Nacina was waiting in my living room to walk to school together the next day, there's nothing strange about that.
"How did things go yesterday?" She asked while sipping the tea my mother had given her.
"What? Oh!... the th-things... good. Yes." I replied, failing to hide my nervousness. Nacina has a huge fangirl crush on the guardian, she'd hate me if she found out we were secretly hanging out. Especially if she figures out how I feel.
"Where did you go?" She inquired.
"The arcade," I answered honestly. I'm no good at keeping secrets, if she asked the right questions I'll admit everything.
"Oh, how typical of you." She replied, "Why didn't you tell me, I could've gone with you!?" Nacina questioned.
"It was a last-minute decision and I uh..." I tried to think of how to explain myself when my mom cut in saying,
"She was with a boy, a very handsome one in fact!" I glared at my mom and Nacina squealed excitedly.
"What was his name?" Nacina asked.
"Shion!" My mom answered for me. I turned my back to them.
"Does he go to our school?" My best friend investigated.
"I don't know, does he?" My mom asked in a teasing voice. I shook my head 'no' in response and sped walked to the kitchen where I quickly downed a cup of water. At that very moment, my cell phone began to vibrate in my hoodie, I pulled it out and saw that I had a new message,
"Good Morning." It's Serco!... I quickly changed his contact name to Shion before replying,
"Good morning, let's both do our best today." I felt like a dork after saying that, but my brain had shut down by the sheer joy of seeing a text from him and I already hit send.
"Yes." He replied plainly. Oh gosh! He probably thinks I'm extremely boring now... I really hope he doesn't decide to just stop texting me. As I was sulking Nacina tapped my shoulder and said,
"Time to go." I nodded then put my phone away. We both waved bye to my mom as we exited the house. With all this early morning excitement, I had forgotten to eat breakfast... I wonder how long water can stall my stomach's complaining. A short while later, as if on cue, my stomach growled loudly and began to assault me, begging for food. So water lasts about 5 minutes, noted. "So are you and this guy dating?" Nacina asked nosily while leaning in close to me, to make eye contact and notice any deception.
"No..." I replied, "We are just friends." I added, averting my eyes away from her.
"Oh... but you like him." She noted, I gasped and pulled on my hoodie to hide my face. "You can't hide those things from your best friend, cutie." I suddenly regret that she knows me so well.
"Of course, I don't," I argued. I couldn't stop my nervous laughter so I continued to keep my face covered while walking. Which, sadly, led to me ramming head-first into a nearby light post.
"Are you okay?" Nacina asked. She helped me up, hugged me, and fussed over me until we made it to school. I am lucky I'm so clumsy because apparently, my pain creates the perfect diversion. I'll arrive a little early for class today, so no corporal punishment is necessary, but as I walked down the hall people kept greeting me, it was very nerve-racking. I didn't do anything special today, I'm sure I look the same as usual. I sat in my seat and Kriss smiled and waved at me like usual but she was chatting with her other circle of friends so she didn't say anything.
"Hey," Will greeted, and then he stood by my desk. "You're early today." He noted.
"Yeah... no delays today, I even skipped breakfast," I replied. I wish I didn't.
"Oh? Are you hungry? I have a bag of chips in my bag if you want." He offered. I nodded gratefully and he brought the chips over to me. He's such a good friend! I managed to open the bag and eat 2 chips before the teacher entered the room and I had to hide my snack. At least my next class is culinary. I'll just need to hold out till then.
When class finally ended, Dan, a guy who never spoke to me before came to my desk with one of his friends. (Dan has short black hair, it's crew cut and his eyes are such a dark shade of brown they might as well be black, he's pretty popular in class)
"Hi." He greeted. I felt trapped because I couldn't exit since he was in my way, so I had no choice but to force myself to speak.
"Hello." I greeted. My voice cracked a little and he laughed.
"Don't be shy. I don't bite." He teased.
"I think that depends on the situation." I retorted. For some reason, despite not knowing him I decided to joke, attempting to ease some of my tension. It slightly worked. He smirked and then nudged his friend.
"So, do you want to spend some time with me after school? I would love to get to know you better." He asked, leaning in, and invading my personal space a bit too much for comfort. His eyes seemed to look straight through me, they were cold and I was at a loss as to how to respond to his request.
"Excuse me." Will said, cutting in and then grabbing my wrist, "We gotta go." He stated to me and began dragging me away.
"Wait my chips are still under my desk!" I shouted.
"I'll buy you some more." He offered, continuing to pull me. I was having trouble keeping up and stumbling slightly as he pulled me.
"We're at our class!" I noted. That's when Will stopped, did a 180-degree turn, and pulled me inside where he led me to my seat. "I didn't need help getting here, you know," I stated. He didn't reply. "And you don't need to buy me anything," I added as he sat down beside me.
"If you're not interested, you should tell guys right away or they'll get the wrong idea." Will blurted.
"Not interested in what? What idea?" He banged his head on the table in front of us.
"Why do you have to be so damn oblivious?" He spat. Did I do something to deserve to be cursed at?
"Well... I'm sorry." I replied with a pout. Only because I had no idea how else I should respond.
"... He was only talking to you... because he noticed how pretty you were at the party," Will stated. I blushed... I was hoping not many people would pay me any attention. "So... don't dress like that anymore, you don't like it anyway, right?" I scoffed.
"I may not like it, but I also don't have to take orders from you," I remarked. I have gotten used to Will enough to speak my mind, but my statement shocked him. He looked as if I'd slapped him across the face. I was going to say something else but then my phone vibrated. Maybe it's Nacina, she might need something or be telling me a joke that'll cheer me up.
It was Serco.
"Sorry, my text earlier was so short. I was busy. I hope your day is going well so far." It wasn't funny but somehow his simple text still calmed me down and made me smile. The teacher entered the classroom, so I put my phone away and took a few deep breaths. We made deep-dish pizzas today, and I was pleased! I think our team did especially well! Today's class seemed to fly by, and all too soon the bell rang for us to leave. Will didn't walk me to my Calculus class even though it was on the way to his next course. He merely sped ahead of me with an incredibly displeased expression. I know I upset him but, at the same time, I don't know what to do, I think if I talk to him more we'll fight and I don't want that.
Talking with Nacina in Calc was a nice change of pace. I helped her with our assignment and then I remembered I never replied to Serco, so before class ended I quickly messaged him.
"It's okay, I've been busy too. With School." After that, I was finally free to work on my own assignments. He replied quickly this time.
"Are you having fun?" He asked. I smiled at my phone, I wanted to say no, but I'd hate to give him any reason to worry about me.
"I'm at school, so of course I'm having fun." I sent. A few seconds later he responded,
"I know what sarcasm is, what's wrong?" Maybe my text did reek of sarcasm... how should I reply?
"School, people," I answered vaguely. I don't know if he'll understand my meaning, especially since he doesn't socialize often, with humans.
"I understand. I can't see you for a few days, but when I do. I hope I can help to put a smile back on your face." I had been smiling this whole while already, which isn't like me and my face was cramping from the strain. Yet I can't seem to make myself stop.
"What were your school days like?" I asked, after erasing and tapping out multiple messages deemed unworthy.
"It was hard. I was always pressured to be the best and when I was the best, I was hated for it." His reply made me feel a little sad and I managed to stop smiling.
"Who are you texting?" Nacina asked, shocking me and making me drop my phone. She got up and picked it up then grinned mischievously. "Oooh, I see." I took my phone from her, blushing madly.
"You didn't read the texts right?" I asked defensively. It seemed like Serco revealed something private to me and it's my job as a friend to not let anyone else know.
"I just read the name." She answered. A wave of relief came over me. "Have you finished your work?" She asked. I gasped, remembering I was still in class so I then hurried to finish my online assignments. I replied to him during a video tutorial.
"That sucks," I replied.
"Yeah, it does." He sent, then he delivered an additional message, "What profession are you studying for?" He inquired.
"I'm undecided," I responded. That's when the bell rang for lunch. He replied but I couldn't check since I had to pack up my laptop and rush to the cafeteria before they ran out of meatball subs for sale. I checked once I was in line, though.
"Life is short, think about what you want for yourself." I stared at his text for a while. Have I not been thinking about myself? I guess not... what do I even want to do? I wish I knew.
"Hey, girl!" Kriss stated, tackle hugging me from behind. I laughed a little on impact.
"Good afternoon," I replied. She poked my cheeks and looked at my hand.
"I don't think I've ever seen you use your phone before... We should exchange numbers! I can't believe I just now thought of that." She suggested. I went to my contacts and added her number then sent a text for verification. During lunch, everyone was as lively as usual but I felt completely out of it. Will ignored me which kept the peace and my mind was elsewhere anyway. I've never considered what I want to do with my life, I've been so busy thinking about what everyone else is doing that I ended up neglecting myself. I began texting Serco back at the end of lunch.
"You're right, I'll give it some thought." That was all I could come up with. I checked my phone during Biology but there was no reply from him. I checked again during Apparel Design but again nothing. I ended up leaving school without getting another text from Serco. It's weird, I never cared if I received texts before, why am I suddenly so anxious?
After school as we were walking home...
"You look upset are you okay?" Nacina noted I was shocked by Naina's observation, as well as her speaking to me. She had been walking beside me silently till now. I clutched the strap of my bag before answering,
"Yeah, I'm fine." She nodded in response to my words then swiftly snatched my phone from my hoodie pocket and ran off.
"I know what that really means!" She shouted while tapping something into my phone.
"This is an unwarranted invasion of privacy!" I shouted my complaint while struggling to catch up to her. Once she FINALLY stopped running we were both panting and exhausted, she then handed my phone with a smug look on her face. When I saw what she sent, I was horrified.
"Send me a picture for your contact photo, it'll make me miss you less." I quickly began texting that Nacina impersonated me but then I received a picture from him, and I froze; he looked amused. Wow that was fast, I'm jealous of how photogenic he is. Nacina leaned over my shoulder to peek and said,
"Wow... he really is cute... how did you meet him and does he have a brother?" I was too dumbfounded to respond right away because I was enticed by the message that came with the photo.
"I miss you too. And I hope you return the favor." My hands were shaking and I decided to delete what I had typed to instead say,
"Okay... I'll send it later." I feel like I ran a marathon... Oh yeah, I kind of did. I vengefully flicked Nacina's forehead.
"Ow!" She complained.
"Never do that again!" I scolded. She frowned.
"Well you were waiting for a message from him and I got you one. You should thank me." She argued. Then she stuck her tongue out at me and rushed off towards her house. My phone vibrated at that moment so I checked it.
"Were you pressured into asking for a picture?" Serco's text questioned.
"Why do you ask?" I countered.
"You're not the type to ask, even if you want something." He sent back. He's right... but how does he know me so well?
"My friend really wanted to see you I guess," I replied. Should I elaborate? Does that seem weird?
"Have you been talking to your friends about me?" His question made my heart begin panicking and I frantically began wording a response.
"I haven't said anything private. My mom did most of the talking. I'm sorry." I sent while walking to my porch and sitting on the steps. It seemed like it was taking forever to receive a reply this time.
"Can you also send me an audio message with the picture?" Did he change the subject? Is he bothered or not?
"What should I say?" I replied. I'll play along.
"Say 'It's me.' I want to personalize your text message tone." I want to ask why he would want that... but instead, I took a picture and recorded the message as asked. I had to retake a selfie 23 times before I was satisfied enough to share it with him.
The rest of the day he didn't send me any response until right before I was about to sleep. At least I originally thought, and secretly hoped, it was him; but actually, it was Will messaging me.