She quietly waited inside the classroom, noticing at once that Cielo had already submitted his finished output to the faculty room.
I hope it turns out fine, she thought to herself.
"Julie, you managed to finish the output, right?" a girl beside her suddenly asked.
She turned and saw Dawn's face.
She only nodded in reply.
"You weren't a burden, were you? Did you really help him?" Dawn pressed, asking question after question.
"We managed to finish the output he was rushing," Julie simply answered.
"Goodness, I was worried. Cielo is really in a tight spot right now," Dawn said, clearly uneasy.
Seriously? Julie could only think to herself.
"Hope he can make up for it," Dawn added.
Soon, they saw Cielo arrive. Dawn immediately went to him.
"How is it, Cielo?" she asked, concern evident in her voice.
"It's fine."
"Did you talk to our adviser already?" she pressed again.
He gave a small smile. "Not yet, but it will be okay."
There really is something between them, huh? Julie thought silently.
"Julie, the adviser is calling you," Melissa whispered.
Julie was startled but only nodded in reply.
"Thanks, Meli," she said softly, tapping Melissa's shoulder.
She then headed straight to the faculty room, taking a deep breath before entering.
"G–Good morning, teachers," she greeted politely as she saw her teachers and adviser inside.
"Miss Navares is here," their math teacher remarked.
"Oh, you're here. We called you because we want to reconsider the suggestion you made last Friday," their MAPEH teacher began.
Julie nodded, remembering what she had said before.
"Are you really sure about that suggestion of yours, Miss Navares?" her adviser asked, looking at her intently. "I computed your general average here—you actually qualify for With High Honors."
Julie listened quietly.
"If you give your MAPEH grade to Mr. Villanueva, and your math teacher deducts points from your own grade, you might end up only with honors. Your grades could have been pulled up if you were active in the school's club activities—even if you give yours to Mr. Villanueva," the adviser explained further.
So, club activities really do matter… she thought.
This is it, Julie. You need to decide.
"Yes, Ma'am. I'm willing to give it to him. After all, it was my fault he was late in submitting those outputs."
"You won't change your mind anymore?" her adviser asked with a faint smile.
She smiled back. "Yes, Ma'am."
Her teachers exchanged glances, and she heard them sigh.
"Miss Navares, the reason we spoke to you carefully is because of the fair grading policy. And also, so we'll have something to tell your parent if she asks," the adviser explained.
"Oh no, my mom isn't like that," Julie said with a smile.
"We know your mother is kind. But," the adviser sighed again, "we just feel it's a shame, because you're also a bright student."
Julie scratched her head shyly. "I'll just try to make up for it in the second quarter."
The teacher smiled at her. "We'll expect that from you, Miss Navares."
She nodded.
"Okay, you may go back to your classroom now," the teacher said.
"Yes, thank you very much," Julie replied politely.
She walked back to the classroom. She felt a bit of regret, but she knew she didn't need to take back what she had told her teachers. After all, they had spoken to her kindly.
Just make it up next time, Julie. At least you won't be transferred to a public school anymore. She scratched her head again at the thought.
*****
"Hey, Cielo," Dennis called out to him.
Cielo turned to him. They were at the canteen since it was recess time.
"What did our subject teacher say?" Dennis asked.
"What else can I expect? Of course, it wasn't a perfect score for my output," Cielo muttered.
"You're really okay with that? You might not make it to the Highest Honors anymore," Dennis pointed out.
"I'll still make it, but not as high," Cielo replied.
"I noticed they also talked to Miss Navares," Joel added.
"When?" Cielo asked.
"Just this morning. She was called too, right? Did you two come to an agreement?" Joel asked.
Cielo froze and thought for a moment.
No way, he whispered inwardly.
"I think you did have an agreement," Dennis remarked.
"I remember that Navares offered to give her score to mine. And there's a possibility her score was deducted for her output," Cielo finally said.
"Really? She actually said that? Maybe that's what they were discussing this morning," Joel replied.
"No way she would agree to that. She needs to be With High Honors to win her bet with her mom," Cielo said, shaking his head.
But what if she really did give it to me? The thought nagged at him.
He remembered Friday—how serious she had been when she suggested it to their teachers.
He rubbed his forehead.
Is this what's been bothering me all along? he asked himself.
He let out a deep sigh.
"Well, you're lucky if she did give it to you," Dennis said.
"We'll know once the adviser releases the list of honors, right?" Joel asked.
Cielo didn't join in the rest of their conversation.
"Hey, Cielo," someone suddenly called.
He turned.
"I'm returning the first volume," Julie said with a smile. "Someone wanted to borrow it, but I told them to just borrow from you directly."
He looked at the book she returned. "Take care of it, okay?" he muttered.
"I'll get going," she said, turning to leave.
"Wait, Navares," Cielo called.
"What is it?" she asked.
"I heard you were called by our teachers and adviser," he said.
She only nodded.
"Did you really agree with that suggestion of yours?" he asked.
She was taken aback by his question but only smiled. "That's none of your business," she said before quickly walking away.
Raymond whistled beside him.
"It's rare that you lend out your books. Even Dawn hasn't managed to borrow any of your things," he remarked.
Cielo ignored him.
She's really clumsy, as always. Even with her decisions in life, she's so clumsy.
He could only think to himself.