Jonas received a call, and Sera was left diving with her memories. And when Jonas had sat again, she took a deep breath and stared, and continued.
Remembering her last year of high school...
The first day of cha-cha practice started in the most awkward way possible.
Their classroom was cleared of desks, the floor dusty and uneven. The boys gathered near the windows, pretending to be uninterested, while the girls stood by the blackboard, whispering about who might get paired up. Lior, slouched in the back row with his signature lopsided grin, looked like he couldn't care less. But when the teacher called for partners, fate or mischief, she paired him with Sera.
"We'll be dancing twice a day until the presentation," their teacher warned. "No excuses."
Sera sighed, arms crossed. "You better not ditch this, too."
Lior only smirked, offering a dramatic bow and his hand. "For you, I'll stay, President."
At first, it was a disaster. Lior stepped on her shoes repeatedly. His timing was off. He twirled her too fast, too slow, or not at all. But after each mistake, he'd laugh and say, "Well, at least I had removed my shoes, so it is not painful."
She'd roll her eyes, then bite back a smile.
By the third day, their rhythm began to smooth out. He started paying attention—really watching their teacher's movements, mimicking them, adjusting his pace. The playful remarks didn't stop, but there was a quiet focus beneath them, and Sera noticed.
One afternoon, while the rain poured outside and the practice room smelled faintly of sweat and floor polish, Lior leaned close during a pause.
"Hey," he said, not meeting her eyes.
"What?" she asked, wiping sweat from her forehead with her sleeve.
"If I wanted to court you," he began, voice unusually serious, "would you let me?"
Her heart jumped. Not because it was the first time she'd heard something like that, but because it was Lior. He who smoked by the canteen gates and skipped school to play pool. He who scribbled her name across his notebooks but never studied. He who danced terribly but always tried when she was watching.
She blinked at him. "You're not serious."
"I am," he said. "Dead serious. I even practiced saying that line for two days. I almost asked yesterday, but you looked ready to kill me with your shoelace."
She burst out laughing, loud and ungraceful, and Lior smiled like he just won the lottery.
"I'll think about it," she finally said, cheeks flushed.
Lior then stood before her, "Miss President, may I have this dance?"
The raindrops were loud, but the cheers of their classmates were louder.
Sera took his hand and the two, now with mastery, danced repeatedly until they were joined by their classmates.
The days that followed were a mess of small, strange gestures—each one more ridiculous than the last.
One morning, she arrived at her desk to find a crumpled note inside her bag. It wasn't signed, but the handwriting was unmistakable: loopy and precise, with a habit of curling the "S" like a ribbon.
'For my future wife, I will be studying hard.'
He kept writing her name on the bottom of his papers, saying 'INSPIRED BY SERA'. Some teachers scolded him while the others teased them. He continued making notes for her, but instead of a five-peso coin, he would always steal a kiss on her cheeks.
One morning, Lior entered early and printed a morning greeting for her on the chalkboard. However, that day she arrived late. Thus, when she entered their room, she was met with her classmates' grins and smirks, pointing at Mrs. Gasa, who was smiling too.
"Good morning, Ms. Elion."
"Good morning, ma'am. Sorry, I am late."
Mrs. Gasa grinned and moved forward as she handed the eraser to Sera, "Ms. Elion, before you sit, kindly erase the lettering on the blackboard."
Sera was flustered and thrilled, bowing her head, she went to erase.
When she had seated and scolded him, he shrugged. "Just branding what's mine in advance."
But he didn't stop there.
Twice, she caught him lingering around her house after school. At first, given his brave aura, he will dare to ring the bell. However, he always ended up running away every time Marcus and Callum were walking near. But then, one Saturday afternoon, she found him at their front gate holding a clay pot.
"Did you… steal that?" she asked, staring at the slightly cracked pot with bonsai roses trimmed with mastery.
"I didn't steal it," Lior said sheepishly. "I bought it from my mom by doing all the house chores."
"Aunt did give her favorite work?"
"Yes," he said, holding it out to her. "Mama thought it would be prettier here—with you."
She didn't take it at first. But when her mother peeked through the curtain and gave her a knowing smile, she sighed, took the pot, and told Lior to never do that again.
"Next time, just bring cut mints," she muttered.
"I would," he said, "but this was free."
There were more of Lior's antics...
Lior will often forget his pens or pencils, or so he claimed. Each day, he borrowed one from Sera. "It's just one," he'd say. Then later, another. And another.
Soon, she started carrying extras in her bag—two black pens, three pencils, one eraser with a paper cover.
---
Jonas interrupted her story with a chuckle. "You carried extra pencils for him?"
"I did," Sera admitted, her voice softer now. "I even started buying too many snacks just to share with him. That's how I knew I was in trouble."
Jonas smiled, propping his chin on his palm. "So, when did you finally say yes?"
Sera looked away, eyes drawn to the faint flickering hospital light above the corridor. For a moment, the quiet between them was heavy—not with sadness, but the weight of something deeply cherished.
"On his birthday," she finally said. "That year. He didn't invite anyone to a party. Said his family will not be able to afford celebrating it. But he stayed behind after classes. Gave me a folded piece of paper with the words 'Final Attempt' written in red ink. Inside was a list."
"A list?" Jonas asked.
She nodded, a faint smile forming. "A list of the future he planned once I became his woman. And we were able to check them all except for the last five goals."
Jonas gave a low whistle. "And I guess that is related to marriage and family."
"Very," Sera said, laughing softly. "I folded the paper back, handed it to him, and told him, 'I'll say yes—but only if you pass the next math quiz.'"
"Cruel."
"Motivating," she said. "And he did pass. Barely. I think the teacher passed him out of pity. But after that day, he and I became a couple.
Jonas gave a wide, toothy grin. "You're a softie in your younger days."
Sera shook her head, but her gaze softened. "But looking back, somehow I regret it, maybe if we had remained buddies, he and I would have had a better ending."
Jonas looked at the room's door and smiled, "Maybe, ma'am."
He paused.
"Or maybe, what if you had chosen to develop feelings with Sir Callum smoothly before Lior? Maybe the ending will be better than this."
Sera stared at Jonas, deeply, and a thousand what-ifs came to her mind.
Somehow... thinking of an ending where she and Callum will be with children by now, happier, closer, and peaceful.