I got a message as soon I finished changing from Clare that she was waiting outside of my apartment building early Friday morning. I quickly put on my shoes and left to go meet her downstairs.
What met me outside was a black Volvo XC60. Aren't that the kind of vehicle that sport guys usually like, well it does fit her to an extent.
"Morning" I said when I opened the door.
Clare was wearing a red blouse with a black leather jacket and a white skirt. It didn't fit her previous self at all. She seems more mature and refined.
Playing in the car was rock music. Since Clare had always been closer to her father. I guess that why she picked up most of his habits, preferences and such. Guess it not that bad to listen to rock music while I go to the airport.
"Morning, took you long enough. Had trouble putting on your make-up?" Clare said with a mocking tone.
"Isn't it weird for a girl wearing a skirt to be driving this kind of car?" I look towards Clare with a smirk.
"You really do look well dress today, dressed to impress with your dark blue turtle neck sweater and cream trouser with those leather shoes. Are you trying to cheat on Lucy with this girl, even though you two aren't a couple yet? Clare said half-jokingly and half-serious.
"I just show Lucy around town a bit, there was nothing to it." I had no idea why I was being defensive with Clare right now.
"Wait, I never said that I was going to meet with a girl!" I exclaimed out loud.
"Don't have to, with the way how you were avoiding the gender. Everyone at the table knew you were talking about a girl. Since if it was a male then you would've simply state that and not try to avoid the gender." Clare explained.
Yikes, I was being that dumb huh?
"My question is; why did you dress like a girl today? Where is the usual hoodie and jeans?" I ask mockingly.
Clare face had a sly smile when I ask her that question. "I consider myself your big sister, so I'm guessing that it either going to be Lucy or this girl that we're going to pick up. I got to leave a good first expression on my potential future sister in law."
Well I walked into that trap, maybe she had that trap in mind since choosing that outfit this morning.
"But seriously, what do you think of Lucy?" Clare ask suspiciously.
"She very pretty and seem like a good person" I told Clare
*Sigh Clare had a disappointed look on her face before saying. "I'm not asking about the obvious stupid. You describe a lot of girl in the past as being pretty and beautiful but never once had anything happen between you and them. I'm asking how do you feel about Lucy."
How do I feel about her? I close my eyes to think about it. The drum beat and song of the guitar along with the tone of the music made it much easier to enter a trance. I began to think back to the day I spent with Lucy. Just remembering her smiling face and her soft giggle, made my heart beat faster and it felt like something tugging somewhere inside me, I'm guessing that would be my soul.
"I think I feel attracted to her." I admitted to Clare as I open my eyes.
Clare smiled when I admitted my feeling for Lucy to her. Even with all the jokes, I do think of Clare like a big sister. Since high school, she's been kind of keeping watch over Alvin and I. She would help us out with studying and our class assignments. I see no harm in telling her my feelings except for the few occasional taunts.
"Then what about this trip, Lucy had an annoyed expression when she heard that you're going out of the way to pick up a girl from the airport." Clare inquired.
"As I said that on that day, she a friend and I don't want a friend to arrive in a new city by themselves when I can pick them up." I stated.
"But aren't I the one that really doing the picking up." Clare said with a smirk.
"It sure is strange that this is all a coincident, two people coming to our university as exchange student and both of them got a thing for you. It feels like someone divine plan to me."
With a taunting voice I decided to change the topic. "Since you're asking about my personal life, then that means I can do the same. So how about it, into anyone interesting lately?"
"Nope, hasn't been interested in anyone since last year." Clare said with an indifferent tone.
"Still haven't gotten over what happened?" I asked with a concerned voice.
Shrugging her shoulders, it seems that she doesn't really care about what happened before. "I don't care about what happened but I will used it as a lesson to make sure I don't run into another momma's boy."
Clare back store is one full of pity. After a few years of only hanging out with Alvin and I, she finally found a guy that she liked. The guy was considered very handsome and charming by everyone. She changed almost everything about herself to get his attention. She started to wear make-up and nail polish and it was the only time that I saw her wear a shirt outside of the school uniform.
After she changed, it had actually worked and the two of them began to dated. But everything changed one day when they were coming from one of his friend's house party. On the way to the metro, a guy came over to mug them with a knife. Mr. Pathetic was about to back away and hand over everything that he had on him. Clare had other ideas since she trained in Karate. She had single handedly took out the mugger and even escorted the scaredy cat home. Once home the guy ran into his mother arms. She left him there and said her good-byes. He ignored her for around three days and afterwards of not responding to any of her calls or texts. He simply responded by saying that it not going to work out between them and to stop contacting him.
Clare was devastated by the sudden break-up and was in a depressed mood for about a week. She even refused to attend school during that week. Alvin and I were beginning to worry about her. when we asked the momma's boy if he knows anything, he simply shrugs us off by saying with a slight happiness and disdain in his voice that he hasn't been contacted her for a week. Looking back, I'm guessing that the happiness came from not contacting her and the disdain came from having to mention her.
We ended up having to sneak into the teacher's staff room and ran through their records for her address. We met her father and he let us into their apartment and show us to her room door. It seems that she wasn't coming out of her room except to eat and use the bathroom. Her father didn't know what the heck he should be doing since he was a single dad. I ended up having to coaxed her let us in by accepting to be her sworn little brother.
Alvin and I was able to get her to returned to school but bad news for Clare just kept on coming. Only after a week after she return to school, a bunch of rumors began popping up here and there. Rumor about her being a demon, man in disguise, she-male as such. Alvin and I did some investigating and we found out that the rumors came from the parents. It seems that Mr. Pathetic mother had been telling the other mothers a lot of rumors about Clare. The rumors even got so bad that they began to say that Clare mother had left her father because they had made a beast of a daughter.
Having no power over the matter. Clare took matter in her own hands by cutting off her hair into a boy style. From that moment Clare became an outcast in the school and was only able to stick around me or Alvin. Everyone else moved away from her, and decide to not have any contact with her. I was already an outcast in school because of my immigrant background but Alvin did stick around the regular crowd but he told me that he never considers anyone other than Clare or I as friends. He had broken up with his girlfriend at the time, around a month before graduation. So, the three of us decided to ask out teacher for our certificate and documents and not attend out own graduation. Made no sense to attend an event where no one wants us there.
"Did you finally learned the proper way to drive?" I asked her teasingly to get off the current topic. I was saying that as joke but I was seriously surprise that Clare was driving cautiously.
I always known Clare to be somewhat of a reckless driver. After she had gotten a license, every ride with her behind the wheel felt like my last.
"Nope, just can't afford to get another strike on my license this year" Clare replied with a devious smile.
The city airport was located on the outskirts of the city so it was a long drive. With Clare driving cautiously, I felt relaxed for the rest of the journey as Clare and I talked about mundane things as I listened to Clare and her music while watching the scenery.