Chapter 17

Sanya...

KYRA and I almost missed our breakfast due to our haste. We woke up at 3:30 am, and it was a good thing that Alexa's condo was close to the school.

"What's wrong with you two? Don't you know what an alarm is?" Alexa scolded us. She woke up to use the bathroom and noticed it was almost 4 am, so she hurriedly woke us up. "If I didn't wake up, you might have missed the bus."

Kyra and I just shook our heads. Before leaving and saying our goodbyes to Alexa, we double-checked everything. Once we were sure we hadn't forgotten anything, we left. Kyra used her car and parked it in the school parking lot.

She called someone last night to pick up her car and left the keys with Alexa. She would give them to the person since it would be a three-day outing.

I saw six buses arrive, three for the guys and three for the girls. Another set was for our teachers and facilitators. Inside the bus, we each had our own seat on both sides. It was fine not having a seatmate since many of us had a lot of things, and they wouldn't all fit in the overhead compartments.

Kyra and I sat side by side. On the other side, we placed some of our belongings, and I was near the window. I couldn't help but let my eyes wander, even though I tried to stop myself.

I shouldn't be looking for him, but I wanted to see him or at least know if he was with us.

"He'll probably wake up late again. He's such a slacker; he might miss the bus with what he's doing."

Kyra tapped my shoulder and took off her earphones. "Were you saying something, Sanya?"

"Huh?" I shook my head. "N-nothing."

She just nodded and closed her eyes, listening to music. We woke up early, so I was sure she was still sleepy. However, I couldn't close my eyes because I wasn't sleepy.

Where is he? Maybe he's still asleep in the mud. I looked for other guys with curly and long hair or those wearing loose outfits that made them look like hip-hop dancers, but I couldn't find him.

I saw a familiar guy who looked a bit nerdy, Andy Zedleer. As far as I knew, he was friends with Adam, so I followed him with my gaze. He entered a bus close to ours. Could Adam be there too?

I was about to close the curtain, then my eyes caught someone, a guy. He was looking in my direction. I stared back at him, trying to analyse if I knew him.

I furrowed my brow; he was a bit far, and I couldn't get a good look at him, but I knew he was looking my way.

He smiled at me, and I frowned even more. I turned away from him, hoping the curtain could hide me.

I checked my phone, where Adam's number was saved. I didn't delete his text message, as he assumed.

Should I text him or ask if he's here? But he might think of something else again.

I sighed and attempted to sleep. They turned off the lights in the bus, and I tried my best to sleep, but I couldn't.

Hours passed, and I checked my phone. It was already 6 am, and the bus from school had just started moving.

I opened the curtain slightly to peek outside. Manila traffic was still annoying, and it was almost 8 am, but we hadn't made much progress.

Finally, when we were able to move forward, I felt hunger kicking in. I realized we hadn't had breakfast yet.

The bus stopped for a while so some could use the restroom, and others could buy or eat something.

I woke up Kyra so we could eat together.

I was surprised when Andy Zedleer approached me and handed me a Mocha Latte.

"What's this for?" I asked with a puzzled expression. Kyra was momentarily left alone.

"It's for you."

I raised an eyebrow. "For me? Wait, why are you giving this to me? Do you have a thing for me?" I asked straightforwardly.

He shrugged and laughed. "I have nothing for you. Adam asked me to give this to you."

"Adam?"

"Yeah, your husband. He gave this to me earlier for you."

I looked around, searching for him.

"He boarded the bus a while ago. He just really asked me to pass this to you."

I raised my eyebrow. "Don't you have anything to say to him?"

"What should I say?" I gestured for him to leave, and he shrugged before moving away.

So, Adam is here, and he decided to join. I glanced at the Mocha Latte in my hand and smiled, but the smile disappeared when I accidentally bumped into a clueless guy.

"Woah!" Almost half of the Mocha Latte spilled on him, and some on my hand. Luckily, it didn't stain my clothes.

"What's wrong?!" I exclaimed.

The guy looked quite scared. "Sorry, Miss Sanya."

He seemed about to touch my hand with the handkerchief he held, but I moved it away. "Don't you dare touch me fucker, don't you have eyes?!"

I screamed at the guy in frustration, and people and students were looking at us, but I didn't care. "Next time, don't be so careless!"

"Sanya," Kyra called, carrying sandwiches and two coffees in her hands. "Come on."

I glared at the guy in front of me. Out of irritation, I threw what I was holding at him, then took the handkerchief from his hand to wipe my own that got splattered. I also tossed the handkerchief back at him and walked away.

Before getting on the bus, I saw the guy again, this time a bit closer. He was looking at me with what seemed like sadness in his eyes. He shook his head and entered the bus.

For a moment, I was lost in thought. The guy's face looked familiar, his ash-coloured eyes, his curly hair.

My eyes widened. Could that be Adam? But he looked so different. He was wearing a white T-shirt that fit him well, black ripped jeans, and black shoes. His curly hair was shorter, not as long as before, and he even had a bit of a beard on his face, which might be why I didn't recognize him at first.

After we ate with Kyra, we just looked out the window. We chatted about the different places we would pass by.

I wanted to push Adam out of my mind, so I tried to distract myself with other activities.

By around 2 pm, we would reach our destination. It was almost an eight-hour journey, including the delay in traffic, which was really heavy around 8 am. The originally four-hour travel time extended due to multiple stops, especially when someone wanted to use the restroom or eat. Some people seemed to take forever in the eating places, like they didn't want to leave.

"At last!" exclaimed Kyra. "My butt is sore from sitting too much. We should have stopped only twice; why does it have to be every hour?"

"Yeah, it's annoying that the other buses can't go first," I replied, also irritated.

"Okay, guys!" we heard one of the facilitators say. "Guys! Fix your tents and gear later; let's go there first." He pointed to a large wooden bungalow.

"We'll set the rules and regulations for the next three days there, okay?"

We followed them, and it turned out that more students joined compared to previous trips, probably because it's different this time. They explained the usual rules and mentioned that due to our large group, we couldn't camp in just one part of the forest. We were divided into three, with each group having both male and female members. The remaining two groups would camp in another part of the forest.

After that, with only a few of us left, the facilitator who stayed behind with us spoke again. Two teachers also remained. "We're more organized this way, and we can better monitor all of you."

"As you all know, this isn't a team-building activity, so there won't be any competitive activities between teams. We're here to enjoy the scenery and whatever beautiful views are here, like a normal field trip, but we'll be camping."

I looked around, and we were still quite a large group, making it difficult for me to spot what my eyes were looking for. Maybe she joined another group and not ours. That's better; I won't have to think about her.

I glanced at a guy—the same guy I bumped into earlier, the one I accidentally spilled my mocha latte on. He gave me a nasty look. Well, it's a small world; he's part of the group I belong to. I raised an eyebrow and gave him an annoyed look.

"We'll go sightseeing, and at the same time, while enjoying, we'll be learning. We want this outing and camping to still be educational. We will teach you the basics of survival in the forest, how to create fire using only wood. Not only that, but we'll also visit caves, climb mountains, and allow you to bathe in the waterfalls there." Some of the male students cheered, so I just rolled my eyes.

As we were about to head back to the buses to get our belongings, one of the professors overseeing us said, "No one else will help you set up your tent but yourselves. You should have it up before the sun sets."

"Do you know how to set up a tent, Kyra?" I asked her.

"Isn't there a manual?" we looked at the manual and started setting up our tent.

I thought it would be easy, but almost an hour passed, and we were still not done.

"How do you do this? It's getting dark," I looked at the sky; it was starting to cool down, and the surroundings were getting darker.

"This is how you do it," a voice from behind us said. I turned around and saw Kyra slightly open-mouthed.

"Z-Zhymian," she stammered, and I raised an eyebrow.

"Why?" Adam approached the tent and started fixing it. "Hold this," he ordered me.

"Are you ordering me?" I asked irritably.

"Do you want this tent to be set up or not?" I just did what he said, while Kyra grinned at both of us.

"It's fine now," he said and stood up, staring into my eyes. I couldn't believe he was in front of me. "Don't you have anything to say?" he asked.

"What should I say?" he smirked.

"Sanya and her wicked ways," I heard him tsk before he turned away.

"Thanks, Zhymian," Kyra said, raising my eyebrow again.

I saw Adam smile at Kyra. "You're lucky, somewhat kind, unlike Lena and some others."

I knew he was referring to me. "I didn't ask for your help, so you can leave now."

He faced me again. "If I didn't help you, that tent probably wouldn't be standing until now. Instead of being grateful, you prioritize your pride."

I heard him sigh before he walked away from us.

"Is he really your husband? He looks different."

"Why? Interested?" I stared at her, and I don't know why I felt a slight annoyance towards Kyra. She wasn't doing anything, and this was the first time I felt annoyed with her in this way, all because of that stupid Adam.

"What?!" she laughed. "No! Not my type, but he looks handsome when he's neat. Also, earlier when I saw you, you two actually looked good together."

My forehead furrowed even more. "Don't mention it again; it's irritating to hear," she laughed even more. "Shut up, Kyra!"

"I'm not saying anything anymore; I was just laughing."

"Yeah, and I know why. Go ahead, keep laughing at me." I rolled my eyes at her and began organizing my things. I noticed how she tried to stop herself from laughing and just helped me instead.