SCARLETTE'S POINT OF VIEW
I immediately found where it came from, behind the bookshelf which was placed in front of me.
A male student was picking the fallen hardbound book. I could not see his face because I was at his back. I cleared my throat to catch his attention. He stood up but did not face me.
"Be careful next time, Mister," I told him. And finally, he faced me. He walked in my direction while holding the large book. I could not help but raise my right eyebrow when I saw him smirk. His ash gray eyes stared at mine.
"Got it, Miss," he whispered as he passed beside me.
Those eyes looked familiar . . . even his voice. I just shook my head before continuing my work. It was impossible. My imagination seemed to trick me.
"See you tomorrow, Ma'am!" I was about to leave when the librarian called my name. "What is it, Ma'am?" I asked, a bit surprised when I saw her smile.
"A student asked me to give this to you," she said as she gave me a regular size cheeseburger. My forehead wrinkled in curiosity. "Who?"
"The student that borrowed a hardbound book here earlier. If I have not mistaken, his name is Asher Lucero."
'Asher Lucero . . . Asher Lucero . . . Asher Lucero . . . So, he is Asher Lucero . . .' I gently slapped my face to what I realized. 'Am I interested in him? Nah. Nah!'
I was still holding the burger that the librarian handed me. It looked delicious but I could not bring myself to eat it. Creepy questions flashed in my mind when I tried to take a bite so I would not dare anymore.
"Only fifty-step stairs but it took you an hour before you got down." I stopped walking when someone talked. I frowned automatically when I knew that it was Mister Asher Lucero, the guy earlier. He was walking in my direction that was why I waited for him.
"What?" I asked. "Did the four-eyed bookworm give you the burger?" he asked, emotionless. I gave him a confused look. Who was four-eyed bookwormーwait, what?! Did he just call the librarian 'four-eyed bookworm'?! I immediately glared at him. "How could you call—"
"It's not an insult, okay? She allowed me to call her using that."
"Seriously?" I questioned with disbelief. He nodded and smiled. "Yes. Did she give you the burger?" I raised my right hand that held the burger. "Here it is." His lips formed a thin line.
"You do not like it?"
"I like how it looks but I do not want to take risks." He laughed at my response. "It is not poisonous!" I scrunched my nose in disapproval. "Hey. I assure you that it is edible."
"I do not want to die yet." His eyes narrowed into slits as if I said something unreal. "Everyone does, Scarlette." My eyes widened upon hearing my name. "How did you—"
"Simple. I asked the librarian." He winked at me before turning his back and walking away. "Eat that! I assure you. You will not die!"
"Hey! I know your name, too!" I shouted, "Asher Lucero!"
"Better then!"
I looked at the burger again. "You are edible, right?" I took a glance at the security cameras in the area. "It is better if I will eat you here." Before I could bite it, somebody held my right arm and pulled me into a run.
"H-hey!" Now, the cheeseburger fell on the floor because of that. "That is wasting!" I screamed but still, Asher continuously ran. I tried to stop but he spoke which made me run faster. "We need to hurry! It is already 6:00 PM!"
"W-what?!" 6:00 PM?! Oh yeah, maybe, you are confused. By 6:00 PM, the school gate automatically closes. I should be at home by this time but due to walking downstairs for an hour and talking to a guy about the mysterious burger, I was still at school.
"Where are we going?! We are taking the opposite way!" I told him but he did not stop. "My car is in the parking lot. I need to get it!" We ran towards his black car and entered quickly. Of course, he was the driver. "Hold on!"
"Twenty-one seconds left," I whispered between my breaths. "We will make it. Just hold tightly!"
"What the—" All of sudden, he drove so fast. I could feel my heartbeat so loud and my breathing suddenly stopped. I just closed my eyes as we passed through the narrowed space of the gate.
"Hey! Wake up!" I felt someone lightly tap my left shoulder. "What . . . " I blinked a few times when I realized where I was. "Where the hell am I?!" I exclaimed.
Asher frowned as he said, "For your information, Miss Scarlette Sevilla, my car is not hell but air-conditioned. By the way, you passed out." My eyes widened in shock. "Me? Passed out? Seriously?" He nodded. "Yeah. Maybe, because of nervousness," and he laughed. There was nothing funny about it.
His ash gray eyes looked so beautiful. 'Does he wear contact lenses?' I thought. "Hey." He stopped and faced me. "Are those contact lenses?" I asked out of curiosity.
"Nah."
"Oh." Suddenly, what happened that night flashed in my mind. Could it be possible that he was that man?
"Yeah, I was the masked guy that you had met outside the bar and also the one who helped you to escape from that—ah! What did you call him? Ah . . . 'jerk'! Yeah, 'jerk'." he proudly told me. So, I was right. He was that masked man.
"Did you read my mind?" I asked, amused. "I did not. It was written all over your face."
"Am I that obvious?"
"Yeah."
When I looked outside the window, I gasped when my house came into view. I glared at him immediately. "How did you know where I live?"