Disastrous Morning

Giselle gripped the cold bathroom sink tightly, making her knuckles go white. She splashes some water on her face and shivers when she feels the morning breeze blowing in from her opened bathroom window.  

The tiled floor felt like pins under her feet; she does not understand why the temperature dropped extremely low this morning and worse, she felt dizzy from racking her brain all night. She could feel a migraine coming her way. Despite wanting to get a day off, there was no reason for her to miss school especially when she had such an important test today. 

Giselle gazes up and looks at herself in the mirror to see her face in complete ruin. She fell asleep with her hair tied into a bun, and now it has become a terrible knot. 

The dark circles underneath her eyes have gotten even worse. Giselle is as pale as a ghost, and her lips are chapped. Yvonne would go nuts once she sees her best friend’s face looking like this, and she'd blame it all on her late-night studying. Also, Yvonne would start calling it unhealthy or how psychopathic it is for Giselle to want nothing but to study 24/7. 

Though, one would never know that the real reason why Giselle looks like a moving corpse is because of the spectacle that happened last night. The scene of the incident decided to rewind itself in her messy head, preventing her from having a peaceful study, or a good night's rest. 

She place the toothpaste down harshly and brushed her teeth while, at the same time, groaning out loud, "that- bloody Darius- curse him!"

Thankfully, Giselle did not get any disturbance from outside her door. She held on to the frightening thought that Darius would come knocking on her door in the middle of the night. But again, that man already thinks that she’s only one of those girls who's eager to get his attention. There’s no reason for him to come after her. 

"In his dreams!" She sneers, dark clouds hovering above her head enhancing her gloomy expression. 

She does not like to be in a foul mood in the morning because she believes that it affects her entire day. It’s been her first time in months to be this bitter in the morning. It’s crazy to say that she has lived in tranquility for a long time. 

Nonetheless, she still went on with her morning routine and prepped herself to look more human. She looks out of her window to notice that it’s drizzling since dawn which explains how cold the weather felt today. 

The phone call with Yvonne last night brought her down the drain, and it almost made her insane. However, it is inescapable, for Giselle has brought this upon herself. She recalls the phone call she had last night with her fist clenched. 

"Don't worry! Everything will calm down in a matter of days," Yvonne tried to ease herself through the phone. But Giselle, on the other hand, panicked and started hyperventilating. 

Giselle remembers pulling on her hair as she replied frantically, "Days- why days? How did I get myself into this again?"

"Who told you to go all loca on him? But whatever about your uncontrollable temper, you now have a scandal with a very handsome man, and that's worth a lot. Any girl would want to be in your position." 

Giselle’s face fell into an annoyed expression in an instant, “I’m hanging up." 

Yvonne gasped loudly from the other side of the phone knowing that she had messed up saying that. And Giselle knows she hates it when she decides to cut a conversation with her, but Yvonne was getting on her nerves. She seems doesn't understand how stressed out Giselle feels now that her face is all over social media. 

"You're not hanging up on me, Giselle Azura Verano! That's the meanest thing you could ever do to your best friend," she still managed to complain. 

“You know that I have to study. Goodbye," Giselle said plainly and was about to end the call when Yvonne replied instantaneously. 

"Okay, I'm sorry, I know you're worried that this will only distract you from your studies. Just a word of advice, I'm seeing the comments right now- make sure to hide your appearance for a few days. Some girls are not happy, I tell you." 

"Alright."

"I'll pick you up tomorrow with Mom, okay? I'll be there seven in the morning sharp-"

"Six-thirty, we don't want to be late because of traffic."

Giselle hears a loud rumbling noise coming from Yvonne's background and the sound of her mother probably gasping at the sight of her room, "Yvonne! Hay nako tong batang to!"

"Sure thing Azura, I have to go! Momzilla is here, bye!" Yvonne chuckles slightly before the line goes silent. 

So this morning, Giselle felt grateful for her decision to own a lot of hoodies. It is the only way that one can conceal themselves as it had always worked in movies and books. 

Because the Philippines can be scorching hot, she never got to wear them. The rainy season is near, which explains the drizzling. It’s the perfect season for hoodies. 

The doorbell rang at the exact moment she had the first bite of her peanut butter bread. She looks at the clock to see that Yvonne was right on time. She knew that her best friend would never disappoint with time. Yvonne is never late. 

Giselle glances at her appearance for today. She wore a black hoodie over a simple white top, skinny jeans, and a pair of clean white sneakers in her casual Wednesday outfit. 

Her school usually requires their uniform, but Wednesday is a day students are allowed to express themselves through civilian clothing. Typically, today is every girl on the campus, including Yvonne, who is a complete fashionista's favorite day.

She wears her bag and heads toward the door. The knocking on her door did not stop, making her groan in irritation, "hold on a second," she grumbles through her teeth as she held the sandwich inside her mouth. 

She pulls her door open to find Yvonne picking up her books from the ground together with a man helping her. Giselle starts shaking her head knowing how much of a klutz her best friend could be. 

"Thank you so much, kind sir," Yvonne says to the man dressed in a formal suit while slowly getting up. The man who had his back facing Giselle handed her the books he picked up. 

"No problem, Miss. Do you happen to know-" 

Giselle stood frozen in shock when the man turned his head toward her. She catches his familiar face making her too stunned to speak. 

"Happen to know whom, sir? Who are you looking for?" Yvonne asked while moving in front of Giselle when she realized that the man and her best friend were staring at each other intensely.  

"Oh, never mind. I think I remember my friend's door number now. I honestly thought it was on this floor. Well, ladies, have a wonderful morning ahead," he greeted us before leaving without anything saying anything else. We watched him get lost inside the elevator. 

"Okay?" Yvonne started before facing Giselle and cheerfully said, "Let's go- what's wrong? You look like you've just seen a ghost." 

"That- that was E-Emesto."

Yvonne's face turned into a confused yet concerned look as she asked again, "Emesto who?"

"They found me," Giselle gasps, horrified.