— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — RENN — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —
So here I am again, back to Emerald Houston. Things are looking great like usual, so I have no complaints here.
Only… I do have a very important question, it's a little rude to think about it during Math class with my elbows resting on the armchair in deep thought… But it has been stuck in my mind for a while now, and I can't help but wonder…
Where in the world is Jessie?
Why in the world would she be absent on a normal school day like this?
Is she sick? Did she get injured? Did she get bullied? Nah, I'm a little over reactive on that last part, bear with me.
She's not the type of student to cut either, so… What gives? Damn, I'm already getting worried and it's EARLY IN THE FREAKING MORNING!
THE WORLD DOESN'T HAVE TO TORTURE ME WITH THE "EARLY" STUFF, OKAY?! I'M JUST RESPONSIBLE WITH MY TIME, YOU DON'T NEED TO BE IN YOUR FACE ABOUT BEING EARLY AND THINGS HAPPENING EARLY MORNING!
Putting my mental outbursts aside, I looked at Syrra who was heavily concentrated on the lecture and problem sets. Well, bothering her right now isn't going to help her right now, but I thought she'd have any idea as to why she is absent.
A few minutes later and a small piece of folded paper is on my armchair. I opened it to read:
"Worried about Jessie? You look bothered. But I can't blame you, for she didn't tell me why she's suddenly absent. But I can tell you to calm down, she's probably alright.
— Syrra"
I was a little skeptical, having a doubtful look on my face reading this... But I just didn't choose to pursue this any further because I'm in Math class. Maybe later…
— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —
*3 hours and 30 minutes later…*
A rare early lunch. I went to the canteen, and I saw Syrra and Jenna on the same table. 2 rare events in one, but Jessie still lingers in my mind.
"Renn!" I snapped back to reality as Syrra noticed me and waved. I went to them.
"2nd time I see you in uniform, and you look like you're in depth about something." Bull's eye, Jenna.
"Jessie's just absent, I find that strange." I answered.
"Like I mentioned, she didn't tell me why she's absent… If I know, Jenna would know as well since we both use the same phone. But don't fret, She'll be alright!" I took a deep breath as Syrra patted me on the shoulder.
"I guess…" I began eating.
Nothing much happened between us three, just eating peacefully.
"But why do you worry about her so much for just one absence?"
Jenna broke the silence, and that question made me almost choke on my food. I swallowed in reflex and looked at her.
"I-Is it bad?" I look down.
"No. Feeling worry is normal after all, it happens for a reason. But you're being too much of a worrywart today, and I thought maybe asking you would clear things up." She's right. I shouldn't be too worried about her.
"Well, I'm worried because she didn't provide any excuse, so I'm slightly scared." I answered.
"So that's what you were thinking about. I was so sure it'd be something else~" There goes Jenna and that tone again.
"You're being delusional…" I continued eating, paying her no mind as I took a sip of juice.
"Is Renn getting weak today?~" I almost choked on my juice as Jenna said that.
"You need to tone down…" How long is this going to go on?
"What if I say no? What are you gonna do being such a ladies man?~" This is getting a little annoying…
"Sis… Stop teasing him like that. It's literally the reason why you're single!" Syrra intervened.
"Boo… Killjoy little sis. I was already having fun…" Jenna went back to finishing her food. We both finished as well.
Jenna's fine and all but her teasing literally is not making my day. But that did get my mind of Jessie for a while, and like Syrra said:
She'll be alright.
"By the way, I'm curious about something… What was it like back then during elementary?" Syrra asked.
"Oh, well… It's nothing special, it's pretty much the same as now. Like Jessie said, I was a loner." I began telling her about my past while looking at the ceiling as if trying to remember everything.
And I do remember everything.
"Continue, I'd like to know your side of how it all started." Syrra and Jenna wanted to listen, moving closer to me.
Well, if they want to listen then they shall get a piece of my elementary days.
— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — FLASHBACK — — — — — — — — — — — — — —
*9 years ago…*
Here I am, just sitting alone on a metal bench in St. Therese Elementary. I'm not much of a talker, so all I do is observe.
Everyone's different, I can see the cool kids who are handsome with girls falling all over for them, the pretty girls who are boy magnets with the boys wanting to give themselves to them, The study-holics, who are as smart as they can be or who like reading, or both. Then the playful, who are fond of games and having fun and laugh all day, and the teachers, keeping an eye on us here.
It feels nice feeling the wind as I'm just quiet, minding my own business. No one notices me anyway, even if I am a decent person with decent grades. Being decent isn't enough, I suppose… Then again, I'm not the looker as my body is slightly stout. I'm not fat, but people probably think I am.
Not that I let that get into me.
"(I'm in the mood for some strawberry cake…)" It was breaktime so I headed to the canteen. I went to see if there was any strawberry cake in the desserts section, and sure enough there was a half of a whole slice of strawberry cake. I was excited to see it whenever it appeared!
"Strawberry Cake's back on sale, little boy! Do you want one slice?" The vendor doesn't need to ask me if I want it, I NEED IT.
"I'll take a slice!" I happily answered.
"In a minute!" As I waited for the cake slice to be ready, I looked around.
At that moment, I happened to notice someone, a girl who's alone. She didn't seem… Happy. Something told me that I needed to cheer her up… She's eating alone… But how… I couldn't just talk to her…
"Here you are!" I quickly turned back to the strawberry cake slice, then I had an idea. This might work!
"Ma'am, I'd like an extra slice!" I pulled out my money and paid her for 2 slices of strawberry cake.
"Why, of course! I'll give it to you in a minute!" I waited happily for the second slice. And in less than a minute, the second slice was ready and I got my change.
"Thank you for waiting!" I took the two slices as the vendor thanked me.
"Thank you so much!" I then turn to the little girl. Breaktime will end soon, so I have to cheer her up now.
I gave her the 2nd slice of strawberry cake. She quickly noticed it and was shocked. I sat beside her with my slice and smiled at her.
"Hi!" I greeted her.
"Hello…" She greeted me back, but she's not looking at me.
"I just thought I'd join you and give you some strawberry cake!" She looked at the cake I gave her and was looking at it.
"Why… Why would you do that? I'm not someone to just give cake to…" Her distress doesn't seem to go away.
"Because I want to, and I want you to be happy." I answered.
"Happy? Me? Loners like me don't deserve to be happy… Everyone ignores me, and I feel abandoned." I was in a state of disbelief hearing that. Loners don't deserve to be happy? Who said that?
"That's not true, I'm a loner too. I want you to be happy, the same way I'm happy to be here with you." Her eyes widened and looked at me as I said that.
"With me? I-I don't know… I'm not like the pretty girls-"
I interrupted her with pats on her shoulder.
"Let's be friends and have fun, the two of us!" I showed her a heartwarming smile.
She began crying, and hugged me. Now that I think about it now, isn't this too quick?
"Thank you for being here…" Anyway, that was the time I heard laughter out of her tears of joy, and I hugged her to comfort her.
"Of course…" Interacting with her made me feel great, like I did another good deed today.
She let me go and wiped her tears.
"I'm Jessie Frederica Radinne. What's yours?" She introduced herself.
"Renn Alrose! My pleasure!" I introduced myself to her.
"I hope we can have a lot of fun and be happy together." She showed a smile that warmed my heart.
"Me too. To start, let's enjoy our cakes!" I grabbed the plastic fork.
"Oh, right! The cake! Thanks for this, Renn…" She then begins eating. She enjoyed the taste of the cake, almost like it sent her to heaven.
I also began eating my cake. It was great. Jessie's reaction to the cake is the same as mine when I tried that cake myself. It's really a special cake that just can't leave my mind, tongue, and soul.
It's really an amazing dessert...
— — — — — — — — — — — — — — PRESENT DAY — — — — — — — — — — — — —
"And after that, I frequently saw her on that same table. She'd wave at me whenever I appeared, and we'd play together and talk about stuff during break." And that was 9 years ago, first grade… When it all started.
"Explains a lot about your friendship, you two have gone a long way. But what happened? I assume that you didn't spend the last 2 years of elementary school in the same school as her." Jenna was curious about that.
"When I'm about to reach 4th Grade, my older stepbrother, Vance Vaxley, wanted to be independent. My father approved but with the condition of taking care of me and my younger stepsister, Cherry Vaxley." I answered.
They went speechless for a few minutes, and Syrra then slammed the table as she shouted:
"YOU WERE ADOPTED?!" Oh, I forgot I didn't tell her that.
"Oh, yeah… It's easy to notice since my stepmother made me have the "Alrose" name… Haha…" I scratched my head nervously.
"That's a big surprise. Does Jessie know?" Jenna asked.
"No." I straightforwardly answered.
"Well, it doesn't matter if she knows or not… What matters is your character." Jenna smiled.
"And you're one of the best persons I ever met, don't you ever forget that." Syrra gave me a pat on the shoulder.
"Thanks, you two. I'll keep that in mind. I'll head to the library, I'll see you both later." I stood up and waved at the two as I headed to the library to study.
— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —
*5 hours later…*
I'm ready to go home. But as I headed outside the school, I noticed a crowd of students just beyond the main entrance. What in the world is going on?
I tried making my way in front, saying "Excuse me" every time I passed someone. And when I got there, I was stunned.
It's Jessie. She's wearing an elegant dress with the family car behind her.
"Jessie? Where have you been?" I asked.
"Sorry, I appear to have spent some time out instead of coming here…" She scratched her head nervously.
I sighed.
"Could have called me…" Like she can just call why she is absent. And every time I tried to call her, she wouldn't answer.
"Sorry… But…" She proceeded to walk closer to me.
"I wouldn't want to ruin the surprise I made just for you…~"
For… Me? My face slowly turned red. Not only was she keeping this a secret from me, but also she planned doing this in front of the students here. They all are beginning to squeal and scream.
"W-What for?!" I looked away slightly.
"Appreciation." Her mom went out, holding what appeared to be a crepe.
"I worked hard making this, so why don't you give it a taste?" I took the crepe and took a bite.
I was fascinated by the strawberries! It tasted very good! Did she really make this?!
"Incredible…" That's all I could say.
"I'm glad… And… I have something to tell you…" What does she want to say?
"What would that be?" I asked.
"For the past 5 years… Ever since I lost you, I couldn't stop thinking about you… I missed playing with you, I missed talking with you, I missed eating on the same table as you… If it weren't for you, I wouldn't be where I am today…" She expressed her heart out to me. She really has missed me all these years…
"You haven't left my mind either. I couldn't even think of forgetting my memories with you…" Even with Syrra being my best friend, Jessie has been that friend I couldn't let go.
"Renn Alrose… I want to stop being friends with you… And move on beyond friendship! I want you to be my partner!" ... This left me speechless... Hang on a goddamn minute. She was absent for a whole day to prepare a surprise…
TO END WITH A CONFESSION?!
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