The Gay That Broke My Heart

Chapter 5

The evening came and Czarina was so busy arranging her things inside her bedroom. She still has a lot of things that need to be put away in her cabinet. Czarina realized that she was still lucky. She has her Lola Rosing, who's taking care of her despite her old age. And even though she still hated the thought of being stuck in Rosario, it's not that hard to get over it and move on with her life and new surroundings. Besides, there's this cute guy whom her eyes have already set on.

Czarina just couldn't stop thinking about him. He's so handsome for a man. Frankly, he's not her kind of guy to date. She had dated a lot of guys before who looked better than him and were the same age as her, but all of them were boring and were only interested in her body. And that was the primary reason why she ended up dumping them. But Carlos is different--at least that's what she observed. He's so well-mannered, genuine, and has a good sense of humor. When she was with him earlier, she never felt even an ounce of boredom. He's just so fun to be with. Plus, he has a good body build and is very tall, too. The way he looked at her seemed to be full of respect, unlike those guys he met before who looked like hyenas, ready to devour their prey.

Czarina couldn't help but shrug her shoulders repetitively. One thing is for certain, she's now looking forward to the first day of school.

After finally done with her things, she jumped on her bed and smiled. She's starting to like this place. Maybe it's because of Carlos. Maybe it's because of his smile. She wanted to look for him on the social media platform, but to her dismay, there was no signal in their house.

Damn! She almost forgot about it.

She wanted to sleep and dream about him tonight, but the thought of him was still lingering in her mind.

Oh, boy. She needs to ease out her thoughts. It's too early to like someone like Carlos Duke.

THE FIRST day of class in ASC has finally started. Czarina was so nervous. It’s going to be a new environment for her and she doesn’t know what her life will be like in her new school. Her grandmother insisted on accompanying her on her first day of school but she declined. It’s a good thing that she was able to convince her grandmother. So, here she is in front of the school looking at her schedule. She has an hour to familiarize herself with the buildings inside the school premises.

She searched for her subject rooms and located them easily. And that’s all thanks to Carlos, who toured her around during the enrollment. She was so busy looking around, then suddenly, a familiar baritone voice called her name.

"Hey, Czarina!"

Czarina turned to him and saw Carlos waving his hand with a bright face smiling at her. She waved back and walked towards him. "Hey, how are you?" she asked, smiling.

"Good. You?"

"I haven't slept for too long. I was so excited about school," she laughed at her words. Well, it was the truth. She almost didn't sleep last night. She was worried she might not wake up early and her Lola Rosing might scold her. But, luckily, her alarm rang. She excitedly prepped her things and herself for the first day of school. She shouldn't miss it. She'll be meeting Carlos again. The exciting part is, they're classmates in all of her subjects. She really wanted to jump in glee after finding out about it.

"Me, too..." Carlos said.

OMG! He hasn't slept well, either! Was he thinking of me last night like I did? Czarina got excited at the thought.

After some chit-chat, Carlos and Czarina began to attend their first subject. All this time, Czarina was too busy looking at Carlos. He was seated in a different row since he had already established his friends. She was a bit disappointed that he'd been busy talking to them and had totally forgotten about her.

The formal lessons haven’t started. Normally, the first day of school will be about introductions, but since she enrolled herself during the second semester, the students already know each other. There were no more introductions and the students were just merely having chit-chats.

Czarina never felt so out of place until today. She didn't realize that she would experience such a feeling until she was transferred to this school. In her former school, she was so popular. Everyone wanted to talk to her and befriend her. Even the professors knew her. She was a darling. But, right now, she felt unimportant and left alone. She felt bad about those times she was the one to ignore other geeks inside their class before. Now, she could tell how they feel every time they're ignored by famous students like she was before. Was.

After a couple of minutes, the bell rang, and Czarina tiringly put her bag on her shoulder. So much for thinking that this day will be an exciting one. Czarina was about to stand up when a shadow covered her. She looked up and saw that it was Carlos. Her jaw dropped in surprise. She thought he had already left.

His face was a bit worried and he smiled afterward. "You okay? Let's go to our next subject..." he offered.

Czarina stood up and nodded. "Thank you..."

They were a bit silent while they were on their way to the next building where the next subject was going to happen.

"By the way, how's the first day? Wasn't it bad?" Carlos asked.

"Well... kind of. I'm a bit out of place," she confessed. "I'm really not used to being estranged from other people, but I'll get used to it..." She looked at him and gave him a forced smile.

Carlos laughed. "Sorry about earlier. I didn't have the chance to talk to you because I was talking to my classmates last semester. They've been my friends since high school, so I’m a bit close to them. Actually, we're talking about you. They actually wanted to talk to you but they were kind of shy to approach you because they thought you're an actress, most especially when you’re from Manila," he said while laughing.

Czarina laughed, too. "They really said that?"

"Yeah. I told them that I would introduce you during lunch. By the way, do you have any plans?"

She shook her head. "Nope, none at all. I will just join you, then."

"Perfect. Come with me. I'll introduce you to them..." Czarina’s eyes widened as Carlos absentmindedly held her hand and dragged her away from that place. Little did he know that he also took Czarina's heart by surprise. Czarina suppresses her smile by biting her lips as the butterflies start creeping into her stomach. Well, who wouldn’t like Carlos? He's so cool, talkative, friendly, and smart. And... well... gorgeous.

Anyone can be smitten by his charm. And she’s one of them…

Czarina was so ecstatic when she met Carlos’ circle of friends. They were all fun to be with. There’s Eve, who always has this big round eyeglass. Anyone who would see her would think she's a nerd, but the truth is she's actually a party girl. The one who always initiates to drink booze.

Then, there's Leah, who looks like an ordinary girl with her simple white shirt and tattered jeans. But the truth is, Leah was their valedictorian in high school. There are Amenadiel and Angelo, who, like Carlos, are on the basketball team. All of them are also included in the dean’s list.

“We really thought you were a snob, Czari,” Leah commented.

The others nodded in unison except Carlos.

“Really? Why would you all say that?” Czarina curiously asked. That kind of comment is not new to her, but she’s curious why she is seen as one.

“Well, Girl. You’re really pretty. You have this madam-look, you know what I mean?” Leah stated. She leaned on the table and looked at Czarina intently. She even heaved a sigh, which Czarina was curious why.

It’s like Amenadiel can read what’s in Czarina’s mind, he immediately answered on behalf of Leah, “Don’t mind her sighing, Czarina. She didn’t mean it in a weird or bad way. It’s just that you are really pretty and maybe if you are only here in the first semester, our department might have won.” Amenadiel looked at Leah and smirked. “You see, Leah is still bitter that the representative of our department didn’t even win any sash.”

“Excuse me?!” Leah complained. “It’s not that I’m bitter, I just couldn’t believe that she was the one chosen when there are others that are way better than her. And we could have won, you know.”

“Hey, hey, let’s move on with that. That’s already done. Besides, if there's another beauty contest, we already have a contestant. Right, Czari?” Carlos turned to her and smiled, showing his two deep dimples.

Czarina stared at the sweet smile of Carlos. She was just stunned at the sight. It's like she was drawn by it. There’s something about his smile that hypnotizes her. If only she could stare at him all day, but then Amenadiel’s cough distracted her.

Czarina blinked a couple of times as if she had just woke up in a deep sleep, and ignored the knowing look on others' faces.

"Ummm, I don't know if I'm able to pull that through, but I'm up for the challenge," she says while biting her lips in embarrassment.

My god, Czarina! You have to get yourself together! she reprimanded herself.

"You're so cute, Czarina," Eve chuckled. "It's my birthday on Friday. Can you please come? Pretty please?"

"Ummm… I want to--"

"But I heard a but there," Leah cut her off.

"Well, my grandmother is really strict--"

"Don't worry. We will talk to your grandmother. How about we go home together?" Carlos offered. "You're in Rosario, right?"

Czarina nodded as a response.

"Well, me too, and Angelo and Eve. We can drop you off and then we will ask permission from your grandmother on your behalf."

"You're living in Rosario too?" Eve exclaimed. She clasped her hands in excitement and smiled at Czarina widely. "Yeah, let's do that. Ohh, it's gonna be so fun!"

Czarina can't help but get excited too. This will be the first time she'll be able to experience partying-- well, province style.

She looked in Angelo's direction and her forehead creased when she caught him, staring at her intently. It's as if she did something that he didn't appreciate...