Capítulo 56: Inspiring Speeches
Eliot crossed his arms and stood tall. It was obvious he was trying to act like a tough boy like he did whenever he was in uncertain situations. Armani had just asked where Roselle was, and he was trying to hide her. "Pfft. Who's Roselle?" he asked. "I've never heard that name in my life. It's so forgettable, just like the names of all the chicks I pounded last night.
Roselle stomped on his foot.
"OW!"
"Nice hat," Armani said, raising a brow.
"You blew my cover," Roselle complained.
Eliot opened his jaw in offense. "You blew your own cover! You kicked me!"
"Guys, it was never a good cover in the first place," Armani said. "Eliot, could you please let me and Roselle talk in private for a minute?"
"Why do I always have to leave when there's an important conversation, huh? You guys don't like me?"
Armani simply gave Eliot a look, and it was enough to send him into another direction.
"So . . ." Roselle awkwardly tried to have some chit chat. "I see Eliot didn't get impeached."
"Well, he didn't have anything to do with what happened. The FBI and the army both questioned him, but they couldn't link him to any crimes. Even if he is the grandson of the woman who tried to assassinate me, I don't want to punish an innocent man."
"I see . . ."
"I'm glad you're leaving your house again by the way."
She was taken aback by that observation. "Have you been spying on me or something?"
Armani sighed. "I didn't mean to find out, but the army soldiers that have been guarding you told me that you haven't left the house in over a week. I became really concerned. I wanted to check up on you, but I also thought you needed space."
"Well, I'm fine, thanks."
"I'm glad." She stared at the floor for a while. She didn't want to look at him. She didn't want to see his face; his eyes. It'd hurt too much. "How's it going as president so far?"
"Honestly, it's going fine. I've been training for this for a while, so I was well equipped. The main matter at hand I'm dealing with right now is . . . Well, never mind. You probably don't want to talk about it."
"Grandma Scott. I'm not a baby, you know. You can say her name around me." Roselle wondered to herself why she was trying to act so hard as if she had something to prove.
"Well, I've been dealing with the Grandma Scott situation, then."
"And how is the progress?"
"I'll be honest with you, Ro. We haven't made any."
"But you will soon, right? You have a solid plan and everything?"
He shook his head. "I'm afraid there's no updates. I wish there were something I could do to reassure you that it's all going to be alright, but I don't want to lie to you, Ro."
She'd already seen on the news that there was a lack of advancement on the Meredith Scott case, but to hear a lack of confidence come from ARMANI'S mouth of all people was disturbing. If even he wasn't hopeful, that meant that there was no hope at all. "Well, damn."
A guy came backstage. "Get ready, everyone. It's showtime."
"It was good to see you again, Ro." Armani smiled. "Even if it was just briefly."
Roselle forced herself to look into Armani's eyes, even if she could practically hear the creak in her neck as it turned toward him. Ah, there they were. Those comforting, cerulean gems that she'd known all too well. She didn't even know how much she missed him until she looked at him, but the nostalgia hit her all at once.
She looked away. "It was good to see you too, Armani. Goodbye." She ran away.
* * *
It was time for all the successful men and women that were invited to the university to give their speeches. Armani was the first to give his speech, as expected since he was the president. It was touching and blah, blah, blah. Of course his speech was amazing. He was Armani Parker, meaning he was naturally gifted in the art of talking to people and giving them inspiration.
Next was Eliot, and he didn't actually bomb his speech as Roselle had expected him to. In fact, he kind of nailed it. Good job, Eliot.
There were some other people--CEOs, lawyers, and others. Eventually, there was the speech of President Josephina Escobedo. Michelle's words from earlier echoed in her mind. 'She reminds me so much of you.'
But although Michelle's words rang through her head, she didn't 'feel' all that connected to the President of Mexico at all. Not in the least bit. Josephina was an outstanding woman that conquered so much and stood tall, even when all odds were against her. When all odds were against Roselle, she just . . . fell apart. How could she even begin to compare herself to a woman that was so perfect when she was just so not?
"Education is a powerful thing," the President of Mexico started. "For some, it's salvation from ignorance. For others, it's a dear friend that nurtures them with their passion. For me, education was the key I needed to become the woman I am today."
Roselle was once again drowned with her own self-doubt. Was she ignorant because she didn't finish high school? Was she passionless? Would she never become the woman she always wanted to be?
President Escobedo continued. "I'm here before you today to tell you that your dreams are worth pursuing. It's not too late to have an impact on the world. I'm proof that you're never too old, and my dear brother is proof that you're never too young. The world needs to hear your voice."
But Roselle did feel like it was too late. Sure, she knew twenty-one was still young, but to her, she felt as if she was an old maid. She knew it was silly, but even if she wanted to chase all of her dreams again, she didn't know where to begin.
She couldn't take being in that room anymore, so she stormed out.
"Ro, where are you going?" Michelle asked.
She didn't answer. She just kept going. She was too weak to answer her sister. She was too weak to listen to this. She was just . . . nothing. She was worthless.
* * *
By the time Roselle made it outside the auditorium, President Escobedo's "inspiring" speech about education was over. It was playing on the big screen outside, so she was still being tormented with having to watch. She tried to run away so she didn't have to listen anymore, but before she could, something on the screen caught her attention.
"Thank you to Madam President Josephina Escobedo for that amazing and inspiring story," the emcee said. "The next speaker is someone that's been famous around this university. A prodigy that graduated from here with a Ph.D. in economics when he was only seventeen years of age. He knows ten languages fluently, has an IQ of 180, and is an all-around mathematical genius. Ladies and gentlemen, I am proud to invite to the stand the one, the only, the brilliant Treasurer of Mexico, Celio Escobedo."
Roselle gasped. "HE'S the Treasurer of Mexico?!"
"The one and only," some random passerby answered her.
Everyone in the auditorium clapped with immense applause. That was the biggest applause that the auditorium had given the entire time for any of the speeches, even Armani's. They all gave a standing ovation even if he hadn't spoken yet. Were they already expecting nothing but greatness from the boy?
Roselle's eyes were glued to the big screen. She didn't know what it was, but she felt a certain something about him that allured him toward her. Not in terms of romantic affiliations or attraction, but just something about his . . . aura . . . felt as though it was familiar.
Celio slowly walked to the front of the stage, and he was visibly shaken up. His bangs covered both his eyes this time instead of one when Roselle had initially seen him. He held the microphone and opened his mouth to speak. His mouth was open for a long time, and eventually mumbles surfaced their way through the crowd.
"What are you doing?" Roselle asked aloud as if he could hear her.
And like that, Cielo ran off the stage, causing the mumbles to turn to uproar in the auditorium.
"Now, now, settle down," the emcee said. "Maybe he's . . ."
President Escobedo took the microphone. "He probably figured out a calculation he'd been missing when he was doing some economic predictions earlier," she said. "He really does work hard."
"As expected from a genius," the emcee said. "Well, maybe once he's done we can hear from him later."
Celio came busting out the back door running as fast as he could. Without even thinking, Roselle chased him down the campus.
* * *
Eventually, Celio was back at the front door of his room, and he panted hard. Perhaps even a little too hard. Was he out of shape?
"Celio?" Roselle asked, approaching with caution.
"AH!" He jumped so hard that he fell. "What do you want?! Leave me alone."
She sat down on the floor across from him. "This is going to sound crazy, but I feel like you and I have some sort of connection."
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