Why Does Love Hurt?

Even though his mother told him not to go to the office or school, he still went there every time.

"I told you before not to come here anymore. Could you please let me know why you're here again, Zean?" His mother asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Mom, I want to make sure you arrived here safely." Frank reasoned with his mother.

Becca just shook her head at that. "Don't try to fool me, Frank. I know you, including your behavior. Please head to work now; you have a meeting, right?" His mother asked him while she was busy doing her work.

He sat in the visitor's seat at that time. "The meeting is later; Clover is there anyway." He said those words while he fiddled with his phone. 

"Promise, Mom, I'll just be here. I'll watch over you until 10 o'clock." At the same time, he winked at his mother.

His mother just shook her head. "You're really just like your father, aren't you?" It asked. 

He just laughed. Soon the door opened.

"Yes, Veron?" His mother said.

"Ma'am, did you call for me?" The woman said.

He knows Veron already has a boyfriend, and she's loyal to her boyfriend. It's not straightforward to flirt with either. Veron is beautiful, has an attractive body shape, dresses well, and clearly comes from a wealthy family.

"Oh, your son is here again, ma'am." Veron said while looking at him head to toe with serious disgust in its voice.

"Hey, Veron. Have you considered breaking up with your boyfriend and becoming my servant?" Frank teases Veron while looking at her.

"Whatever, Mr. Frank! Ma'am, I just want to slap the man in front of me. I want to punch him so badly!" Veron said while throwing a sharp gaze at him.

"Hey, don't get frustrated with me. Would you like to join me? You'll go to heaven." He laughed.

She was already red with anger. "You!" It also said with an upset voice.

"Veron, calm down. Here are the documents we'll be discussing on Friday. Please inform Faith about the meeting that is happening on Friday." His mom explained the situation to Veron while handing some of the documents to her.

"Yes, ma'am. I'm leaving now." She even glared at him before she exited.

"Oh, by the way, Veron, can you ask Miss Celestial? I'd like to talk to her later. How was her student?" Becca spoke to Veron while they were at the door.

"Mom, I'll give it to her." Frank volunteered he wants to see that woman again.

"Don't! I was the one assigned to give it to her, wasn't I? Do you know Faith?" Veron asked him.

He just smirked back then. "Of course, I know her."

"Whatever, I'm leaving now, ma'am." His mother just nodded.

Veron departed. He just laughed at what he was doing.

"Oh my goodness, Frank." Becca is only sighing because of him.

It left the table and walked around the school, touring. What if there weren't any unruly teachers who don't teach the students properly?

***

Mariely noticed that Veron was hot-tempered after going to the office.

"What happened to you?" She asked this question of someone she considered a friend.

It sighed. "Nothing, Faith, I just saw a face that made me lose my temper earlier."

She was surprised.

"Are you angry at Ma'am Becca?" This is the sole entity present in the office.

"No, Faith, it's her child." 

Her child? Mariely thought for a moment, and then she suddenly remembered what her brother had said before.

"Ah." This was his only response back then.

"Do you know Ma'am Becca's child?" Veron asked her curiously.

"Yes, but I forgot the name. He's my older brother's classmate." She explained it to Veron.

"Really? Are they close to your brother?" Veron asked her again.

"I don't know; my brother doesn't really talk much. My older brother is in private school, studying high school. Me, I'm in public school, so I don't really know my brother's classmates." She said so.

"Be careful with that man, Faith." Veron warned her.

"Why? Did he court you?" She asked.

"He tried to court me; he thought I was like other women who are easily won over by his charm." Veron said this, rolling her eyes, clearly furious.

"Oh? Don't worry, I won't lower myself to their level. He has a bad attitude."

"Really, he has a terrible attitude."

At that moment, she simply laughed.

"I'm going back to my students; they might be getting into another rumble." Mariely was saying goodbye to Veron. 

"Ah, wait a minute, Faith. Ma'am, Becca said she'll have you go to the office if you have free time or in your vacant time to check if you're okay and can handle that section." Veron said those words before she had left.

"Ma'am is afraid you'll quit suddenly." Veron's voice is full of concern.

Mariely laughed at that time. "I can handle my job. I need a job so I can help my parents, right? Additionally, I need to cover the costs of my review." She smiled at Veron while saying it.

"You know, you're so energetic and also a positive thinker, Faith. I know, of course." Veron smiled at her. "By the way, we will have a meeting on Friday." Veron reminded her.

"Okay, thanks, Veron." She smiled at her colleague and a friend at work.

Veron just nodded at her. She immediately walked over when she noticed her students were noisy.

Mariely quickly went to the classroom. She immediately saw that they were fighting again.

"Stop it!" She shouted at the class.

She was gasping for breath then.

The people who were fighting stopped then.

"What's your problem, you two?" She immediately asked the two, who were about to break heads again in no time.

"Okay, keep going with that!" Another one shouted.

"Everything is fine now."

"You really don't want to stop, do you?" She took her notebook.

"Just list it." They even laughed at her.

Calm down, Ely, this is just what was on her mind back then.

She's breathing deeply. "You're not paying attention to me," she said. "All of you, clean outside!" She said 

"We don't want to." 

"If you don't do that, I'll call all your parents." 

There, they stopped what they were doing, and the two who were fighting stopped. Back then, they regarded her with disdain.

"What? Please clean the tall grass in the restroom there." Mariely's face became serious and her voice stern.

"Everyone, go out."

"You two, stay here. Let's talk seriously." She addressed the two individuals who were fighting.

It's clear from their faces that they don't want the two of them to be together.

She went out for a while.

"Hey, come here." The female student immediately approached.

"Can you get me a first aid kit from the clinic, two ice packs, and some medicine, okay? Please tell the nurse that I'll be using the first aid kit over there first. Please monitor your classmates closely. Tell me if they don't clean." She explained it to the female student.

"Yes, Ma'am."

She just nodded. "Thank you." She smiled at her students.

The student she had informed immediately went to the designated location.

Mariely looked at the two, who were sitting quietly. Their lips were swollen, and they even had a black eye. The other student also has a nose that is still bleeding.

"What are you fighting about?" She then asked the two who were breaking each other's heads.

The two are just quiet. She sighed. 

"You don't want to tell me, do you? So you two are always hurting each other, Niel and Rodel?" She said.

"You two are cousins, and yet you're fighting." She continued speaking.

"If only he hadn't stolen my girlfriend. We wouldn't have broken up." Niel said these words while gazing at Rodel.

"What was stolen? The flirtatious nature of your girlfriend captivated Niel. I just dropped you off there." Rodel replied.

"So? You're fighting over a woman, is that it?" Mariely asked the two.

"I didn't steal his girlfriend; I just took her away from him because she was flirting with other men. That's why I told his flirtatious girlfriend to break up with him." Rodel explained back then.

"Because you like her." Neil said so. "She's not flirtatious!" Neil defended it.

She just shook her head. She wanted to laugh in front of her two students, but she couldn't do so because they were arguing. They're fighting just because of a woman.

"Oh, stop that." He said to the two.

"You, Rodel, why did you say his girlfriend was like that? Have you proven that yet?" She asked one of them.

"Because, Ma'am, even though she already has a boyfriend, I always see her with men, and she even flirts with the men she's with. She also allows them to have sex with other men. That girl is not a virgin anymore. That's why I threatened that flirtatious woman. My cousin will be so pitiful if that happens. You see, that man, even though many people see what his girlfriend is doing, still doesn't believe it. He is attracted to the flirtatious woman. That's all I can do for my cousin." Rodel explained his side to her.

Oh my goodness, young people today are truly different from previous generations. They think about this at a young age. She just said it to herself back then.

"How about you, Niel? Did you ever catch your girlfriend with someone else?" She asked, noticing that it suddenly fell silent and bowed its head.

"Yes, Ma'am, but she told me that when I caught her, the man was forcing her. That's happened many times, but I believe she's faithful; she's not looking for someone else. Despite hearing from others that she is flirting once more, I remain steadfast. I fought in her stead. When I saw her kissing another man, I still chose to accept the situation." Neil confessed the truth to Mariely.

Mariely even saw a tear fall from his eye. Suddenly, she felt sorry for the child in front of her. They fell in love early, but not at the right time.

She ruffled its hair. "Calm down. You know. You'll find another woman who is more worthy of you." She said it calmly.

"Sorry, bro. I didn't believe you before." Neil, who was crying with his head bowed, said...

She even saw Rodel pat Niel on the shoulder. "Let it go, just move on. There are many more women who are worthy of your love. I'm sorry too." Rodel said calmly.

Mariely was secretly pleased that the two had reconciled.

"Are you two not going to fight anymore?" She asked the two.

The two just nodded. 

"Excuse me, Ma'am," she heard.

"Ah, thank you very much, my dear." She smiled at the two female students from whom she requested something. "Are they cleaning there?" She asked her female student.

The woman smiled at her. "Yes, Ma'am." The female student said those words and immediately went back to cleaning.

"I'll just treat your wounds." She said to the two.

Mariely told his two pupils that their "one and only" would come at the right time. Study hard at first for their respective lives in the present.