SECRETLY INTO YOU ( WAITING SERIES #1 )

VENICE'S POV

"Please, beshy! Come with me, pretty please. "this girl said while making puppy eyes.

A long sigh comes out of my mouth. I cannot remember how many times I sighed because of this girl trying to convince me. I looked at her again, and she was still making puppy eyes, thinking it would work for me. I think this girl will not stop bothering me until I agree with her invitation.

Hi, everyone! My name is Venice Marquez, a 20-year-old young lady. I am tall and fair in complexion. Beautiful ( they said ) and intelligent. On the other hand, the girl who is so noisy here is my best friend. Her name is Monica Cruz, a modern version of Ruth in the Bible and a niece of a pastor. She is beautiful inside and out. And an hour passed when she convinced me to come with her to their church because they would be conducting a youth event this coming Sunday.

"Yikes, she will say yes already. "Monica told me while poking my side, so my attention came back to her. Haist, this girl is so stubborn. She must be thankful that she is my best friend or else. I do wanna say it.

"Okay, fine. "I said in surrender.

"Yaaaaay! "she exclaimed happily.

"But this is the last time you will try to convince me about this one, or we will be ending our friendship already. "I told to, Monica pretending to be pissed off, so she frowned.

"Can you? "she asked with teary eyes. See what I am talking about. She is childish.

"Of course not. I love you. "I answered, smiling.

Monica's emotions changed immediately. She smiled and hugged me tightly. Sometimes I am thinking if this girl has mood swings. I flicked her forehead, so she looked at me, confused.

"Seriously speaking, beshy. This will be the last time, okay? I am not suitable there; I might be burned alive. "I jokingly told her.

"Yeah, yeah! But I am sure you will enjoy it, so there will be next time. "she said, smiling then winking at me.

"Let us see. "I said because I am sure we would not end this conversation if I told another complaint. Monica never wants to lose to anyone, even to me.

I sighed once again. What have I put myself into? Do not get me wrong, I am not scared of going to church because I am a kind person. But I think I am not suitable for their church. I wonder what will happen at that youth event.

*** SUNDAY ***

I woke up at almost past ten in the morning because it was the weekend. I also want to go to the mall and walk around because I am too stressed this whole week because of schoolwork. By the way, Monica and I are third-year Accountancy students in the school near our house. I stopped daydreaming when my cell phone suddenly rang. I got it from my side table and checked who messaged me.

"See you later, beshy. I will fetch you later at two in the afternoon. See you! "

I sighed after reading the text message. Monica is the sender of the text message, and she is reminding me about the youth event later. Haist, I scratched the back of my head. I guess my initial plan of going to the mall later is cancelled. It is too hard to coax Monica when she gets angry, so I do not have a choice but to come with her. I just go downstairs to start cleaning the house. My family is not here because they went to the church near our home early in the morning today. I did not bother to join them because I was already attending church, where Monica served later. I do not want to be sounded so holy because of going to church twice. After cleaning the house, I started cooking food for our lunch. I cooked chicken adobo as a dish because it is my favorite dish.

After some time, my family arrived precisely after I finished preparing the dining table.

"It is a miracle, sis. You are too hardworking today. "my younger sister said while teasing me.

"Che! You have just arrived from the church and are already making fun of me. "I told her, pretending to be annoyed.

"She has a point. You are too hardworking. Are you going somewhere? "my father asked me.

"Ah, it is because Monica invited me to their church later at two in the afternoon. They are conducting an event there. "I admitted to my father.

"Got you! "my younger sister said, so I glared at her. She pushed my patience to the limits, so I looked at her sharper to threaten her to shut up before I looked back to my father.

"May I? "I asked my father while praying that he would not approve it, so I could make an excuse to Monica for not attending it.

"Alright. "my father quickly answered, which made my jaw drop. Is he agreed?

"W-what? "I asked once again, hoping that I misheard what he said.

"Do not be confused because of what your father said. Monica did not stop bothering him until he agreed for you to come to their event. "my mother explained.

I sat down in unbelief at what my mother said. Monica is really making sure of things. We just ate our lunch, and then I washed the dishes before returning to my room and taking a bath. After taking a bath, I started finding something to wear on my cabinet. I scratch the back of my head because I just have shorts and ripped jeans in my wardrobe. I am not holy, but I know these clothes are unsuitable in the church because I never saw Monica wear something like this.

After a few minutes, I had already found something decent to wear. It is a denim dress that is below the knee in length. I think this is already approved and better. After I wore it, I started putting powder on my face and fixing my hair. I was standing when I heard someone knocking on my door.

"Come in, "I said while checking my look in the mirror.

"You are really slow. "Monica said while frowning.

I looked back to see her. Then I started to be confused when her expression changed immediately. She seems to see something that surprises her.

"What? "I asked uncomfortably.

"Wow, beshy! That dress looks good on you. "Monica complimented me in amusement.

"Che! Let us go already. "I said, then got my shoulder bag in my bed.

We went outside my room together. When we go downstairs, my parents happily watch a show on the television. I come closer to them and bid goodbye to them.

"We will get going, Mom and Dad. "I said politely.

"Take care and do not go home too dark. "my father instructed.

"We will get going, Tito and Tita. Do not worry, Beshy is in good hand. "Monica said energetically.

"We knew that for fact, and we are hoping that you will influence your friend. "my mother said.

My jaw dropped because of what my mother said. Seriously, who really is their daughter between, Monica and me? I was ready to protest my mother's words when Monica grabbed me towards my house's exit. Then, we hopped into the tricycle, which stopped in front of our house. Wow, that is fast.

After ten minutes, we arrived at the church where Monica was serving. We are not yet near the door, but I can still hear the loud sound coming from there. I gulped in silence because of nervousness when I looked at the door.

"Let us go? "Monica asked me.

I nodded in response and let her grab me towards the church entrance. When we are already inside, many youths greet Monica, and when they look at me, they will just smile at me, so I smile back at them.

"Monica, let us practice. "the guy said to Monica when he came closer to us. Monica is the so-called worship leader of this event.

"Ahh, okay. I will follow you in a bit. "Monica said.

The stutter of her words is not remaining unnoticed by me. Hmm, I smell something fishy here.

"Beshy, I will just go on stage. You can go in the second row to sit beside my seat. You know my bag, right? You sit beside it. "Monica instructed me.

"All right. "I answered back.

Monica left me and went to the stage. Then, they started practicing.

"Hello, what is your name? "the girl in the registration area asked me.

"Venice. "I answered her politely.

"Hi Venice, I am Grace. Are you new here? "Grace asked me once again.

"Yes, it is my first time here. "I answered.

"Really? Who invited you, then? "she asked again.

"It is Monica. She is my bestfriend. "I replied.

Grace and I continued to talk about random things until we noticed that the seats inside the chair started to be occupied.

"Hello, everyone. Welcome to the youth jam. We will start in a bit, so I am inviting everyone to take a sit. "the emcee announces.

I bid goodbye to Grace and started finding where Monica said I would be seated. When I had already found it, I turned to the stage where I saw a busy guy strumming his guitar. I do not know how many minutes have passed that I am still looking at him. I only stopped looking at him when the emcee announced that the event would start.

Monica started singing, and the people she was on the stage began playing their instruments. I cannot keep up with them because I have no idea what they are singing, so I just look to my best friend. Aside from being beautiful, she also has a voice like an angel. That girl is really blessed. I also looked at the guy who called Monica a while back. He is currently energetically hitting the drum set. Lastly, I looked at the guy who was strumming his guitar. I look away when he looks in my direction. I just closed my eyes and went with the song's flow. After Monica sang and prayed, they went down the stage, and Monica went straight beside me.

"Do you want some water? "I asked her.

Monica just shakes her head while smiling in her response. She sat down and looked at the stage where their youth leader started sharing God's word. After a while,

"You know, brethren, if you feel incomplete or unloved right now, I want to say that you make the right decision to come here, "the youth leader said, penetrating me.

The youth leader directed the worship team to went straight to the stage. Some of the youths seated started to stand, so I did the same. Monica started to sing once again. After a while, I heard someone crying, so I looked around to find her, but I failed. My attention shifted to the stage when the youth leader suddenly spoke.

"Do not focus on what is happening in your surroundings, brethren. Now, focus on God. He wants you back. Come back now, "the youth leader said, making me close my eyes. His words are like a command but instructed sweetly.

"Now, if you are decided to surrender your life to God, go near the stage, so we can pray for you. "the youth leader said once again.

I did not notice that I started walking toward the stage. A girl held me in my head and started praying for me. I kneel down while crying. I realized that the youth leader's unloved and incomplete person in his exhortation was me. Then that day, I ENCOUNTERED GOD FOR THE FIRST TIME and surrendered my life to Him, which was the best decision I ever made.

TO BE CONTINUED!