The Genius' First Love

Xhemin was in a field full of ripe strawberries . She was dancing in the middle of it barefoot; pressing her farm hat into her hair so it won"t fall with her das.h.i.+ng movement . She picked one fresh fruit, the biggest that she had found and tossed it into the air with joy . The poor thing fell back into the earth only to be caught into Xhemin"s hungry mouth .

It tastes like heaven— sweet and very delicious .

Xhemin picked another one . It had been so long since she had a taste of the fruit and her longing only surged up the moment she had a taste . She was about to eat her new pick when someone knocked her out from her sleep . She had been in a beautiful and flavourful dream and some ugly ogre she doesn"t know dared to wake her up . Groggily, she opened her eyes and found the girls cowering before her; naughty smiles were pasted on their lips .

"Wake up sleepy head!" They shouted at her face as they cheered amongst themselves, probably for a job well done for waking up the newbie whom they had been trying to wake up for a while now .

"What do want?" Xhemin rose at her bed lazily and gave her face a pat . These girl needs to be spank by her grandfather"s belt in order to straighten up . How dare they wake her up?

"Dinner is served your highness" The girls said in unison, bowed at her beside her bed then let go a loud a guffaw . The cabin was filled with their laughter as they dispersed and settled in the long table where dinner is served . They had enjoyed playing with the girl but their hungry stomach pulled them to the food .

Half awake, Xhemin dragged herself out from her bed to the table that was on the same room . She sat on the far end quietly, gave thanks for her food and moved to taste it . She opted to drink the whole bowl of soup first but the moment it filled her mouth, she realized it had gone cold already, just like how she felt at the moment .

For a moment the table she shared with the rest was filled by nothing but the clanging of utensil and mouths savouring their meal .

"You were the girl who kissed the Lagdameo heir in the first day of the camp, aren"t you" One of the girls questioned her in the middle of their dinner .

"Is she?" The other girls asked and looked at Xhemin with unbelief .

"This girl?" They asked again pointing a finger to Xhemin who was devouring her meal . Just then, they thought how cool Xhemin was for being able to achieve something no one would have dared to do . Where did she borrow so much confidence from that she able to meet the Lagdameo heir head on and even dared to kiss him?

"I thought so… . that"s why she looked familiar . I was there when that happened" Someone confirmed, eyes sparkling with adoration for the Lagdameo heir"s ultimate kisser . "You were spectacular back then even with your waling gaffe"

"Woooh . So this girl had some guts! How could the L Empire let her go alive and untouched?" The cheering and back to back questioning started . The once quiet dinner had become loud so sudden .

"So how does the Lagdameo taste like?" the girls continued to ask Xhemin who remained quiet despite the girls" comments and questions "Care to tell?"

Xhemin continued to chew her food ignoring the girls . She knew that she was being impolite by not acknowledging their questions but she doesn"t really want to open up about it .

Past is past and as much as possible she don"t want to dwell in it anymore . She finished her food as quick as she could, tidied her part of the table and went to place her utensils on their place before she plunged back to her bed .

She was in the middle of brus.h.i.+ng her hair when the girls started p.i.s.sing her off once again .

"So how does it feel to have made the CGC heir cry?" The questioning started, the girls rounding her bed once again .

"Did the young master liked you kiss? Did he kissed you back? Did he come to see you in secret?"

"C"mon tell us, don"t be such a naïve!"

"Can you please stop bothering me?" Xhemin pleaded . She was starting to be annoyed with their questions and she did want to have a good night sleep, but it seemed that these girls weren"t allowing her . Although their questions came in pure curiosity, she still doesn"t want to talk about it . Period!

Unknown to her, while the other girls were gathering before her, seemingly amazed of what she done and had been giving her attention, Dulcet was over jealous with her . Before Xhemin came, she was the coolest person in the east camp . Now, it seemed that her place had been taken by the newbie .

"They won"t stop bothering you" Dulcet said, the annoyance she had with Xhemin became obvious in her words . "Unless I tell them… You see, I"m the boss here"

Xhemin gave Dulcet a look as the girl collected the cards that were scattered in her bed . "Okay boss, can you tell your minions to stop? If that"s how it works here"

"I won"t" She simply said .

Xhemin rolled an eye about Dulcet"s show off and thought of something to remedy her situation .  "How about we play poker one on one . If I win, you and your minions will stop bothering me"

Dulcet welcome Xhemin"s challenge with a wide smile "If I win you"ll jump off the lake … . naked"

Everyone erupted into cheers upon Xhemin and Dulcet"s exchanges . The girls in the east camp always had card session every night but today"s game was something different— it is a real game and so everyone was thrilled on what"s to come .

"I bet on Dulcet!" One of the girls exclaimed as she poured on her coins on Dulcet"s bed .

"I"ll go for the challenger, the newbie!"

Xhemin put her hair on bun before she went to Dulcet"s bed to play poker . She sat just in front of Dulcet and started picking up her cards that had been already laid off . Right then, an ocean of silence filled the place and the tension arose in the atmosphere as Xhemin and Dulcet looked at each other in eyes filled with indignation . Xhemin gave Dulcet a raised brow while Dulcet gave Xhemin a smirk in return .

The girls gathered around, watched as the two played poker . They looked at each other in hype like a child waiting for their socks to be poured on the floor in Christmas morning . Every open throw of the cards and picks were sponsored by cheers and high fives .

Before midnight struck off, the game was over and everyone bursts into loud cheers, others were celebrating their victory while some cursed loudly at their defeat .

The result of the poker game? Xhemin lost, unfortunately .

"What a shame!" The girls who were on Xhemin"s side gasped in frustration .

"Up to the lake, shall we?" Dulcet smiled proudly . She had won and there"s nothing the newbie can do but heed the dare .