After our mini grocery haul, we all went straight home. It was mainly because of Shei, who lives outside the city, that it would take her around an hour and a half to reach home. It didn't take me a long time to get home since our house is just twenty minutes away from the shopping mall.

"Mano po," I said as I reached the hand of my mother, who was sitting on the sofa, and tapped the back of her hand on my forehead.

"You got what I asked?" she asked, to which I answered by showing the three full bags that I'm holding. She nodded her head. I went straight to the kitchen to leave everything on top of the dining table. I washed my hands after.

As I was wiping my hands, I walked back to the living area. "Is kuya here?" I asked my mother.

She removed her eyes from the television and asked me back, "Who?" referring to the brother I was talking about. 

"Kuya Travis," I know our eldest brother wouldn't be around until Friday. "I think I saw him in the grocery store, but I'm not sure."

"He hasn't returned home yet. You should have asked him to give you a ride if you saw him. You were carrying those," she said, pointing in the direction where I left the bags.

"I wasn't really sure if it was him," I emphasize. "Also, it looks like he's with someone." 

"Someone?"

"Yeah, a gi—" I was cut off mid-sentence when the devil appeared himself. Speak of the devil; the devil will appear, they say.

"You're here?" He asked as he reached our mother's hand to ask for a blessing. Same thing as I did when I arrived.

He walked past me and I ended up following him since I was about to go to my room anyway. Our mother didn't say anything anymore since she's busy watching her favorite drama.

"Kuya," I called out as we were walking upstairs. "What?" he asked without even looking at me. 

"Were you in the mall earlier? I think I saw you in the grocery store with a girl—oh!" I immediately held onto the railing when he suddenly stopped walking up. "Don't just suddenly stop!" I nearly lose my balance. It could get ugly if I wasn't fast enough to hold the railing.

I leaned back, and he suddenly faced me. I couldn't clearly see his face because of the light behind him. He's standing against the light. "What?" I asked. What's wrong with him?

"Mind your own business," I frowned at him, but before I could even talk back, he stormed away. Stomping his feet on the remaining steps of the stairs.

 I let out a deep sigh, "Him and his little tantrums. I'm just asking, why so angry?" I hiss as I copy what he did. I stomp my feet on the remaining fleet of stairs. I even glared at the closed door of his room before I entered my room. We'll never get along! 

The rest of the week passed, and me and my brother didn't talk. Not that I was angry at him or anything. It's a normal situation between us. To begin with, we're not really close to one another. Plus, he really likes to tease and pester me. We're both close to our eldest brother, but not to one another. 

"Lhia, aren't you going to the clothing store today? Are you going to return late?" My mother asked as I double-checked everything in my bag before leaving for school.

"I don't know. But I'll make sure to be back by 6 pm." I don't have a curfew. They never impose one on me since they know I don't really like staying out late. In our group of friends, none like to stay past 6 pm. That's the maximum time we hang out. 

"Let's go," kuya Travis said as he passed by me. I guess he'll drop me off today. I just bid goodbye to our parents before setting out. 

My brother immediately put his spare helmet on my head and signaled me to open the gate. As a free-back rider, I am obliged to do so. After he moved out of his motorcycle, I just closed the gate and hopped on the back seat. Kuya just made sure I was sitting properly before he started the engine.

We reached the school in silence. It wasn't awkward or anything. It was quite peaceful, to be honest. I hopped out of the back seat and removed my helmet. I gave it to my brother, and he lightly pushed it back to me. 

I looked at him in confusion. What will I do with this?

"I'll pick you up later." 

"We're going somewhere after school." 

"That's why I'm picking you up. Message me later once you're about to go home and where you are." 

Before I could even say anything, he had already driven away. Seriously? Can't he take it back for now and put it in his top box? I have three subjects today in different classrooms, and I have to carry this with me?! 

I looked at the helmet in my hand; it's not like I can throw it away. I just rolled my eyes out of frustration. I don't know if I should be happy that I have a free ride back home or what. 

I marched my way to our classroom on the ground floor of our building. I haven't seen any of my friends yet. I decided to put the helmet in the corner of the room. No one sits there, so it should be okay.  Then, I settled myself in our usual spot. 

There are still thirty minutes before the class. While waiting for my friends and professor, I can't help but look outside, in the corridor. It's still early, so not many students are here yet, I guess. 

While watching the people walk outside mindlessly, two people caught my attention. They weren't wearing student uniforms, or should I say organization (org) shirts, considering today is Friday. Every Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday, everyone should wear their designated college uniform. Wednesday is wash day, so we can wear anything as long as we're not violating the dress code. And for Friday, we wear the respected organization shirt of each college (major). They were actually wearing long-sleeved shirts folded up to their elbows. 

Are they professors? But they look young? Also, aren't they hotwearing those? 

They were walking a bit fast, so I wasn't able to take a good look at their faces, not like I could see it clearly with these jalousie windows begging to be cleaned, blocking the view. 

After a few more minutes of walking, the people passed by, and my friends started to arrive one by one. Starting with Anne, followed by Jade, and Shei—well, she's always late, so I assume I'll see her ten minutes after the class starts. 

Our classes went by in a blink. Before I knew it, we were already walking towards the clothing store we were talking about. We're going to buy the dress for the bar.  

Shei said that since the bar we're going to is kind of a high-end one, they are quite strict with the attire. So, just to be safe, we're going to buy some decent and budget-friendly dresses. 

Since me and my friends have different fashion senses, we part ways when checking the clothes on display and on the rack. While walking around, I saw a short black puff-sleeve party dress. I grab it and put it in front of me to see the length. It was knee-level. I checked the price, and it's okay for me to decide to try it on. 

I looked around to check on my friends, but they were a bit far from me, and I didn't want to speak loudly just to tell them I was trying something. I decided to go to the changing room and try it on. It was easy to wear, and the material used was really nice too. 

I face sideways, first to my right, then to my left. It looks okay. But since I can't zip it all the way up, I'm not sure if the check size is okay. I tried to reach the zipper using my right hand, but sadly, I wasn't flexible enough to zip it all the way.

Should I call my friends? It should be okay to walk like this since it's just me and the female staff here. And it's not like I'm going to walk far from the changing room. It's more like, I will peek outside. 

And so, I did. I slightly opened the door and popped my head out. I search for my friends; hopefully, one of them is nearby, so I won't need to shout just to call their attention. As my attention was elsewhere, I didn't realize that the door I slightly opened was now fully open. 

I only realized it when it hit my back hard. "Ack!" I shriek in pain. Not only did the door hit my back hard, but because of the force, I hit my chest on the door frame as well.

I fell to the ground, one hand on my chest, as I coughed because of the simultaneous pain I'm feeling in my back and chest.

"Shit!" I vaguely heard a voice coming from my side. "I'm sorry. I pushed the door without knowing someone was there!" 

So, this is the culprit! I can't even look at him because of the pain!