Chapter 1 (SEASON ONE)

I kicked a rose pot into our alley that I had passed around the corner. I'm not sure why my blood boils when I see flowers, particularly when they're about to bloom. They were like little twits taunting and smiling at me. If no one had noticed me earlier, I would have plucked up all the petals from the pot, destroying them and preventing them from blooming again. To be honest, I'm not only annoyed by flowers, but also by stuffed toys as well.

We recently moved to the Sta. Teresita after my father sold the house we used to live in. This location is in favor of his workplace and the school where my sister Janel attends. They also acquired a great location for Mama's bubble tea business because it's right in front of the plaza.

We've just been here a week, but Mom and Dad have already made friends. Some of Mom's friends enjoy flowers as much as she does.

I'm on my way home from a book signing. By the way, I am Mia Romero and I am a teen fic writer. I don't use a pen name, and I'm not trying to brag, but my works are well-known, and my readers love me. Almost every book that my publisher releases is always sold out and gets reprinted.

I am in the plaza near our house when I noticed Janel conversing with a man. If my memory serves me well, this is the man that frequently visits Mang Kanor's store to drink with his friends. I also hear a lot of rumors about him and how arrogant he is in Sta. Teresita.

What happened next caught me off guard, so I moved swiftly to be closer to them. I saw him holding my sister's hand. I'm not going to let him bully my sister. Even if he's a huge man, his arrogance won't work for me!

"Hey!" I said as I approached them and grabbed my sister's hand. "What are you doing to my sister?" I enraged asked the man as I clutched Janel's hand. He's insane! And out of all people, he chose my sister to bully?

"M-Mia..." Janel merely gazed at me for a moment before turning to face the man.

"Hey, how thick is that face of yours to have the audacity to touch my sister, huh?" I asked, frowning. But he also gave me a silly smile and a smirking sneer while shaking his head. "What did this jerk do to you?" I inquired Janel.

"Actually, Mia—"

"It's okay, I understand," I said, interrupting her. "Don't say anything else because I know you're still stunned. Hays! It was fortunate that I arrived, and who knows what more he did to you. Let's go home. Don't be frightened of bullies, especially if you're right." I pulled her then turned to face the man again.

“The next time you bully my sister, I will not hesitate to report you to the authorities. Keep that in mind. Not everyone here in Sta. Teresita is terrified of you because I am not!" I said fiercely as I turned away from him.

"Insane!" I heard him say so I turned to him again because I didn't seem to like what he said.

"What did you say?" I shouted to clarify what I heard.

"I said, you're insane." He just shook his head and turned his back from me without letting me speak and then walked away.

‘Oh and he actually repeated it in front of me…’

"What a crackhead," I murmured, resuming my grip on my sister's hand. She, on the other hand, disregarded me and refused to let me hold her. "Tss, let's go," she said as she walked away, shaking her head. When I returned my gaze to the man, all I saw was his back as he walked away.

'He is truly arrogant. Even his stride demonstrates his arrogance.'

When I came home, I went straight to Dad to tell him what I had seen. I found him sitting in the living room, reading the newspaper, with Janel's two cats on his lap.

"Dad," I called to him. "I saw Janel getting bullied in the corner by an arrogant man that frequently goes to Mang Kanor's store," I complained reluctantly. Not in the literal sense. Let's just say I'm used to turning up like that since they always see me as a cold person.

He gave Janel her kitties while looking at me. Dad looked as if he wasn't sure whether to believe it or not, and he looked at Janel right away.

"Does that true, Janel?" He ask her if what I had said was correct.

'Does he think I'm fabricating anything and he doesn't believe me?’

"No, Dad," she answered, as she played with her two kitties. I was taken aback by her response because I could see the man holding her hand. Was she scared of him, or was he threatening her not to tell us the truth?

"Hey, what are you saying? Don't lie, I even saw that man holding your hand," I irritatedly told her.

"He touched me, Mia, but not because he was bullying me. He held me to see whether I had any scars. Because I stumbled and fell on the road, Mia. He assisted me in getting up. And that's why you saw him holding my hand, right, mingling?" I'm going to kick those cats, she'll see.

With a sigh and a shake of his head, Dad expressed his dissatisfaction with me. I also noticed Janel, who was shaking her head as well. Was it still my fault that she didn't give me a thorough explanation earlier?

“You know, Mia, how joyful and positive are the stories you write, the more negative you are in real life! You always get the impression that everyone is out to get you. Perhaps we shall become foes in the future. Isn't that correct, cats?" Janel said.

I will poison her cats, she will see.

I rolled my eyes in a 360-degree round before going upstairs and ignoring them. Was it my fault if I saw the scene that way? Was it thus equally my fault if I overheard in this area that 'that man is a bad boy?

I was surprised by a bouquet of flowers put in a vase next to the television as I opened the bedroom door. There are the glinting flowers again. Because of my shame in front of Dad and Janel, they were like dwarfs beaming and laughing at me.

"Maaaaaaaaaa!"

Mama is the only one who can be blamed. She's the only one who teases me about flowers since she knows how much I despise them. Annoying! She was no longer funny for constantly pestering me.