"Cassy is getting really annoying every day," Mad says, shaking his head in disbelief.
"Was Cassy like this even before?"
Maddox scrunches as he presses his hands on the wheel. "Not really, she used to be a nice girl, not arrogant and a trouble maker, but I guess I didn't know the real Cassandra before. And now, she's showing it to everyone."
"I guess so, Cassy is a brat who would do anything she desires and doesn't care if she offends people around her. Such a childish act; I don't know when Cassandra will learn."
"That's her moral obligation, not our problem anymore. Anyway, we're close to Max's clinic. I'm excited to see him again; I hope he's doing fine already so we can continue rescuing dogs on the street."
The following day is hectic as we are preparing for the intramurals and exams is not so far. I come home late and exhausted when I receive a call from Dr. M's Veterinary clinic. "Hello, what is it?" "Ms. Carpio, we are waiting for you since you dropped by at this time. But we couldn't wait and wanted to inform you that Max is not in good shape now. Would you please come to the clinic now?" It's the front desk staff as I recognize her voice. "Yes, I'll be there, thank you," I responded and immediately cut the call. "Mom? mom?" I call out mom as I head out of my room, still wearing my school uniform.
The next day is tiring and unmotivating, but we have to go to the cemetery as early as 5 in the morning to bury Max since mom couldn't skip her work and I can't skip school. Lea comes home early as promised when I talked to her on the phone last night. She immediately wraps her arms around me, seeing me sitting on the couch. "Angel, I'm sorry I wasn't by your side last night. It was hard for me to come in the evening, and I had a bunch of school work too." Sadness clouded her features. Lea might not be a dog lover, but she feels what I feel about being her best friend for a long time. She's the sweetest. "You're here now. Don't worry about it; I understa
The silence is deafening. Unlike when Max was still around, he used to be our own alarm clock; and sirens rolled into one. Max stomps his feet on my face if I don't get up after a few scratches. Sadly our unit is lacking a spark for us to call it home. Max's photo on my side table catches my attention; he was still young, small when I had him on my birthday. My heart constricts thinking about him again, but I refuse to cry anymore. I want to remember all our beautiful memories together instead of just centering my thoughts that he is no longer with me. I fix all of Max's things, his sheet, pillow, and clothes, and put them in a box before I rush out of my room, starving. Mom leaves early for work, so I am left alone having breakfast by myself, which doesn't help my poor appetite. I only have cereals and milk for breakfast before I start cleaning the ho
Maddox put a blindfold in my eyes for the surprise reveal he said. It's not my cup of tea, but I agreed when he had to do it a few meters away from the shelter. Now he's guiding me inside to where his surprise is waiting. "Logan, just follow us, boy." Logan barks in response to his dad. Maddox's hands are on my shoulders, trying his best not to get me to stumble on the way. There's no noise in the place except the barks of dogs, probably the rescues they have in the shelter. The anticipation of the surprise reveal is killing me. "Here, we're here, Angel," Mad said as he squeezes my shoulder a bit.
The three trucks separate; to have better coverage in rescuing street dogs in the city. Davao City is massive, so we expect not to finish the whole city dog rescue in a day. The truck's back is a compartment where we have the equipment needed and even a first aid kit for the dogs. "Mad, how long have you been doing this?" "I started since my mom founded the shelter, almost 10 years now, we will be celebrating our 10th anniversary before the year-end. Back then, I wasn't so passionate about it like I do now. It was my mom who opened my eyes to caring for pets and other animals. That they have lives like us humans and they are capable of taking and giving love."
While Cassy and her friends are still hesitant to give the rescue dogs a bath, Maddox approaches me to come with him. One of the shelter staff takes us to what appears to be an office, relatively small but tidy and bright. Full of drawers, probably the rescue dogs' records from the vet. There are miniature paintings of dogs hanging on the wall and dog figurines on the table at the right side of the room."Ryan, what do you want to talk about?" Maddox asks Ryan as he offers me to sit beside him on a beige sofa. I like how Maddox treats Ryan just like his friends. He doesn't show superiority to the shelter staff."Mad, I'd like to show you a video, but please don't let Cassandra and her friends know that I took this earlier," Ryan said with terror in his eyes. He must really be scared of Cassandra. I wonder what stupid things Cas
It feels like the first day of school as students stare at me when I step out of the car. They are whispering blatantly in front of me while rolling their eyes and chuckling as if to annoy me. That's how I feel about them, but I'm not gonna give them the satisfaction of watching me upset and stressed because of them. I can't confirm if I'm 100% right or not, but my instinct told me that I am. I got accustomed to the campus vibes until today; the atmosphere of being an outcast has suddenly come back to me. It's weird, but for sure, I know there is something up behind my back. Close to our room when a girl a little taller than me blocks my way. I stop and tilt my head, looking at her unfamiliar face, that I assume she's not one of our classmates. "So, Angel, is it true that you are the third party?"
Five in the afternoon after class Maddox invited me to our campus man-made forest, which I agreed to instantly. Nothing changes as we settle in the middle of the park, the spot that we love. Birds' tweets are like beautiful songs in my ears; they exude tranquility. While the green leafy trees and grass give healing to my eyes after a whole day of almost confining myself in our room and studying for the incoming exams. "Thanks for joining me here today Angel, I really appreciate your time." "No problem, you know how much I love this place. This is the only spot that I love on this campus. Well, I can add the basketball court; I love watching you play there, you know."