Chapter 3

The sun was beaming brightly, as it always does, like a giant ball of fire. There was no sign of rain and the sky was clear.

The sun shone brightly on my face, and despite the fact that it was a hot afternoon, I was able to appreciate the beauty of the surroundings. Here at the university, this is my favorite site. It is serene and solemn, and it is a place where I can relax and unwind. The massive tree's lush leaves shield me from the sun's scorching rays. It is 12 p.m., and the sun is blistering.

I was resting on the chilly green grass, snoozing. The chirping of the birds that make the University's forest a haven appeared to soothe my worried mind like music. In the meantime, fresh air and tranquil surroundings seemed to transport me to another universe. A planet free of the clamorous and chaotic crowds. This is the only spot where I can relax.

There was no one observing, so I did not have to worry about what others would think. Is this my safe haven, or a location where I feel at ease? Whatever. This is my oasis of safety.

I am currently at the University's back entrance, where no students go. Most of them prefer staying at the cafeteria or outside the campus but unlike them, I love being here. This is where I go when I am feeling stifled, when I am overworked, or when I just want to skip class. Don't get me wrong: I do not frequently skip classes. There are only a few moments in a student's life when we feel as if we can't breathe and are drowning in the tasks that must be completed at school. Let us all face it, we are all guilty. Sometimes all we want to do is sleep and forget about the things we have to do. We all need to take a breath now and again.

I am presently enrolled in my third year of college. I did not have the course that I wanted to take during that time when I was enrolled in college. I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life. I am still not sure of what I wan to become. But then I remembered my father's business. I wanted to do things on my own so that I could assist Uncle. He has been in charge of both his and my late father's businesses. As a result, I enrolled in a business management course. I would like to learn how to run the business that my father left behind.

It has been almost eight years since the Villareals adopted me. Nothing much had changed. Annalise Fay Amana is still my name. Auntie and Uncle approached me about legally adopting me, but I refused. Still, I aspire to be an Amana.

Despite my insistence that they adopt me, they haven't loved me any less. They are fine with it and understand what I want.

"Hey, young lady. You are just here; I have been looking for you for a while but can't locate you," an irritated woman said, jolting me awake.

I sulked. I was still hopeful that I would be able to meditate. That annoyance has arrived in less than an hour. I sat down, shaking my head, and faced the visitor.

I smiled and said, "Hello there, Lyka."

Lyka Ramirez, by the way, is my sole friend. She is loud, hilarious, and has a lot of friends on campus, unlike me. I will gladly award her the title of friendliest.

"What are you doing here again? You really have a habit of leaving your best friend behind," she replied, a grumpy expression on her face.

I held her instead of arguing with her, soothing her grouchy soul.

"Tss," she laughed, "here you are again in your childlike manner." I had a feeling she could not neglect me. I mean, what is the point of our nearly eight-year friendship if she just ignores me?

Instead, she inquired, "Have you had your lunch?"

"You sound like a grandmother now, Lyka," I exclaim.

"Silly. So?" she inquired once more. I am doomed, that's for sure. Once again, I failed to eat my lunch. I was so engrossed in taking in the surroundings that I completely forgot to eat. It is only a matter of time till my coffin closes. Tsk.

"Let me guess. You have been thinking about so many mamy things that you have forgotten it is lunchtime." Right, I almost forgot she knows me too well.

She hauled me to the school cafeteria with a shake of her head.

"Hey, where are we going? We are supposed to go back to our room; lunchtime is almost over," I remarked, attempting to drag her in the opposite direction.

She yelled, "No, we are not going anywhere until you eat. For gods sake, Annalise, you don't have a strong physique to skip meals." She was becoming irritated.

"Do you want to collapse again, huh?" she asked, sounding like Aunt Lila.

In front of her, I once again collapsed owing to low blood pressure. She was very concerned at the time. I suppose she was traumatized. My immune system is weakened. I was easily weary and unwell. Lyka is quite concerned about me. She stated that she did not want to see me in such a dead state again. I let out a sigh.

I gently pulled her to the parking lot and said, "Hey, let's just go home. We might run into our next professor."

We were able to pass through the gate because the guard was not at his station. We called a cab because neither of us is allowed to drive because our parents are concerned about our safety.

"Let's simply stay at my house," she said, "since your brother might be there." She closed her eyes and rested her head on my shoulder.

I overheard her mumble, "I am exhausted, Anna." I closed my eyes and slowly remembered the face of my brother. Brother Alessandre is someone I haven't seen in a long time. Uncle got him a condo when he started college. He hasn't come back to our place since then. If he comes to visit, I will be in school, so we won't be able to meet.

Occasionally, Aunt and Uncle pay him a visit, but I am too bashful to accompany them. Besides, we are not close, and he doesn't want me to be his sister, according to the last time I checked. I am not sure if he is avoiding me or if it is just a coincidence.

I am curious as to how he is doing. He is a graduate and currently oversees their company, while my late father's company is controlled by Uncle Sandro. Is his relationship with Cassy still going strong? I'm curious if Uncle is aware of his brother's relationship. He hasn't yet brought us his girlfriend and formally introduced us to her.

We arrived at Lyka's residence quickly. Her parents are no longer alive. Lyka's mother, Auntie Rebecca, owns a boutique, and Uncle works for their company.

After removing her bag, she added, "Hey, feel at home; I will just go to the kitchen to see what we can have for lunch." She acts as if she will be the one to cook, but she will not. I am very sure she'd merely ask their butler, Nanny Magda, to prepare our meal.

I sat back on the sofa, slouching. Despite the fact that the first semester has just begun, I am fatigued. There is far too much that needs to be passed right now. I wish I could be a sweet potato every now and again. That way, I could just lie down and wait for myself to mature. Kidding.

Will I still give up if it is only been a few years before I can finally graduate? I was able to hold my first and second years as a good business management student, I can still do that. Tss, I am just being lazy right now.

Lyka called out from the kitchen, "Anna, let's eat!"

I sing as I answer, "I am coming, Elsa. Do you want to build a snowman?"

I sing, "Let it go, let it go; I can't keep it back any longer." In the kitchen, I caught a glimpse of Lyka's happy face.

"I know your voice is good, Anna," she said, smiling. "Let us eat."

"All right, Elsa," I responded, holding back the laughter. She chose to ignore it and began eating instead. She understands that the more she notices my stupid joke, the more I will try to annoy her.

"By the way..." I began earnestly.

"Lyka, have you seen Olaf? I am concerned he will melt since it's still too hot," I added, a grin on my face. Elsa's curious countenance was replaced with a frown, or Lyka's in my case.

I busted out laughing at her appearance. She appeared discouraged and exhausted by my not-so-funny quips. She is shaking her head, as if she is bothered by what I am saying.

"You should probably take your prescription hourly, or better yet, contact a psychiatrist, because your brain damage is growing worse," she added, puzzled. Her reply makes me laugh. She's still the most annoying person I've ever met.

I stayed at Lyka's place for a few hours, trying to annoy her as much as possible. I decided to go home once I was completely satisfied with her crumpled and unhappy face, which was created by my corny jokes. It's three o'clock in the afternoon, and I'm scheduled to be at school until four o'clock. Aunt Lila would most likely inquire as to why I'm so early. And I'm sure she'll be furious if she finds out that I almost skipped lunch again.

I immediately called for a cab to take me home. Lyka insisted on sending me home with their driver, but I refused. I'll just make her driver tired, and I'll be fine going home alone. I also don't want to bother their driver any longer. Their driver, Mister Isko, is also fairly old.

"Mister, could you please drop me off near this restaurant as soon as possible? I just want to buy something," I requested to the taxi driver, pointing to our restaurant's name. I'd want to get Auntie some of our favorite Tiramisu. If she gets furious because I almost skipped lunch and thinks about pinching me on the side, I'll console her with that cake. That is infuriating.

"Good morning, ma'am," my staff said as soon as I walked in the door.

All of the restaurant's staff know me since I hang out here when I have nothing to do at home. I also assist with things around here. It's like if I'm just getting ready to take over the restaurant management from Uncle.

"Can you please tell Andres to make my favorite cake?" I politely inquire of my employees. She gave a slight smile and then a nod.

"Madam, do you want to sit in your office while waiting for your cake?" Gina, our restaurant manager, approached me and asked. We actually have many chains of restaurants. Since Uncle handled our business, the profit has increased by about half a hundred percent.

"No, thanks," I said, "I just stopped by, Gina." She nodded knowingly to me. "Hmmm ... You should be in school during this hour, Maam. Did you, by any chance, skip your meal again and Maam Lyka pulled you out for you to have lunch?" She said smiling widely at me. I gave her a sidelong glance.

"Are you going to be a fortune teller now, Gina?" I inquired. She chuckles.

"Actually, I was thinking about changing careers; you know, my wage here at your restaurant isn't really enough for my performance; you could, you know, atleast raise my pay," she remarked, attempting to deceive me.

"All right, I'll tell Uncle what you said, and I'm sure he'll take care of it," I responded, smiled.

Her eyes twinkled as she asked, "Really?" I had a silent chuckle at her reaction. She seems to have been looking forward to this for a long time, huh? Let's deflate her balloons now. On sometimes, I can be a cruel buddy. I'm simply trying to keep it under wraps. This circumstance is quite amusing to me. I'm looking forward to seeing her reaction.

"Yup, you know we always want what's best for our employees, so I think I'll advise to Uncle that he dismiss you. That way, you'll be able to find another job with compensation that's appropriate for your work performance. What do you think? I'm cool, right?" I ask, trying to scare her away. She became pale when she heard what I said. She seemed to be completely convinced by my bullshit.

I almost burst out laughing at her reaction, but I restrain myself. I'm in the mood to make fun of her right now.

"You know, I'm just joking about; I wasn't serious when I said I wanted a raise; I was just teasing you!" she explained. I felt sad for her because she appeared to have lost blood due to her paleness.

"You're so gullible, Gina," I said, laughing hysterically.

"Tss. Anyway, Maam Lyka, I've known you for a number of years now. You always purchase your Aunt's favorite cake everytime you do something that can irritate her, and one of the things that irritates your Aunt is you failing to eat your dinner," she remarked, winking at me. It was as simple as that when this chick turned on me. That's correct. We're almost made of the same stuff.

"Tss. Yeah, yeah. What are you doing here, anyway? You should be working right now, not chatting with your boss; you don't want me to fire you, right?" I feigned to be enraged, but the lunatic laughed at me instead of being terrified.

"Hey, I'm serious!" I insist once more.

"Aww, you're really cute, boss," she said as she drew closer to me and squeezed both of my cheeks.

My face dropped as I said, "Hey, stop it. People will see you and believe I'm a high school student doing what you're doing right now."

Many times, I've been mistaken for a high school student. I'm not sure why those individuals mistook me for a high school student.

I am rather tall. I'm 5"8", which is already quite tall. What is the matter with those individuals? Before returning to her station, my impolite worker laughed at me several more times. This is convenient because my cake has come.

"Maam, Chef says hello," one of my employees said, smiling.

"OK, just let him know I'm in a rush and won't be able to hang out much longer," I said.

I added, "Thank you for this."

Thankfully, the taxi driver was already waiting for me. It took me a long time to leave the restaurant. "Sorry for the trouble, Mr.," I remarked to the driver, "but I'll just pay quadruple your fee."

I practiced my response to Auntie if she ever asked why I was home so early while on the way.

When I got home, I promptly went inside. My aim is to hide in my bedroom after placing this dessert in the refrigerator. That's correct, that's preferable to Auntie's squeeze. I walked slowly open the front door, like if I were a ninja. I took great care not to make a sound. I was about to walk into the kitchen when I heard a voice from the living room behind me. A baritone voice said, "Looks like someone's cutting class, ah."

As I followed the baritone voice and the loud laughter, my entire body stiffened. I turned quickly and was about to fall as four handsome men, including the brother Alessandre, appeared before me.

I felt humiliated. What brought them here? I wish I'd just stayed at the restaurant the whole time. I'm hoping they didn't see me in such a humiliating position but who am I kidding? Earlier, I was in a ninja mood. Annalise Fay Amana, you should be ashamed of yourself!

"Hey, young lady, don't be shy. Calm down, it's just us. My name is Elias, by the way. You can call me Eli, or even better, baby," he said, winking at me. He grabbed my right hand and was about to kissed it when another man shook him. "Don't mind the ugly junk, my lady," the second guy murmured, hugging me. "I am Marco, the most beautiful and hottest of us all."

I couldn't keep up with the pace of things. I just noticed Marco stroking the back of his head, and the two next him were holding back their laughing. My brother, on the other hand, was just sitting there eating grapes, peacefully.

"Keep your distance, man. The tiger is fierce, and you might want to be butcher in no time. Roar!" said the third man, smiling. "My name is Josh, and I'm at your service. I won't come any closer, or I might get hit by the grapes as well."

"What?" I inquired, perplexed. They couldn't stop laughing at me. Do I appear to be amusing?

Brother Alessandre abruptly said, "Tss, go up to your room; Mom will discipline you."

"All right, brother," I said. Embarrassed, I turned to his pals and muttered, "Bye."

"Awww, so sweet baby," said the crazy man named Marco. "I'll definitely see you again, that's for sure."

Elijah said, "Bye, honey!"

Before I could finally reach the kitchen to set the cake I bought for my Aunt in the refrigerator, I heard my brother say, "Fuck off, you fools." When I got to my room, I let out a sigh of relief. I was lucky that I didn't run into Aunt Lila on my way to my room; else, I would have been doomed.