"Riiiinnngggg!!"

The school bell of the Etwass High School started ringing, signifying the start of the students' classes.

Most students were already waiting in the classrooms for their lessons to start. However there was one particular student who was still running into the entrance of the high school, hoping that she made it in time for class.

Her two besties, Ziyaa and Penny, were already waiting in the class, betting if Mayleen would arrive on time.

"I bet five dollars she'll only arrive after Mr. Dylan comes in." Ziyaa said as she played with her pencil.

Mr. Dylan was their homeroom teacher and he was a strict man. Although he had handsome features, he rarely smiled and displayed a cold face most of the time. When he walked, it was in an upright manner as if he had trained in the army before. He was knowledgeable and students of his class respected him a lot.

"And I bet otherwise." Penny chuckled. "She already got a strike from Mr. Dylan last time she was late, I doubt she dared to do it the second time."

"She's used to being late, Penny.” Ziyaa responded. “I want to see what happens when she gets three strikes from Mr. Dylan.” Ziyaa laughed.

“Hey, such a bad friend.” Penny replied but she also laughed along.

When Mr. Dylan first became their homeroom teacher at the start of the school year, he set a rule about ‘the three strikes’. Basically he gave them a list of rules that would earn a strike from him if any of his students broke them. One of the rules was never be late to class. So far no one had gotten three strikes yet but it was rumored that he once made a student run three circles around the field as punishment.

After he set those rules, the naughty students in the class started to behave. Mr. Dylan gave them a really intimidating aura and they knew better who to beware of. Not to mention that he only transferred to this high school just last year, so not many students knew his teaching style.

Unfortunately, a few minutes after the bell rang, Mr. Dylan came in first. Ziyaa gave Penny a smirk of victory and opened her palm, signaling her to hand over the winnings of her bet.

Penny just shook her head and handed her five dollars generously. “My, my, I am so disappointed in Mayleen.”

“Old habits die hard.” Ziyaa said, then whistled as she pocketed the money.

“Open to page 44.” Mr. Dylan said as he opened the textbook. The whole class followed. For the next couple seconds, there were only sounds of book flipping.

It was then that the classroom door was opened cautiously and Mayleen’s head appeared from behind it.

“Good morning, teacher.” Mayleen said cautiously.

Mr. Dylan frowned as he turned to look at the door. It was obvious on his face that he was unhappy.

“You’re late, Mayleen.” Mr. Dylan said to Mayleen.

“I’m sorry, teacher, I won’t do it again.” Mayleen apologized sincerely.

Mr. Dylan was unfazed. “This is your second strike, Mayleen, be sure to be punctual next time.”

“I understand, I won’t do it again.” Mayleen repeated and bowed. Why did she bother running when she was coming in late anyway? It was all because of that stupid traffic jam. She wiped the sweat off her forehead and quietly headed towards her seat.

Penny and Ziyaa both laughed at her misfortune. Mayleen just made a ghost face at them. These girls wouldn’t stop making fun of her when they got the chance to.

But then, this was why they were BFFs.

Mayleen Kent, Penny Queens and Ziyaa Wenderson. They came from different family backgrounds but surprisingly, they hit it off since the first day they met. Additionally, they were the beauties of the school. Many people thought that they were some kind of girl idol group when they saw them together.

The lessons went without a hitch until break time finally arrived. The three girls sat together around a table and started chatting.

“Why are you late again, Mayleen? Traffic jam?” Ziyaa asked while sipping from a can.

“Duh.” Mayleen answered, as if it was obvious. “It’s not my fault that my mum insisted that I finish my breakfast, so we departed late.” They all knew that Mayleen was a slow eater. Sometimes her mum would make breakfast for her if she was around, and ensured that she finished her food before allowing the driver to drive her here.

You didn’t hear it wrong, Mayleen Kent was a wealthy young lady.

“You’re legendary now, winning the second strike from Mr. Dylan.” Penny added. “You’re the first to get a second strike in our class.”

Mayleen sighed. “What else can I do? Such a waste of that handsome face of his! He’ll look even better if only he plastered a smile on that face.”

Penny only smiled. It wasn’t the first time Mayleen told them about how Mr. Dylan’s looks fit the image of her ideal boyfriend, if only he got rid of that cold face of his.

“By the way, how’s your babysitter job going?” Mayleen asked Penny. She got Penny a babysitter job at her uncle’s place. Her uncle was also a wealthy businessman and they recently wanted to hire a babysitter for their one-year-old son. When Mayleen told them about this, Penny surprisingly volunteered for the babysitter job. It was partly because of the money, and also because Penny likes children too.

While Mayleen came from a filthy rich family, Penny came from a single-parent family. Her mother was the sole breadwinner but she has earned enough to raise her up well. While her allowances weren’t that tight, she did work part-time to earn extra income to buy the things she wanted. The babysitter job that Mayleen recommended was a job that really paid well.

“I’ve met Ms. Kent and we’ve discussed the wages. I’ll start tomorrow.” Penny said.

Ziyaa softly nudged Penny’s shoulder. “Don’t let that kid bully you.” She said, Penny was too nice sometimes.

Mayleen shook her head. “My nephew is an angel, all right?”

“We’ll see about that tomorrow.” Penny answered. Ms. Kent did tell her about some of her son’s naughty antics and some things that she should beware of.

The three friends continued chatting happily. Little did they know that it would be a very unusual weekend for them. 

“Hey, wanna come to my place to hang out tomorrow night? We can get popcorn and watch a movie!” Ziyaa offered. “And Penny can share her experiences about her first day of babysitting too!”

“Yeah!”

“Sure!”

—---------The Next Day—--------

Early in the morning, something big happened in the Kent household.

“What? A blind date? I’m only eighteen!?” Mayleen exclaimed. This was ridiculous. It was not fun at all to announce such news to her so early in the morning.

“This is a sudden arrangement, my dear.” Mayleen’s mother, Vienna Kent replied. “The Cole family’s son is coincidentally around today so we thought that it might be good for both of you to meet. You know, you always play together when you are kids…”

“And I hate him.” Mayleen cut in. She knew that her mother was trying to matchmake them but it was just not going to work.

“Just go and meet him, it has been years since both of you have met and I believe he’d want to meet you too.” Vienna said.

“No, mum. I don’t think so.” Mayleen retorted.

“Listen, dear. Just go. A dinner date will be good enough.” Vienna said.

Mayleen rolled her eyes. Suddenly a lightbulb lit up above her head.

“Oh yeah! I promised Ziyaa to go hang out at her place tonight so…”

“No excuses, Mayleen. The decision is final. You can go to Ziyaa’s place after the date. I’m sure she will understand.”

“Mum…”

“What’s wrong with a dinner date?” Vienna insisted.

Oh god. She could never win a fight against her mother.