A girl with shoulder-length hair and wearing thick glasses greeted me in a friendly manner. She is the only friend and friend who always stands up for me when other people say spicy words.
"Hey, you're pretty in your new headband," she complimented me.
I smiled a little and said, "Of course. I was born beautiful." I put the bag on the table.
How not pretty? I inherited the beauty of Mother who is a mulatto Singapore-American. My body is about 168 cm tall, with white skin, and brown eyes. My posture is more like a model, my face is as beautiful as a baby's bottom.
"You are too good at praising yourself. You are indeed beautiful, that's why all men are crazy about you." The coquettish Calissa pinched my cheek exasperatedly.
I was dumbfounded for a moment to let Calissa do her thing. It's okay. She is my best friend, I said in my heart.
Thinking about Mother, I always feel sad every time I think about the pool and the blood.
"By the way, there is the latest news, the son of our head school who lives in Chicago has moved here. You still remember, right? The person who is always praised by the teachers because of his expertise. Even more horrendous, he was handsome and cool. His name is Liam. I'm to meet. You have to see, come on!" Calissa spoke without pause and looked very excited, while I just looked at her with a flat face. At least the chancellor's son will become my prey, I thought lightly.
"It doesn't matter! Wasting time. You'd better sit here sweetly," I said nonchalantly.
"I swear, you won't regret seeing her sweet smile that instantly stops time." Calissa was too playful to praise him.
The sound of thong shoes hitting the floor could be heard approaching. I know this class teacher has arrived, we immediately stopped the chat, and the atmosphere became quiet. Mrs. Lucy's lecturer killer has arrived. Everyone knew Mrs. Lucy had strict principles, breaking that one rule meant the penalty was increased to three.
"Good morning everyone." Mrs. Lucy greeted us in a loud voice.
"Good morning, Ma'am." Simultaneously the sound seemed to blend with the paint-covered walls.
"Today, I want you to explain what a financial statement is?" She said throwing a question. She was paying close attention to everyone in the room.
"Financial statements are records of a company's financial information for an accounting period that can be used to describe the company's performance." I made a hesitant voice for fear that my answer would be wrong. Many eyes looked at me seriously.
"Good. Any other answers?" She praised, then looked at the other students with sharp eyes.
None of them made a sound. Until the teacher ended, I was the only student who managed to answer the killer teacher's questions. Everyone leaves the class.
I walked out alone carrying a pile of books that made it difficult for me to walk. I intend to return it to the library. My feet tread very carefully because they carry a heavyweight in their hands.
From far away, the sound of footsteps was heard quite loudly, but I couldn't see the person because my face was covered by these thick books. And..... Good! There was a collision! Books that were piled above my height fell on the floor.
Before I could turn to look at him, I was already feeling very irritated. Without looking back, my hands focused on grabbing the books one by one that fell on the floor. Suddenly, his hand also grabbed one of the books that were not far away from the wall. I stopped for a moment because our hands touched.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to. I was in a hurry." The man smiled apologetically. I glared and stared at the creature in front of me.
I feel like he's not a stranger, even I feel I've known him before. Strangely, I forgot, even though my heart screamed he was not a stranger. But I just ignore it and don't think about that weirdness anymore.
"Next time you have to be careful." For some reason, my voice sounded a little nervous.
"Oh yeah, we haven't met. My name is Liam. And you're Alea, right?" he held out his hand.
I am surprised. Does that person recognize me? I squinted and tried to remember something. Oh. Yes, that's right. This is the man Calissa told me this morning about the new boy. He must be the one. Calissa is not wrong to say this man is handsome. Indeed, this man is very charming.
But I don't know, this is the first time I'm not interested let alone intend to use it like I've been doing so far. Something stuck in my heart and tried to prevent my selfish actions. My thoughts were interrupted again when his hand waved right in front of my eyes.
"Hey, are you daydreaming?"
I shook my head vigorously. "It's okay, it's just weird. How do you know me? Have we met before?" I asked again.
I stood back up and lifted the heavy books. While continuing my pace, Liam also followed beside me and answered.
"Only a fool doesn't know the prettiest and smartest woman in this school. And makes her a playgirl that no one can match." I was a little surprised to hear that, then took a breath.
"It's up to you how you want to judge me, I don't care. Thanks, for helping to clean up this book. I'll go first." I quickly quickened my pace, carrying these books.
Seeing Liam reminds me of a friend who saved me when I was in fifth grade in Chicago. A few years ago, I moved to Singapore without saying goodbye, leaving all my memories behind and never hearing from him again. I miss all the stories there.