Chapter 19: Tears

Nothing much happened that day because everyone was preparing for the school program in which Daniella participated as a candidate for the Most Beautiful Woman in their school. She and Bree talked about starting to practice at Daniella's house every weekend if Daniella had the opportunity and no tutoring.
Bree and I were walking home when they saw William coming near them and looking straight at me. "Can we talk?" William asked.
I turned to Bree and just nodded at her, which meant to get away from them first so they could talk to William. And when Bree was gone, I immediately asked William, "What were you supposed to say last Saturday?" I asked as if I didn't care and just looked straight ahead, but not at William's face.
"I would like to say first why I..." William couldn't continue what he was going to say to me again because I already knew what he was going to say. "You had something to say last Saturday, right? What is it, and please hurry if you can, it's getting dark and we haven't gotten home yet.

William is disappointed and lets out a sigh. "That I won't tutor you every Saturday first because you might need that day to practice. You can't do that every time there's a class, so I'll let you practice first."
I looked William in the eye, but I'm the one who didn't last long with the stare, so I avoided his eyes right away. "That's all you're going to say, last Saturday, but it didn't happen. I waited for you for almost 3 hours, but guess what? No William showed up in the plaza," I said sarcastically.
"That's why I want to talk to you now about it. Also, let me explain first why I'm late that day," William pleaded, but with a calm face.
I started walking and stopped behind him, so now they both turned their backs on each other. "I don't want to hear your explanation because Charice has already told me why you didn't go to the plaza that day." William was startled and turned to Daniella, but she did not try to face him again. "So, don't bother to tell me your reasons because I already knew." Tears welled up in my eyes, then I started to walk, but I didn't expect him to grab my arm and turn me to face him.
Their eyes met, and William saw Daniella's eyes wet from the suppressed tears, and in William's mind was, "I'm sure Charice said something, that's why Daniella is acting like this."
I pulled my arm into his and turned my back to him. "I'm going home." I walked away and pulled Bree's hand away from that place.
William just stared at Daniella until she came out of the school gate, and then he quickly went to a part of the school where he knew Charice was still there.

He saw Charice walking; it looked like she was going home. When Charice saw him, she stopped for a moment and smiled at him. Then William approached, asking, "Will you come home with me so you're here?" She was smiling up at her ears.
"No," he replied simply, which made her smile fade away.
"Why are you here?"
He looked at Charice seriously. "What did you tell Daniella about why I didn't go to the plaza right away?"
Charice looked at him innocently. "All I said was that we were together last Saturday, so you didn't come right away."
He just closes his eyes to what she says and tries not to shout at her. "I'm Daniella's tutor, and she's the one I teach, so we have to meet every Saturday, and with what you did, it might reach the principal if I don't do what I have to do because of what you said to her. She can complain to the principal if she wants!" he shouted sharply.
"I didn't know you were his tutor." She looks clueless at Wiliam.

"Again, don't interfere with what I'm doing, especially since you don't know what it is, and don't use my parents just for your own personal gain," he said before he left Charice with a look on her face that was offended by what he said.
Meanwhile, while Daniella and Bree were walking home, Daniella couldn't stop her tears from falling, which Bree noticed immediately, so she sighed. "Your courage was evident an hour ago in front of Charice, but why are you crying now?" she asked calmly.
"I don't want to be... a loser in front of her because I know exactly where my place is for William," I said while sobbing.
"Why don't you just stop your feelings for William not to hurt like that?"
I smiled as tears welled up in my eyes. "It's easy to say but hard to do, Bree. I've have a crush on William for a few years, and for the first time, I cried because of him." I wiped the tear from my cheek.
"It's just a crush, Daniella; you can forget it, especially since we're leaving our school. We will have a few months, and we don't know where we're going to go to college, and you don't even know where William will study."

My tears dripped again, and at that point, they were constantly flowing down her cheeks. "Crush? Do you think, Bree, that the only crush I have is on William? " I shook my head a few times. "No, Bree, because I already love him. It's okay if you judge me because I'm too young to feel the love that should still be in a crush, but what can I do? I can't stop my heart just because of how I feel now. "
"So you just let it hurt you like that, and now that there's another woman, you know that she is heavier than you because they've been together since they were kids. Who do you think William will choose between the two of you? You never know; maybe William has secret feelings at Charice, not for you, who are always present, but he ignores you. Yes, he's your tutor, but it looks like your role is staying the same as what both of you have now. "
I looked Bree in the eye and saw that her tears were already welling up. They are friends, my grief is like Bree's grief too because Bree also feels the pain of my situation.
"What do you want me to do, just give up?" I waited a few minutes for Bree's answer.
"No."
I suddenly turned and looked at her, confused. "What—no?"

Bree took my hand, and they are now facing each other. "You are Daniella. I know someone who is brave and can endure everything for as long as she can, but I won't tell you to stop because I know you can still do it, but when you feel that there's no hope, just stop. Do you understand? "
I wiped the tears from my cheeks and eyes. "I promise I'll stop when I can't endure it anymore." I raised my right hand in a sign of promise and smiled up at Bree.
"That's right, so just do what you want because I won't be the one to get hurt between the two of us. It's just you." Bree smiled at me and started to walk again.
I narrowed my eyes at Bree, who had turned her back on me. "Tsk. I can't understand Bree sometimes. I'm just the one who will be hurt here and not her, so why she said that?" I ran after Bree, and I bumped my body into Bree's, so on the way home they were both laughing.