Nicole let out a sigh. Ugh! she complained inwardly.
"Hey!" Julie nudged her.
"Morning," Nicole greeted, still distracted.
"Morning," Julie replied with a small smile.
Nicole's mind replayed what Julie had shared yesterday. Can you imagine? He was seeing her and another girl at the same time while still in a relationship. Men are really trash these days—thinking they look cooler when they two-time. She shook her head, trying not to rant further in her head.
That was when a new student caught her attention.
"Dawn!" Paulene called out. A girl ran toward her, hugging her excitedly. Then, the girl noticed Julie and Nicole.
"Hello," she greeted politely.
"Hello," Nicole replied, keeping her tone neutral.
Julie offered a faint smile.
The girl studied them carefully before smiling again. "I guess you two are transferees, right?"
They nodded.
"Actually, Dawn, there are three transferees," Paulene added.
"Oh, speaking of…" Dawn turned her attention to Melissa, who had been quietly observing.
"Nice to meet all three of you. I'm Dawn Vienna Montella," she introduced herself.
"Kate Melissa Santibañez," Melissa replied with a small smile.
"Oh, Santibañez? Your sister's Kelly, right? She's quite… notorious in this school. I hope you'll be okay here," Dawn commented.
Nicole and Julie exchanged glances.
"Oh no, I didn't mean it like that. I'm sure you'll be fine," Dawn quickly added.
Should I punch her? Nicole thought, bristling.
"And you are?" Dawn asked, turning to Nicole.
"Jane Nicole Villa," Nicole answered.
"Ooh! Jonathan's little sister? I didn't know he had one. He's such a great dancer—actually one of my idols!" Dawn said brightly.
"Dawn, she's also part of the troupe now," Paulene added.
"Wow, congratulations!" Dawn greeted warmly.
Nicole offered only a tight smile.
Melissa simply shook her head and smiled lightly when asked about her involvement in the troupe.
Julie remained unasked, and Nicole silently wished they could all just leave.
"You? You really look like him," Dawn said, narrowing her eyes at Julie. Nicole knew immediately who she meant.
"Julie Marie Navares," Julie replied simply, meeting Dawn's stare.
"Shocks! Gosh! You're his sister? I didn't know that! I thought I already knew Chris," Dawn said in surprise.
Nicole resisted raising an eyebrow, and Julie's polite smile helped calm her down.
"Nice to meet you all; I hope we can become friends," Dawn said, finally moving on.
She wasn't alone—another new student followed, already familiar to some. He walked beside Joel.
"Oh, hello, Dennis! We came together after all," Dawn greeted him.
Dennis didn't answer. His gaze was fixed on Julie.
"Crisha?" he asked suddenly.
"That's Julie. She's Chris's sister," Jason explained.
"Oh, I see. Sorry about that," Dennis said with a small sigh.
*****
"Oh, so Dawn's back," Kelly said casually while eating lunch.
"You know her?" Nicole asked curiously.
"Yeah. I bet she said something about me, didn't she?" Kelly replied.
"You're like a fortune teller—you're right. She did throw shade at you. I don't know why. She just really hates you," Nicole said.
"Of course. It's natural we don't get along," Kelly shrugged.
Jason only sighed. "Sorry about earlier," he told the three girls.
"Wait—Dennis is back too?" Kelly asked, intrigued.
"Yeah. I didn't expect it either. At least Cielo finally has a vice president," Jason added.
"He's our vice president?" Nicole asked, surprised.
"Yeah, he always was," Jason explained.
"But where have they been all this time? Why are they showing up now?" Nicole asked again.
"There are privileges here, Nicky. Hard to explain," Jason replied.
"Ugh, so now you're too lazy to explain?" Nicole teased, and they all laughed together.
"Well, like us, they have privileges. Actually, only Dennis. Dawn transferred back in grade eight, so technically, she's not really a new student," Jason clarified.
The three girls nodded and quietly ate their lunch.
"Ugh, she was so annoying earlier—you have no idea," Nicole muttered.
"By the way, Jason, is it true she's Cielo's fiancée?" Nicole asked curiously.
"Huh? Fiancée? Since when?" Julie asked, surprised.
"I don't know either. Kenneth said it's not true, but… who knows? Cielo never mentioned anything," Jason shrugged.
Kelly just nodded.
"By the way, I just remembered something," Julie said suddenly.
"What now?" Nicole asked, a little exasperated.
Julie glanced around to check who was nearby. "Come closer so you can hear me," she whispered.
"If this is a joke, I'll smack you," Nicole warned.
"No, really. I'm serious," Julie insisted.
The four huddled together.
"I'll tell you something—but you can't spread this around," Julie said.
"What is it? We don't have much time," Nicole grumbled.
Julie took a deep breath. "The truth is… I'm Pop Princess."
Kelly almost went deaf from the whisper. They all stared at her in shock.
"Hey, stupid! Are you serious? If you're joking, I'll seriously kick you!" Nicole exclaimed.
"I'm not! It's true," Julie insisted.
"But why are you telling us this?" Kelly asked, still in disbelief.
Julie smiled. "Because I know I can trust you," she said sincerely.
Jason scratched his head. "Julie, you do realize Kenneth is obsessed with you, right?"
"I know you won't tell him," Julie replied confidently.
Jason sighed and nodded.
"As proof, come tonight," Julie winked at the three of them. "I'll message you the details."
The bell rang, and they returned to class.
Eh? I still can't believe this, Kelly thought as she walked alone.
Suddenly, a notification popped up—Julie had created a group chat for the four of them. Nicole laughed quietly and muted it, worried about getting caught.
Kelly, on the other hand, was thrilled. Finally, someone trusted me. Julie had already sent the location of her performance.
I can't wait to see her on stage, Kelly thought excitedly.
"You look really happy," Kevin commented, smiling at her.
Kelly said nothing, only letting Kevin ruffle her hair, a small grin tugging at her lips.