My Prince, My mate

2. Stranger Danger

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?"

Carmelita froze and gulped at the question. Her hands trembled as she looked for the person who spoke. She didn’t think it through. The faculty had tons of teachers at any given point. It was silly of her to just barge in like that.

She found a man staring back at her. He was alone in that room. From the looks of it, he could be a foot taller than her. But then she couldn’t be sure since he was sitting at one of the teacher’s desks.

There were fresh scratches on the stranger's forehead and cheekbones. Otherwise, he had a godly face. He had curly brown hair like Professor Emilio. Come to think of it, the two actually looked alike, with this man just looking a lot younger. Clean-shaven, fewer freckles, and more muscles.

She gave him another head-to-toe look before she spoke. "I came here for Professor Emilio. It seemed like he was here just a while ago." She tried to maintain a straight face as she spoke, but deep inside, she wanted to laugh.

This was the same guy that bumped into her earlier. She was glad he was bruised by her antics. He deserved it.

"I told you women are not welcome here. Go somewhere else." The man was stern with his stance. Judging from his dark three-piece suit, bow tie, and demeanor, Carmelita could tell that he was a fellow student. Teachers spoke with authority and respect for everyone. Also, they had the habit of growing mustaches.

There was something different about him. Sure, he was a student, but the way he acted inside the faculty room said otherwise. It was as if he owned the school.

She gulped at the thought. If he really was an important person, she would be in big trouble. However, she pushed that idea aside. This was not the time to think about this person. She was looking for Professor Emilio.

"I don’t see any signs prohibiting women here. I just came to give this to Professor Emilio." She acted dumb for a bit. She knew the room was off limits, and it was for teachers only, unlike the rest of the building, which was open to everyone.

There was a difference in that part of the building. There was less noise from chattering women and more coldness as no students stayed in the corridors or stairs. Even the structure and design of its interior screamed authority. Dark ceilings, together with boxed moldings on the sides. There were very few bench chairs around. Even the bulletin boards had only a few posts. A far cry from the overly decorated bulletin boards on the other side of the building.

"Have you finished observing the place? Can you please go?" The stranger seemed tense as footsteps approached where they were. It was apparent in how his fingers gripped the leather straps of his bag. "Look, you will get me into trouble if any of the professors see us here," he stuttered as he spoke.

"Then you should go. Don’t mind me here. I can manage for myself." She spoke in a sweet, melodic voice and gave him an ear-to-ear smile.

He groaned in frustration. "I cannot let you stay here alone. If you want, I can relay the message to Professor Emilio for you." There was a sly smile on his face as he offered help.

She quickly walked toward him. "Thank you. Will you be kind enough to give him this snack? Also, can you tell him Ms. Jiménez made it for him?" she whispered to him as she clipped the loose strands of hair in her ears. A little flirting might help convince him to do her bidding.

"And who is Ms. Jiménez ?" His eyes focused on her as he took the snack.

She was suddenly lost in his icy eyes as unimaginable sadness engulfed her. She had this urge to hug him. There was a certain pull that kept her close to him.

He flicked his tongue, bringing her back to reality. "Who’s Ms. Jiménez ?" he asked again.

She wanted to answer, but nothing came out when she opened her mouth. She tried again, but it was still the same.

Since she was running late to her next class, she pointed to herself and bolted out of the room. The building she was in was a few meters away from the other class, and as always, she walked quicker than usual to be on time for class.

"Ugh! If Professor Emilio was there, it would have been the best day of my life. However, that bastard ruined everything."

She stomped her feet as she went inside the other building. It was much older than the one she came from. The walls were made of dark red bricks, while the ceilings were very high, with arches every few meters. The place felt out of place compared to the entire school with its Roman statues of gods and goddesses. Themis, the goddess of law, was at the far end of the hall. A design fit for its name, the Law Building.

She took a deep breath and carried on. Her class was on the second floor this time. Students were already inside, based on the empty staircase and hallway.

She stood outside the classroom door and peeked inside. There, she saw the list of books they would use that semester written across the board. She jotted as much as she could into her notebook before the door closed. When she saw someone almost at the landing of the stairs, she made herself invisible.

Her abilities came at a price. Every time she used it, she lost energy. That was why she could only do it for a few minutes. Enough time to dodge the professors coming in, but not long enough to last the entire class. She was still new to the whole diwata training, and even after six years of learning to hone her skills, she could only manage being invisible for half an hour with a full stomach.

Diwatas were celestial beings that guarded nature. They could control nature as one of their abilities. Usually, they live on and protect a certain piece of land.

As the bells rang, she knew she was safe. She let down her invisibility so she could focus on listening to the lecture. From time to time, she would peep into the keyhole to look for notes on the blackboard.

"... the moment we find ourselves in groups of like-minded people is the moment we form affiliations." She heard the professor dictate from the book. The class seemed engrossed with the topic as a few of them raised their hands.

"Yes, Francisco?" The professor acknowledged a student in the far corner of the room.

"Why are we studying groups of men? Shouldn’t we discuss laws and politics?"

The room fell silent once again. It seemed Francisco struck a chord with the professor.

"May I enlighten you, gentlemen? This is a fundamental characteristic of humans. People group themselves because they believe in the same things. And yes, we will study about laws later on, but for now, we will understand the need to study politics." The professor was speaking louder than he used to.

"Yes, Adriano?" His face was turning red already. His self-control had gone out the window.

"If people tend to join others with the same beliefs, then why do we have different views as a country?" He was trembling from his feet. His hand leaned into his desk for support.

Meanwhile, Carmelita's back was aching from peeping into the keyhole. Unable to sit down on the floor as the class became intense.

"Good question. This is where politics comes in. Different views, yet the same goal. Confusing, right?" The professor asked them the question once again, but no one answered. All of a sudden, the desks became very interesting for the students.

"Ahem," Carmelita heard a voice a few feet away from her. She tried to look for it, and to her astonishment, she stumbled back.

"You, again? How many times do I need to bump into you?" he whispered-yelled at her, crossing his arms in annoyance.

"I-I was just looking for s-someone," she stuttered. Although she tried to straighten her body as she answered him softly, her heart was beating hard from the tension between them. She had the urge to pull him closer and stare at his icy blue eyes again. However, her mind told her to run immediately. She was starting to get confused about how she felt whenever he was around.

"Get out of this building or else I will report you to my professor." He stood beside her with his hand on the doorknob. He was towering over her.

"Report to me what?" The professor found them before he could open the door. "Señora, why are you there, standing at the door of my classroom?" The professor had stepped out of the classroom without the two of them noticing.

She opened her mouth and said, "I-I was..." She stuttered as she explained her side. She was trembling deep inside, and she wanted to run off. This wasn’t part of her plan. All she wanted was to learn, not sneak into a class like a thief who sneaks into houses at night.

"I think she is a stalker." The peculiar man interrupted her. And automatically, Carmelita realized that the young man was absolutely in love with himself to assume such things. Accusing her in front of a professor was another level of narcissism.

"Is this true? Are you one of his admirers?" The professor spoke in a soft but stern voice.

"No! I am not interested in him," she protested. "I am here to listen to your lecture. I wanted to learn more about politics and the law." Finally, she had the courage to speak. "Can I attend your class?"