uno

"Welcome to Chaos"

Alice Guo didn't believe in fate-at least, not the kind of fate that could ruin a perfectly good school year. But the moment Ms. Risa Hontiveros walked into her classroom in October, fate decided to make Alice's life a comedic mess.

It all started on a humid Monday morning. Alice was busy doodling on her notebook while Cassy whispered to her, "Did you hear? We're getting a new student teacher today. They say she's really pretty."

Alice snorted. "If she's anything like the last one, I doubt it. Mr. Perez had us writing essays about our deepest fears." She rolled her eyes. "What is this, a therapy session?"

Before Cassy could respond, the classroom door swung open, and in walked Risa Hontiveros. She was elegant, poised, and-Alice couldn't help but notice-stunningly beautiful.

The class went silent, jaws collectively dropping. Even Wes, Alice's little brother who had snuck in to borrow lunch money, whispered, "Ate, bakit parang pang-Miss Universe 'yung teacher niyo?"

Alice blinked, her heart doing something weird, like it had tripped over itself. She quickly shoved Wes toward the door. "Get out before I tell Mom you're hoarding snacks under your bed."

"Rude," Wes muttered, but he left anyway.

Ms. Hontiveros smiled warmly at the class, her eyes scanning the room. "Good morning, everyone. I'm Ms. Hontiveros, your student teacher for English." Her voice was soft but commanding, and Alice felt a shiver run down her spine.

"Now," Risa continued, "I'm here to make sure you actually enjoy learning English."

Cassy nudged Alice and whispered, "She's way too pretty to be real. Do you think she's married?"

"Focus," Alice hissed, her cheeks burning. But her thoughts were far from focused. Instead, her brain decided to play a cruel trick, imagining what it would be like to have those soft eyes looking at her.

By the time lunch rolled around, Alice had successfully embarrassed herself twice in front of Ms. Hontiveros.

First, by accidentally knocking over her water bottle during introductions "Sorry, ma'am, my hand just... uh... slipped", and second, by forgetting how to pronounce existential during a reading aloud.

"Smooth," Cassy teased as they sat at their usual lunch spot.

"Shut up," Alice groaned, hiding her face in her hands.

Wes plopped down beside them, stealing Alice's sandwich. "You're acting weird. Is it because of Ms. Universe in your classroom?"

"Do you have a death wish?" Alice snapped, grabbing her sandwich back.

Cassy laughed. "Admit it, Alice. You've got a crush on her."

Alice froze, the words hitting her like a ton of bricks. Did she? No, that would be ridiculous. She didn't have time for crushes, especially on someone so... unattainable.

But as the week went on, and Ms. Hontiveros continued to grace their classroom with her charm, Alice couldn't help but feel like she was living in the plot of a cheesy rom-com-one that she had no idea how to navigate.

And so, the chaos began.

The rest of the week passed in a blur of awkward encounters and increasingly bizarre situations.

Alice had tried her best to play it cool around Ms. Hontiveros, but her body seemed determined to betray her. On Wednesday, she tripped over her own chair while trying to hand in her essay.

By Thursday, she'd somehow spilled iced coffee on her notes-right in front of Risa.

"You alright, Alice?" Risa asked, crouching down to help clean up the mess. Her tone was kind, but her smile carried a hint of amusement.

"Y-Yeah," Alice stammered, her ears burning. "I just... uh... my hands are clumsy sometimes."

Cassy leaned over and whispered, "Smooth, Alice. Really smooth."

To make matters worse, Wes had decided it was his new mission in life to tease Alice at every opportunity. During lunch on Friday, he barged into the classroom with a loud, "Ate! Mom said no more crushes on teachers!"

The entire room turned to stare at Alice. Risa, who happened to be reviewing lesson plans at her desk, looked up in surprise.

Alice buried her face in her hands. "Wes, I swear, I'm going to throw your PlayStation out the window."

Wes grinned, completely unfazed. "You're blushing. Is it because of Ma'am Risa?"

The class erupted into laughter, and Alice seriously considered transferring schools.

After the bell rang, Risa caught Alice lingering by the door, clearly trying to avoid her classmates' teasing.

"Hey, Alice," she said gently. "Your brother's quite the character."

Alice groaned. "You have no idea."

Risa chuckled. "Don't worry. Siblings are like that. When I was his age, I used to embarrass my older sister all the time."

Alice blinked. "Wait, you're the younger sibling?"

"Surprised?" Risa teased.

"Yeah, I figured you were, like, the perfect older sister who never did anything wrong," Alice admitted before realizing how that sounded. "Not that you're perfect or anything! I mean, you're... uh..."

Risa raised an eyebrow, clearly amused. "Relax, Alice. I get what you mean."

Alice nodded, her face heating up. She quickly made an excuse to leave, her mind spinning with the memory of Risa's smile.

This was going to be a long year.