AUTHOR'S POV
It was only when Mara arrived at St. Bernadette University that the full weight of what she had done truly hit her.
Not when she was in Lucien Alcázar's office and nearly melted from embarrassment in front of the rudest CEO she had ever seen in her entire life. Not when she was in the elevator, repeatedly telling herself not to think about that man's face even though it was obvious that was exactly what her brain was doing.
No.
It really hit her when she saw the familiar school gate again, the students passing by as if the world were completely normal, the noise of the canteen in the distance, and the hangout spot at the side that looked as though no almost public humiliation had happened in her life just an hour ago.
It suddenly felt so impossible to believe that she had just come from an office where even a single chair probably cost more than her entire monthly allowance.
She held the folder Luz had given her tightly. In her other hand, she was still holding the iced coffee that had miraculously survived even though it had almost spilled several times. Her sandwich was only half left, a little cold, and looking a little sad, but she still could not throw it away. First, it would be a waste. Second, it had somehow become her emotional support sandwich that day.
"Mara!"
When she turned, she saw Ken Villanueva coming down the stairs of the main building, carrying a notebook and looking like he had just come from class. Lara and Mika were behind him, both wearing expressions that looked like they had been waiting for a long time to judge her properly.
"Oh," Ken said as soon as he got close. "You're still alive."
Mara stared at him. "You're so supportive."
"I'm just telling the truth," Lara cut in. "I thought we would only find out later if you got arrested."
"I thought you had already been blacklisted from the whole business district," Mika added. "You look like you came back from war."
Mara automatically touched her hair. "Do I look that ugly?"
"Not ugly," Ken said. "You just look like life happened to you."
"I think that hurts more," she complained.
Lara ignored her. Her eyes immediately landed on the folder in Mara's hand, and they quickly widened. "Wait. Don't tell me you really went."
Mara did not answer right away. Instead, she simply lifted the folder slightly as if presenting a trophy.
The three of them looked at each other.
"You really went," Mika said, sounding like she still could not believe it.
"Told you," Mara said, then slightly lifted her chin as though she had the right to brag even if half of her dignity had been left behind in Lucien's office.
Lara immediately grabbed her arm. "What happened? Did you talk to him? Was he rude to you? Did he scold you? Did he feed you? Why do you still have food?"
"You have too many questions," Mara said while trying to adjust her grip on the iced coffee.
"Aira has even more questions," Ken cut in. "They've been looking for you at the student council office. She's practically worn a hole in the floor from pacing."
At that point, it was like an alarm suddenly went off in Mara's head.
Aira.
Right.
She still had not told them what really happened.
And judging from her best friend's level of paranoia, Aira had probably already imagined Mara at the police station, in a hospital, or worse, still in the sponsor's office getting erased from society's records.
"Oh," Mara said.
"Oh?" Ken repeated. "That's it?"
"I just suddenly remembered that she might be mad."
"Might?" Lara and Mika said at the same time.
She did not argue. She tightened her grip on the folder and started walking quickly toward the student council office. The three of them immediately followed, clearly more interested in the gossip than whatever class they were probably supposed to be attending.
As they walked through the hallway, a lot of people looked at Mara. She did not know if it was because she looked messy, if there was still a ketchup stain on her face she had not noticed, or if she simply had an aura that screamed she had just come from a major scandal.
Probably all of the above.
"Wait," Mika said as she walked beside her. "Did you save a video? Or at least an audio recording?"
"Why would I record it?"
"So we'd have evidence of your humiliation."
"You're such a good friend."
"I know."
When they reached the student council office, Mara had barely stepped inside when Aira Lopez was already right in front of her, pale, obviously stressed, and looking like all it would take was one strong gust of wind for her to faint.
"Where were you?" she asked immediately. "Why weren't you answering? I called you so many times. Josh was already looking for you too. We thought something had happened to you."
"Something did happen," Ken inserted. "She just looks like the survivor."
"Ken," Aira scolded before looking back at Mara. "Where did you come from?"
Mara smiled slowly, then gently placed the folder on the table as if it were the answer to all their life problems.
The whole room fell silent.
Josh, who had been sitting in a corner with a laptop, immediately straightened up. Nina and Paolo, both holding different printouts, also looked over at the same time.
"What is that?" Josh asked.
"Hope," Mara answered with a smile like the main character in a movie.
Josh was not impressed. "Don't be cryptic. What is that?"
"A folder."
"Mara."
"Okay, fine." She pushed the folder a little toward the middle of the table. "It's from Alcázar Holdings."
It was like silence exploded inside the office.
"What?" Aira and Nina said at the same time.
Aira quickly stepped forward and grabbed the folder. Her fingers were even trembling as she opened it. When she saw the papers inside, she looked stunned. "Are these the flagged items?"
Mara nodded. "Yes."
"How did you get this?"
"I went there."
"We know you went there," Josh said. "What we're asking is how you came back alive and carrying official documents."
Lara could not stop herself from grimacing at the side. "Valid question."
Mara sat in an empty chair and placed the iced coffee on the table. Her whole body was tired, but a small part of her wanted to be a little dramatic because, to be fair, she really had gone through severe humiliation for these people.
"It's a long story," she said.
"We have time," Aira replied immediately.
There was no escape.
Mara took a deep breath and began. Of course, at first, the version she told them was slightly toned down.
She said she went to the building, rode the elevator, got upstairs, and somehow managed to talk to the CEO. She left out the part where she ordered him around in the elevator. She also left out the part where she scolded the wrong person in the office. And she definitely did not include the part where she was eating fries while talking to the man who probably wanted to throw her out the window.
But because luck was never really on her side, her friends knew her too well.
"Wait a second," Lara interrupted while folding her arms. "Your story is way too clean."
"What? No, it isn't."
"It's too polished," Mika added. "There's no disaster in it. That's not you."
"Exactly," Ken said. "When Mara tells a story with no mess in it, that automatically means she's hiding something."
Mara's mouth closed.
At the table, Aira slowly lowered the papers and looked at her. "Mara."
"Why are you all looking at me like that?"
"What are you not saying?" Josh asked.
"That's kind of offensive. Why is there always an assumption that I'm not saying something?"
Because there almost always was, that was clearly what everyone wanted to say based on their faces.
She took a deep breath and looked at the ceiling. "Okay. Fine. I left out a few details."
"How few?" Nina asked.
She went quiet for a second.
"Kind of a lot."
"Oh, my God," Aira said softly as she sat down in a chair as if she needed to prepare herself.
And that was when Mara finally told them everything.
From running into the elevator just as it was closing. From the fact that it was actually a private elevator. From how ridiculously handsome the man inside it was. From ordering him to press the floor button because both her hands were full. From pointing at the button with her mouth because he did not move right away. From going straight into the office without asking the secretary. From storming up to the bald old man she thought was the CEO.
And of course, the most painful part of all.
"Wait," Ken said, nearly unable to breathe from holding in his laughter. "You mean the man you ordered around in the elevator..."
"He was the CEO," Mara answered like she wanted to jump out the window herself.
Everyone went silent for a moment.
One second.
Two.
Three.
And then they all burst.
Lara laughed so hard she had to grab the table. Mika literally bent over because she was nearly out of breath from laughing. Ken backed up toward the wall while repeating, "I can't do this, I can't do this," as if he were the one feeling embarrassed for their friend.
Even Nina, who was usually calm, laughed and shook her head. Paolo could only sigh while smiling, clearly unsure whether he should laugh or feel sorry for her. Josh first looked up at the ceiling and then slowly shook his head, with the kind of expression that looked like he wanted to lecture her but could not because he was laughing too.
And Aira?
Aira was the worst kind of friend in that moment because she tried to hold it in for a few seconds before finally laughing too.
"You're my best friend," she said between laughs. "But sometimes I want to tie you to a chair."
"You're all so ungrateful," Mara complained, even though she had to admit that if someone else had done that, she probably would have been laughing too.
"I'm not done yet," Lara said while catching her breath. "What else? What else did you do?"