Alorah Reagen

Another day has gone by, and now I'm at school, enjoying my last few months as a senior high school student before going to college. Inspired by my mom's profession, I took an ABM course so that once I'm in college, I can choose the same major as hers, which is a bachelor of science in a hotel, restaurant, and institutional management with a major in hotel management.

It took me a while to decide what I was taking in senior high school since, at that time, I was still too dependent on my family. It was one of the most important decisions I'd ever made for myself, and I'm not going to lie: I've been second-guessing myself a lot. However, Dad told me if that's what I wanted to do, he would support me no matter what.

Surprisingly, the trio group will still see each other in college. Layla and Amelia chose the same university as I did, but we won't see each other as often because of our difference in our chosen majors unless some of our classes are held in the main building.

Layla went for business administration, while Amelia decided to choose fashion design. Part of their decision-making wasn't based only on their dreams but also because their parents wanted them to go for these so that they could take over their business and retire from work life.

Their planned future is one of the things I relate to since Mom and Dad also wanted me to be Dad's successor. I was okay with the idea, and I'm still alright with it. However, instead of making that my top priority, I placed it as my backup plan in case things went south in my chosen profession. If I can, I will try to juggle these two, but I'm worried if I am mentally and physically well enough to take on this challenge.

"Alorah? Hello, is anyone there?" I jolted from my seat when I felt something hit the side of my head. I turned and noticed Julian staring at me with his hand raised.

"I am sorry. I was out of it for a second. Can I help you?" I asked politely. I could feel my head throbbing a little, and I raised my hand to massage it gently.

"It's cool. I came to get you because you hadn't moved since Miss announced the project groupings." His brief explanation widened my eyes. Oh no... I hadn't been paying attention! This is not good. What am I going to do?

Usually, I would distribute the tasks to the members and monitor their outputs, but I wasn't mentally present in class. I am not sure where I'm supposed to begin.

"Judging by your reaction, I could tell you are beating yourself up for not focusing during class," Julian pointed out, and I felt hopeless all of a sudden. What am I going to do?

"Am I that easy to read?"

"Yup! Your emotions are all over your face, so it's easy to understand what's going on in your brain." he grunts as he stands up, "Come on. I will give you a rundown of the project's guidelines."

I followed behind Julian as he led me to our group. Once we sat down, he gave a rundown of the project we had to accomplish. It turned out that this is a crucial requirement of our subject, where we will decide what kind of product we will sell during the bazaar and construct our business plan.

"Hey! Now that everyone is here, should we decide who will be our leader for this project?" Cameron asked, and I noticed everyone in the group was eyeing one another. They looked hesitant at the idea of being in charge.

Should I take the lead?

I was about to raise my hand when someone spoke up. All eyes were on Julian. Some even looked surprised, while others were worried.

"Are you sure you want to be the leader?" Emma seemed to look a bit troubled with him taking on this role.

I felt some eyes on me, but I didn't know why they were looking at me in a way I couldn't understand.

"I don't know about this. What do you say we let Alorah take the lead?" Cameron suggested, and a few nodded at the idea. If they would like me to be the leader, I am happy to become a reliable person for others. It makes me happy, but Julian wanted to do this, and I have this gut feeling urging me to support him.

"I'm afraid I'll have to disagree," Cynthia, our class secretary, said, raising her hand in protest. All attention was on her, and I praised how she held herself.

I wish I could be like that.

"Why do you think so, secretary Cynthia?" Emma questioned.

"From what I was able to gather, Alorah has been taking up the role of group leader for three years. It takes a toll on one's health if they have to carry the burden or load of several people. She may not ever complain about this to avoid unwanted attention. It would be best to give this role to people who have never led a group as a lesson to never rely on your leaders for everything," Cynthia concluded her speech.

It was what I loved about Cynthia. She's not afraid to voice her thoughts and worry about how they will affect others. Everything she said was not because she was directly attacking them; the purpose was to open their eyes and help them realize things they had never considered.

When her eyes moved away from theirs and landed on mine, I couldn't stop myself from mouthing the words "thank you." She smiled at me in response before turning her gaze to Julian.

"I believe Julian is fit to be the leader of this bazaar, so you have my vote on that."

"You have my vote as well," I second that, earning a smile from him. The rest still held hesitant looks on their faces but agreed to have Julian as our leader.

After that, it didn't take long to get our heads around this project. We used the remaining time to finalize our roles in our business and the products we would market.

Julian took on the role of CEO of our company. I chose to be the COO and will manage the products for the whole duration of the bazaar. Cynthia selected the CFO, who will manage the finances of our company.

This bazaar will be held both in person and online, which means that Cameron will be in charge of helping me keep track of and manage the orders, while Emma will handle our business account on Facebook.

By the time we finished discussing the contents of the business plan, the bell had rung, signaling the end of our entrepreneurial class.