"METHAMPHETAMINE is a highly addictive psychostimulant drug and sympathomimetic dru..."
"Yow, zup, Moo, what's up?"
I stopped reading and immediately closed my laptop when I heard the voice of Nico Jeisz, my best friend. He even ruffled my hair before sitting next to me. I'm here now in the south lounge of the university, because this is where I hang out when I'm doing research. I went straight here after I came from Prof. Lim's office.
"The meeting is on Monday and no one else can know about your efforts to convince the panel and the owner of Roswell Company. Your full scholarship depends on it, Miss Romero. Is that clear?"
"Okay!" I replied hesitantly.
I remembered again what the Prof and I talked about earlier. My scholarship was on the line. If I lose that, I won't be able to finish college. So I have to be very careful with the research I do.
Right, right.
"Moo? Are you okay?"
My spirit suddenly woke up when Nico Jeisz spoke. He took out his iTouch and then put the earphones in both his ears.
Wait, what was he asking earlier?
""Huh? Why. Moo, is there something wrong with me?"
Why isn't Nico talking? I looked at myself, I'm okay. Wait, can he see me? Did something happen? Come on! Maybe while I was thinking, I fell and died? Waaa, am I just a soul?
"Waaa, what happened, Moo? Did something happen to me? Am I okay, Moo?!" I asked in a panic.
Why isn't he answering me?! What really happened to me? Could it be that I was hit by a stray bullet earlier? Or maybe lightning? But it's impossible, it didn't rain earlier, eh. Could it be that Ondoy came back and I was the only one who was devastated?
I haven't even been able to say goodbye properly to my loved ones. But, wait, why haven't I seen a white light that I need to enter? It's sad, I think I'm still in hell.
"Moo? Moo, are you okay? Sh*t, why are you crying?" he suddenly said and stroked my forehead while wiping my tears.
"Moo, can you see me? Waaa! You're dead too, Moo? What made you die? Come on, let's find the white light," I said to him tearfully.
"Your imagination has flown so far again. Moo!" he said, almost dying of laughter and then ruffled my hair.
I immediately wiped my tears. It's annoying, am I embarrassed again? I really thought I was a soul, huh. But it made me cry even more when he said my imagination flew, but it doesn't have wings.
Is my imagination a fairy?
"Have you eaten yet? Moo?" he asked after recovering from the laughter.
"Of course not yet, I'm still doing some research, huh?"
He was going to take the laptop but I was introduced to The Flash so I immediately hugged the laptop.
"Sorry, Moo, but you can't know that I'm doing research on illegal drugs." I said with a smile.
"Illegal drugs? Why are you researching drugs?" He stared at me with a frown.
I was speechless. Did I say illegal drugs? Wow, I'm almost convinced I'm a nerd.
He brought his serious face closer to mine. "Are you hiding something, Moo?"
I suddenly looked away. Come on, I might be noticed.
My scholarship!
"What are you talking about, Moo, of course not!" I replied laughing, slapping his arm, which made him raise his eyebrows. "Eh, what are the drugs?"
"Drugs? What drugs?" I immediately thought of an excuse. "I'm hungry."
It's me, Moo.... I looked at him for a moment to see how he would react to what I said. I hoped he wouldn't ask any more questions.
"Hey, let's go!" he said, ruffling my hair again, allowing me to breathe a sigh of relief.
He took my things and sucked them then we just started walking while I fixed my hair that he messed up. Sometimes I think, 'I can't comb it anymore, can I? It's like he prefers my hair to be messy, eh. Every time we meet, he always messes up my hair..
Sometimes he even twirled my hair around his finger, and I could even catch him smelling it. When I asked him why he did that, he always said it was nothing but he blushed.
Wait! Could it be that he's insecure about me, that's why he messes with my hair? Come on! That's right, isn't it? Why didn't I think of that? Is that why he hasn't had a girlfriend yet? Is that why he always goes out with me? Because he's gay? He's getting close to me now, and then... he'll borrow my dirty clothes?
I looked at him from head to toe. If so, he's really good at hiding and pretending to be a man.
"Why do you look at me like that, Moo? What are you thinking, huh?" he asked and then smiled mischievously.
Should I ask or not? Maybe it's his secret, right? After all, everyone has secrets, right? I'll just help him secretly and find him a boyfriend, right?
Right!
"Hi. Nico!"
"Gosh! You're really handsome!"
"Kyaaaa! Sorry, girls, but Nico is mine."
"Noon, he's mine!"
"What are you doing, they're Aemie!"
"Yaaaay! They're really good!"
I was almost deafened by the shrieks of the girls at our school. Luckily, Nico suddenly spoke up. "Yeah, right. Sorry, girls, but I already have Moo and she's my one and only." He smirked then leaned over and looked at me. "Right, Moo?"
I smiled and nodded. I didn't really get it because he said, "Right." Well, we were going to the cafeteria, so we were going left, so we passed by. But in fairness, this gay guy has a lot of fans.
He also does modeling, so Nico is very famous inside and outside the university.
Yup, this is Nico. Nico Jeisz Young, my only male 'best friend' here at Stone Hurst University. That's why we call him Moo. because it means My One and Only. Wait, is this really a guy?
Hmm. I'll find out after I finish my drugs mission.
You're dead, you're gay!
NARRATOR'S P.O.V
Meanwhile, the situation in the world of Mr. Ezekiel Roswell, the world's youngest multi-billionaire, is different. Can you imagine how rich he is? Every 'second, thousands of money are added to his 'bank accountsssss-with four 's' because he really has lots of accountssss.
And when it comes to business, everyone is eager to be his partner or even to be his investor in the business. No one would dare to compete with his businesses.
NO ONE.
Well, except for one.
Yeah, he almost got everything. The looks? A well-built figure of a man, who seems to never miss a workout. Will the handsome face go away? His gorgeous yet emotionless eyes would definitely turn your world upside down when you look at him. And materialistically speaking, he has everything you can think of all over the world. Vehicles may it be via land, air, or water-mansions, villas, resorts, you name it!
He has almost everything, except for three things: Family, friends... and a heart.
Why? Simply because he really has no heart. Not literally of course. What's that, Doraemon? Is Peg just a robot?
One word to describe Mr. Ezekiel Roswell is this: perfectionist.
And what he hates most of all are people who are stupid.
And just like his ordinary day in the office, he's now seating comfortably on a recliner facing in front of his desk while reading and analyzing his business' documents. And then suddenly two knocks caught his attention.
"Come in," he said in a low, stern voice.
When the door opened, someone rushed in.
A male employee who appears to be in his mid-20s.
"G-Good morning, Mr. Roswell," he stammered.
Mr. Roswell did not speak. He's facing the document, continuously reading its content but his ears are waiting for the employee to speak.
"S-Sir, this is a compilation of the personal backgrounds of various women," the employee said as he put down the folder that was half a hand's breadth thick.
"What time is it?" Mr. Roswell asked with a low and meaningful tone while signing the documents.
The employee glanced at his wristwatch before stammering. "T-Twelve minutes... p-past eleven...p-past, Sir."
"You're fired."
"B-But"
"Leave."
And that's how the career of that employee has ended. One mistake and you're out. That's how simple life is for Mr. Roswell. And if you're asking why the male employee was fired, it's because he's twelve minutes late.
When the ex-employee left, he immediately took the folder containing the women's backgrounds and scanned it as fast as he could so there would be no wasted time. They are all successors of different business tycoons, but the folder ended up on the trash bin.
"They all look stupid," he said to himself.
Outside the office, there was a dramatic scene due to the exit of the absent employee.
"Oh, Hey, what happened? Did Boss scold you?"
"I am." He washed his face with his hand. "Fired"
Everyone looked at him, although scenes like this were not new. "Ouch!"
"Oh, no!"
"Oh my God!"
"Aww, sorry,!"
"That's okay, that's how it is," he said with a bitter smile.
In the middle of the drama, a female voice intervenes and everyone stopped to listen to her.
"Hey, is there anything new? Almost every day. Mr. Demon is getting rid of someone. He's handsome and rich, but he's also a demon."
Their eyes widened when they saw their boss standing behind the girl wearing his infamous poker face. And the female employee had no idea.
"Chrishelle!" another female employee scolded, then bowed.
"Why, it's true, isn't it? Sometimes it's not just once if you fire an employee. Or isn't it, it's very demonic?"
"And for today, Miss, you're the second."
She stiffened and the woman slowly turned to face him but it's too late, Mr. Roswell has left. Two down, and here we go again.
Mr. Roswell is walked forward, everyone bows their head a little as a sign of respect. There are few who greeted him as well.
"Good morning po, Sir."
"Hello po, Sir!"
But nobody got a reply from him, not even a single glance. It's really in his personality to not look at anyone. Just an addict, no? He's about to enter the elevator when a lady grabbed his sleeves and that made him pause for a while.
"Sir, I hear you're looking for a wife," she whispered in a sexy voice, and yeah, I can say that she's definitely a hottie.
"And so?" he answered without looking at her.
She moved a little closer-oh, no not a little. She really pressed her body against Mr. Roswell's, with matching chances. She even played Mr. Roswell's tie with her finger and whispered, "I'm single and ready to mingle, Sir. You'll be the happiest man alive if you'll choose me to be your wife."
She tiptoed to kiss Mr. Roswell, but the next thing she knew, she had already fallen to the floor due to Mr. Roswell's rude push of her.
"O-Ouch, S-Sir" She started to cry because of embarrassment. Everyone was just looking at what was happening, no one tried to interrupt the scene because they might lose their job if they interfered.
Mr. Roswell spoke while still facing the elevator. "Do you even know what you're saying, Miss?"
"B-But... S-Sir."
"You didn't even reach half of my standard."
The woman was still crying. "S-Sir!"
"You're fired." And with that, he entered the elevator.
Three employees lost their jobs within an hour. Yes, that's true, but if you think he's in a bad state, oh well... you're wrong.
AMESYL CROSS POV
Insan's slow walk is why I'm already a few steps ahead of her. Her mind is floating again. I hear her talking to herself and saying something about drugs. I don't know what happened to my cousin, her mind always seems to be wandering.
"Auntie!" I greeted Auntie when I got home. Because hyper is the trend here. If you don't want to be out of place, you have to bring out 101% of your mischief.
We weren't rich, that's all, our life was simple. Auntie just ran a business, selling things, Aemie and I even helped her sometimes, eh.
"The truth is, the reason Aemie and I are able to study is because we are both full scholars at Stone Hurst University. It's hard to believe, but Aemie is a scholar and she's smart. I don't know how she manages to do her exams. When it comes to recitation, you always know that her brain is floating."
"Hi, kids! Oh wait, why is it just you? Where is my Baby Ae?" She looked behind me. He was walking so slowly. Insan.
"Ah... Aunt, because-"
"Waaal Did something happen to Aemie? Did she run away? Where did I go wrong?"
"Auntie, because it's"
"Amesyl, tell me, I do everything for the two of you, but it's still not enough? Do you think I'm still lacking?"
"Auntie"
"I'm working hard, but why? Why did my Baby Ae leave me?" she said, looking like she was about to cry.
Oh, my! I'm just scratching my head. Now you know who Aemie inherited from? I don't know how I lasted 19 years with these two, eh.
Honestly, it's hard.
Raise an aunt and cousin. Try it! Let's switch places.
"Mommy, I'm home!"
How stupid of a person to kiss on the cement again! "That's the only fun thing here, eh, it's like you're always watching action films."
"Baby Ae! My Baby Ae.... Amesyl, call an ambulance, please."
Add to that the drama between them and their mother. It's simple, right?
"Amesyl, I said call an ambulance now!" Aunt said, still in tears.
Ambulance immediately? Oh! It's your responsibility to be a mother.
AEMIE ROMERO'S POV
I was unlucky, my face was even sunk into the cement! "Waaa Mommy, that hurts!"
Mommy immediately came to help me, and Insan did the same.
I think they called an ambulance...
It's Friday now, and the meeting is on Monday. I'm nervous, so maybe my mind is a bit scattered right now.
"Baby Ae? Baby Ae, are you okay?" Mommy asked worriedly. My mommy is kind, isn't she?
She patted my cheek softly. "Baby Ae, why aren't you answering? Do you even recognize me? It's me, your mommy."
I laughed at her reaction. "Yes, Mommy! I just had a sudden thought."
"What were you thinking, Baby Ae? Have you ever thought about leaving us? Have you ever thought about running away? I'll change the floor right away."
I'll pay attention to Mommy later, because that's right... I suddenly had an idea.
What if I go to the Roswell Company tomorrow? It's just a visit, right?
"Amesyl, your cousin is leaving us. Baby Ae is going to run away."