I ran to the high school, and located Chris' class, since I knew his schedule.
It was break, so I figured he'd be leaving history class.
I went to the high school history class, in hopes of meeting him on the way, but to my surprise, they were all still in class.
There was a woman with short greying hair, and glasses standing in front of them.
She was saying something, she looked mad.
I looked around for Chris, and saw him, he looked like he was about to die of boredom, and he looked so cute that way that I laughed.
When the lady made her way to the door, I shifted to the side, so she could pass, then I rushed into the class, and as Chris stood up, I jumped on his back.
"Woah who's…" he turned, and saw me grinning ear to ear.
"Oh, I can still see the red on your cheeks." he said, sitting down, and I hugged him.
"Oh Chris, thank you, thank you, thank you!"
"Oh yeah, yeah, yeah, have you eaten the cupcakes?"
"Oh I'll eat them now."
I opened the food box, took a cupcake out, then had a bite of it.
My first thought was, *What's this?*
It had a dusty texture, and it wasn't fully baked. I could taste the flour, and the ingredients weren't enough…
I couldn't manage it, it was totally tasteless, and I wondered how he managed to make it that bad!
"How does it taste?"
"Hm, well… I can't say which is sweeter, your letter or your cupcakes." I said.
"Oh really??"
"Have one." I told him, he took a bite, and I watched him.
He found it difficult to swallow.
"So.?"
"My letter is definitely sweeter." he said, and I laughed.
"Did you ever wonder why Mera freaks out when she sees you baking??"
"I guess this is it."
"Don't you taste your pastries? Anyway, there's no escaping, we're eating this together." I said.
" I would have loved to, but I'm content seeing you eating, you know when you're so happy, you can't seem to eat a thing?
"Yeah so I'm fine just by seeing you eating all of it." he said, and I laughed.
"You're crazy!"
"Didn't you say you have dance practice every break, last night?" Chris asked.
"Well, it wouldn't hurt to miss one, would it?"
<<<
After forcing Chris to eat all the cupcakes by threatening him that I was going to share it with all the girls flocking around him, we finally left the class.
"How come I never see Mera, and Val?"
" Their classes aren't really around here, most times, Val's always in the library, and Mera's always in the school canteen with friends."
"Wow."
We climbed the stairs, and entered the place where I had asked Chris out to homecoming…
Yeah, that place for the popular kids in school.
A group of girls, and guys were laughing, a girl, and a boy were talking.
Two guys were sipping cola, and staring at a girl's butt.
A particularly handsome guy was talking to a girl who seemed scared, and I could see he was blocking her way, so she couldn't pass…
Aw, I felt sorry for her, then my heart did a backflip.
Do you want to guess?
I saw that guy, with his shining black hair, and green eyes. He was with his friends…
They were four and were all staring at his phone and he was laughing…
Jeez, he looked so handsome, and I started to give this kind of smile… I don't know, then he saw me, and slowly his smile died out, and I realized I was still giving that weird smile!
Aaaaaaaah!
I turned around, and noticed some other girls giving that same kind of smile.
What the…?
" Chris, I've got dance practice." I said.
" I thought you said…" he was saying, but I had already left.
I looked at my bracelet with his name on it and since then, I couldn't think straight.
I got to dance practice planning to say I slept off, or my mum called, and she took a lot of time, she was emotional about something…
Yeah, that was good. I opened the door after putting a sorry expression on my face, but instead of seeing them practicing, I saw them all sitting in a circle on the floor in a corner of the large D. P Hall.
Even Whitney was there.
She waved to me and I went, and sat in between her and Yvonne.
"What happened? No dance practice?" I asked.
" Maine's got a running stomach, and doesn't want us to practice without her, so Britney followed her." Zenith replied.
"Why are you still wearing that bracelet?" A girl named Calby asked.
"Well, it's pretty, and if it were you, wouldn't you keep on wearing it?" I replied, looking at the name on it.
"Then why didn't you give Freddie his key?" She asked again.
"He isn't complaining, is he? And plus, my key is also with him… do you have a problem with it?" I said, coolly.
"Well, just so you know, I know his big sis, and she wants to pair us up so…"
"Duh…" I interrupted. "If you want the bracelet, I can give it to you." I said feeling hot, and angry inside but not showing it on the outside.
I maintained my cool.
"That's just for show." She replied with a smirk.
"Show? Follow me… I'll get the key from him now." I said, and stood up.
" Pris, you should keep it… it's yours." Yvonne said.
"Just tell me how much this means that someone has to think I'm stealing their spotlight? If it's just a bracelet with a name on it? Sure, you can have it for all I care." I said, leaving, and the stupid goat followed me.
I reached the Cool Kids Hangout, (CKH) in no time, and saw him.
I walked up to him, still feeling angry, but he looked up at me and all of that melted, and jeez, all I could think of was…
*He is Handsome.*
I shook my head.
"What? Are you trying not to smile again?" He asked flatly.
"Must… must you talk each time? I wasn't smiling at you. I …I… Yeah, I remembered something and… and yeah, you happened to be in front of me… so…"
"Quit with the lies… What do you have to say?" He interrupted.
"Give me the key."
"Why do you suddenly want it?"
"Well, someone said she wants it." I replied.
"If I have to wear this all day, and all night, just tell me why you have to give yours out to someone."
" I'm… I'm not…"
He took my hand and looked at it.
"Don't give it out." He said, and my heart started to beat faster, and I couldn't breathe…
I withdrew my hand sharply and left.
"Where's the key?"
"He didn't give it to me, you can ask him for it yourself." I said, and walked past her.
One thing I was sure of… I wasn't giving it out. Not to some pig-nosed Calby waters.
I bumped into someone.
"Why the smile?"
I looked up… It was Mike, and my smile widened.
" Nothing… where are you going?"
" Nowhere… just the CKH." he said.
" No! Don't go there! Um, would you mind hanging out with me?" I asked.
" No P." He said, looking confused.
"I've also got some questions." I added, then we walked down to the field, and sat on a bench there.
"Okay, I've got this friend…"
"A friend? A girl or a boy?"
"A girl."
"Go on."
"Well, she met this guy once, and she just liked his personality. Thereafter, she didn't see him again, but she said, the next time she saw him was this Halloween that just passed.
"And he was so cool. He got drunk, she had to take him home, and she said, she saw the cute, and innocent side of him while he slept.
"So, the center of her problem is, since then, whenever she saw him, her heart would start beating, and she'd get breathless, and when he touched her…
"She'd feel like she was about to…to… explode, and she'd withdraw, and she also said, there was a time she saw him smiling and she just…she just started smiling."
"You've got this dreamy look on your face that makes me think you're that girl."
"What! Me?? No way! I've… I've got… no time… absolutely no time for boys! Why… wh... why in the world would I get all… all breathless and sweaty? I… I… I have…"
" Chill Pris, why take it so serious?"
It was then that I realized I was breathing heavily.
" I… I… I just don't want you to think… I like someone."
" Pris, look at me."
I looked at him.
"You can tell me anything, I won't judge you. From what you said, I think whoever that girl is, she likes whoever that guy is.
"So it's really okay, you might feel shy to say it that you like this guy but… it's really okay." He said, and it touched me.
"It's… it's… it's just that I don't want to like him. I know I don't like him, and I don't want to because every girl does, and I would rather not be like every other girl, I want to be different." I said, and he smiled.
"You're already different, now who's that guy?"
It felt so hard to say his name… To even pronounce the first letter, and when I knew I couldn't do it, I stuck my wrist in his face.
He held my hand, and read the name on the bracelet, then he laughed.
"Freddie?" He asked in surprise, and I covered his mouth with my hands.
"Anyone could hear!" I said in alarm, and he laughed more.
"Okay, okay… calm down. It's totally normal for a girl to fall for Freddie…"
"When did all the girls in a school falling for one guy become a normal thing?"
"Oh come on… he's just got that talent."
"It's not normal, and I don't like him, Mike."
To be honest, I actually felt better after telling Mike how I felt.
"How old is he?"
"Sixteen."
"Sixteen and I'm thirteen." I said unknowingly.
"Woah! You're comparing ages now?"
"Oh, shut up, Mike." I said smiling.
<<<
The next morning when I woke up, the air was chilly…
I looked out my window and all I could see was white mist…
"I love this air." I muttered as more cold air came in through my window.
I opened my wardrobe and reached deep within for my winter clothes.
If it was really winter, I wondered why it was coming so early.
I didn't know how cold it was going to be, so I took out a pink sweatshirt and a short lavender skirt with black socks that reached my thighs.
"These shoes won't keep me warm." I said to myself as I checked out my footwear, then my eyes fell on an old pair of black boots that I never liked.
"I think I'll give you a chance today." I said, and took it out.
When I went to bathe, the water was so cold, that I had to heat it up before bathing, and my nose was hurting from the freezing air
"Is winter really coming early, so sudden?" I asked, and let my hair down for more warmth.
"I have to look cuter." I said, and nearly tore my wardrobe out for my head warmers. I put on a purple head warmer with a pom pom on it, and covered my ears, so they wouldn't freeze.
After dressing up, I went downstairs and saw Mera in a big red coat, Val in a large purple sweater and Chris in an extra large hoodie.
"So you noticed the weather too, uh?" Val asked.
"Yeah, I did."
"That's why I made hot soup and roasted potatoes for us." Mera said.
"Oh really…?" I rushed, and sat next to Val.
"Some baking powder was missing… I hope Chris wasn't baking." Mera said in a dark tone, and I looked at Chris, who was suddenly interested in the tiles on the floor.
"Aw, you look so cute!" Val said, touching my cheeks.
"I HOPE CHRIS HASN'T BEEN BAKING!" Mera shouted all of a sudden.
I looked at Chris, and he used his eyes to tell me that I shouldn't give him away.
"I… I used it to bake cupcakes… for my friend at school… Mike…dunno if you know him."
"Oh really? Did he like it?"
"Yeah… yeah he did."
"If anybody sees Chris baking, report to me instantly, okay?"
"Okay." I said.
"Okay, and Chris if you bake don't tell me not to tell, okay?"Val said.
"Wait… why can't I bake? After all, mum bought all this stuff for US, not YOU." he said.
"Has anyone tasted anything Chris bakes? He wastes literally everything, but it always turns out tasteless, and I wonder how he manages that!" Mera said in frustration.
<<<
In class, I had dozed off during History, since it was so boring and also because I felt so warm amidst all the cold.
The bell woke me up, and I barely had time to pack my history books before Mrs. Binns our Biology teacher came in.
"You awake?" Drake asked me.
"Yeah… ah, she was so boring." I said.
He had slept too, seeing how drowsy he looked.
"Good morning class." She greeted.
"Good morning ma'am." The class greeted back.
"So, still on Care of Animals which we're about to round up today after three weeks of studying…" She said, and the class broke into applause.
"Let me finish please… after three weeks of studying, with a practical project."
NO APPLAUSE
"I'm glad for the silence." She said, and Drake gave me a meaningful look.
Yeah, he had told me he had overheard this, but I didn't pay attention to it.
Practical??? Aaaaaah!
"So, each one of you would be given a sick thinning animal home… it is not contagious.
"So, using your notes, and the experience of a freshman in the high school, I repeat, freshmen… I do not want to see the likes of Freddie or Chris helping you on the project." She said, and most of the girls groaned.
Including Whitney, maybe she had thought she could use Mike.
"They'd use their notes, their experience, and your materials, to bring the animals back into health, and fatten them up.
"If you can't keep animals, keep it with them. Mind you, they mustn't do all the work because I promise you a surprise five-paged essay on how you nursed the animal back into good health.
"And it would be done in my presence, not as homework… Today is Wednesday, so you have exactly five days to fatten up the animal, and bring it to good health… it's a total of Forty marks." she said, and everyone gasped.
Since I came to this school, I had noticed this woman was among the teachers whose marks were hard to get. So forty marks was like a voucher for everyday free coffee.
"Now, you'll use this period to get your animals and your helping freshmen. Follow me, in a straight line." She said, and we all went out after her in a straight line to her office.
She gave out animals to us.
Whitney was so excited, she was hoping for a cute animal, but eventually, she was given a lizard!
" Aaaaaah! Please… Mrs. Binns please change it for me." She said, as the lizard crawled around in its cage.
I controlled my urge to laugh, while Drake and some others were laughing.
" Forty marks, Miss Marshall, should I have them cut down to twenty? And I'm not sure if you'll have the whole twenty marks."
"Keep it Whitney." Yvonne said.
"Yeah it's just a lizard."
"Just a lizard, Zenith." Whitney said, angrily, but she kept the lizard.
I hope she doesn't..... Something slithered all over me.
"Aaaaaaaaah!" I was screaming, jumping, and trying to take off my clothes, before I realized it was me shouting.
Drake had to hold me down…
"It's harmless!" He shouted into my ear.
I looked at the little brown snake hissing, and looking at me. Miss Binns picked it up, and returned it into its glass.
What was a snake doing in school?
I caught myself in the mirror on the office wall.
My head warmer with the pom pom was lop-sided and my pink sweatshirt was ruffled…
One of my socks had rolled down to my knees, in that short time, and I had to look for my earring, but decided to leave it.
Everyone started to laugh, and I felt like crying but instead, joined them in laughing because I couldn't burst into tears… not now.
"It's harmless Miss Davids, the school will never endanger the safety of their students, next." she said, and continued sharing…
The moment, she laid hands on the snake cage, I found my way to the very back.
" Miss Davids?" She called.
OH NO.
I feared snakes, I mean, who didn't?
I made my way to the front, and she handed me a white bunny that looked so thin, frail, and pitiful.
I looked around to see who had the snake and saw Zenith with the snake cage in her arms.
"Oh, aren't you a pretty little thing? Aren't you? Aren't you??" She said touching what, I think, should be the snake's nose if they had one.
DISGUSTING.
" Thanks ma'am." I said.
<<<
We got our animals, and made our way to the high school.
Whitney got a lizard which kept on looking at her scared face, Yvonne got a dove whose feathers were scattered, sticking out in odd places and falling off, Zenith got the snake which was either sleeping or returning zenith's stare, and I got the cutest of all. My rabbit, which was looking so quiet and real sickly.
"Please, why is this thing looking at me!" Whitney said looking ahead.
"Because you're so beautiful… it's in love with you." Yvonne said, and I burst into laughter.
Yvonne and Zenith had been laughing, but my crazy laughter stopped them.
When I stopped laughing and looked at them, they started laughing, and we continued laughing, and in a little while, high schoolers were peeping out of their class windows to see the people laughing.
"Okay, let me go back to staring at my beauty." Zenith said, and just then, she stumbled and almost fell.
"You had better stop looking at your beauty, unless you want to look more like it." Yvonne said, and I looked at the snake's ugly face.
We went to the freshmen joint class, and waited until their teacher was out.
I saw Mera and Val sitting together… Mera was applying make-up on while Val was packing her books into her bag.
And I thought, okay, Mera or Val will do.
Just then, I heard someone giving the kind of laugh I really wanted to have…
A gentle laugh.
I turned around… Ugh! It was just poppy.
I turned my head away, only to turn it back again quickly.
It was poppy!
*If I could go to her, and keep my rabbit in her house. It would be an excuse to go there every day, and probably, by chance, see Freddie every day aaaaah!*
I thought quickly, and made my move.
"Poppy! Uh, our Biology teacher told us…"
"Oh we know, we know, she told us about it this morning."
"So, would you help me?"
"What's your animal?" She asked.
"A cute rabbit." I said showing her.
"Awwww!"
And, that was my free ride to everyday going to Freddie's house.
"Poppy, please, can you help me with…" a girl named Violet asked.
"Oh sorry, she's asked me already."
"Can't you ask your cousins?" She asked, giving me a dirty look.
"I don't want to stay stuck in the house when I've got an opportunity to go somewhere every day for five days. You can ask them if you like, our house is really cool." I lied.
"Duh… wait! Does Chris come home every day?"
"Sure" I said, and the next moment, she was asking Mera to help her on her assignment.
What if Mera asked Chris to help Violet on the assignment?
No, Mera won't do that.
What if she got tired, and did it anyway?
What if violet went to Chris' room?
What's bad in it?
I don't like it.
What if…
I think I've had enough what ifs, let's move on.
What if they get close?
What if he writes her a letter?
What if he feels she's innocent?
What if she doesn't stop coming even after five days?
What if!?
<<<
After closing hours, we saw the first shower of the year's snow, my nose had gone pink.
" Let's go… I'm so excited! I've got a little patient!" Poppy squealed.
*Since when did you become a doctor?* I thought.
I looked at Poppy's straight, shoulder-length brown hair, and my eyes followed it as it swung sweetly with her singing to the rabbit.
"You're my patient, you're my patient… I wonder who's going to help the girl with the snake… Well, Vivian is a snake lover."
She straightened up.
All of a sudden, she kicked the car.
"Where's that f***ing idiot?" She suddenly cursed, and I gasped.
Why was she using an offensive word?
"And that f***ing idiot is here." Freddie said, out of the blue, walking towards us.
"Seriously? You're late every time, and we've got a visitor."
"Visitor?" He asked, and looked at me…
He was wearing dark sunglasses when there was no sun, and a large white hoodie that reached his knees together with cool white joggers, and sneakers.
Around his neck was a white warm-looking scarf and on his head, a head warmer, of the same color.
I started that weird smile, but I stopped it immediately.
He removed his glasses.
" Why is she a visitor?"
"She's not your visitor, she's mine, so don't bother, and open the damn car door."
He threw his glasses to her, and she caught it.
I liked the way the snow fell on the little uncovered part of his hair… he looked cute.
He opened the car, and I, and poppy, got in the back.
"You guys have to squeeze in, I didn't know you brought someone, and all three of my friends have to sit."
"It's okay" Poppy said, and went out of the car.
Immediately, two guys came and sat on either side of me.
OKAY.
Another one sat next to the driver's seat, and Poppy opened the door next to Freddie who was in the driver's seat and plopped herself down on his lap.
"Are you nuts? I can't drive like this." he said, and I remembered when I sat on Chris' lap just like that when we were returning from homecoming.
"Yes, you can." Poppy replied.
"We're going to get arrested. I'm a minor, and this is illegal, and will get us noticed in no time."
"If you would rather not get caught, you'll drive as fast as you can."
"Oh Poppy, get off."
"I can't imagine if this was…"
"Oh shut up, I'll drive." he said, she smiled, and I wondered whose name Poppy was about to mention.
Maybe the girl in the picture on his wall.
"You've gained a lot of weight… you're fat." He said.
"I'm not fat!" Poppy exclaimed, and I slipped into dreamland.
I imagined wearing white winter clothes matching with Freddie's, and he singing a song featuring me in it.
"Why have you been smiling all along, don't your lips get tired?" The guy on my right asked.
"Uh? …I was? No its just… I… I saw something hilarious...funny outside…"
"You weren't looking outside… you were looking at him." he said with a smile, indicating Freddie.
" Him!? Me!? Why would you think I would be staring at him and… and… smiling? Just tell me, isn't that weird?
"Why would I even look at him?.. I was staring at something outside…" I was about to spin more lies when I saw Freddie looking at me through the mirror in front, and I choked on my saliva.
OKU OKU OKU OKU.
"Hey, stop the car, let's get some water." Poppy said, and Freddie groaned, as he parked the car. Then Poppy left.
My eyes watered.
"Okay, you weren't staring at him, you didn't have to talk so much." the guy next to Freddie said and Freddie turned and said to me.
"He meant you didn't have to stammer so much." he said smiling, and the coughing continued, though it was a fake meant to stop them from seeing me blush.
OKU OKU OKU
"All that is probably fake." Freddie said, turning away, and it turned into a real cough.
OKU! OKU!! OKU!!!
"Why on earth does your coughing make that sound?" he added in frustration.
OKU! OKU!! OKU!!!
OKU! OKU!! OKU!!!
I like it when he smiles.