"Jenna cuz, I know you. You have a request to leave your post, right?" He rolled his eyes in exasperation as he walked dragging his luggage trying to avoid her while Jenna's eyes bored into him telling him he couldn't refuse.

"Yup, yup. I want to have a rest today." She said in nonchalance as she stood with her hands akimbo.

Hearing her words made her curious and bent slightly as he looked into her eyes. "Oh, I wonder why?"

"I have a date." She averted her eyes and pouted.

"What? Who is this guy who melted the icy heart of the ice queen Jenna? Do you know, Richard?" He was asking the bulky guy this time trying to get a good gossip.

"I'm in no position to be involved with Miss Jenna's love life," Richard said it calmly. He stood with his back straight beside the girl.

"Love life? Haha. Nice news. At last." He guffawed at the thought.

"Stop it, you want a kick? Richard your pay is docked for half a month." She was angry after being mocked by her cousin and the cool att.i.tude of the other.

"I have the right to receive my pay for your private life has nothing to do with my salary. I'm also under the supervision of Mr. Paul Stevenson and his cousin, Mrs. Peres." Richard said as he remained standing with a stoned face.

"Whoa, you're more like the ice king. Cool answer, I like that." Clarence joked.

"I don't care but I'm free today. You heard me. Ah, before I forget, include Ronald. He's my date." She turned her back at him and started to walk toward the car near them.

"What?" This time Clarence wasn't prepared for this exclusive news. Of all the man surrounding his first cousin, Ronald was the one who got her attention.

"Am I hearing properly? Ronald is your date. Are you sure?" He stared at her wide eyes.

She balled her fists in front of him. "What the…are you looking down on him?"

"Fine, fine, don't get angry now. Just go and enjoy your date." He rather let them go or she would continue to pester.

Jenna happily opened her cell phone and sent Ronald a message.

Jenna: I'm free now, let's go out today.

Ronald wakened by the message tone drowsily opened his cell phone. Suddenly, he was enthusiastic that he jumped up in a flash.

Women were expected to take an hour finis.h.i.+ng a makeup and another hour finding the best matching clothes to wear for a date. Yet, this guy took half an hour bathing. He made sure every part of his body were spick and span. He took another hour trying to mix and match his four s.h.i.+rts with his two pairs of pants with his one pair of sneakers.

They said, men were rough and tough, but they were real consumers of beauty products. This guy had tons of them from cologne to cleanser to moisturizer and etc. He was actually doing the ritual of 'beautifying' himself.

He thought that was not enough, so he kept on coming back nonstop in front of the mirror, checking his hair, teeth, tongue, breath, clothes, even smelled his armpits. If the mirror had sentience, it might scream, "enough, just get out there now."

. . . . .

The girl Jenna had short auburn hair, dark brown eyes, fair skin, and a face and figure enough for a man to look back. Her iris' eye color betrayed her true blood as an Amerasian. She had facial traits similar to Claire, declaring their relations.h.i.+p.

Her outfit for today was simple: dark sungla.s.ses, plain blouse, and tight jeans with white sneakers. She was on time to arrive in the lobby, but her date couldn't be found yet. Thirty minutes went by, still, no Ronald came to view and a message was sent, no replies. An hour went by, still no shadow of him. She had gotten worried thinking something bad had happened, she called, "where are you?"

"Sorry, I'm about to go out now."

Another thirty minutes and the lady started to get irritated. Her face was getting stormy. Somehow, when he arrived, her annoyance was washed off instantly. She was enamored looking at this man, who was wearing a plain white s.h.i.+rt with jeans purposely scissored cut knee parts and a pair of black Nike shoes, combined with his black short wavy hair brus.h.i.+ng off his face, walking toward her with his hands in his pockets.

What manliness, she thought. No one could tell a woman's taste at all.

"Sorry to keep you waiting." He spoke while acting cool. In his mind, he was asking that mother nature would make him look cool and manly enough to make her attracted to him.

"No problem at all," said Jenna with her eyes fixated on him. Who could tell she's miffed earlier? "Oh, BTW, where's your eyegla.s.ses?"

"FYI, that's old-fas.h.i.+oned. I'm wearing contacts now. Look good?"

She nodded with infatuated eyes. "You look better with contacts."

The guy was flying in the moon hearing such simple praise but his face remained calm. "Ahem, can we go now?" He folded his left hand on his hip and elbow turned outward near Jenna.

The girl just nodded and hooked her right arm on his readied hand. They left peacefully, for now.

Ronald had no license so Jenna was the one driving the convertible top BMW she insistently borrowed from the threatened Clarence, who had no choice but to concede.

As the BMW dashed down the mountain's zigzag cemented road, suddenly a heavy rain downfall came and made them soaking wet. There was no place to stop for cover. She had no choice but to slow down so that the car speed wouldn't interrupt with the operation when she closes the convertible top. However, they got wet all the more when the top closed. The water collected on the folded roof canvas was poured on them directly.

They decided to go back to the hotel after being so wet combined with the bad weather, and drop of temperature of the mountains. When the s.h.i.+vering Ronald went inside his room to change, a blast of colder air welcomed him and hit his sinuses. He realized he forgot to shut down the AC. This hotel's airconditioning had been operated manually.

He did change his clothes but he started sneezing until his nose was red. As if fate tied them, they had a sneezing spree and got mild flu. Their date was canceled. Clarence had to take care of Jenna. Richard had to nurse Ronald who complained that mother nature cheated him of his chance to bring a beautiful girlfriend home and even stuck with a rugged man in his room. In the end, he shooed the other man away.

"Life is unfair," shouted Ronald.