Chapter 10

Alegria opened her eyes and looked at her clock. It's 6:48am. She got up and made her bed, combed her hair and went out of her room. "Hmm.. He's not yet awake.." Alegria said to herself. After she brushed her teeth, she decided to cook breakfast since her brother's still not awake. She opened the fridge and took the eggs, milk, and seasonings. After a few minutes, she heard her brother opened his door.



"Good morning, Alex." Calyx said, while rubbing his eyes as he sat down on the chair.



"G'morning." Alegria answered, smiling.



"So, how were you and Bruno last night?" Calyx asked, curious.



"Last night was the best. You have no idea how happy I was. And it was all thanks to you." Alegria answered with a smile. "Oh, by the way, I have something to tell you." Alegria said as she turned off the stove and put the omelet into the plates.



"What is it?" Calyx asked.



"I'm... gonna do the surgery." Alegria said, as she put the plates on the table, nervous about how her brother would react.



"Well, that's great! But why did you suddenly change your mind?"



"Uhm.. Bruno and the boys convinced me.. Well, it's a long story. So don't ask how they convinced me. How 'bout you, how was your date last night?" Alegria answered, smiling as she ate the omelet.



"Well.. The girl was nice.. But you know I just don't like girls who are shy. She was so shy that she barely opened her mouth to talk. So yeah, the date ended early. Nothing happened." Calyx said, disappointed.



"Hey, you're not too young to be choosy on girls, you know. You should've just been nice to her and talked about a lot of things. Maybe she wasn't just the type of girl to talk first." Alegria said.



"I was always the first one to talk, you know. She's really just a shy girl."



"Really? Well.. Maybe she didn't like you. Maybe she thought that you were too ugly for her." Alegria said, trying to irritate her brother.



"Come on Alex, you know that I am fucking handsome." Calyx said, bragging. Alegria tried to stop her laugh. "What?" Calyx asked.



"Nothing. Okay, you're handsome. Period." Alegria said, smiling. Calyx smiled back as he started eating his omelet.



"Oh, I almost forgot. Bruno will come here later at nine. I'm not sure if I'll come back early." Alegria said.



"Oh.. You two have a date today?" Calyx asked.



"Uh.. Sort of. He's gonna bring me to their rehearsals." Alegria smiled. "Wanna come?"



"No, It's okay. I've got some reports to finish, so I'll be staying here all day." Calyx said.



"Oh.. Okay. Wait, what time is it now?" Alegria said as she looked at the wall clock. "I've gotta prepare now. Bruno will come pick me up at nine." Alegria said as she finished off her food and stood up. Calyx nodded as he ate his omelet.



After Alegria brushed her teeth, she went straight to the bath room and took a shower. She blow dried her hair, and picked some clothes to wear. She braided her hair and put some make up on. She wore her favorite earings and wrist watch and looked at the ring that Bruno gave her. She smiled at the thought that she didn't take it off even if she was taking a bath.



Alegria suddenly heard a honk outside her house. She looked through her window and saw a red car. "It's him!" Alegria looked at her wrist watch. "He's early." She smiled as she grabbed her bag and went to the mirror for a final look. She brushed her bangs to the side. "Good." She opened the door and went outside of her room.



"Alex, Bruno's here." Calyx said, smiling.



"Yeah, I know. Bye!" Alegria said as she went outside of the house.



"Good luck on your date!" Calyx answered, smiling. He went to the window and took a look. Alegria waved at him and Bruno smiled. Alegria went inside the car, and off it went.



"Were not gonna be at the old studio?" Alegria asked Bruno.



"Nope, the rehearsal's gonna be on another place." Bruno said.



"Ohh.. I see. You have an upcoming show or something?" Alegria asked again.



"We're gonna be the special guest on a TV show and we have some radio interviews." Bruno said.



"Ohh.. Okay. So, what songs are you gonna play?" Alegria asked.

"The Lazy Song.. or Grenade.. I don't know. We'll decide later." Bruno smiled.



"You know, I always wonder how you managed to get to my house." Alegria said.



"What do you mean?" Bruno said with a curious smile.



"You know that I'm your fan and before we met each other, I've been watching like, almost all of your interviews that I can find in the internet and Phil said that you're not good when it comes to places and directions and you easily get lost. So yeah, I got curious and asked you about that."



Bruno laughed. "Oh.. Yeah. I easily get lost. But I guess it's because our studio's just near your house and I'm quite familiar of the place." Bruno smiled.



"I know that, but I still didn't expect you'd really find me." Alegria smiled. Bruno chuckled.



After a few moments of talking with each other, they have already arrived. Bruno parked the car and lead Alegria inside a building. He introduced her to some people and after a few minutes, the rehearsals started.


Bruno first sang Grenade, Just The Way You Are, then The Lazy Song. Alegria sat down and watched as the boys rehearsed.

"Tomorrow I'll wake up, do some P90X. Meet a really nice girl, have some really nice sex. And she's gonna scream out 'this is great'.."

"Oh my god, this is great!" Alegria shouted as Phil sang this part of the song. They all looked at Alegria and laughed.

"Do it again! Do it again!" Phil said, still laughing.

"Alright boys. One, two, three.." Bruno said as he signalled, smiling. "Tomorrow I'll wake up, do some P90X. Meet a really nice girl, have some really nice sex. And she's gonna scream out 'this is great'.."

"Oh my god, this is great!" Alegria seducingly said. And the boys laughed again.

"Alegria, you are one naughty girl!" Jamareo told Alegria. She just smiled.

Bruno looked at Alegria and walked towards her.

"What?" Alegria asked, smiling.

Bruno pinched Alegria's cheeks. "Nothing." He smiled. "Boys, can we first take a break? It's about lunch time already and I'm hungry." Bruno said as he sat down beside Alegria. The boys agreed and ordered someone to buy food. The boys said what they wanted to eat.

"Burger." Phredley said.

"Make that two." Phil added.

"Three burgers." Eric said.

"How about pizza?" Jamareo said.

"Yeah, pizza!" Kenji said.

"We'll eat ice cream." Bruno said and looked at Alegria.

"Ice cream for lunch?" Alegria said as she smiled at Bruno.

"Why not? You're allergic to lots of types of food. Plus, I noticed that you eat ice cream and sweets a lot." Bruno smiled.

'He noticed that?' Alegria smiled. "Well, ice cream it will be then." Alegria said.

"What flavor?" The girl who was assigned to buy their food asked.

Bruno and Alegria looked at each. "Vanilla." They both said.

"Okay, is that all boys? I'm gonna go and buy all these stuff then."

"Yeah, that's all." Phil said.

The girl nodded as she went out of the room.

"Were you bored while you were just here, sitting and watching us?" Bruno asked.

"Of course not. I enjoy seeing you guys rehearse." Alegria said.

"Why don't you sing and jam with us?" Bruno said.

"No, no. I'm fine here." She said.

"You sure?"

"Of course. You know, you guys should just practice. Don't worry about me." Alegria smiled.

Bruno smiled back. "Alright, if that's what my girlfriend says."

"By the way, I already told Calyx about the surgery." Alegria said.

"Oh.. So.. How did he react?"

"He was happy, of course. But we haven't talked to Dr. Williams yet.. But Calyx might just call him and tell him about it."

"Oh, that's good." Bruno said.

Alegria took her phone and checked her twitter. Bruno looked at Alegria's phone.

"Oh, yeah. I haven't followed you on twitter yet." Bruno said.

"No, don't follow me." Alegria said.

"Why? You know, don't worry about me getting discovered of having a girlfriend."

"You know, I've seen how your fans on twitter react about some issues about who your girlfriend is, and it's scary. So don't follow me or you'll lose lots of fans."

"I don't care, I won't lose you anyway." Bruno smiled as he stroked Alegria's hair. Alegria just smiled.

After a few minutes, the food have arrived and they all ate what they ordered. They rehearsed after they ate. Alegria smiled as the boys played the songs and after a few minutes, the rehearsal was finished. Bruno drove Alegria home.

"I'll come here tomorrow and drive you to your work, but I won't be able to fetch you after.." Bruno said as he opened the car door for Alegria.

"It's okay, I know you're busy." Alegria said as she went out of the car.

Bruno kissed Alegria's cheeks and went inside his car. "Good night."

"Good night. And drive safely." Alegria said as she waved good bye to Bruno and went inside the house.

"I'm home.." Alegria said.

"Oh, why didn't you let Bruno inside and eat dinner?" Calyx said.

"No, he's busy. He has to rest now for his shows and interviews tomorrow."

"Oh, Alex, I called Dr. Williams earlier. He told me to tell him whenever you feel like doing the surgery cause he'll set a schedule."

"Oh, that's great. Tell him the surgery will be after ninety-nine days. Uhm Calyx, I won't eat dinner."

"You sure? You might get hungry later."

"No, I'm good. Good night Calyx." Alegria said as she went inside her room. She changed her clothes into pajamas. She wrote something on a tiny notebook and smiled. She took a pillow, hugged it and slept.

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The next morning, Alegria woke up and looked at her clock. "Oh shit.." She woke up late. She jumped right out of her bed and prepared as fast as she could. Suddenly, she heard her phone ring.

"Hello?"

"I'll arrive at your house in a few minutes. I'm almost there." Bruno said.

"Good, I'll just wait for you then." Alegria said as she fixed her hair.

"I'm here now." Bruno said. Alegria heard a honk outside her house so she grabbed her things and went outside her room.

"I'm going now." Alegria said.

"Yeah, take care." Calyx answered.

Alegria ran towards Bruno's car and went inside. Bruno started the car and drove it. "Thank God you came here to pick me up."

"Why?" Bruno asked.

"I woke up late and I'm almost late for work." Alegria smiled at Bruno.

"Don't worry, I'll drive faster. Just tell me the directions." Bruno said. Alegria indicated the way to the school and after a few minutes, they have arrived.

"Thanks Bruno." She kissed his cheeks and grabbed her things.

"Take care." Bruno said as he drove his car.

Alegria ran towards her classroom but to her clumsiness, she bumped someone and her things fell. "Oh, I'm sorry, I'm really sorry." She said as she picked her things up.

"It's okay." The man said as Alegria hurriedly went inside the classroom. She started her class.

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"Alegria, there's a new teacher here in school! I heard he's cute." Rose said, Alegria's co-teacher.

"Yeah, but he's teaching elementary students. So I guess he wouldn't hang out much with us. The school has lots of teachers, so I'm not sure if he'll notice us." Danielle said, another co-teacher.

"But he won't mind if we introduced ourselves to him, right? Come on guys, let's go!" Rose said as she stood up.

"No, I'll stay here. You guys can go. I'll eat my lunch here." Alegria said.

"Oh yeah.. I saw you earlier. You came here riding that red car. Hmm.. So that's why she wouldn't come with us." Danielle said.

Alegria's eyes widened and she bit her lips. 'Oh shit..'

"Oh come on Danielle, Alegria's not interested in boys. You know that, don't you?" Rose said.

"Yeah, but it's rare to see someone drive her to school, right?" Danielle said.

"Yeah.. You're right! Alegria, tell us. Who're you dating?" Rose asked.

"Yeah, who is it?" Danielled asked.

Suddenly, they heard someone opening the door. It was the school principal. He came inside with a man wearing eye glasses. "Good morning teachers. As some of you heard, there's a new teacher here in school. His name is Alexander Reed." The principal said.

"Good morning, I'm Alexander Reed. I will be teaching elementary students and although I wouldn't be able to see you more often, I came here to give my warm greetings."

"So his name is Alexander.." Rose said, whispering.

"You're right, he's cute.." Danielle answered, smiling.

"Wait, he's staring at Alegria.." Rose said.

"Well, yeah.. He's staring at you!" Danielle said, looking at Alegria.

"Stop it guys.." Alegria said as she whispered.

"We just came here to introduce him to you. Well, we have to get going now. Good bye teachers." The principal said as he went out with the new teacher.

"Alegria, he's staring at you!" Rose said.

"No he's not." Alegria disaggreed. "Well, class will start in a few minutes. I guess I'll go check my students now." Alegria said as she went outside the faculty room and walked towards her classroom. She started her class then.

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"Bye Rose! See you tomorrow!" Alegria said as she waved good bye to Rose and went outside the bus. She was walking towards her house when suddenly, she felt someone was watching her. She turned around, no one's there. "Weird.." She said to herself. After a few minutes, she arrived home.

Her brother was still not home, so she cooked food while waiting for her brother to arrive. She changed her clothes right after that and heard someone knocking on the door. "Coming!" She said as she went outside her room and opened the front door. No one's there. Just a bouquet of flowers. She picked them up and didn't see a note. She looked around, but she didn't see anyone suspicious. "Maybe this is from Bruno." She said as she took her phone and called him.

"Hello Bruno, are these flowers from you?" Alegria asked.

"What flowers?" Bruno asked, confused.

"Oh.. No, nothing I'll call you later. Bye." Alegria said.

"Ok, bye. I love you."

"I love you too." Alegria hung up.

After a few minutes, her brother have arrived.

"Uhm Calyx, did you order a bouquet of flowers?" Alegria asked, still holding the flowers.

"No, I didn't. Why'd ya ask?"

"I saw this outisde and thought it was from Bruno. There wasn't a note or something, so I don't know who gave this." She handed the bouquet to Calyx.

Calyx took the bouquet. "You're right, there's no note or something. Wait.. Maybe you have a secret admirer." Calyx smiled.

"Pssshhh.. That's crazy." Alex said.

"Well, that's not impossible. You're pretty, and you might have lots of stalkers waiting for you outside." Calyx said.

"You know, let's just eat dinner." Alegria said as she sat down on the dining table and ate dinner. She went inside her room after that and decided to sleep.

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*Ring Ring*

*Ring Ring*

Alegria woke up and looked at her clock. It was just 12:06am. She looked at her phone to see who called, but it was an unknown number. She picked up the phone. "Hello? Who is this?" No one answered. "Hello?" Silence. She hung up and went back to sleep. Her phone rang again and she answered it. "Hello? Who is this?"

"Look outside the window." A man on the other line said.

Alegria stood up and looked outside her window. She saw a man standing, holding a phone against his ear. It was dark and she couldn't see his face clearly. Alegria's heart thumped faster. "Wh-who are you?" She asked, still staring at the man. He didn't answer. "Who are you?!" She asked, nervous.

The man chuckled gently and answered. "It's not important. I'll be watching you from now on. But don't worry, I won't hurt or harm you. I will just be here to watch over you because I love---."

Alegria hung up and jumped to her bed. She turned her phone off so the man wouldn't be calling her again. She closed her eyes and hid under her blanket and forced herself to sleep.