Alorah Reagen
"If we want enough time to edit and finalize our business plan, it would be best to work on it two to three days before the deadline. It means that by January 26, every section of the paper should have the necessary content," I suggested, gazing at my calendar and mentally sketching out the schedule.

Thankfully, the meeting went smoothly, as we were able to focus with minimal distractions coming from one of us. The hardest part of holding a session online. Besides the unstable internet connection were the distractions, as there would be times when someone brought up a topic, which led to us straying away from our discussion and ending up working later than we expected.

"I agree with that. The bazaar will happen in the first week of February, and ms. Arnell mentioned that the financial study doesn't have to be done after the bazaar as the amounts presented should be realistic. The sales made after the bazaar are only hypothetical, yet emphasizing that the sales should also be realistic," Cynthia reminded, holding up her notebook and showing the notes she took during class.

"Awesome. The next part we have to do is to distribute the tasks each member should accomplish per chapter. Before that, we can choose specific tasks we want to do following the distribution of the remaining works. At least we can all end up working with the parts we like and dislike," Julian smiled as he presented his screen, showing the parts per chapter.

I sat back, arms crossed under my chest, as I pondered on my choices. The others in the Zoom meeting were quiet too, and it took a couple of minutes for someone to speak up.

"Since I'm in the marketing aspect, I'll make our uniform and ID card in Chapter 2. I'd also like to do the corporate social responsibility in Chapter 6 and the business logo in Chapter 1," Emma adds to her list of tasks.

"This is noted," Julian muttered as he began typing Emma's name beside the parts she mentioned.

"Dang, I wanted to do corporate social responsibility," Cameron frowned while looking at his screen.

"First come, first served," Emma teased, which made Cameron roll his eyes.

"Whatever. I'll do the 4M's and safety control measures in Chapter 4. Generation of employment in Chapter 6, and organizational structures in Chapter 5," Cameron said.

"Cynthia? Alorah? Which one of you wants to go next?" Julian asked. I moved my eyes away from the Google Docs to glance at Cynthia, though I'm not sure if she could tell I was looking at her.

Cynthia smiled and told me to go first as she was still thinking about what to choose. I smiled back and quickly browsed through the options.

"Then I will go ahead and take physical facilities in Chapter 2, demand study in Chapter 3, trial balance in Chapter 4, and organizational structure in Chapter 5," I bit my lips as I was second-guessing whether to change my choices.

It would be fine. We had experience doing the trial balance and income statement at the start of our grade 12 year. The process of doing it for me was fun, though the stress when choosing this part was making sure the amount for debit and credit was balanced.

"I'll do the mission in Chapter 1, the product/service in Chapter 3, the income statement in Chapter 4, the geographic locale and work schedule in Chapter 2, and the environment in Chapter 6," Cynthia said.

Julian quickly typed her name before proceeding with selecting his parts. Afterward, he began distributing the remaining tasks by listing the names that weren't seen per chapter and adding them in.

"I think that should be all for today's meeting. Cynthia, could you create a Google Doc for our business plan and send it to our GC later?" Julian requested, to which Cynthia responded with a thumbs up before continuing, "Thanks! I'll communicate with our supplier to see the costs for each tumbler we have chosen and ask when we will be able to receive the products. We can end today's meeting, and if you have any questions, you can ask them in our GC or pm me," Julian said before he ended the zoom meeting.

I closed my laptop and buried my face in my palm. The meeting lasted an hour since it was already 9:00 p.m.

"My eyes burn," I groaned.

I peeked at the amount of homework beside my laptop, almost having the urge to call it a day, then proceeded to lay in bed while browsing through my phone. However, I knew I couldn't do that since I wouldn't be able to lessen my workload if I started procrastinating.

I took a deep breath and then slapped my cheeks to wake myself up.

"Let's do this!" I yelled softly, pushing my laptop back to give me enough space to do my homework.

I was about to proceed when I realized I had forgotten to play background music. I browsed through my list, and my eyes settled on a particular song. A smile erupted on my face as I stared at the song made by Denise Julia called NVMD.

***

"Ok... What on earth is going on here?" Layla asked no one in particular as we witnessed Julian being told off by a teacher.

"Are you serious, Mr. Hayes?! This is where it comes down to? For heaven's sake, I didn't think you would go this far as to have lit three cigarettes that were lying on the table in an unused room while accompanying a girl alone in a dark room," his voice sounded harsh, which made me tighten my grip on my books. The teacher, which I recognized to be Mr. Grayson, pinched the bridge of his nose as he was trying to comprehend what he saw.

Julian remained silent, his hands in his pockets, as he stared at him. Mr. Grayson placed his hand on his hips, waiting for Julian's explanation but getting none. Instead, he received a smirk in return.

"Would you like to attempt to get out of this situation?"

"Nope. What you see is what you get," Julian said, earning a glare from him.

"Go to the principal's office with me, young man. You will get your punishment from there," Mr. Grayson stated as he headed toward the office, Julian trailing behind him.

Everyone in the middle of the hallway, including the three of us, moved to make way for them. Mr. Grayson began shouting, telling us to go to where we needed to be instead of standing there and doing nothing but watching.

As whispers erupted in all directions, I couldn't help but focus on someone in particular. Julian's head wasn't down as he followed Mr. Grayson. Instead, he wore what looked like a proud expression while his head was held up high.

Even though numerous eyes were on him, I was surprised to see his eyes on mine.

"What happened?" I mouthed, to which he returned with a wink. The distance grew between us when the only thing I could see was his back, and when he turned the corner, he was gone.

It took the students in the hallway a couple of minutes to disperse and continue with their day, leaving me as the only one standing there, still stunned by the situation.

"I knew he was no good," Layla commented. I felt a hand wrap itself around my wrist, giving it a soft tug in the opposite direction of where I was facing, before continuing, "Alorah, I know you're in shock, but we still have to attend our next class, which starts in a couple of minutes."

"Yeah...alright."

I let Layla lead me to our classroom while I was occupied with my thoughts. What I saw a few minutes ago can't be real. There was no way Julian would do such a thing. I know it.

But if he didn't do it, why didn't he come clean and explain what happened?

I felt a sinking feeling in my stomach when the thought occurred. Was I doubting him?

No. It must have been a misunderstanding. If Julian were such a horrible person, he wouldn't have apologized for pouring his drink on me. He wouldn't have looked at me with guilt back at the bleachers.

Not wanting to lose faith in him, I focused on that gut feeling that told me he was not who others thought he was.