“That woman enrolled her daughter in Maxwell?! How dare she?! First, you let your secretary mislead and make a fòöl out of you, and now her rãpë child does the same thing!”
Robert caught Romina leaving and he eventually learnt that her new client was making some unnecessary demands and giving her a tough time. Robert offered to talk to them on her behalf but Romina declined and said she wanted to handle things by herself. Robert then told her that he had invited Bernard and his son over for dinner and he apologized for not noticing her earlier.
Romina said it was okay because Cassie would love it since she had been close with Bernard’s son when she was still a child. Daniela brought Marga to a boutique and asked her to pick whatever she liked. Marga seemed worried and when her mother asked what was wrong, she apologized again for not winning and being the number one.
Daniela said she was the one who had to apologise for overreacting. When Marga mentioned again that she had lost, Daniela said that she knew she would never let that happen again because she was her daughter and more importantly, a winner.
Again, Daniela told Marga that she had brought her to the boutique so she could pick anything she wanted for working very hard on the competition. This time, Marga was excited. Robert told Cassie that Kristoff ‘Tope’ was back in the Philippines with Bernard his father. Cassie looked excited and she was all smiles as her father added that ‘Tope’ was also going to be schooling at Maxwell.
Robert then told her to get ready because they would be having dinner with them later tonight. Cassie told her father that she wanted to study in the best school – Maxwell. Robert said he would do his best to ensure her entry into Maxwell but Cassie didn’t want any shortcuts – she wanted to take the entrance exams and Robert said he had the belief that she would pass.
Cassie then asked how her mother would take it and Robert said that he would talk to her. Cassie was excited about getting the chance to bond with Marga over at Maxwell. Out of the blue, she asked why Daniela never visited them and Robert told her that they had some issues and Daniela held a grudge against him.
Cassie told her father that she couldn’t believe that he could ever do anything bad because he was so kind and also the best father ever. At the Tejada residence, Kristoff, who had been busy with his guitar quickly discarded it and went back to his books when he noticed his father approaching.
Bernard told his son that he was doing what was best for him. He added that Maxwell was a very good school where he would make a lot of connections to help him in the near future. Kristoff however, had to pass the entrance exams to get in.
Kristoff seemed to hold some kind of grudge against his father, probably concerning their separation from his mother. Bernard told him to get ready for dinner with the Mondragons at 6. At the Mondragons, Romina was worried about Robert’s decision to transfer Cassie to Maxwell for her Senior high.
Robert told her that it would be good for her future and Romina was worried about the environment – Cassie would have to adjust and make new friends. Cassie told her mother she wanted to try Maxwell because she wanted to be successful like her parents. It was now 2 against 1 and Romina said she would think about it.
At Maxwell International, Marga told her friends that she was glad she and her mother were on good terms. They asked her where Cassandra came from and suggested that she had cheated in the Quiz Bee. Maureen added that they had to report Cassie. Marga told Maureen that she acted as if she was just born yesterday – so naive, inexperienced and easily deceived – and she wondered how she got into Maxwell in the first place.
Marga’s friends then asked what would happen if she competed against Cassie again. Marga said that this was the first time her mother had been disappointed at her and she had promised her that it wouldn’t happen again. “So, the next time that I face off with Cassie, I won’t lose to her.”
At the Mondragon Mansion, Cassie was excited about her transfer to Maxwell. She told her uncle Neil that she used to spend the summer with ‘Tope’ a lot until they had moved to the US. Bernard Tejada arrived and Cassie went to greet him. Kristoff came in and after some pleasantries, everyone went to the dining table.
During dinner, Bernard tried to convince Romina to transfer Cassie to Maxwell since the school had a lot of connections and advantages over others. Romina said she was worried about how Cassie would adjust. She went on to ask Kristoff how he felt and the boy said he didn’t really have a choice about going to Maxwell. Bernard added that they were still young and it was quite easy for kids to adjust to new places.
After dinner, Neil told his sister that Bernard was a good lawyer and yet he hadn’t been able to convince her to take Cassie to Maxwell. When Romina asked whether her brother understood her reason, Neil said that it was because of the adjustments Cassie would have to make. He also suggestively said that maybe it was due to the fact that Daniela’s daughter schooled there.
Romina said it was a good thing that Marga studied there and maybe the kids would pave the way for Robert and Daniela to reconcile. She said she didn’t want her daughter to have such a hard time and Neil told her that she couldn’t keep on shielding Cassie from the rest of the world because eventually, Cassie would have to leave for college in two years. He added that this was the only thing Cassie had ever asked for and it would also be good for her.
It was graduation day and in Maxwell International, Marga took up the stand and addressed those present on behalf of herself and her school. Carlos and Daniela were present and they couldn’t help but to stare in admiration. Meanwhile, at St. Jude, Cassie also represented and spoke for her school. Robert and Romina were present at the event, and they couldn’t have been more proud.
“If there’s anything I have learnt from my teachers, my classmates and my parents, it’s that awards like these are only temporary. How you treat the people you meet is what leaves a lasting mark, not your grades.”
In the audience, Robert and Romina stared at each other, proud of their daughter’s very wise words. Meanwhile, Marga was making the entire event about herself and at the end of both speeches, Cassie received a grand clap offering while the audience at Maxwell just stared up at Marga as if she was trying to sell something they didn’t have any interest in buying.
After the speech, Romina said she was very proud of Cassie and Robert told Cassie that her speech was very beautiful and he would never get tired of hearing it over and over again. Romina then dropped the bomb – she told Cassie that she would allow her to study at Maxwell International School. Cassie was very excited and Romina told her that she had to keep on studying hard so she would be prepared for anything that came her way.
At the Bartolome residence, there was a party ongoing for Marga’s successful graduation. Marga met her uncles Gino and Jude (Carlos’ younger brothers). The obnoxious Mr. Kulas was also present. Meanwhile, Carlos advised his wife that they transfer Marga to another school because they couldn’t afford her senior high at Maxwell.
Daniela refused to it even as Carlos tried to reason with her that Maxwell’s tuition fees were quite expensive than what the universities even charged and they had to save up for Marga to go to college after her senior high. Like the never-ending buzzing of an annoying mosquito so did Mr. Kulas magically walk over and hear the argument between husband and wife.
“Our hard work would all go to waste if we send our daughter to a mediocre, second-rate school,” Daniela said.
The ever annoying Mr. Kulas came up to Carlos after Daniela had gone back inside. He told his son that his wife was right and it was better for Marga to go to a unique, exclusive school. The not-so wiser one-eyed-old man even went on to say that Carlos should see it as an investment and as a father, he had to give his daughter his best. Carlos said he knew that but he was just being practical. And sensible as well.
To lighten up the atmosphere and give us the viewers something to laugh about, Carlos told his father that he would buy him a new eye patch. At the admission block of Maxwell International, Kristoff bumped into Marga and Marga was suddenly mad at him. Kristoff apologized and Marga told him to watch where he was going next time.
Kristoff turned and saw Cassie waiting for him and he complained to her about the grumpy attitude of the students at Maxwell. Cassie told Kristoff that he also had the same attitude because he looked pretty mad at dinner last night. They left to go and have dinner together. Marga made a YouTube video on her channel about how to make more friends this school year.
Tip #1 : “To attract more cool squad, you have to have a cool sense of fashion.” Marga added that it was really helpful to have a mother like hers who was really great at fashion. A smiling Daniela came in and Marga introduced her to her YouTube subscribers/viewers. Daniela had brought Marga a gift bag and she asked her to open it and show it to her followers and viewers.
The gift bag contained a fashion designer bag and Daniela added that she was sure her daughter would be the only one to have that kind of bag in school. Marga thanked her mother and showed it to her followers. At the Mondragons, Romina walked into Cassie’s room and asked if she was busy.
Cassie said she wasn’t and Romina suddenly revealed a bag she had hidden behind her. (Yep, it was the same designer bag Daniela had bought for Marga). Cassie was excited that she had passed the entrance exams. The designer bag had been a gift from Robert to Romina and now Cassie reluctantly accepted it when her mother gave it to her.
At Maxwell International, Marga showed off her brand new designer bag. Her friends admired the bag and said that her mother was really cool. The bell rang and a teacher came in and asked them to settle down. She revealed that they had two transfer students who would be joining them this year. The teacher called out and Kristoff walked in.
“Oh my God, who’s that?”
“New face,” someone else said.
“Cute face,” another added.
Marga disagreed with the comments though. And then, Cassie came in and joined Kristoff. Marga and her friends looked stunned as the teacher asked the new students to introduce themselves to the class. One of her friends even pointed out that the new girl had the same bag Marga had.
“Hi…” Cassie began with a wave and her usual smiling face. “I’m Cassandra Andrada-Mondragon, but you can call me Cassie.”
Everyone looked shocked now. All eyes glanced around the room at Marga and then at Cassie, and Kristoff also seemed confused as to what was bringing out those weird stares. After the first lesson, Cassie asked Marga to have lunch with her since she hadn’t made any friends yet. Marga declined, saying that she had already made plans with her friends.
“We made plans?” one of them asked and Marga turned and gave her a dirty look.
Cassie said it was okay. Some other students came by and asked Cassie if she was the one who had competed against Marga in the Quiz Bee. Cassie said that Marga’s group had really done well but her group had won by a single point. They then asked if they were related and whether Marga’s mother was a Mondragon.
Cassie said it was so – Marga’s mother was her sister and Marga was her niece. Marga and her friends still stood nearby and after Marga complemented Cassie on her glasses being cute, she left with her friends saying that Cassie’s glasses make her look like a grandma.
Daniela’s friends and potential investors told her that they had calculated the risks and realized that it wouldn’t be wise to invest in her club. Daniela asked them to leave and after they were gone, she asked Savannah if she wanted to invest. Savannah told her she would have liked to but her husband who handled all their finances was hard to convince.
She asked Daniela to seek help from her father and Daniela said she had already collected her inheritance and she would rather go through hell than to go and ask for help from him. Savannah reminded her that her daughter’s future was at stake and Daniela assured her that she would find a way. Back at Maxwell International, Marga’s friends said that she (Marga) had finally met her match in Cassie.
Marga said no one could ever match up to her and Cassie would always be a poor second. Cassie came smiling and asked Marga if she could join them for lunch. Marga’s friends said that the table was exclusively theirs alone and Cassie went to eat alone after Marga faked an apology. Kristoff joined Cassie at her table.
Kristoff reluctantly left Cassie to eat by herself after some guys from the basketball team invited him to join them. Cassie, who seemed hurt now glanced back at Marga and blinked back tears. Later on, Cassie went to the washroom and caught Fatima, a slightly overweight classmate of hers eating in the toilet.
She asked why she was eating there and the girl just stared at her and silently hurried away without even taking along the lunch box she had dropped earlier. Cassie returned Fatima’s lunch box and offered her a sandwich. Fatima asked if she was giving it to her just like that and Cassie said she didn’t want her to go hungry since the majority of her food had been spilled.
Fatima asked if Cassie was a Mondragon like Marga and Cassie, who seemed confused by the question, answered that she was. Eventually, Fatima took the sandwich and ate it hungrily. Marga and her friends came in and started mocking Fatima much to Cassie’s surprise.
School had ended and Marga stood leaning against a wall outside. Cassie came by and stared at her, probably thinking whether she should go up to her or not. Carlos came to pick up Marga and Cassie took the opportunity to talk to him, saying he was the one who had saved her from the pool some time ago.
Cassie told Carlos that she now studied at Maxwell and she was classmates with Marga. Marga was frowning and making faces behind Carlos even as Cassie thanked him for saving her at that time. Robert then arrived and Marga went to wait in the car after Carlos had made her greet her grandfather.
At Camila, Romina had arranged a small feast for the employees to celebrate their success for over-exceeding the outrageous demands of their new client. The workers were excited and they thanked her. Romina told them that she would increase their overall pay soon and thanked them for all the sacrifices they had made for the company.
Back at Maxwell, Cassie also went to wait in their car as her father had a talk with Carlos. Robert said he wanted to have a talk with both Daniela and Marga and Carlos said he could if only it was up to him. Robert then told him that he wanted both their families to be reunited and Carlos said he also wanted the same thing.
At the Bartolome residence, Marga told her mother that she was now in the same class and track with Cassie. Daniela started with her usual wild, uncontrolled speech. She said that they didn’t have the right to enroll Cassie in Maxwell. Carlos came in and asked what the matter was.
“That woman enrolled her daughter in Maxwell!…how dare she?! she replied.
“Daniela, we don’t own Maxwell,” Carlos tried to reason with his temperamental wife. “Cassie can study wherever she wants.”
“I won’t allow it! They should know their place!”
Carlos asked Marga to go to her room while he had a talk with her mother. After she had left hesitantly, Carlos told Daniela not to make matters worse but she wouldn’t listen. Daniela said that they (Robert and his family) had invaded her territory and she wouldn’t allow them to invade Marga’s school as well. Carlos told her not to say things like that in Marga’s presence because she was only setting a very bad example for their daughter.
Daniela said she was just teaching their daughter to protect everything she had and Carlos stared at her in frustration. At the Mondragons, Cassie told her mother that she was in the same class and tracked with Marga. Romina asked if they were both okay since things hadn’t gone well the first time they had met when they were kids.
For no obvious reason, Cassie lied and said that they were fine and Romina said she was glad to know that they were getting along well.
Cassie then told her mother that she was going to be friends and closer with Marga, and maybe that would make Daniela and her father to also settle their differences.
Romina said she hoped so. Daniela walked by Romina’s office at Camila and stormed into Robert’s office. Robert almost went to hug her, thinking her daughter had come to reconcile. He would soon be very disappointed. Daniela told her father that she didn’t plan to stay long because she hated the disgusting smell of fish there.
Daniela demanded that her father should take ‘that girl’ out of Maxwell because she and her mother had both studied there and her presence was only destroying their legacy. “How dare you enroll that woman’s little brat there!” Robert told her to be reasonable, adding that Cassie also deserved to go to the best school.
Robert stared at Daniela with eyes so wide with shock as she gave him the final blow – “First, you let your secretary mislead and make a fool out of you, and now her rãpë child does the same thing!” At Maxwell International, the teacher walked in and asked everyone to settle down. She announced that she had finished grading the recent test they had had and only one of them had an A.
Marga began showing off in response to the praises of her friends who were saying that there was only one straight-A student in Maxwell. But then everyone else was surprised when the teacher mentioned Cassandra Mondragon as the one who had scored the A. Everyone clapped as Cassie went to take her paper. Kristoff playfully mocked her and she returned the favor, saying that he was just jealous.
Cassie went back to her seat as Kristoff started laughing and Marga, whose mouth was open wide in shock still had that dumbfounded look on her face. Marga was called and after she went to take her paper and fold it angrily, she stared at Cassie in pure contempt before going back to her seat. Marga and her friends mocked Cassie for bringing her favorite sardines to school.
One even asked Marga if her grandfather was that stingy. Cassie told them that the sardines were her family’s specialty and Marga said she didn’t give a damn. After they left, Cassie convinced Fatima to join her for lunch at the gym, and the girl asked Cassie whether she was really related to Marga since she was so different from her and Cassie just smiled at her.
After school had ended, Cassie stood waiting outside. Daniela arrived and Cassie greeted her excitedly. Daniela stared at her as if she was an alien or some kind of animal with horns coming out of her head. Marga arrived and Daniela greeted her excitedly. Daniela gave Cassie her infamous look of dëāth before leaving with Marga.
On their way back home, Cassie told Robert that she had met Daniela her sister and she hadn’t been that friendly with her. She however told her father that there was still hope since Daniela seemed to care so much for Marga. At the Bartolomes, Daniela cried her heart out to Savannah and told her that her father now considered Cassie and Romina as his family much more over her.
Daniela cried some more, saying that she didn’t understand why they had to intrude in their lives again. Marga heard everything from where she stood behind the door. Her face showed nothing but pure hatred for Cassie and her family. The next day at school Cassie made the mistake of trying to befriend Marga again.
Marga unleashed her anger on Cassie and told her that she was annoying and she should just leave her alone. After Marga left with her friends, Fatima came and warned her that Marga would probably target her like how they had made LJ (the girl with the messy hair who always seems to be scared of Marga) an outcast.
