The familiar facade of the structure I am in did not seem to age. Well, maybe there were a few changes, but then again it allowed me to see the things that were once familiar to me. Coming in, walking through these familiar corridors of my school brings back a lot of memories. It made me smile just thinking that once in our lives, I was an average girl, before everything that I have now happened to me.
It brought me back to memories more than two decades ago, when I was very known as the most beautiful girl in the campus. But I never believed such. I enjoy hanging out with my Sensational Seven friends after classes, eating at a nearby hole in the wall right outside the back gate of our school. It brings me so much happiness, and I never knew that I would be in for more.
One afternoon as we were walking our way to our favorite hangout, I caught sight of someone very unfamiliar. I stopped to take a look at him. He was tall, athletic, and was holding a soccer ball. From that, I knew he was from the soccer team. He was ready to throw it out on the field, until one of my friends poked me and asked me if there was something wrong. She noticed I stopped, and I was quick to answer, snapping back to my senses.
'No, I am waiting for you. How come you are so slow?' I replied, and went on my way ahead of them. But in reality, I was intrigued by the soccer player and looked forward to seeing him in the next few days, assuming he really is from here.
'Maybe I can see him tomorrow,' I thought as I walked along, nearing the back gate and diverted my mind from the guy I just saw.
As always, the snack time was something that was also spent rumbling about homeworks, ranting about teachers, and of course, giggling over crushes. The latter took a lot of our time, and mostly the hottest topic all the time. Then, we realized it was already getting late so we decided to go home. We went back inside the school and passed by the other way, not the one we took earlier where the soccer field was. We have different routes so we said our goodbyes as we reached the front gate. I was alone and I walked my way home, like I always do. It has been my routine for the past four years I have been studying in this school.
School stuff got in the way which disrupted our regular routine of hanging out after classes. I was stuck with our guidance counselor one afternoon, as she specifically called me to do something. As she was briefing me on what to do, I heard a knock on her door. Ms. Cha called the person behind to come in. I stayed in my seat and turned my gaze to the one who was by the door.
What happened next made me freeze.
'Oh hi, Geoffrey,' Ms. Cha said to the newcomer. He smiled, and when I saw him smile, I wanted to melt right away. His dimples were so deep that I thought I could poke some toothpicks in them.
It was the guy whom I saw the previous week with a soccer ball on his waist.
'Good afternoon, Ms. Cha. Sorry I'm late,' he said. He smiled at me too. His voice was deep, and it made me giggle for a moment.
'This is Hannah. She will be the one who will guide you today for your campus tour. Hannah, this Geoffrey, a transferee from another school.' All those words felt like a whisper in my ear, as I have been staring at him, in disbelief.
'Hi. Geoffrey Kim,' he said as he stretched out his hand. I took it and smiled at him.
'Hannah Lee,' I replied, voice somehow shaking but I tried to control it from showing.
Ms. Cha was looking at us and said that we should go and tour the campus. She told Geoffrey that if he has any questions he can ask me. I wondered why she chose me to be with this guy. Not that I am complaining, but I was just curious.
We went out of the guidance office and I heaved out a sigh, but not enough for him to hear. I needed to let it out, since it was too overwhelming. Why? I didn't know.
'Where do you want to start?' I asked him, as I gathered my thoughts and courage likewise.
'Uhm, I dunno. Maybe we can start where you want to go first?' He replied. There goes his smile again. So I decided to bring him to the west wing of our campus first. It's better there, because it's quiet.
As we went down the stairs leading to the west wing of the school building, things started to run through my mind. But then, I stopped myself because I didn't want to be all too assuming of anything right now. I just knew him, and who knows what kind of guy he is.
'This is the clinic as you can see, and those stairs lead you to the west wing of all the other floors. If you ever come in late, I suggest you use these stairs, as there will be less people who can see you going up. There's another one of these on the east wing,' I said as I pointed to the other side of the hallway. I was actually stating the obvious, because I didn't know how to talk to him. I wanted to get this over and done with, because I don't want my heart to betray me right now.
Wait, what was that again?
I lowered my head and caught a glimpse of him. I swear, he wore the most wonderful smile I have ever seen in a guy.