Zeriah's Love Formula

Chapter 5: The Perfect One

ZOEY’S POV:

“Nana, I told you, I’ll be back.” I spoke at my grandmother who’s now clinging to my arms at the door.

“Can’t I just go with you? I can look after you, Sandra.” She pleaded and I almost gave in.

“No, Nana. I’m afraid that wouldn’t be possible. Don’t worry I’ll be home at around 6 in the evening I promise. Please be good to Emily, okay?” I hugged her.

“Oh, I really want to go with you.” She replied.

Today is Saturday and I decided to leave work to attend the application for the research study of some stranger I never met which my uncle recommended. He hired a caregiver for the day so that Nana will have someone to depend on while I was gone to Sta. Isabela.

Her name is Emily. She was paid by my uncle to look after my grandmother and attend to her needs. I briefed her about Nana’s medicine, the foods that she should and should not eat, her sleeping schedule as well as her morning routine of watching television…everything she needs to know.

“Got it, sis. I’ll take good care of your grandmother.” I remembered Emily assuring me. I have no choice but to hold upon her words. Although I’m quite anxious that I’ll be leaving Nana’s needs to someone new, I know that I need to do this for the sake of our debt.

“Emily, I’ll go now…I’ll keep in touch.” I smiled towards Emily and waved before I walked away and I saw her nod from the door.

I took a deep breath.

“Here we go, Zoey. Straighten you back…” I thought to myself while walking towards the bus stop. It will be a 3 hour ride from our place and I just hope it will all be worth it.

--

“Welcome all of you! Come in…Please feel free to choose your seat.” A man greeted me and about the plenty other potential ‘subject’ of his study… as what my uncle had explained.

Wow, I didn’t know these many people are interested in $2000 reward.

“Good morning everyone! Thank you for allotting time to come here today. My name is Zeriah Sebastian and I am the one in charge in conducting the study about the scientific elements behind romantic love.” The man in front of the room announced.

He is nothing inside of my expectations. He looks…extremely young for this.

“For your information, I have a degree in Psychology, both Bachelor’s and Master’s…I am currently doing this for the sake of my PhD.” He added.

Oh, a prodigy. What a smart cookie.

The moment I walked inside the space, I noticed that the area was a clean, empty room turned into a classroom of some sort. The only difference it has from a real classroom is that this one doesn’t have a whiteboard in front.

I took the farthest seat from the table which Zeriah positioned himself to monitor us. The armchairs are separated from each other in an equal measurement of spaces, which in totality sums up to 20.

“Before we all start, I want you all to know that there will only be one lucky participant that will be chosen among all of you. Why? Because the study will be conducted in a longitudinal method…which if you search the definition of in the internet, pertains to some…repeated observations of the same variables over short or long periods of time. It is often a type of observational study, and that is the simplest definition I can give to you at the moment…” He explained while leaning his back on the table.

This man is definitely a walking encyclopaedia.

And hell, if that isn’t turning me on together with his good looks, I don’t know what is.

“Are you looking for a male or a female?” A middle-aged man with a curly hair and pointy nose who is sitting beside me suddenly raised his right hand to ask such question.

I nodded. He makes sense. I observed everyone in the room and I noticed everybody including me, is looking at Zeriah in front, anticipating his answer.

“Well, that depends. I have no particular gender in mind…whoever passes the 2 stages of this session today, wins.” He said before crossing his arms and showing a slight smile.

I squinted my eyes as I placed my knuckles on my chin before observing Zeriah further. And based on my estimation and gut feeling, I noticed that he’s about 6 foot tall, has a toned physique, a pointy nose, a sharp jawline and a black hair…black as ebony. And his light complexion makes his red lips stand out. Together with his eyeglasses, his facial features make him manly but elegant at the same time.

Zeriah is also graceful when he walks. He knows how to carry himself and use his charisma over words. He also has this deep, soothing voice which I think I heard before…

Didn’t I?

Anyway, I kept on observing Zeriah and I felt like he’s doing things in slow motion. This man is really gifted with a handsome face and basing on how he explains things, I can say that he took his studies seriously back when...I don’t know, when he was 4?

“And before we finally start the 2-part session, I want you all to know that because of your generosity of responding to my call, all of you here will exit this room having $300 in your pockets. ” He uttered proudly.

Everyone had their different reactions. I heard the majority of the people whispered and murmured under their breath. Zeriah on the other hand, inhaled deeply before clapping his hands and moving over to get a pile of paper from the drawer of the table.

And if all of his good qualities still aren’t enough to hail him the favourite child of God, today I learned that he is probably filthy rich as well. Maybe he is God himself…just disguising as a human.

He started to distribute pieces of paper across the room. This is the first part of the session. We have to answer this survey as honestly as we can. For a second, I got nervous. I thought that I won’t have anything significant to write considering my not so paper-worthy educational background and family status.

I started to lose hope. Zeriah is already approaching me and I looked at him directly in the eyes. He looked back and smiled for a bit. His scent is filling up my nostrils and I can’t help but to wonder what kind of expensive perfume he’s using. After he placed the paper on my desk, he patted my back and whispered words of encouragement towards my ears.

“Just be yourself.” He said and his voice sent chills down my spine. I felt my right ear tingle for a while and this gave me a sense of motivation until I realized that he is saying the same thing to each and every person in the room.

Great. A little reminder that you don’t need to feel too special, Zoey.

I finished the survey within just about 40 minutes and I am the first one to pass. Everyone seems to be taking the questions seriously. As I walked towards the front, I felt like I was back in highschool again. I am always the one to be the first one passing and leaving the classroom after exams. This situation is no different from the past.

People around me are crossing their eyebrows and scratching their heads, probably trying their best to write an impressive answer to catch Zeriah’s attention.

I don’t get it. Majority of the questions written in the paper isn’t too hard to answer at all. I think everybody’s competitive except me. Or maybe I’m the dumbest person in the room.

“Hello? Miss? I said, are you sure you are done answering?” His voice snapped me back to reality. I realized that I was lost in my thoughts a few seconds ago before he accepted my paper.

“Huh? Oh…yes, I think I’m done now.” I responded foolishly.

I admit, I thought that Zeriah was handsome but up close, he is way beyond the definition of handsome. No wonder I caught the girls in the room earlier chatting about him. Nevertheless, I didn’t let him see my admiration towards his looks.

“Very well, please take your time to enjoy yourself for a while…The second part of the session will begin shortly after everyone is finished.” He stated formally.

Does he always talk like this? I am sure as hell he does.

“Why are you talking so formally?” I countered, letting out a soft laugh.

“Pardon?” He asked seriously. My heart started hammering inside my chest as I caught his serious facial expression. Damn it, Zoey, I think you offended him.

“I’m sorry…I just…” I started to speak while brushing my right forearm with my left but in the end, I decided to cut my sentence off.

He fell speechless, anticipating the coherence of my words.

“Excuse me for a while…” I said as walked outside the room, cursing myself for what I did. I’m sure that my thin chance of being chosen as the perfect participant went down the drain.

--

ZERIAH’S POV:

Well, that was new. I never met someone who asked me why I am talking so formally every time. Am I?

“Pardon?” I crossed my eyebrows as I asked out of curiosity. This lady probably thinks that I am sort of a weirdo and geek.

“I’m sorry…I just…” Her eyes suddenly widened as she responded to my question. By the looks of her agitated hands and feet, I can tell that she is currently nervous while talking to me.

I think I probably had offended her because she quickly tried her best to regain her composure and tuck her hair behind her ears. I need to apologize and make sure that my question did not come off as bad as it sounds for her.

“Excuse me for a while…” She uttered before walking outside the room while uttering something inaudible under her breath.

She probably thinks bad about herself right now.

“Hey, Wai—“ I tried to stop her but it was too late. The door was already slammed closed before I even finished my sentence. Everybody in the room including me, flinched a little the moment we heard the banging sound of the door.

Soon after, the lady who exited the room, the first on to pass the survey, peeked inside and shouted while snorting agitatedly.

“I’m sorry, that was unintentional.” She said before bowing down and closing the door once again. Only this time, she was careful not to make a disturbing sound.

For some unknown reason, I do not know why I am smiling right now.

--

ZOEY’S POV:

I am so humiliating I want to kill myself. Just kidding, I don’t want to die yet. I just want the soil to swallow me whole right now. Agh! Zoey why are you so dumb when you’re nervous?

I decided to sit on a vacant chair in the hallway outside the room. I was the first one to finish the study so I have no choice but to be here alone. I considered going home since technically, I lost the chance to become the chosen one but I realized that this place is a long way from home and if I go home now, I’ll probably just beat myself up because of wasting this day completely. I should’ve just attended my shift at Gab’s.

I exhaled deeply. I am disappointed at myself for being such a careless person. As a result of this feeling,, I decided to take out my phone and text Emily to ask how my grandmother is doing…just to kill time.

“She’s been doing great, Zoey…Bu now. she’s currently sleeping.” Emily replied to the text message I sent.

“Great…Be back soon.” I answered before flipping the screen down.

Right now, I just want this another unlucky day in my life be over and get back to my room and rest. Who am I kidding? Of course I won’t be the one who’ll get the $2000 reward. There’s no easy way out of the debt.

Around a few minutes after I went out, people inside the room are starting to exit as well. The interview might be starting soon and I’m betting I’ll be the one to be called first since I’m the one who finished early.

I tried my best to be friendly to my fellow potential participants but they are all hesitant to interact with me. As expected, I’ll be an outcast. Everyone looks sharp and well-equipped except me.

“Ms. Anabello, please come in.” Zeriah said as he finally went out the room himself and call me for the interview.

--

ZERIAH’S POV:

I see.

So the lady who made a scene earlier was Zoey Anabello. She was the one recommended by the male riding in a black Sedan as I recalled.

I looked upon her answers to the survey before finally speaking face to face with her. At the moment, she is sitting adjacent at me, wearing the biggest smile and trying her best not to show a negative reaction.

Understandable.

“Are you okay?” I asked.

“Yes, I am. Thank you for asking.” She nodded before putting his left palm on top of her right one and looking straight to my eyes. She is blinking fast in between her words, another evidence that she is probably nervous at the moment.

Zoey is wearing a rainbow striped longsleeve shirt, tucked in a pair of high-waisted jeans, held together by a black, wide belt. She has a sling bad wrapped around her body and her hair is now tied in a bun.

Typical but not stylish enough for my…preference.

 “I hope you don’t mind me saying this but let me start by asking you…if ever you are chosen to be the participant, is your partner willing to let you be a part of my study?” I adjusted my eyeglasses.

“Partner? What partner?” She crossed her eyebrows and leaned forward in response.

“Partner as in boyfriend or girlfriend…Look, I am not being gender biased here, I—“ I tried explaining but she cut my sentence off.

“I don’t have such partner…I’ve been single ever since I was born.” She stated before tucking her sideburns behind her ears. I noticed that both her cheeks are blushing at the moment as well.

“Well then, can you tell me the reason why you joined my study?” I started.

“To be honest, I am here because of the money. Please don’t think of me as that shallow…it’s just, I have some personal stuff to deal with right now and if I won that prize, it will be a great help to me.” She explained. Slowly, her tensed body is starting to shift in a more comfortable sitting position. She leaned back on her chair and shrugged both her shoulders which strongly indicate that she is being honest with me right now.

I smiled. This girl is unique. Out of all the females who signed up to become a part of my study, Zoey is the only one who is interested in money and not on the idea of love.

I think I just found who I was exactly looking for.