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Chapter 5 Respect Earned

  • Respect Earned
  • "Divina!", Maria hurriedly ran towards Divina as she had just entered the room.
  • “Why Maria?”., Divina curiously asked of her suddenness.
  • "What’s inside your letter for Mr. Salvador?”, Maria asked in return.
  • "I have no idea, Maria. That letter is not mine either. Someone had just handed me that letter, she asked me a favor to give it to Mr. Salvador. Why?”, Divina wondered.
  • "It seems like it had ruined Mr. Salvador’s day. He had suddenly become grumpy. Usually, when he gets inside his office, he will stay there for a long time, but earlier, he immediately went out to ask who entered his office and had put the letter there. It was obvious in his tone that he is angry with whatever is written there.”, Maria explained.
  • "W-What?”, Divina became nervous.
  • "And this Miss Marta with her glib tongue mentioned your name.”, Maria whispered, and Divina looked in the direction of the woman of their topic. She saw Marta was also glancing in their direction. She doesn’t hate Marta but she doesn’t like how she tries to act to be a goody-two-shoe in front of the superiors.
  • "Miss Aljuego, Mr. Salvador is asking you to come to his office. You should hurry and go now.”, Marta said to her in a sarcastic tone. Divina ignored her sarcastic voice and just nodded as a reply.
  • "I am sorry, Divina. I tried to cover up for you, but I wasn’t able to say anything earlier.”, Maria honestly said to Divina.
  • "Don’t worry, Maria. I’ll handle it.”, Divina smiled at her friend to ease her mind. It was evident on Maria’s face that she was worried for her. Who wouldn’t be? For you to anger the happy Mr. Salvador, you might have had done something really big.
  • Divina knocked on the door three times and inhaled a deep breath as if she was getting herself ready for what Mr. Salvador is going to say to her inside his office.
  • “This is Miss Divina Aljuego, Mr. Salvador.”, Divina announced.
  • "You may get in.”, Mr. Salvador answered behind the door with a serious tone. Divina opened the door and went inside. She looked at Mr. Salvador, who was also facing her, looking directly into her eyes while holding the letter she had left on his table earlier.
  • "Were you the one who put this on my table?”, Mr. Salvador asked.
  • "Yes.”, Divina answered briefly. She is not going to say anything yet. Instead, she is going to wait for Mr. Salvador to give her the chance to explain. This is to show her respect and admiration for the headteacher.
  • "I will be getting straight to the point, Miss Aljuego. I didn’t like what is written in here.” Mr. Salvador said seriously while still staring directly into Divina’s eyes. Divina still didn’t answer, she let Mr. Salvador do all the talking so he could prove his point, and after that, that’s the time she would explain her side.
  • “You know… You are fully aware this is unallowed… this kind of relationship is…”, Mr. Salvador was uncomfortable to say that it was unacceptable and tried to avoid Divina’s eyes. Divina frowned as she wanted Mr. Salvador to finish his sentence.
  • “Is what, Mr. Salvador?”,Divina insisted. Mr. Salvador looked at her again, but he immediately focused his eyes on other things again. It was very obvious on Mr. Salvador’s face that he was in distress and feeling awkward.
  • "It’s unallowed, well it... I’m not quite sure in some cases… No! I mean…”, Mr. Salvador seemed to be too confused about what he wanted to say, and he fell silent as if he was thinking while sighing deeply.
  • "The truth is… I don’t want to hurt you, Miss Aljuego but I must politely decline your feelings for me.”, Mr. Salvador sincerely said while staring directly into Divina’s widened eyes. She was surprised when she heard his words, to the point that she couldn’t say anything to him because it was too sudden.
  • "It’s not because… you are not lovable, Miss Aljuego. You are a beautiful woman, and any man who sets his eyes on you will definitely be captivated by your beauty, but… my heart doesn’t beat for you.”, Mr. Salvador added; Divina held her hand on her mouth as if preventing her jaws from dropping in shock. Divina now realized why Mr. Salvador was acting this way as she looked at the letter in his hand. Mr. Salvador was also surprised by Divina’s reaction, and he became worried for her.
  • "I apologize, Miss Aljuego. My heart yearns for… teaching. You know it is unallowed for us, co-teachers, to be romantically involved with each other. This is the absolute rule that the owner, Mr. Smith, had given and had constantly reminded us before signing our contracts, right? He wants us to be good role models for our students. Believe my words, Miss Aljuego, you are indeed a beautiful and charming woman, but… we are not meant for each other.”, Mr. Salvador said in a serious tone. Still, Divina suddenly smiled, and she giggled in laughter after a few moments. This made Mr. Salvador wonder about her reaction.
  • "I apologize too, Mr. Salvador. Allow me to explain, please.”, Divina smiled and giggled between her sentences. Mr. Salvador is still wondering while looking at Divina’s alluring smile. It was his first time seeing her this happy ever since he had known her because usually, Divina tends to be serious or frowning at times.
  • “So, you are also able to smile and laugh like that.”, Mr. Salvador commented loudly about what was supposed to be just on his mind while observing Divina.
  • “Mr. Salvador, the truth is… that is not my letter. It was handed to me by a group of ladies from the bakeshop near our school when they found out I also worked here as a teacher. She had asked me a favor to give it to you. They told me that you had constantly been buying loaves of bread from their store, and those ladies are hopelessly being romantic towards you. Because in their eyes, you are the most perfect man who is worthy of giving love to. Worry no more, Mr. Salvador, because I assure you that they are not working in our school, so to say, you and that lovely lady are allowed to be in a relationship.”, Divina smiles as she teases the headteacher. Mr. Salvador wasn’t able to answer immediately; he was confused with what this beautiful lady in his front was saying while giggling so charmingly.
  • "Didn’t she write her name in the letter? I also forgot to ask her name.”, Divina realized the mistake and calmed herself from laughing. Mr. Salvador also woke up from his quick admiration for Divina’s beauty.
  • "Would I bother asking and reacting like this if I knew?”, Mr. Salvador asked back in a grouchy tone. For some reason, a part of him felt disappointed when he found out that the letter was not written by Divina, but he immediately got rid of those unusual feelings.
  • "You are so grouchy, Mr. Salvador!”, Divina then again laughs as she teases him again. At that moment, Mr. Salvador couldn’t help himself but admire Divina’s beautiful smile, but he is trying not to think too much of it as he feared this unfamiliar feeling would face a dreadful ending.
  • He is already an adult, but despite his age, he has no experience when it comes to love. Though he has feelings of infatuation or admiration like with Divina just earlier, he immediately suppresses it because it will only hinder his work. For him, he must avoid those kinds of feeling at all costs because it won’t do him any good or wouldn’t benefit his students. He aims to live a solitary life until his old age as an honest and sincere teacher, a true public servant.
  • “Okay, you may go now.”, Mr. Salvador finally said to Divina, allowing her to leave his office.
  • "Thank you, Mr. Salvador. I am really grateful for your concern, for me to be able to continue teaching here. I promised to do all my best to become a good teacher like you.”, Divina sincerely said, and it was obvious that she truly respects Mr. Salvador as her superior. She left the room with a full smile on her face.
  • Mr. Salvador felt embarrassed of his actions earlier because he felt a little malice towards Divina. And because of what happened today, because of Divina’s respect towards him, it was enough for him to reciprocate her with respect as well. The same respect one teacher could give to his student. At that moment, Mr. Salvador had learned something from Divina. He wanted to take care of Divina’s respect towards him as the headteacher, and he didn’t want to break her trust.
  • Instead of seeing Divina with malice, it was washed away by his feeling of appreciation and respect, as if Divina is more than just his student… more like a little sister.