"Where did you learn it from?" Leila asked."I told you I didn't learn it from anywhere. He just fainted at the wrong time!" I told her for the 70th time in a row.
I was lunchtime, and the cafeteria was flourishing with gossips of hot topics. And the
red-hot bubbling topic was about how I managed to curse a brand new student.
Really, I wanted to smack him in the face. Why couldn't he just look at Aria Mekaglam in the eye and lose his consciousness? She would have loved the attention and would have bragged about her magical powers in front of the whole school. She was a clear show-off. Her Gucci sling bag, hangs on her shoulder which, she says, she got tanned in Hawaii. No wonder she was Linda's best friend.
My friends, Leila and Mickey kept on asking me (and mocking me) about the incident. I just wanted to go home. My world felt little woozy but it was made worse by Adam Boyce. He is a dreamy guy. I have always had a crush on him. But that unfortunate day, when I waved a greeting at him, he looked at me, chuckled and went away. I felt a gush of anger and stormed out of the school. The first day of the post-winter break and I bunked half of the school. Voila! I couldn't wait to find what else might get wrong.
On my way home, I wondered a creepy question, I was trying to avoid the whole time - Why did he stare at me like that? I swept through all of the memories which might be helpful. None of them showed me the face of a sharp-jawed, black eyed boy who stared at me as if I was a sizzling hamburger with mustard cheese.
Fortunately, nobody was at home and thus, I went to my room while taking deep
breaths. My mother, Pamela Cater's a professor in one of the local colleges. My father died a couple of years ago. My stepfather, Rick Stephens, is a cool man who plays baseball and reads books like those of some intellectual men with weary eyes and collective personalities. His hazel eyes shone in the moonlight and he earns big bills.
I tried to get my IPod and streamed music for some time. Music was actually the best
tool to forget the realities of life. But as soon as I purred on the bed, the door bell rang.
Really, there was no way, I could get some peace.
But the person I saw, my anger infuriated and anxiety took hold of my manners. It was the same dull face, same pathetic eyes and the same set of chiselled jaws. Mark
Hannigal.
"What?" I said with disgust in my tone and face.
He held a big box of chocolates in his hands and a wide grin upon his mouth. I came to the conclusion that he might have come to celebrate the downfall of my stature. But after all, I waited for his response,
"Mind if I come in?"
"Yes." God, I was acting quite rude. This wasn't me. But he smirked and said again in a
striking tone,
"I can understand your anguish, but let me console the wounds of thy..."
"Sorry, why did you start the old English?" I cut him off, hoping against the thought of his kneeling down. He was startled for a moment but then he shrugged and said,
"I am just sorry for all the harm I have done to you. I got to know about the silly
rumours of black magic and witchcraft. I made your first day so miserable. I..."
"Did you follow me all the way till home?" An overpowered, selfish lady inside me
asked him. I heard myself after I had already delivered it.
"No. I just live at the end of the alley. And I looked at the admission slips to find your
address. I needed to apologize, after all." He said frankly.
"But admission slips are exceptionally confidential document. How did you..."
This time he cut me off, "I have my sources." And he pushed the box of chocolates in
front of me. "A token of forgiveness. Accept it, if you forgive me. A tradition in the
family."
I had an urge to kick that cube of delicacies away. But a certain voice in my head
refrained me from doing so. I took the box of chocolates. Never did I ever know it will change my life and my opinion about the certain individual.
"You are forgiven." I said while my fingers wrapped the sweetness of Hershey's
chocolates in the middle of my fingers. He chuckled softly and led his hands in his coat pockets.
"Oh, by the way. What's your name?"
"I..." but then the telephone rang.
"I think I should get that." Yes, I was stupid enough to say that. At the same time he got a text message. His eye brows knitted and he said, "I better go too." And then turned around, got off the stairs and started walking towards the pavement.
Suddenly, I heard myself calling him out and asking why he stared at me like that. He
was already at a distance and shouted back,
"Oh! That was because I was transfixed by your beauty!" And he turned around,
increasing his pace.
I closed the main door for I didn't want anyone to see me melt in my blush.