A Chance to Forever

ONE day, every class president was called to the Student Council Office for a meeting.

Among them was Eric, a second-year high school student and the president of his class.

When he arrived at the Student Council's Office, the year level advisers hadn't shown up yet, and only a few students were scattered around the room. The chairs were arranged in a semi-circle, so he picked an empty spot and waited.

A moment later, a girl walked in and took a seat near him.

Eric tried to catch her eye, but she wouldn't look up.

She kept her head down, completely avoiding his gaze.

'Careful, Miss. You’re going to get a stiff neck if you keep staring at the floor like that.' He thought to himself, a small smirk was playing on his lips.

Eventually, the year-level advisers arrived. They went through the agenda, discussing their responsibilities as class presidents and the upcoming classroom meetings scheduled for that afternoon in their respective class.

They also had to select a representative for each year level to attend the 'once a month' afternoon meetings.

Since Eric was from the prime section, the section which considered as the top section, his fellow second-year presidents chose him as their representative.

When the meeting finally ended, Eric and the girl he had noticed earlier stood up at the exact same time. Their eyes met, locking for a brief second.

Finding her gaze a bit too intense, Eric decided to be playful and gave her a quick wink.

But instead of being charmed, she looked annoyed. She rolled her eyes at him and walked straight out of the office.

"Grumpy... but at least she’s pretty." He whispered to himself.

He scanned the hallway as he walked out, hoping to catch another glimpse of her, but she was already gone. With a shrug, he headed back to his own classroom.

"BRO!" Jimmuel, one of Eric's friends, called him. He had spotted Eric hanging around the doorway of a first-year classroom, clearly looking for someone.

"Yeah?" Eric answered, his eyes never leaving the room.

"Who are you looking for anyway?" Jimmuel asked.

"New chick, Bro." Eric replied casually.

"Is that all you’re focused on? You even forgot to renew your club memberships. The deadline is haunting you." He reminded him.

"Registration isn't until tomorrow. I'll deal with it later." Eric brushed him off.

"Suit yourself. But Ma’am Umali is coming—let’s get back to class."

"Go ahead. I’ll follow." Eric said without even glancing at his friend.

Jimmuel already left, but Eric stayed.

Just as he was about to give up and head back to his own classroom, a group of girls walked towards the room. His heart skipped. One of them was the girl he’d been waiting for... The one he had seen in the SCO the other day.

As her friends went inside, the girl stayed by her locker to grab something.

Eric saw his chance. He started to approach her to introduce himself, but a guy beat him to it, calling her Best.

Before he could intervene, the second bell rang.

The guy didn't leave her side, ruining Eric's opportunity. As he turned to run back to his own classroom, he nearly ran into his teacher. He tripped, barely catching his balance.

"Mr. Tarzona? The second bell already rang, didn't it?" His teacher asked, arms crossed. "Shouldn't you be in your seat by now?"

"Sorry, Ma'am."

She gave him a knowing smile. "Go inside. I have an announcement to make."

Once they were in the classroom, she addressed the students. "Good afternoon, class. Your Class President, Eric..." She walked back toward the door and pointed toward the first-year hallway where she had just caught him. "...will be having his classroom visit over there. Who would like to join him?"

"Ma'am, no!" Eric groaned. He hadn't even sat down yet.

He heard muffled laughter from the first column. Jason and Jimmuel exchange high-five, clearly enjoying his misery.

"Mr. Cruz, Mr. Alarcon, would you like to join your friend?" The teacher asked.

Both shook their heads vigorously, trying to stifle their laughter.

"Follow me, Mr. Tarzona." Ma’am Umali commanded.

"Good luck, bro!" Gerald shouted as Eric hung his head and followed her out.

His teacher spoke to the teacher in the other classroom, who smiled at the arrangement.

Eric stepped inside, feeling the heat crawl up his neck. He couldn't even lift his head from the embarrassment.

"Alright, class. This is Eric Tarzona, a second-year student from the Prime section. He’ll be joining our class for a visit, so please behave." The teacher announced. "He'll be with us for the rest of the period."

When Eric finally looked up, his eyes landed right on her—the girl from earlier. As he scanned the room, he saw his cousin in the back, biting her lip to keep from laughing. In the front row, he saw another girl watched him with a casual expression.

"I'll head out now." His teacher said.

"Ma'am—" Eric tried to protest.

"Don't worry, I won't be giving out any seatwork today. Enjoy your new classmates." And with that, she was gone.

"Alright, where should I put you?" The teacher mused, looking for a gap. "There! You can take that seat at the back."

As Eric walked to his assigned spot, he passed the girl. "Hi!" He whispered softly.

She immediately looked away, completely ignoring him.

Eric chuckled to himself and sat down right behind her seatmate. He could tell she was annoyed just by the way she stiffened her shoulders.

With fifteen minutes left in the period, the girl kept glancing at her watch. To her, time seemed frozen.

Her seatmate noticed. "No matter how many times you check it, it won't move any faster—especially when you're this bored." Her classmate whispered to her.

She let out a small, frustrated laugh.

"What could be so wrong?"

"Nothing. I’m just bored," She replied. "I guess Science just isn't my favorite subject."

"HOW were your new classmates?" Jason asked Eric later that afternoon. They were at the school park, inside a gazebo, waiting for their rides home.

"Great, obviously. I ended up sitting right behind her seatmate." Eric bragged.

"You mean the chick you’re stalking?" Jimmuel teased.

"Yeah."

"Nice! You actually still got lucky with your punishment." Said Raf, his best friend. "Why don't you just transfer classes so you can be closer to her?"

"Honestly? I wouldn't mind getting punished like that again." Eric joked.

"So, what was her reaction?"

"She was bored to death. She even rolled her eyes when I greeted her and didn't even bother to look back at me."

The group burst into laughter.

"What do you expect? If I were her and I was annoyed with you, I wouldn't smile at you either." Gerald pointed out.

"I don't get you, man." Jason said. "You're still so young, but you've had so many girlfriends already."

"Hey! They're the ones who like me," Eric shrugged. "I don't want them to think I'm a snob by ignoring them."

"So, what’s her name?"

Eric just shrugged. "That’s what I’m trying to find out. I can’t even get close enough to ask."

His friends just laughed louder, enjoying the rare sight of Eric actually having to work for a girl's attention.