I talked to Mia about it when I reached school. I mainly did that just to release the weight from my heart so someone who wouldn't start a gossip topic is the best person and that would be Mia.
"Doesn't that mean you like him?" I wasn't expecting an answer but that sentence of hers made me blushed as red as a tomato.
"Wh-what are you talking about?!" I touched my red cheeks and it was so hot I could cook something on it. How did she even come up with that conclusion when it didn't even cross my mind.
I didn't want to believe that but she insisted on proving her theory when Eric reached. She told me to look at him and tell her how I felt.
"I--" I didn't want to admit that my heart did race a little especially when he looked at me. I looked away to hide my face and Mia was patting me on my back.
"See? I told you." I didn't understand why she was so happy about it but I guess I would be happy for her too if she has someone she likes wholeheartedly.
I kept reminding myself over and over again that I'm engaged, so these feelings shouldn't be directed towards another man other than my fiance. Although I doubt he actually has feelings towards me.
"If mother knew about this, my life would end in an instant!" My body shivered in fear just thinking about that.
Mia looked at my frustrated face and chuckled.
"This is youth, girl."
"Mia, do you have someone you like?"
She remained silent for a while before answering. "Y-yeah, I guess…?" It wasn't obvious but I could see her pink cheeks heating up.
I wasn't sure the reason myself but I was somehow relieved when I knew Mia had someone she liked too. Maybe because we're on the same boat?
"Wait, then his everyday text and this morning's visit..."
"He likes you too, obviously."
How can she be always so sure about her theory? Come to think of it, this is the first time we've ever talked about this kind of topic since we weren't like those fan-girls who fawn over the boys.
"I'll be watching you from my seat." Mia stood up and walked away. "He'll definitely approach you the moment I leave."
She was right. Eric came over and talked to me once he realized Mia had left.
"Why did you move to the dorm?"
"And how did you know I moved to the dorm?"
He went silent, not sure of what to reply. "They were talking about it last night." I assumed the 'they' was referring to his family since he wasn't interested in his class anyway. He returned to his seat after saying that and took out his phone to type something. It wasn't long until I received a text from him.
"I talked to you instead of texting. Happy now?"
I ignored him because I don't find any difference from the usual days. It sounded like he purposely thought up a topic to talk about just to complete a mission.
When school was finally over, I went to the school gate to meet up with Lily. She said we could return to the dorm together everyday so it wouldn't be lonely walking alone.
"Amanda!" I stopped and looked back when I heard someone calling my name. Mia was short of breath when she ran to me. "You can't… walk back… alone…. I…. will….."
"Mia, take your time to calm down and breathe before you talk." She was never athletic so just running a short distance tires her out.
When she was finally ready to talk, she told me that Eric had told her not to let me walk back to the dorm alone as it's dangerous. I know she just came to tell me how much he cares about me because both she and I know that nothing would happen in such a short distance as long as we're still within the school grounds.
"I'm waiting for Lily so tell him it's okay."
"Lillian Burke, was it? Okay then. Take care." Just then, Lily appeared behind me so I waved Mia goodbye and headed back to the dorm.
The whole time, Lily looked like she had something on her mind. She was quiet during the journey so I thought something wasn't right.
"Lily, are you okay?" I waved my hand in front of her face as she was spacing out.
"Amy, please tell me we're going to Freda Heights tomorrow." Right, our school trip was tomorrow and I have totally forgotten about that.
"Sorry to disappoint you but we're visiting the Frederick estate."
"No!!!!!" She suddenly yelled out of nowhere and I had to stop her from going any louder. "We can't visit the stalker's place!"
"Stalker?"
"Eric Frederick. He was clearly spying on you this morning, no, more like a stalker!" She had her eyebrows frowned and frustration was written all over her face.
"Let's just return to our room and talk. Don't go yelling out of nowhere disturbing the other people."
We headed to the lift and met the other two girls by coincidence. They were back early to prepare for the trip. I suddenly remembered I had to hand-in the participation form so I told them to head back without me while I went to the staff room.
I texted my mother about the trip beforehand just in case and signed the form before meeting my teacher. She was surprised when I handed the form to her.
"I thought you weren't joining?"
Have I ever mentioned that?
She took my paper and searched her table for the folder that she kept everyone else's forms. It was so messy that even she couldn't remember where she put it.
Out of curiosity, I peeked on her monitor while she was searching to see what she was doing. My eyes popped out when I saw it was a text conversation between my teacher and my mother.
I stood quite far away from the monitor so I could barely see what they were talking about but judging from my teacher's reaction when she saw me, it most probably is….
'It can't be….?!'
I rushed back to my room and found Lily talking to someone familiar at the door. She seemed to have noticed me and turned around.
"Hey, Amanda. It's been a week."