"Is Prof Gideon still not here, Prof Elise?" Jewel asked the woman whom she met one stormy night.
Elise shook her head softly. "Uh, yes. He texted me yesterday that he was still stranded in Mandaue. I heard on the radio this morning that the underground canal in a part of Consolacion gave up. It flooded. The authorities are still repairing it." The woman sighed. "Don't worry. Maybe later or tomorrow, Gideon will be back, little girl."
"Little girl?"
Elise laughed and shook her head. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry. All right, lunch break is coming to an end."
She nodded and immediately left the faculty, went down the stairs, and took big steps out of the Administrative building.
Last week Gideon was gone to the city. It's a week and a day now that he's missing. She was hoping for Gideon to appear in the campus because she's been dealing with anxiety attacks whenever she meet Simoen or Sheena in the hallway.
She's just thankful and the news that she's married has not spread yet. Jewel was not sure if it was a good sign or not.
Fortunately since yesterday, Simoen has been busier on the court. Two members of the Sky Dragons had an accident when they visited the Domesticated Forest on Thursday. Two blocks from different courses visited the forest at the same time, and because the two Sky Dragons members were climbing the trees to impress their blockmates, they fell from the top of the tree at the same time.
The varsity is more focused on practicing especially as the intercampus competition is approaching but the point guard and the center of the Sky Dragons are still recovering.
"Miss!" someone called her.
Jewel looked at the man approaching her. "Yes, Sir?"
He stopped in front of her and wiped the sweaty forehead. "Please give this to Coach Bremas of Sky Dragons." And it gave her the expanded folder.
"Coach Bremas?" she whispered.
Her eyebrows met. Bremas. Where did she hear that surname?
She glanced at her wristwatch and she had only a few minutes before the first subject in the afternoon. Jewel ran to the side, slipping between the Education and Admin building.
Her feet stood in front of the large covered court and greeted the man at the entrance before asking. "Is Coach Bremas there?"
"Yes, Miss. You can see him right away inside. Whoever is shouting, that's him."
"Ah, thank you."
She immediately went inside. The sound of shoes and in-dribble balls was picked by her ears. The sorrounding also smelt of sweat and men's perfume.
"What is it, Avila? Focus! Well, Saavedra! Don't overwhelm Avila! You two focus! You're on the same team. What's going on with you, huh?!"
Sky Dragons gather in the distance. She took a deep breath before running towards them.
"Avila, I said cooperate. Why don't you cooperate? Don't compete with Saavedra! All I need is a brain! Brain! Did you get it?!"
Jewel stopped a span from behind a man. Tall, red hair, and Labrusca printed on the back. She reached her hand out and patted his arm. The man looked over his shoulder and frowned at her.
"Is that Coach Bremas?" she asked softly.
The man squinted his eyes before he faced the front and shouted. "Someone's looking for you, Coach!"
The crowd of players went silent. She saw the sour faced Coach in the middle and it seemed that she visited at a bad timing.
"Who is it, Labrusca?!" yelled the coach.
Jewel flinched at the loud cry. The man, who she remembered was Hazel's boyfriend, gestured her to move forward. She did.
She approached the man sitting in the middle of the group of players. In her small physique, she almost couldn't breathe as she walk past the tall, bulky bodies of Sky Dragons. "Coach, someone asked me to hand this to you," she said.
Coach Bremas' eyes narrowed as he stared at her. Then he held his mustache. "Jewel Laine Mangubat?" he asked.
She nodded. The coach smiled then reached for the folder Jewel was handing. She was shocked when he took hold of her hand and caressed it secretly. "Thank you, Iha. Sit here next to me first. Watch them play, and let's see if you have a suggestion."
Her face lost color and she tried to withdraw her hand. "I still have my class, Coach."
The man laughed. "It's okay ---"
"Laine," a familiar voice interrupted what the coach was saying.
She looked at the man who suddenly stood beside her.
"Who let you in here?" Simoen asked. He grabbed her wrist and pulled her away from Coach. "Didn't I tell you you're not allowed to visit the gym without a game?"
"Simoen —"
"Hey, what are you doing here, Jewel?" A new voice interrupted her. She was startled to see Joseph stood next to her and put his arm around her. "Beautiful girls are not allowed to be here," he said with a smile but gritted his teeth.
Joseph and Simoen looked at each other. The latter let go of her wrist and sighed when Joseph suddenly pushed her away from the court. "You're done with your job, right? Come on, I'll walk you out."
She chased after his long strides and it was making her frown because she almost couldn't keep up with him. "Wait, stop! Slow down!" she hissed.
"A... no." Joseph grinned at her.
"What! ---"
"You know, Jewel, you shouldn't go inside." He released his grip on her when they reached the entrance of the covered court. "That Coach? It's Khalil Bremas. Did you know the rumors..." Joseph moved his mouth near her ear. "He likes virgin the most."
Her eyes narrowed. "It's obvious." She glanced at him. "I'm leaving."
Joseph raised his hand and blocked her path. "Wait a minute, precious Jewel."
"What?" she asked, annoyed.
"No thank you?" Her lips pursed into a thin line, and Joseph's smile widened. "Ah... you're welcome," he teased.
Her face turned sour. "Tch!" And she ran away.
"Alright. Take care, my precious jewel!" Joseph yelled after her.
Jewel shivered while remembering Khalil Bremas. He's really scary. Even with his appearance, the man's rudeness was remarkable.
'Looks can be deceiving, really.'
She stopped breathlessly as she reached the Engineering building. She was about to enter when a hand held her wrist to stop her. Turning around, she saw Sheena.
"So," the girl trailed off. "You've met my Uncle."
Her brow raised. "What are you talking about?"
"Did you enjoy how my fiance defended you, Mangubat?"
Her brows met. "I have my class --"
"I already told you, Mangubat! Stay away from my fiance!" Sheena yelled.
Few stares from students nearby made her flustered. Jewel closed her eyes and took a deep breathe. "What is your problem?" Her fist clenched and she looked at her badly.
"My problem is you! I already told Simoen about your civil status so why can't you stay away from him?!"
"I?" She just laughed. "I don't have plans to restore our relationship so quit this nonsense!"
She turned around but Sheena quickly grabbed her arm. "No! We're not done yet!"
Jewel flung her arm and glared at Sheena. "What? Stop pestering me!"
"I'm not pestering you. You're pestering us! You messed up my life more! You don't know how I hate you!"
Her fist clenched hard and turned around but Sheena violently grabbed her hair, pulling her back.
"Ah! Release me, Marquez. What the heck!"
"Stay away from him! Stay away!" Like a madman, Sheena was yelling in front of the building.
Jewel reached for Sheena's hair and pulled it for revenge. She pushed the girl on the ground, slapping Sheena hard on the face while the girl kept on pulling every strand of her hair away from her scalp. It seemed like the girl didn't have plan to let go.
A searing pain and numbness enveloped her head. She gritted her teeth in annoyance and also grabbed Sheena's hair. Her fingers felt full because of the hair strands that she successfully pulled away from Sheena's scalp.
"You freak!" Sheena cried.
"Can't you see? Saavedra's the one who's like a leech to me. You should confront that guy and not me!" Jewel huffed.
She screamed when she felt Sheena's palm slapped her cheek. Jewel was about to take her revenge by slapping back the girl when strong arms wrapped around her and lifted her away from Sheena.
"Miss, that's enough," begged the man who lifted her.
She gritted her teeth as she watch Sheena's fellow Mechanical Engineering student help that girll up. The hateful girl glared at him.
"Pre, for guidance," said one of the two men who stopped their fight.
"Ge, do it."
Her eyes widened as the man behind her lifted her up like a newlywed.
"Put me down!" she screamed.
The man was taken aback and lowered her to the ground. "Can you walk?"
"I can!" Jewel angrily shook the torn uniform and glared at the man. "I can walk," she declared.
"You said so," he said and glanced at his companion who has been attending Sheena's injuries. "Come on, dude. Coach will scold us again."
The two men ran away. Jewel frowned at the patrolling guard who walked close to them. Her gaze shifted to him and Sheena. The man gestured them to follow him.