he said, smiling, making Jimhuesh more annoyed. "Too easy to tease."
"Did you say something?" Jimhuesh asked. He heard him mumble but he couldn't tell what it was. Rychie only shook his head as his answer. Jimhuesh was even more annoyed. "Tch!"
"Once you found her in that yearbook, show me her photo and I will confirm if it is her," Rychie uttered and then sighed. "I don't know what you are plotting but make sure that it's not something crazy like what you did before."
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Walter and GEORGIA had already started their work in Sta. Rosa branch. They were doing some paper works and encoding when Georgia noticed Walter in her peripheral vision that he kept on glancing at her from time to time as if he wanted to say something or what.
"About yesterday... Just curious, what was your business with the VP?" he asked, finally having the courage to speak.
Jimhuesh was Georgia's, first love. At first, she thought that she had forgotten about her feelings for him. But when they met again in college, her feelings for him developed again and grew even more. She thought that she had a chance on him since Jimhuesh was so kind to her. He would always pick her up and drop her off at her house. He would even dine with her family. Without Jimhuesh's knowing, he was giving her misleading signals. She thought he liked her, too.
Georgia ignored Walter's question and said, "none of your business."
Walter swung his swivel chair to approach Georgia and crouched a little to level their heads. Facing her side profile, Georgia could feel that he was trying to interrogate her. She was the manager and Walter was the assistant manager but he would treat her as if she was a friend. Not that she minded it-- she was grateful that he was always there for her whenever she needed a friend. He was her only friend to be exact. She once had a best friend but ended up being betrayed. Her ex-boyfriend and her ex-best friend cheated on her. Since then, she avoided being friends of the same gender. As for the opposite sex, she wasn't comfortable with them around. At first, she was also uncomfortable working with Walter, but then as time passed, she didn't mind him being around her. Walter was like a fresh air to her that could brighten up her day.
"Oh, come on! Just spill it!" Walter hissed.
Georgia ignored him again and continued to focus on the computer screen with her furrowed brows.
"Don't tell me..." he mumbled as he sniffed the air. "Wait, I smell something fishy. Did you..."
Georgia's heart began to raise a bit, she thought that maybe Walter knew or noticed something about her feelings for the VP. She grabbed her tumbler and took a gulp of water.
"Did you ask for salary in-" Walter stopped when Georgia accidentally splashed the water from her mouth to his face, but Walter still managed to say the last syllable, "-crease?"
"Oh my goodness gracious!" She panicked.
The splash of water on his face was now dripping to his suit and she was so ashamed of what she did. Georgia put the tumbler back on the table and took out the handkerchief from her chest pocket to wipe Walter's face. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to."
Georgia froze when Walter's hand cupped hers. He then stared into her eyes as he said, "It's okay, I'll wipe my face."
She had never noticed it before, but he was actually handsome when she looked closer. Walter had a long straight nose, upturned eyes, and wide lips. He also had an athletic build so he looked very manly. Georgia cleared her throat, pulled back her hand, and turned to her computer screen before Walter could see her blushing. "O-okay."
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After Walter and KENZO talked the other day about his breakup with Senthie, Kenzo asked his best friend not to be hard on Senthie and pretend that he hadn't heard anything about it. Kenzo didn't want Senthie to feel more guilty. He knew her and he was sure that her guilt was eating her up.
Kenzo decided to visit Fashion Sen's but Cecile was the only one there. She asked if he was looking for Senthie and he answered, "maybe."
Cecile chuckled. "Oh, come on! It's okay, you don't need to be shy!"
Kenzo only smiled at her reply, he could tell that she didn't know yet about their breakup.
"She's in her studio, working on the gown due tomorrow."
"She's doing it alone?" Kenzo asked, worried. "You're not helping her?"
"You know what Sen is like... She likes to do things alone," she began explaining with her hands like telling a story. "That being said, morale support is highly recommended."
Kenzo nodded and she continued, "besides, someone needs to open the store."
"You're right." He sighed. "Anyway, I'm going."
Kenzo said "bye" to Cecile and was determined to just visit Sen in her house.
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Kenzo was at Senthie's house in her studio room upstairs across from her room. Her studio, of course, had sewing machines, a cabinet, shelves, and female mannequins of different sizes lined up in the corner--only the tall one was on her side used for her reference for the customer who ordered the gown. Other tools such as needles, threads, scissors, tape measure, etc. were on the long white table in front of her, there were also furs and red fabric on it, and some were even scattered on the floor.
Kenzo was here for about an hour now but the only thing Senthie said was, "hey!" Other than that, it was only silence. Whenever he tried to talk to her, she could only respond by nodding or making a sound of 'hmm.'
Senthie was busy with her work and seemed to be that she didn't want to be bothered--her hair that was in a bun was messy and there were dark circles under her eyes. Kenzo decided to give up for now.
He stood up from his seat and said, "I'll be going now, Sen. Be sure to take a break, even if you think you don't have to."
Senthie didn't look at him and just said, "sure." Kenzo felt a clenching in his heart again. He understood why she was like that since she only had a day to finish the gown, but still, he couldn't help but be hurt by Senthie's cold treatment. She could at least glance at him and give him a quick smile, but she didn't.
When Kenzo was about to reach the doorknob, Senthie called, "Kenzo!"
He turned his gaze to her and gave her a small smile. His heart felt light a bit.
"I'm sorry that I couldn't entertain you," Senthie said as she straightened her back and sighed. "Once everything is done, I'll make it up to you. I promise."
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Hello, Noomiells!
Thank you for reading this chapter! Hope you liked it :)
What do you think Jimhuesh is plotting? Do you think he's romantically interested in Senthie?
Do you think it's okay to treat someone with a higher position as a friend even at work?
How about an ex-lover as a friend? Do you think that is possible?
I would like to know your opinion. Please, let me know! :D