BCJ 1 • strawberries and cigarettes

Note: very slooooowww updates

***

Ezekiel Pete Ramirez haughtily made his way through the crowd, mindlessly pushing aside the people who blocked his way. He let out a devious smile as he heard the swoons of the girls as he inserted his hands inside the pockets of his leather jacket, a total opposite of the uniform worn by the other students in the university.

He is used to attention and he loves it. He seeks it.

Being the most handsome one, he is adored by many. They also feared him.

No one dares to touch him without his permission.

No one dares to enter his territory.

And no one dares to steal his woman, who only lasted for a week at most.

He is the campus heartthrob. But some call him the campus heart breaker.

But he didn't really care what they called him. As long as he gets what he wants, he doesn't give a damn about what other people think.

He swiftly grabbed a cigarette stick from his pocket and lit it up, puffing the smoke continuously as he leaned on his red Porsche 718 Cayman and Boxster, his fifth car to be exact. His father recently got it for him as an apology gift for not making it to his birthday.

You see, some may think he's got it all, but no one knows how miserable he is, not even his friends.

Not even his parents who just got divorced.

As a product of an arranged marriage, he never got to see his parents happy, not even once. Not even on his birthdays. His parents hate each other so much that they don't sleep in the same bedroom, nor live in the same house.

He basically lives alone.

When he reached 18, he requested that they buy him a condo unit in the city for being in their house just didn't feel right. Not when his parents would only be there to check on him once a week.

His mother already has a family on her own and is about to get married. And he hates her. Sort of. Especially when she just brought him to her new family's affair and even introduced her step son to him, John Kavine.

So he did what he just had to do. He ruined the dinner.

His mother was upset. But he couldn't be more upset. Not when she told him she is gonna get married like she was just telling him that she was buying a new dress.

And it somehow made him pity his father. Ever since his parents got divorced, he buried himself in work, so much work that he even failed to attend his son's important days.

Pete carelessly flicked the cigarette butt to the ground before getting another one.

Smoking is prohibited in the school grounds, but he still manages to sneak in some.

And no one dares to report him to the office. They don't wanna mess with him.

He was about to light the new one when he spotted a guy storming towards him. His brows furrowed and lips in a straight line as he hastily made his way towards Pete.

"Haven't you read the student manual? You're not allowed to smoke inside the campus."

Pete doesn't know his name but he certainly has seen him before.

"Why do you care? It's my cigarette. Not yours."

"As a student in this university, I have the right to correct the wrongdoings of my fellow students," the guy proclaimed before grabbing the unlit cigarette from his hand and throwing it to the nearby trash bin.

That agitated him.

No one has ever done it before.

But this guy really had the guts to offend him.

"What's your name?"

He didn't really care, but he definitely had to put him on his hate list.

"Albert Einstein."

"Excuse me?"

"You are excused."

Pete frustratingly adjusted the sleeves of his jacket and stood straight.

He wanted to land a punch on the guy's face but several students were starting to crowd around them.

"Stop smoking. Your hair's gonna fall out and your lungs are going to deteriorate. I'll go ahead."

He was about to follow the guy to give him what he was looking for but his friend Khai came.

Kristoffer Khai, his best friend, a certified playboy as well, cocked an eyebrow as he eyed Pete who was clenching his fists.

"What happened?"

"Nothing. Some dumbass just decided to ruin my day. Come on. We'll be late to the party."

***

Jameson Kao Sanchez exhaustedly wiped the sweat on his forehead before grabbing the garbage bags and placing them inside the large bins.

He is totally depleted with energy as he also lacked sleep the other night from taking care of his younger brother who is currently admitted to the hospital because of fever.

He is tired.

He is tired of being poor.

He hates being poor.

But being poor is all he has.

So he has to study during the day and work in a convenience store at night in order to pay for his fees.

Being born in a family who barely makes ends meet, it is certainly tiring to look for other ways to survive.

His mother works as a vegetable vendor in the nearby market while his father is a mechanic.

But still, their income is not enough to suffice for their needs especially now that he's in the university.

And so he has to work multiple part time jobs so he could pay for his own fees.

Exhausted, he languishingly sat on the nearby chair in front of the convenience store.

As it was almost midnight, there weren't many customers unlike earlier when the store was swarmed with students who just came from cram school.

He had to close the store in about two minutes, and so, despite his lack of energy he decided to stand and drag himself in to account for everything before he closed the store.

But as he was about to flip the sign, a hand aggressively pushed the door open and in came a guy with a bruised face and cut eyebrow.

Ezekiel Pete.

Yes.

He knows his name.

Who doesn't?

His name itself demands power but unlike everyone else, Kao doesn't care about him.

Pete cocked a brow at him as he stopped the door from the inside.

"I'm sorry, Sir but we are closed."

"Then open it for me. I'm a customer."

Kao remained firm, pushing the door back close but Pete on the other side was eager to open it.

"You can just go look for another open st-"

He tried negotiating but Pete gave the door one last push, thus forcing it open and given the exhaustion his body was feeling at the moment, Pete succeeded.

Kao just let out a frustrated sigh as he watched Pete scan the shelves before settling on the pack of cigarettes by the counter. He also spotted him getting a decent amount of condom boxes before turning to him.

"Do you have strawberries? Or anything strawberry-flavored candies?" Pete asked as he grabbed several bags of chips and some bottled drinks.

Kao, agitated by the intruder, still headed to one of the nearby shelves and grabbed several strawberry-flavored candies.

"Do you need anything else?" he asked as he placed the candies on the counter and started scanning them. "It's 1 452."

"Yeah, you pay for all of them."

"Excuse me?"

Pete did not even bat an eyelash as he stared at him, causing him to be more agitated than he was earlier.

He should have been on his way home at this hour, but here he is, accommodating this jerk.

"You threw my cigarette earlier, remember?"

Kao bit down his frustration.

"Hey, I accommodated you when the store should have been closed a long time ago. Can you at least be decent enough to pay for the things you got?"

"You should have thought of that when you messed with me earlier," Pete smirked before grabbing the pack of cigarettes and the candies.

Kao counted to three to calm himself down before approaching Pete.

"Hey, I know you're a customer here but can you at least have some manners and pay for everything you got? Don't be such a jerk."

Kao's last statement might have struck a nerve as Pete grabbed the collar of his uniform and pushed him on one of the shelves.

"What did you say, you lowly creature?"

"You're. A. Jerk."

Kao emphasized each word, giving Pete the same intense stares he was giving him.

He felt a tug on his collar before he was pushed back, causing the shelves to topple over like dominoes and all he could do was shield himself from the products that were falling on top of his head.

"Oops. My bad," Pete snickered before heading towards the exit.

"FUCK YOU JERK!" Kao exclaimed but his pent-up frustrations were muted by the sound of the engine of Pete's car leaving.

***