"Julie." Chris called softly, already knowing what had happened between her and Dave.
"Brother." Julie turned to face him, still busy with her homework inside her room.
Chris sighed. "I heard what happened earlier while I wasn't around," he said gently.
She only nodded.
"I really didn't mean it," Julie explained quietly.
Chris nodded. "I know. Are you okay?"
"Y–Yes," she answered, giving a small nod.
Chris ruffled her hair lightly. "I'll let you study in peace. Don't worry, I won't disturb you."
Julie nodded back, quiet but reassured.
The next morning, Dave was the first to greet him.
"Hey, Chris. Good morning."
Chris smiled. "Yeah, good morning."
"Haa… I'm glad I held back yesterday and didn't end up yelling at your sister," Dave said, shaking his head as he remembered the incident.
Chris chuckled softly and patted his friend on the shoulder.
"I bet it was your girlfriend who told you all about it," Dave teased.
"Don't worry. I understand you," Chris replied calmly.
"Want me to introduce you to her… again?" Chris asked.
"Yeah, sure. I'll be seeing her more often anyway since she's studying here now," Dave said.
Chris simply nodded.
"Your sister… she really looks like Crisha," Dave commented.
"Yeah," Chris muttered, keeping his thoughts to himself.
"And you really liked Crisha before."
Chris fell silent, exhaling deeply. Comparing his youngest sister to someone else had been a huge mistake. Julie had started pulling away from him, and he hadn't even noticed—until it was too late. Now, he didn't know how to mend things between them.
His father had noticed too, always encouraging Chris to fix his relationship with his sister.
How do I fix this now? Chris wondered, feeling confused. He wanted Julie to feel close to him again. But how? he asked himself with another sigh.
Dave patted his shoulder. "Later," he said simply.
"Yeah," Chris managed a small smile.
The recess bell rang. From the corner of his eye, Chris noticed Kelly stepping out of the room, looking cheerful again. But before she could leave, Jonathan pulled her back.
"Stay with me for a while," Jonathan said.
"You're old enough. Why don't you just ask your girlfriend?" Kelly rolled her eyes.
"Just shut up." Jonathan tugged her along, leaving her pouting as she followed.
"Let's go?" Chris asked Dave.
Dave nodded.
*****
Meanwhile, Julie scanned the canteen anxiously.
Where's Kelly? she wondered, sighing. I wanted to ask her for help with my math homework today.
Pouting, she looked down at her notebook. Are my answers even correct? She felt too shy to bother her brother the night before.
Sitting alone, Julie tried reviewing her solutions. Why did they even invent math? she groaned inwardly, scratching her head.
"What's with the long face, Julie?" a voice asked from behind.
Julie nearly jumped—it was her brother.
"You scared me!" she exclaimed.
Chris smirked. "You always look like you've seen a ghost."
Julie quickly hid her notebook. So embarrassing… he can't know I'm not even sure about my answers…
"By the way, I want to introduce you to someone. Maybe you can make another friend," Chris said.
Julie frowned in confusion—and then she noticed someone quietly standing beside Chris, watching her. She gasped.
Wait—it's the vice president I spilled juice on yesterday! Julie remembered in horror. Oh no… Brother is going to scold me for sure.
"Julie, I know you met him yesterday… in an uncomfortable way," Chris remarked.
Julie nodded nervously.
"This is Dave Villanueva, our school's vice president," Chris introduced.
"Villanueva?" Julie thought, staring at him. That grumpy guy is your brother? she suddenly blurted.
"Julie," Chris scolded lightly.
Dave chuckled softly. "Yeah. Cielo's my youngest brother," he said.
Julie nodded quickly. She knew their families were close.
"Nice to meet you again, Julie," Dave extended his hand.
"N–Nice to meet you," she said shyly, taking it.
"Oh." A voice came from behind, and Julie turned, surprised to see Cielo.
Are they really alike? she whispered to Chris.
Chris lightly smacked her head with her notebook. "Don't say things like that."
Julie sighed. "I'll head back to the classroom now," she said politely. Recess was ending anyway.
But just as she was about to leave, she suddenly remembered—Oh no! My notebook!
Feeling embarrassed, she decided to just head back to class. Before she could step out, she bumped into Cielo.
"Navares," he called.
Julie turned, and he handed her the notebook.
"Your brother gave this to me," he said simply.
"Thank you," Julie muttered.
"There's still time. Your answer for number three is wrong," Cielo remarked before walking back to his seat.
Julie froze, staring at her notebook. Number three… the one she wasn't sure about. She scratched her head in frustration.
Admit it, Julie—you got it wrong.
Sure enough, when their teacher checked, her number three answer was marked incorrect.
Cielo had checked her notebook.
"You didn't change your answer," he told her.
"I didn't even know where I went wrong," Julie admitted sheepishly.
Without another word, Cielo returned the notebook. But when Julie flipped it open, she was shocked—he had written down the correct solution.
So that's how it's done?
She immediately understood the problem. She smiled to herself as she studied the solution he wrote.
Julie held on to the promise she made to her mother—that she would be in the top five of her class.
There are so many smart students here… Can your brain handle it, Julie? she wondered.
We can do this, she whispered to herself.