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**
“For the world’s sake—
Acknowledge your power.
Trust the process.
Everyone has their destiny.”
Camio grunted. He hated the slogan about fate nailed on a tree just across the street, where a clairvoyant’s tent stood.
“Trust the process, my foot!” He furrowed his brows and kicked the stone in front of him. But just as he was about to take another step, the stone he kicked bounced back at him, hitting his forehead. “Aww!”
Then laughter echoed at the side of the street.
“Here comes the walking disaster!” someone yelled.
“Look at those mad bees swarming towards him! They’re huge!” another one teased.
Camio mumbled, “Not again.” He took the insect repellent can from his bag and sprayed the bees with it. “Why am I the target of bad luck?!” He ran fast to avoid the remaining bees that weren’t knocked out by the spray.
When he reached the end of the tree line, he rested for a bit and walked as carefully as he could. In that way, he believed he would at least save himself from being attacked by animals he might come across.
It was his life since day one of being a teenager. And it all began when he and his friend Marion were pulling a wishbone. Unfortunately, he got the shortest part of it, and that was why misfortunate chased after him. Marion, on the other hand, was enjoying his luck.
“Fate will be by your side.”
Camio jumped when a girl’s voice broke the stillness of the atmosphere. She was the same age as he was. Her shoulder-length brown hair flew with the gentle brush of the wind. Her smile was so bright as the sun that Camio had forgotten how gloomy he was feeling before seeing her.
“You scared me!” he said, clutching his right hand to his left chest.
“Oh! Did I? Sorry for that. I was deafened by your scream of despair.”
“I wasn’t screaming.”
“Yes, you were. Your face says it all. What happened to your forehead?” The girl took several steps forward and poked the swollen area on Camio’s forehead, making him wince.
“Don’t touch it!”
“I’m Livi. And you are?”
“I’m none of your business.” He turned his face back to the road and took a few steps away from the girl. He better hurry to school, or he’ll be late and be scolded. As he move forward, the girl followed, so Camio ran as fast as he could to avoid her.
**
Soaking in sweat and covered in dust, Camio reached their classroom just in time. He saw Marion being swarmed by the pretty girls in class.
“And I got bees following me,” he murmured.
“Hi!”
Camio jumped and bumped his head on the door. And when he looked behind him, Livi was there.
“It’s you again? Why don’t you leave me alone?”
Pissed off, he walked to his chair without waiting for her to respond. But instead of getting mad at him, she followed and sat next to him. Camio was about to complain when a buzzing filled the air.
‘Not again,’ he said to himself, thinking that the bees had followed him. But to his surprise, it wasn’t the bees he was hearing—it was his classmates, who flocked to him and Livi.
Even Marion threw a jealous glance in his direction. ‘Why are they glaring at me?’
As if to answer his question, their teacher walked in.
“Okay class, before we start, I’d like you to meet your new classmate. Are you here, Ms. Pradez?”
“Yes, sir!” Livi said, raising her hand. She winked at Camio, who was in shock, before walking in front of the class. She smiled at her classmates, showing her dimples, but she locked eyes with Camio.
“Hello, everyone! I’m Livi Fate Pradez. I’ll be your new classmate, so I hope that we can all be friends.”
The class applauded.
“She’s beautiful,” the class murmured. Livi ignored the compliment of the others. Her attention was fixed on her seatmate who was still in shock.
She went back beside Camio and beamed once more. “Didn’t I tell you that Fate will be by your side? Your bad luck ends today, for I will be your lucky charm. You’re just clumsy, that’s all. And don’t believe in wishbones.”