**Three**
*Third Person POV*
"Rhea, you have a visitor," Cyrel shouted from the living room as she opened the door wide.
"Just a moment," Rhea shouted from her room.
"Come in. Rhea is still playing Dota," Cyrel spoke to the young man in front of him.
"Thank you, but I'll wait here for her," the young man answered.
After a while, Rhea came out of her room and walked towards the main door. "Who is that, sister?"
"His name is Ceejay Gonzaga," Cyrel answered as she approached him.
Rhea was surprised when she heard the name of the young man standing in front of their door, so she gently pushed Cyrel away from the door and saw Ceejay standing there, smiling.
"And what are you doing here?" Rhea asked flatly.
"I just got back from school, and the final practice for the tournament started a while ago. Sir told me to pick you up because you might be late again later," Ceejay explained.
Rhea sighed. "Alright, I'll get dressed first."
Ceejay just nodded, and Rhea went to her room, leaving the door open.
As Rhea walked to her room, she saw Cyrel standing by her door, staring at her face. She was obviously observing her sister's reaction.
Rhea did well to focus her attention on the doorknob to avoid Cyrel's questioning look.
"Let your guest in," Cyrel began.
"He's not a vampire, sister, so he won't get sunburned," Rhea answered philosophically, avoiding her sister's gaze.
Rhea was about to open the door to her room when Cyrel suddenly grabbed her hand that was holding the doorknob.
"You Dota girl, the semester just started, and you already have a boyfriend," Cyrel said.
Rhea briefly looked at Cyrel's hand that was holding her, then replied while looking at her sister, "He's not my boyfriend. And if there is, you will be the first to know."
"I repeat, Rhea. It's not easy to support a college student," her sister reminded her.
"I've been focusing my attention on Dota, haven't I? So that I won't have any interest in boys," she explained. "Besides, don't you have work today at 9 AM? It's already past 9."
"It's 9 PM, Dota girl," Cyrel answered, then released her hand.
When Cyrel let go of Rhea's hand, she immediately opened her room, entered, and closed the door.
"I think I overplayed my game and forgot that Ceejay was going to pick me," she whispered to herself as she turned off the computer.
After she turned off the computer, she went to her closet to find something to wear. After a few minutes of scanning, she found something comfortable to wear and changed her clothes.
The girl wore a white polo shirt, blue jeans, and brown doll shoes. She let down her straight, chest-length hair and wore it to one side. After a few minutes of combing in front of the mirror, she left the room.
Cyrel was sitting on the sofa in the living room when Rhea passed her on the way to the door. She looked at her sister from head to toe as she walked.
"Put on some blush," Cyrel teased her with a smile before she could leave through the door.
Rhea turned a little to her and then answered, "Your teasing won't get to me."
Cyrel laughed softly, and then Rhea finally walked out the door. The girl left the door open, so Cyrel watched the two as they walked away from her.
"Do you know what the final practice is for today?" Rhea asked as they walked towards the jeep.
Ceejay just shook his head and then looked at Rhea, who was obviously waiting for an answer.
"Because that's screening. There's only one representative for each course," the girl explained.
"Say I'm the BS-IT representative?" the young man said.
"Why? You passed?"
"Yes."
"That's weird," the girl whispered to herself as she bent over, thinking.
The young man stopped walking and stood in front of the girl. She stopped walking and looked at him. "Are you doubting my skills?"
"Did I say something?" the girl immediately answered, then avoided him and continued walking.
** Rhea's POV **
It's just surprising why Ceejay passed as the BS-IT representative. Must be my best friend in high school, Megan. Did anything change when I came back? I did not consult the Book of Destiny. I didn't even open it. Saint Gabrielle will scold me if I do that.
I just erased that from my mind and thought of something else. I may not be able to play properly with my thoughts on small things.
I stopped walking when I got to the jeep. I turned back when I noticed that Ceejay was not with me. I saw him panting from following me. Am I walking fast, or is he just really slow?
"You walk so fast," he said, tired when he reached me.
"You're just slow," I said.
================================
When we arrived at the school, the students were going in and out. We quietly entered and went straight to ComLab3 (Computer Laboratory 3).
When we arrived, there were only a few students there, so I didn't go in; I just stopped in front of the door and leaned on the side. Ceejay stopped walking when I didn't enter.
"Aren't you coming in yet?" he asked me.
"Because that's still the final screening. The winner will be my opponent," I explained to him.
"Your opponent?" he asked in surprise.
"Didn't Sir Jeff mention to you that I'm the defending champion?" I replied.
"Fine," Ceejay answered and entered ComLab.
He took his place at the unit near the CCTV. What could have come to his mind that made him decide to sit there? There are still many vacancies.
Soon, Sir Jeff arrived. It looks like Sir will be their babysitter.
"Castino, come in first," Sir approached me as he went inside.
I followed. I'm too early. I should be here at 1 PM. It was so boring to wait.
When I stepped inside, my whole body suddenly stiffened, and suddenly all the students inside, including Sir, stopped moving. Time seemed to have stopped.
Will an angel come down from heaven? I didn't disobey any rules or instructions. And why am I stiff too? It should be mortals, but I'm not mortal.
Soon the surroundings gradually darkened. Then Ceejay suddenly stood up, came out of ComLab, and when he came out, the wirings on the ceiling, walls, and even the system units sparked. All the students inside immediately startled. They screamed so loudly I became deaf. I couldn't hear anything else but their screams that echoed in my ears, causing me to close my eyes.
"Rhea.... Rhea...."
Although my hearing was dim, I could still hear someone calling me in the middle of the deafening shouting.
Until I suddenly opened my eyes. My eyes widened when Ceejay's face appeared in front of me.
"Rhea.... Rhea...." Ceejay repeatedly called me while gently shaking my shoulder.
I blankly stared at his worried look.
"Are you okay?" Ceejay continued to ask me when I did not answer.
I ignored him. I looked around the room, and it was bright. All the lights were on. The condition of the wirings and system units was okay. The only thing that was not okay was that the students looked at me and Sir Jeff badly.
"Castino, can you surely play later?" Sir Jeff asked in surprise.
"I'm fine, sir," I answered weakly.
Sir just shrugged his shoulders. "Okay, you watch over here while I'm gone. The time and auto-score are already set on the server. All you have to do is watch out if someone cheats. You'll see it flash on the server screen," Sir explained.
"Is this the reason why you made me come here early?" I complained.
"Besides being late, yes, that's it," Sir answered, and then he walked towards the door and completely left. He didn't even wait for my answer.
"Are you really okay, Rhea?" Ceejay asked again when Sir disappeared from the room.
"Go back to your unit," I answered, irritated, then went to the server that was positioned in front of them all, on the left side.
I was facing the monitor when I saw from the corner of my eye Ceejay walking towards his unit. When he sat down at his unit, I looked at the enter key on the keyboard while thinking.
Will what I saw really happen? Probably not. If it's not going to happen, why was it shown to me? My mind is in a mess. My focus should be on the tournament first; otherwise, I'll lose when I think of something else.
I pressed the enter key, signaling the start of the game. Just in case, when I hit enter, all the lights suddenly went out at the same time as all the units, including the server, shut down. I heard the whispering of the players.
Is it a brownout?
"When was there a rotational brownout every screening?" I complained.
"Don't always pretend to be a VIP. So you know everything that's happening around you," Andrei, who was sitting near the server, stated.
I raised one eyebrow when I answered him, "Did I ask for your opinion?"
This man is too handsome to be stubborn and sarcastic. I was horrified by what he said.
Soon, Ceejay stood up and walked towards the door.
Just wait...
Don't say... Will what I saw happen again?? Now???