Mr. and Mrs. Rosario

II

Julia Allard's POV

I walked into our classroom and napansin ko agad that all eyes were on me. I ignored them and headed to my seat. As I sat down, lumapit agad si Josh.

"Julia, okay ka lang?" he asked, offering a friendly smile. Tumango lang ako.

"Yeah. I'm okay. Bakit mo naman natanong?"

Josh smiled awkwardly. "Uhm... First of all, medyo swollen yung eyes mo. Not to mention, ang kapal ng eyebags mo. And second, well, di ka bumati ng good morning."

I smiled. "Ay. Sorry. Hindi ko kasi narealize. Nagtataka kasi ako ba't kayo nakakatitig sakin..."

Tumawa lang si Josh. "No worries, Pres. Naconcern lang kami kasi you're usually so strong and firm so it feels weird kapag ikaw na yung nag breakdown. Pero, if you ever need someone to talk to or even someone who can listen, andito lang kami, okay? Just because you're the oldest among your siblings at home and the class president, it doesn't change the fact that you are a living, breathing human being. You matter, okay?"

Natawa na lang ako. Trust Josh to always say the right words at the right time. "Okay. I understand. Thanks for that, Josh."

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Yuki Rosario's POV

I smiled when I saw Savannah, the class secretary ng Teresa. "Savannah, andyan ba si Julia sa room nyo?"

Savannah nodded. "Yes po. Pero, Chairman, maybe you shouldn't mess with her for today."

I raised an eyebrow. "Bakit? Did something happen?"

Savannah shrugged. "Hindi din po namin sure kung anong ganap. Pero pumasok po si Pres ng magang maga yung mata. Yung parang umiyak po ng magdamag. Tapos po paos na paos po siya. Medyo makapal din po yung eyebags nya."

I could feel my heart throb at her words. "Is she okay?"

Savannah shook her head. "Hindi po namin alam eh. Kinausap po sya ni VP pero panay sabi lang po sya na okay lang sya."

I nodded. "I see. Sige. You can go now. Kausapin ko lang sya."

Savannah nodded before leaving. "Sige po. Happy break po sa inyo, Chairman."

I nodded before entering the room. She immediately caught my attention. Savannah was right. Her eyes swollen, her eyebags were really bad, and she seemed like she was going through something tough. Tulog sya, her head on her desk as she snoozed away peacefully. I walked up to her.

I then noticed the temperature in their classroom. It was freezing. I looked at her, shivering a bit. I sighed, removing my blazer and covering her with it.

"Alam mo, for a genius, medyo buang ka din eh no? Ang lamig lamig tas hindi ka magjajacket? Lalamigin ka talaga."

I pulled a chair and sat next to her.

"You've been this stubborn for as long as I can remember. You're willing to put others first, pero paano na ikaw? Julia, tao ka din. Hindi dahil class president ka, hindi ka pwedeng magpahinga. Hindi dahil ikaw ang ate, hindi ka na pwedeng umiyak. Julia... You're a human... You break down... You can bleed... Don't stop yourself from crying. Don't stop yourself from resting. Julia, tao ka lang din. Hindi ka si Superman na hindi tinatablan ng bala nor si Megamind na walang limit ang utak. Julia, you are a human. Meron kang limit. And if you reach your limit, then it's time for you to rest."

Before I could step away, hinablot nya yung hand ko in her sleep. "P-please... D-don't go y-yet... I-I'm not ready... P-please..."

I don't know why but I swore I felt a piece of my heart fall off. Pinisil ko yung kamay nya and I could feel her squeeze back. I smiled, feeling a bit contented in knowing that she was still the same Julia. "Don't worry... I'll stay with you until you wake up."

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"Yuki? Is that you? You're home?"

I smiled as I removed my shoes.

"Yep. It's me, Ma."

I smiled as my mother peeked out of the kitchen to smile at me. "Welcome home, son. How was school?"

She walked up to me, kissing me on the cheek. I laughed. "School was fun. How was your day, Mom?"

She led me to kitchen, giggling. "Oh, it was fun! Come eat! I made you some tamagoyaki and some karaage!"

Umupo ako sa dining table as my mom served the food. "Eat well, my boy. Your father will be home soon!"

I nodded. Habang kumakain ako, ngumiti si Mom. "Yuki, do you want to have a small party? I heard you're top of your class and second. Do you want to have a small celebration? You can invite your friends over."

Tumingala ako to look at her face. "Will you be okay with that, Mom? We don't have to. I know how uncomfortable it was for you the last time I invited some friends over in junior high."

She shook her head. "I'll be fine, sweet boy. Don't worry. And I know that you have better friends now."

Tumango na lang ako. "I guess I'll hold a party if you're comfortable enough for me to invite my friends over."

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Julia Allard's POV

"Guys, do you want to come over to my house for a party?"

I looked at Yuki. He's never invited anyone to their home after the small incident when we were in junior high school.

"You never invite anyone to your house though? Anong meron?" tanong ni Emerson.

Yuki shrugged. "Wala. Nag suggest kasi Mom na mag paparty daw ako for my friends to celebrate being top of my class."

I nodded. "I see. I can come! I wanna see your mom. It's been quite some time na since I last saw her eh."

Miko looked at me, confused. "Kilala mo yung mom ni Yuki?"

I nodded. "Yeah. His mom always used to looked after me when my mom was at work. His mom and my mom are friends."

I turned to Yuki. "Kailan ba?"

He smiled. "February 28? End of the month."

I nodded. Miko then spoke up.

"Oh! Di'ba your birthday is on February 1 na, Julia? It's in 5 days! You're turning 18!"

I smiled. "Yeah. I'm pretty excited. I can't wait. Invited kayong lahat."

Miko grinned. "Yun oh! Pati si boss Yuki nainvite. Swerte mo boss."

"Saan venue mo, teh?" "Hanging Gardens. Yung sa likod ng SM Fairview?" "Weh? Seryoso? Di'ba pang bongga lang yon? Iba talaga pag mayaman!"

Miko turned to me. "Anong theme mo? Bridgerton? Cinderella wasn't me? Enola Holmes?"

Napatawa ako. "No. Grabe naman! Beauty and the beast yung theme ko. Para sakto yung red roses!"

Tere cackled. "Yo! If ikaw si Belle, then si Boss Yuki yung beast!"

Natawa na lang kami sa comment ni Tere habang sumimangot si Yuki.

"Hintay-hintayin nyo lang talaga! I will be the hottest beast in that party!"