After a sleepless night and a breakfast with his mother and sister, Evan Livares started preparing to go out. He picked out a simple white T-shirt and black cargo pants paired with white casual lace-ups boots which resembled a sneaker.
Once he was done dressing up, he stood in front of the mirror and he heard the sound of knocking on his door. He responded and his mother came inside his room.
Mrs. Sylvia Livares raised a brow when she saw her son. "Are you going somewhere?"
Turning in his mother's direction, Evan nodded. "I will be doing a project with a classmate. You will be home, right?"
Sylvia Livares nodded. "It's my day off today."
"I'm glad. If Emily is home alone, she will be bored and she will call me all the time again," Evan jokingly commented, making his mother laugh.
"She still does that?"
"A lot." He turned his back at his mother and packed his bag. He also grabbed his bike keys and helmet.
"Will you be late?"
"Not sure, Mom. I will call you if it would take longer than I expect," Evan replied and faced his mother once again.
Mrs. Livares nodded. "Look at you. If you're not too handsome, you will surely pass as a new recruit soldier."
"Dressing this way has become a habit," Evan said with a chuckle. "And what do you mean by that? Are you saying that soldiers aren't handsome? You married one."
"Don't tell your father," Sylvia Livares said while jokingly placing her index finger on her lips. Then she smiled and said, "Drive carefully."
"Will do."
With that said, Evan gave his mother a small hug and left his family's house with his motorbike.
*
It was around 10:30 a.m when Evan reached the building of the Oasis Library. Though he and Aviana promised to meet at 11, he was used to being early as it was a habit since he was a child. Having a military officer as a father, he was brought up with discipline and it might be the same reason why it wasn't hard for him to adjust to life in a Cadet Force.
Rather than entering right away, Evan stood in front of the building and waited for Aviana to arrive. While he was doing that, many thoughts crossed his mind.
Will he be good at holding back this time? It was hard for him yesterday at school and even last night when they were messaging.
He truly didn't know why he struggled so much. He was great at holding back. He did for two years while watching her with her boyfriend every day. This might even be the first time he ever feared losing his control.
As Evan was so absorbed in his thoughts, time passed rapidly and he didn't even notice the arrival of Aviana. When he suddenly saw her standing before him with the same calm smile on her face, his heart jumped and his eyes went wide!
"Hi, Evan," she greeted him, calling by his name this time and not that nickname everyone at school used on him.
"Aviana," he muttered, still struggling to process what happened.
How could he not see her arriving?
"Did you wait long?" Aviana asked and glanced at her wristwatch. "It's 10:45 and I thought that I was early but you're already here. I feel bad."
"Don't be," he promptly said, sounding a bit anxious. "It's just a habit of mine."
"Oh! You seem to have many good habits, like helping others and all," she mused and her smile grew a bit wider, rendering Evan stunned!
Just as he feared, he was struggling for words to say and it even went on for a while!
"I'm in the Cadet Force," was all he managed to say after staring at the bright smile of his secret crush for almost a minute!
Putting aside the way he looked at her, Aviana nodded as if a way of saying that she understood. "You people in a Cadet Force are really admirable. You have self-discipline and you often spent hours military drilling under the sun. It will need so much energy."
"How do you know that?" Evan asked, curiously. It was true that the cadets often spent hours doing a military drill but it was always after school.
"I've watched the drill several times," Aviana confessed. "I find it interesting." Her face brightened up again when she said, "Right, I also saw you often. You are quite tough."
The Cadet Force sessions were always held on Tuesday and Friday after school and Evan was perplexed. He thought that Aviana went home alone only on Thursdays.
Was he wrong?
"Is your wish to become a Military Officer?"
The question snapped him back to reality and once again, he was taken aback. As far as he could remember, Aviana Valos was never that interested in others.
Was he wrong again?
Nevertheless, he nodded. "My father is an Army Officer and I wish to be like him."
He saw how her smile faded a bit at his response and he tried to speak up but... Aviana beat him at that.
"That's cool. I bet you will make a good soldier," she remarked and looked at the door to the library. "Shall we enter? We have a tough project waiting for us."
"I used to think that a top student like you won't find any topic tough," Evan commented with a smile on his face and walked inside with Aviana.
"I'm still a human," Aviana Valos sighed. "Besides, I'm not that interested in Geography."
"Really? Then what subject do you love?"
Aviana didn't need any second to ponder before she said, "Political Science. I love studying about constitution and laws."
This was news to Evan Livares and... he was feeling quite happy about it. He loved chatting with her freely and getting to know her better.
"Then... is your dream to become a lawyer?" He asked, cautious and curious at the same time. However, he was surprised when he noticed her halting her steps.
Was something wrong? Did he ask what he shouldn't?
"I don't... "
His voice trailed off when Aviana looked up at him with an obviously forced smile on her face.
"I don't have a dream."