Love Genius

[Chapter 1]

I was walking when I suddenly stopped, looking left and right.

Okay!

No one’s here.

Deep breath, Garnett!

You better not make a sound when releasing that gas.

Alright?

I closed my eyes with a determined grimace.

*fart sound*

A wide smile spread across my face. Yes! Finally, I’ve released the evil air trapped in my stomach.

As I opened my eyes and was about to continue walking, I froze. My eyes gradually widened.

Oh my Neptune! It’s him—my only one crush! Omg! Why now? Huhu!

He was looking at me, his eyebrows furrowed.

I ran as fast as I could. Aaaahhh! Huhu, what is he doing here of all places? Huhu! Lesson learned: never fart anywhere ever again, Garnett. Never!

Anyway, folks, I’m Garnett Sardoncillo, 19 years old, a second-year college student, and one of the top students at Alvarez College School. Yes, I’m proud of that! People say I lack beauty, but I’ve got brains to compensate. Pak-pak, ganern-ganern!

Oh, and the guy I was talking about earlier? That’s Raven Alvarez, none other than the son of the school owner. Okay, should I describe him for you? Sure!

He’s the most popular guy on campus—handsome, kind (they say), mysterious, grumpy, aloof—that’s him in a nutshell. I’ve had a crush on him since my first year. Who wouldn’t? He makes you want to faint just by looking at you. Like, holy moly!

SLAM

I tripped out of nowhere.

“Ouch! Huhuhuhu!” I groaned.

Looking around, my vision blurred. Wait! My glasses! I groped around for my glasses on the ground. Tsk, where is it?

“Hahaha! How pathetic! Hahaha!”

Ah, the lizard bullies. Yeah, even in college, there are still lizard-like bullies. I squinted at them, unable to see clearly. Tsk.

“Blehh! Can’t find your glasses, loser?”

I couldn’t make out who they were exactly, but I think they’re freshmen, and there were three of them in front of me.

Tsk.

“You lizard-faced jerks, you tripped me on purpose, didn’t you?!”

“So what if we did?!” One of them pushed me, though I didn’t fall.

“You little—!” I was about to step forward when I suddenly froze.

Here comes my crush!!!

He looked at me seriously. I clutched my throat and swallowed. Calm down, Garnett.

“That’s your glasses, right?” he asked.

Oh my gosh, wait! Is this real? He’s talking to me??? I glanced at where he pointed and immediately spotted my glasses. Why does my vision go HD when he’s around? Oh my god!

“Y-Yeah, thanks,” I said.

He didn’t say anything else and left immediately. Whoa! Even with that grumpy face, he’s still so handsome! Hihi.

“Tss! Dream on, freak!” one of the guys said before they left. I just stuck my tongue out at them.

I picked up my glasses and cleaned them right away. Thankfully, they weren’t broken. Whew! While wiping them, I started walking.

I spotted my group of freak friends.

“Ms. Garnett, you’re late for my class again!” Hazel shouted, mimicking one of our Physical Science professors.

That’s Maria Hazel Barrientos, the best in Science in our group.

“Not like that, Barrientos, it’s like this: ‘Hey, lady, why are you late again? If you’re going to be late, might as well not come at all!’” Ami chimed in.

That’s Amileen Lopez, our Accounting expert. I looked at another friend in our group.

“It’s your turn, Ms. Manalo,” I said.

“No,” she replied. That’s Elisha Manalo, our moody friend and the best in Marketing Strategy.

And me? Again, I’m Garnett Sardoncillo, the prettiest frog in the group—kidding! I’m most skilled in Filipino, History, and Accounting.

We are the Tropang Freaks. That’s what people call us on campus because of how freaky we apparently look. Tss. So, we decided to own it. Anyway, enough talk!

“What happened to you, girl?” Hazel asked.

“Yeah, your clothes are filthy. Did you wrestle a fire?” Ami said.

“Well, the lizards attacked earlier,” I replied, putting on my glasses, and we started walking.

“Wait, what’s that?” Elisha pointed to my nose.

“What?” I asked, touching my nose.

“No, not that—here,” she said, pulling something from my nose. I felt ticklish.

The other two gasped in shock. When Elisha removed it, she placed it in my hand, and I finally saw what she had pulled out.

Oh my god!

“For Neptune’s sake! Don’t you ever clean your nose, Garnett?! Goodness!” Ami exclaimed.

I stared at the booger in my hand. My god! I didn’t feel it hanging from my nose. My eyes widened as a horrifying thought struck me. Is that why Raven was staring at me so intensely earlier? Because of this hanging from my nose?! Huhu, how embarrassing!

I rolled it into a ball and flicked it, watching it land.

Yes! It went in—wait, what the? It landed in the guard’s coffee cup! Aaaahhhh!

“Let’s go, girls!” I pulled them, and we ran away.

While walking down the corridor, we stopped briefly. Another group was approaching us—the Star Princesses of the Star Section.

The group consisted of Sarrah, Jeniel, Rhea, Shiena, and Dana.

They were dubbed the Star Princesses of the campus because they were supposedly beautiful, classy, and rich. But argh! Guys, they’re also smart—that’s why they’re in the Star Section.

“Oh? Tropang Freaky Nerdy Girls?” Dana said, laughing in a girly way.

Sarrah crossed her arms and walked closer to us, scanning us from head to toe.

“Can I ask?” she said.

I adjusted my glasses, which were thicker than her foundation.

“You just did,” I replied with a smile.

Her left eyebrow shot up.

“Well, I just wanted to ask why all of you are wearing glasses now. Do you really embrace the title Tropang Freaks?” she asked, laughing.

Tssh? What’s it to her? We wear glasses because we have bad eyesight!

“Yes, we do embrace it. And you? Why embrace being the Star Princesses when you look more like frogs croaking non-stop?” Elisha retorted with attitude, laughing. We crossed our arms simultaneously, lifting our chins.

They burst into laughter. Tsk.

“You know what, freak girls? You’re all losers,” Sarrah said, glaring at me.

“Let’s go, Sarrah. We’re wasting our time with these freaks,” Rhea said.

“Goodbye, ugly nerds!” Shiena said.

Before they left, they all glared at us. Tsk! I wish I could shave their heads.

“The nerve of those girls! They act like they’re all that, but their faces are just fireworks powder,” Hazel said.

“Especially that Sarrah. Garnett, don’t let that girl bully you! She’s just jealous of you!” Elisha said.

I took a deep breath and started walking again.

Those girls hate us because all of us in Tropang Freaks are part of the TOP 10 OVERALL. Them? Nope. Well, Raven and one of their classmates made it into the rankings. That’s about it.

When we entered our classroom, our chairs were covered in trash again. Tssk! Well, we’re used to it. As always, clean up before sitting down. Oh, life!

In this campus, at the second-year level, there are two special sections. First, there’s the Star Section, where my crush Raven, my sweet love, is, and everyone there is at his level.

Second, there’s the Moon Section, and that's us. We have the beautiful and handsome ones. Just kidding, haha! We have the smart students who are really serious about studying, the type whose eyeglasses are thicker than ours, the type who would get depressed if their grades drop by one point. Haha, that’s true, and there are really students like that.

But the four of us? Here, we just take it easy and enjoy college life.

It's called a special section because it’s where the brilliant or standout students of this campus are grouped together, especially for activities outside. After that, we go back to the normal sections.

Soon, our History professor arrived.

"Good morning, class." - Ma'am Ablola said.

"Good morning, Ma'am." - we all greeted.

"So now, I will announce our activity for tomorrow."

"What’s that, Ma'am?" - Ami asked.

"Tomorrow, in celebration of Dr. Jose Rizal’s birthday, the two special sections will go to Rizal Park to deepen your knowledge of Philippine history. We will visit all the museums there, and after that, there will be a quiz bee for the top students, and you’re included in that, Ms. Sardoncillo."

I smiled.

"Yes, Ma'am." - I said.

---

"Omg! We’re so excited for your match tomorrow, Garnett!" - Elisha said excitedly.

"A bit nerve-wracking."

"You’re nervous? With your beauty?" - Hazel said, extending her hand in front of my face. We all fell silent. I quickly pulled it away.

"I'm serious, it’s nerve-wracking." - I told them as I sat down.

We’re at the canteen now.

"We know you can do it. You? You’re the best when it comes to Philippine History, that's why you fell for Goyo, right?" - Ami said.

I wanted to slap Ami, I looked serious! I don’t want to feel giddy when I’m being serious. Haha!

"Oh guys, what are you going to eat?" - Elisha asked, pointing to the menu. We all looked at it.

We furrowed our brows as we stared at the canteen menu. Why does it look different?

"Big ducks?" - Hazel read aloud from the menu, scratching her head. I was also wondering, what kind of food is big ducks?

"What’s this 10-inch banana? Is there really a banana that big?" - Ami asked.

I scratched my head too. What kind of menu is this? It’s confusing!

"Guys, read the new title of their menu. Look!" - Elisha said, and the three of us looked up.

My eyes widened.

"The Possessive Delicious Food?!" - I said. My God, what is this? Wattpad?

"Ew, that's so disgusting." - Ami said.

"Hahaha! You guys said it." - Elisha laughed.

"Can I order? One 10-inch banana please." - We stopped when we heard a student ordering beside us. We casually glanced at each other, then waited to hear their order.

Soon enough, it was handed to her.

"Tss, I thought a 10-inch banana meant something else?! It’s a banana shake in a 10-inch cup. Whoever thought of that menu name must be crazy." - Hazel said.

We laughed.

After that, we ordered too and ate right away. While eating, I suddenly looked at the door and almost stopped chewing.

Omg! It's Raven! My God, he’s moving in slow motion in my eyes. Huhu!

"Goodness gracious! Hey, girl, your saliva!" - I snapped back to reality because of Ami. I immediately closed my mouth and wiped it off.

"Don’t tell me you still have a crush on him?" - Elisha asked.

I nodded while still looking at Raven, my baby, my sweet love.

He was just sitting in the corner, on his phone with earphones in his ears. Hays! His handsomeness makes my eyeballs drop.

"You know, I’ve never seen him smile." - Hazel said.

"Yeah, right? He's so handsome but doesn’t even smile." - Ami said.

"Tss, even if he doesn’t smile, he’s still handsome." - I said, finishing my food while still looking at him.

Hays, if you’d only notice me, Raven. Maybe I could make you smile? Hahaha!

"Hey! That’ll melt, girl." - Elisha said.

"Sigh, don’t get your hopes up, Garnett. There’s gossip here at school that his girlfriend is Sarrah Patatas." - Ami said. I suddenly looked at her.

"H-His girlfriend is Sarrah??!!" - I stood up and shouted.

When I looked around, everyone was staring at me. I looked at Raven, but thankfully, it seemed like he didn’t hear me. I immediately sat back down.

"Sorry, got carried away with my emotions." - I said.

"If I were you, I’d move on." - Hazel said, wiping her glasses.

"Yeah, there are plenty of others." - Ami said.

"No. He’s the only one I want." - I said, then looked at Raven again. Hays!

"Does he like you?" - Elisha asked.

I paused for a moment.

"Why? It’s just a crush." - I said.

"Why? Does he crush you back?" - Hazel asked.

I pouted.

"I hate you girls." - I said.

They all laughed.

"Go ahead, laugh at me. When you fall in love, don’t you dare get giddy when I’m around."

"Hahaha, look, Garnett, speaking of Patatas." - Elisha pointed with her chin. I turned around.

Tss, Sarrah went up to Raven. She sat across from him and smiled like an angel. You’re beautiful, girl? Just kidding! She's really pretty!

"She’s so fake." - Ami said.

"Yeah." - Hazel agreed.

Sarrah took one of Raven’s earphones out and put it in her own ear. Damn, Raven’s ear smell will probably reach her ear. Tsk! Lucky her!

"But look, if they’re really a couple, it seems like only Sarrah is interested. Raven doesn’t seem to care." - Elisha said, laughing loudly.

I looked at Raven’s face; it really seemed like he didn’t care about Sarrah. He was just seriously staring at his phone. I couldn’t help but smile. Bwahahaha! Serves her right!

Then I suddenly stopped. I looked at the three of them; they were all staring at me.

"Wow, you’re really laughing." - Ami said.

I covered my mouth. Damn! Was I really laughing? I thought it was just my imagination?

"Let’s go, freaks, we might be late for our next class." - Elisha said.

I looked at Raven one more time. Hays! Bye, my husband. Then I looked at Sarrah, who was smiling at me like she was saying, "dream on, girl."

Tsh! I rolled my eyes, then we left.

Forward!

Dismissed, we were walking towards the gate when we suddenly bumped into another group from the Star Section.

The Star Prince group of the campus.

Jerome, Arvin, Calvin, Dexter, and of course, my honey bunch, sweetie, my husband, Raven.

"Wah! Calvin is so handsome!" - Ami said.

"Oh my Neptune in the ocean, why is Jerome looking at me?" - Hazel asked.

We all looked at each other, then at Jerome.

"You're such a gossip, girl!" - Elisha said.

"Just kidding." - Hazel said.

We slowed our walk as we met them. Huhuhu, Raven, my husband!

"Yiiieeeeee! She’s so giddy." - Ami teased as she poked me in the side.

"Tsk, be quiet!" - I scolded them, until we finally met them. The four of them looked at us and laughed, but Raven... hays! He just stared straight ahead. We passed them by.

"Arvin laughs like he’s handsome, but he’s short!" - Elisha said.

"Hey, they’ll hear you!" - Hazel scolded.

"Are you talking about me, Miss Freak?"

Our eyes all widened. Oh no! Slowly, we turned around together. Arvin walked up to us. No, I mean, to Elisha.

"Who are you calling short?" - Arvin asked her, glaring.

We looked at each other. Why did Elisha call Arvin short when Arvin is actually taller than her? Elisha was swallowing hard.

"Hahaha, I didn’t know you were short, man." - Calvin said.

The three of them approached us, while Raven just stood there, still on his phone.

"Hey, I’m not short!" - Arvin said to Calvin.

I quickly pulled Elisha aside, and the four of us exchanged looks, signaling we should back off, but the four of them surrounded us. Tsk, really?

"I know you, you’re the top 1 from last year, right?" - Calvin said to me.

"Yeah. All of them made it into the Top overall last year." - Jerome said.

"Congrats to you, freaky ones." - Arvin said.

Tss. These guys are so full of themselves! They’re handsome and smart, but why do they act like this? Tss, at least Raven is just grumpy. Hihi!

"I’ll go ahead." - Raven said. We all looked at him.

"Where are you going, man?" - Jerome asked.

"To the library." - After Raven said that, he turned and walked away. His back was so handsome!

"Aha! You like Raven, don’t you?" - I was shocked by Calvin’s question.

"W-What?! No! Let’s go, guys!" - I quickly pulled the three of them and we left. When we got to the gate, I stopped walking.

"Oh, what’s wrong, Garnett?" - Hazel asked.

"I think I forgot to do my assignment." - I said.

"Assignment? Do we have an assignment?" - Elisha asked.

"As far as I know, we don’t." - Ami said.

"Ah, whatever. I have something to do. You guys go home." - After saying that, I turned around and quickly ran to the library.

Once I got to the library, I logged in immediately. After logging in, I looked around. Where is Raven?

I walked around the entire library, but he wasn’t there? Tsk, wasn’t he supposed to be here? Hays! I just wanted to take a picture of him. I sighed deeply and started walking back. I was about to leave when I suddenly saw him walking in. Aaaahhh!

I hurriedly grabbed a book and sat down, pretending to read. Aaaahhh! I’m shaking! I peeked a little and saw him logging in, then after that, he started looking for a book.

I covered my face with the book and peeked at him. I stood straight up. Where did he go? I couldn’t see him anymore? I pouted, maybe he went to sit somewhere else. Hays! I bowed my head and just grabbed my things.

Hays, how annoying! What a waste, I couldn’t take a picture of him, huhu. I wanted it for my wallpaper. He has a lot of photos on his Facebook, but I wanted to take my own. Oh life! Someone sat in front of me, and I looked up.

My eyes almost popped out.

I sat up straight. Aaaaahhh! He’s sitting right in front of me!

He was seriously flipping through his book while I just stared at him, swallowing hard. My God! Huhuhu! Slowly, I took out my phone from my pocket. Then I immediately clicked the camera.

I looked at him.

DUGDUGDUG DUGDUGDUG DUGDUGDUG DUGDUGDUG

My heart is pounding so hard. I subtly pointed my phone at him, then carefully looked to see if he could notice or not. It seemed like he didn’t because he clearly didn’t care about his surroundings. Okay, Garnett, take a deep breath.

1..

2..

3..

GO!

click

click

He suddenly looked up.

click

I got startled and quickly pretended to be looking for a signal.

“Tsk, why is there no signal here?” - I muttered to myself.

Garnett, you’re gonna get caught! I looked at him again, and he was busy writing.

I smiled.

YES!

I couldn’t help but smile widely as I looked at the photos I took. Yey! Now I have a wallpaper, credits to me. Hihihi! Wait? Omg! I got a picture of him looking at my phone! Aaaaahhh!

I looked at him again. Huhuhu, why can’t I get tired of looking at your face, my sweetie pie. While he was writing, I just kept staring at his face. Too bad, I’m not at the same level as you or the Star Princess group. Maybe if I were as fashionable or beautiful as them, maybe we’d be classmates, and you’d notice me.

But, no, I’m just a girl whose strength is in her intelligence. My vision’s blurry, I have thick eyebrows, and braces on my teeth. Tsk! I’m not beautiful. I’ll just always be the one admiring you from afar.

And most of all…

You’re my competition in every school activity. I was Top 1, and you were Top 2 last year. Hays!

My love for you is like a road, where we both met on the same path, but I kept going straight while you turned, so we never crossed paths. Tsk, you know so much, Garnett! I slumped as I looked at him. Hays, I wish you’d notice me, my sweet love.

I suddenly stopped…

He looked at me…

I couldn’t move.

Wait? W-What should I do? H-He’s looking at me?! I slowly lowered my hand.

He’s still looking at me…

We’re looking at each other…

Swallow.

"Are you okay?" - he asked.

HE ASKED ME! AAAAHHHHH!!!

I'd spend 10, 000 hours and 10, 000 more

Oh, if that's what it takes to learn that sweet heart of yours

And I might never get there, but I'm gonna try

If it's 10, 000 hours or the rest of my life

I'm gonna love you (Ooh, ooh-ooh, ooh, ooh)

[Featured Song: 10,000 Hours by Dan + Shay and Justin Bieber]