Late afternoon…
The light blue sky starts turning dark, the rain begins to fall on the land.
Lucy asked permission to go home early because she's sick. But the rainfalls caught her unprepared, so she sat in the cemented shed waiting for the rain to stop. She took off her sandals, put them aside. Her barefoot starts playing with the running water, her reddish hands kept playing with the raindrops.
She started doing part-time jobs in the marketplace when she was only fourteen. She didn't get the chance to play, she didn't even have proper memories of her teenage days. Having a longtime crush nor a high school boyfriend never occurred in her teenage life because all of her time was already occupied. She didn't have a lot of friends either, her life is surely boring! But here she is now kept playing in the rain like a child while daydreaming.
The Training Center bell rang, all the trainees almost ran to the ground floor without concerns even if they bang at each other!
A boy student who goes out with a foldable umbrella returns running. "Babe, I'll buy you that keychain later, let's just wait for the rain to stop, okay?"
"Hmm, don't forget it huh? Promise?" she's acting like a child so much in front of her boyfriend and their friends, she holds onto his arms. "It's cold!"
They don't care even if it's disturbing to the eyes of their friends, especially to Charlie and Dale who were standing beside them. It's Kevin and Meg, Dale's friends and co-trainees, and also schoolmates.
"Anyway I saw Ms. Lucy at the shed, I guess she was caught by the rain too!"
Dale's ears and eyes automatically react upon hearing Lucy's name. "At the shed? But she's sick, she'll get sicker if she stays longer." Concerns engulfed him. "Meg, let me borrow your umbrella!" he held onto it but Kevin tapped his hands.
"Oops sorry bro! Don't let him Meg, he'll just lend it to Ms. Lucy for sure!"
"Sorry but my Babe and I health is more important than anyone's!" Kevin is smiling not knowing how serious Dale is right now.
"Hmm, important, my foot! You're selfish, it's not even yours!" Dale's tiny eyes broadened because he got mad.
"Ahh... here Dale, just borrow mine, my brother will pick me up with his car anyway, maybe he is just running late." Charlie timidly smiled as she gave him her foldable umbrella.
"Thanks!" Dale smiled a little then ran fast away from them.
"Why did you lend him yours, you even know that he's going to lend it to Ms. Lucy!" Kevin curiously asked Charlie who's silently watching Dale's back.
"It's fine, I'll let him be for now, since Ms. Lucy is sick!" without any expressions.
"Are you going to give up on him now? In school, you told us to befriend him no matter what, even if we don't know if he's an Introvert or just rude! What's the catch, Charlie?" It's Meg with her eyebrows raised.
"Because we… are living in different generations than Ms. Lucy, or should I say a different world?" She smirked which made her pretty face look devious.
"After all, my mom told me that it's just the crush that's making Dale curious. That practically means, it'll all pass when we're done in this Training Center! And it's boring if the guy doesn't have any experience, right?" She looks at Meg and Kevin, who both can't believe what they were hearing from her now. Her, who always acts cute, kind, and adorable to everyone.
A silver sedan that looks new and expensive, parked in front of the building. Charlie coldly said goodbye to them.
A man in his thirties wearing a polo shirt tucked into jeans approaches Charlie while holding a black umbrella. "I'm sorry, Ms. Xu I ran late."
Charlie is a transferee in a Private school they've been attending here in Quezon City. She came from Metro Manila.
"You know what Babe, Dale is becoming weird but Charlie is weirder right?" Kevin couldn't help but scratch his head.
While Lucy kept playing in the rain, her hands holding on the cemented seats, her head staring down at her foot which was already covered with rain waters. An umbrella covers her, a man's foot wearing gray flippers appeared in front of her. She looked up to the one holding it. She sighs and smiles seeing the man's face. "Howy! Why are you here?"
"Why are you playing in the water?" Howard answered her with a question. "This rainwater is dirty since it's flowing on the road. Give me your sandals and I'll put them on you!"
Lucy holds the umbrella while Howard puts her sandals onto her again. "It's becoming your habit to put my sandals on me!"
Howard smiled big. "It's because I love holding your little feet and legs!" he winked, which made her laugh shortly.
"So you pick me up because of my text that I'm sick?"
"Yup! I'm worried that it will be hard for you to ride the bus alone," he stood up. "It's done, shall we go?" He took the umbrella from Lucy then clasped her shoulders.
While they're both smiling at each other, eyes full of agony are looking at them from a distance. He was hardly squeezing the umbrella's handle. Suddenly his hand got weak and put the umbrella down. Dale looked up to the sky as the tiny raindrops started to little by little wet his sweatshirt down his jeans. He sadly walked in the rain.
"I wish to be the one by your side, even just once, while it's raining. Running together in the rain, sharing one umbrella…" as if something pierced struck the heart of this kid.
When Lucy gets on the air-conditioning bus she sits by the window and her attention goes directly to Dale who's walking in the rain. She abruptly held onto the glass window, the happy expression leaving her. Suddenly she felt gloomy and worried. "What is he doing? He might get sick…"
"Lu... What are you mumbling there about?" Howard curiously asked after sitting beside her.
Lucy sadly sits properly, she looks at Howard. "No, it's nothing!" Even if it looks so obvious that it's not.
"Anyway, I bought medicine and juice on the way here, want to drink some?"
Lucy emotionlessly glanced at the plastic bag that Howard was holding, but she remembered Dale. "I already drink meds, Dale bought me earlier," she uttered without thinking.
"What? Who? Dale?" Howard asked in frustration. His manly face glared at Lucy's still pale face.
"Ahh, I mean I already drink medicine, a trainee bought me earlier!" speaking as if she just woke up from a dream.
It wouldn't be this way if she doesn't give importance and affection to what Dale's been doing. But frankly speaking, this happens because she started to care and felt conscious of his presence!