CHAPTER 20
"Signorina, gusto mo ba hintayin kita mamaya after ng period ko para sabay na tayo umuwi?" (Do you want me to wait for you after my period so we'd go home together?) Ade blurted her question, clearly intending to change the topic.
Auroa appreciated her purpose of interrupting, so she turned to her. "No. You can go home first. You'd have to wait for several hours before I'm done for the day."
"What do you want for dinner? I'll cook."
She thought about it briefly. "Adobong manok." (Chicken Adobo.)
"Okay."
Ade was also a great cook. She learned from her mother, being the chef in the Fontalva mansion. They often prepare Filipino cuisine. So, every time she ate a meal, rice was a necessity. It was what made her stomach satisfied. Even just a small portion of rice was enough.
"Perché ci stanno mettendo così tanto tempo?" (What's taking them so long?) Thalia complained.
"C'è una lunga fila." (There's a long line.) Paula pointed to the food station.
They were all hungry.
She leaned closer to Ade and whispered something. Her friend nodded and stood up from her seat.
Ade paused a bit and watched everyone at the table. She was contemplating leaving her signorina with the other girls. She wasn't afraid for Aurora. Oh, no. She was more afraid for the others. Also, of Signor Adolfo, that she hadn't kept his daughter out of trouble. Well… and it wouldn't help that the cause was a certain man. It sounded absurd.
Aurora raised her brow at her. She sighed, trusting that her signorina wouldn't cause any pity uproar. It wasn't her. She proceeded on her way then.
Ade sauntered to the food counter line. She quickly found them. Max and Niko were equal in height and had a perfect, manly figure.
"Che succede, Ade? Hai bisogno di qualcosa?" (What's up, Ade? You need something?) Niko asked as he noticed her. He was just right behind Max. She nodded at him.
She turned to Max, tilting her head up at him. "May request si Signorina." (Signorina had a request.)
"Ano 'yon?" (What is it?)
"Do you have rice here?"
Max smiled at that. That was what he planned to order for her. He nodded.
"Double rice daw sa kanya." (She asked for double rice.)
"What else?"
"The best dish if they had."
He chuckled. "Is that all?"
"A bit of dessert. Cake, I suggest. Um, can you also include fresh fruits? And lastly, bottled water. Not cold." She grinned sheepishly.
"Got it. Ano'ng sa'yo?" (How about yours?)
"Anything. I'll leave it up to you. Thank you, Max. I'm heading back there." She quickly left his side.
After a few moments, the boys finally came back to the table. They had trays on their hands. When Max placed the tray of food in front of Aurora, Ade acted instantly to set the dishes in front of her. She placed the plate of rice in front of Aurora, the disposable utensils on each side. A saucer of fresh fruits at the upper left side, dessert at the top, and the main dish on the upper right corner. The bottled water was at the left side, an inch away from the fresh pineapple and melon slices.
"Bon appétit." She said, and started to eat.
Everyone at the table looked at them, except for Max.
After Ade set up for Aurora, she got her own lunch on the tray.
"Mi chiedo solo, sei anche il suo assistente?" (I just wonder, are you also her assistant?) Daniele asked.
Ade smiled at that question. "La mia famiglia lavora per loro." (My family works for them.)
"Lavori per lei?" (You work for her?) Paula asked.
"No. Faccio quello che voglio fare. Servirla è il mio libero arbitrio." (No. I do what I want to do. Serving her is my free will.)
"È così testarda. Quindi lasciala stare." (She's that stubborn. So let her be.) Aurora added before plopping another food into her mouth.
"Quanto sei fortunato ad avere qualcuno come lei." (How lucky you are to have someone like her.) Thalia commented.
"Molto. Più di quanto potrei chiedere ad un'amica." (Very. More than I could ask for for a friend.) She stated.
"Davvero, signorina?" (Really, signorina?) Ade almost cried about what Aurora said. She was just so happy. It wasn't always that her signorina would say something about their friendship. So, she felt overwhelmed.
"Naturalmente, sciocco. Mangia, abbiamo ancora lezioni." (Of course, silly. Eat. We still have classes.) Aurora stated.
Everyone started on their meals also.
When they were almost done, Aurora noticed Paula whispering something at Max. He nodded and stood up. He got back in just a moment with a canned soda. He placed it in front of the girl. Paula smiled sweetly to him, which he nodded again with a hint of a small smile.
The other boys asked about their courses, and Ade was the one who answered them. Niko offered to walk Aurora to her next class, and she agreed.
They were exiting the cafeteria. "Message me when you get home. Hail a cab, okay?" Aurora said to her friend. She was worried because Ade had to commute back to their dorm.
"Sure, Signorina. Don't worry." She answered. Her class would be done at 5:00 pm, whilst Aurora's was at 7:00 pm. In other days, they finished the day together, and there were days too that Aurora's class would be done earlier than hers.
Daniele offered to accompany Ade to her building and the girl agreed. Max, Paula, and Thalia already left.
Niko was with her. They were not walking to her class room.
"How's university life so far?" She asked him.
"Some struggles here and there. But it's fun if your professor isn't a terror one. Hell when exams are coming." He answered fluently.
She was glad that he could convers in English. His accent was good too.
"Ugh. I still have a long way to go." Her protest.
He chuckled. "Non è così male. Meglio se hai amici tra le tue classi." (It's not that bad. Better if you have friends among your classes.)
"Right. If they are like Ade."
"Who can serve you?"
She glared at him. "Chi è reale. Nonostante sappia chi sono." (Who is real. Despite knowing who I am.)
"Sto scherzando. Naturalmente so cosa intendi." (I'm just kidding. Of course, I know what you mean.) Niko raised his hands in surrender. Don't mean any trouble.
"Come mi conoscevi?" (How'd you know me?) She was curious in how he recognized her.
"Ad essere onesti, visto che so chi sei. Sono Nikolo Ferucci." (To be fair, since I know who you are. I'm Nikolo Ferucci.) There was a twinkling in his eyes as he waited for her reaction.
Her eyes widened as she gasped and covered her mouth. "You're a Ferucci?" Ferucci family was one of the Elites. They own the Hercules Shipping Corp. The biggest shipping company in the country. Her forehead knotted in scrutiny. "Are you the mysterious Ferucci heir who never appeared in public?"
He chuckled and raised both arms again. "Guilty as charged."
Aurora laughed at that and cleared her throat. Her expression turned serious. She stopped in front of him and he halted as well. "The pleasure is mine upon meeting you, Signorino Ferucci." She curtsied. People were looking at their direction.
When she lifted her face, they stared into each other's eyes and burs out laughing. She moved to his side and they resume walking.
"Why are you not attending the ball, anyway?"
He shrugged. "Not my thing. I want to remain private as long as I'm still a student. It would never be the same once I enter the corporate world."
She nodded. He was right. Once they join the business circle, meeting other families, they'd be exposed and media would follow their every move.
"So, you know about Max too?"
"Of course. Max was the only one who knew it about me. And now, you too."
"Let's keep it that way then." She gave him a reassuring smile.
They finally arrived in her classroom and they bid their good byes for the day.
At 7:00 pm, Aurora's classes ended. There were only few other students left in the campus and it was getting dark.
She was walking alone to the parking lot and most of the spots were vacant already. She saw her car from afar and noticed that Max had gone home maybe. He wasn't in the campus anymore. Somehow, she felt a bit sad from that. She shook her head and fished her phone from her jeans pocket, and texted Ade that she was on her way home.