“Shall we walk to school since it is only a 15-minute walk? I’m sure the program might not start on the said time.” he said
“You don’t need to call the driver then Nana. We will walk to school. I will call you later if I come home late.” I said
“I’m really curious about something.” I said to break the silence between us
“Why are you so anxious to ask a question? I’m not that hard to approach.”
“Have you looked at the photos on my camera?” I asked curiously
“No. I know that it is yours so I didn’t have to. You left it when you ran away from the library.” he said
“I wasn’t trying to kiss you.” I said in a panic since he mentioned the library
“I know. I was stunned when I saw you near but I was joking when I mentioned the kiss. I am sorry if I made you uncomfortable.” he grinned
I handed him the small sketchbook that I have without saying a word. Even if he was joking about the kiss, I still feel uncomfortable because of the fact that I fell on his arms when my legs gave way.
“What is this?” he said bewildered
“That is the reason why I caught staying close to you. I was actually measuring the distances on your face.”
“What do you mean by measuring?” he asked in confusion
“Shall I show it to you so you can understand fast instead of explaining?” I said
My phone rang at the same time when he nodded. I made a sign to him that I need to answer the phone first.
“Where are you? The show started already and the seats beside us were all taken since it was first come, first serve.” Jessica said
“I’m still on the way. Don’t be too concerned about me. I will find a seat when I get there and then meet you after the show.” I said
“Okay. Take care then.” she hangs up the call after that
“We need to walk fast since the event has already started. I don’t want you to miss a lot. At the same time, I don’t want to keep your friends waiting.”
“It’s okay haha. I am not really interested in watching the event. I just wanted to hang out in the school since I don’t have anything to do at home.”
“Aren’t your friends waiting for you?”
“Don’t mind them. I can just say that I was late and as you said to your friends, I will see them after the event is over.”
“What if they misunderstand you for being with me? I don’t want to cause trouble.”
“Why would they misunderstand? You’re friends with Henry so it wouldn’t be surprising if I say that I am your friend.”
Loud music can be heard on the road near our school. People are scattered at the school vicinity and some of them are from different schools and relatives of the participants. The quadrangle was already packed and we couldn't find an empty spot to sit down. It was only big enough to accommodate the students but since there are many visitors people have to find spots so they can watch.
“There is no available space for us to sit down. It would also be too hard to find a spot to stand.” I said turning away.
“You’re right. Shall we go and find a place to sit down first? We can come back later when some of the people will go home.” he said
“Do you have any suggestions?”
“Coffee?” he suggested
“Where? Are the snack stalls still open?”
“Shall we go and check?” he urged me
We left school and went to the stalls to find food. Most of them are still open, maybe because of the event in our school. We choose a stall where we can have some street food and soft drink. He opened the sketchbook that I gave him as soon as we sat down while waiting for our order. I could see him open his eyes and mouth wide as he looked at the sketch and me.
“I’m impressed by this one. I am still confused with the measures that you were saying though. Did you measure the spaces between my eyes with a ruler?” he said
I smiled at the absurd idea that he said. Was he really telling me that I used a ruler to measure his face just for a sketch? I shook my hand to tell him no as I swallowed the food in my mouth.
“Then can you show me how you did your measurements so I can understand?”
“Can I touch your face?” I asked permission before doing it.
“Sure. You can do what you want if have to.” he said
I showed him how I measured his face by using my fingers. I was measuring the distance between his chin and lips when the lights suddenly turned off. I was startled that my hand accidentally pressed on his lips. My heart started thumping so hard. There has always been a distance between me and boys so I feel uneasy once I am having skinship with them. I would feel the same even if it happened to my friends Henry, Allyson, and Jackson.
“I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to touch your lips. I got startled when the lights went off.” I explained as I removed my hand in panic.
“It’s all right. I can understand so you don’t have to panic.” he winked at me.
My cheeks got even more flushed because of his wink. I agreed to be his friend but I’m still adjusting to his easy-go-lucky attitude. I smiled back at him so he wouldn’t notice what I felt.
“What I did was the same gesture I was doing when you caught me. I mean when you woke up.” I said
“Why are you so nervous? Do you feel uncomfortable with me? You don’t act that way when you’re with Henry.” he asked
“Do I look so awkward? I will apologize again if I am. I am already comfortable with Henry but I am still adjusting with you so forgive me if I look so aloof and awkward.” I replied
“I still want to be friends with you even if we need to take it slowly.”
“Why do you want to be friends with me? There are other students that you can be friends with. I’m just an ordinary girl and there’s nothing special about me.”
He crossed his arms in front of his chest and stared at me for some time. I slowly swallowed the food in my mouth when I noticed him staring at me. He leaned forward as he studied my face.
“Simple. I like you and I find you interesting. I don’t know what it is but there is something about you that makes me want to know you more.” he said
“Maybe you’re just saying that because I am friends with Henry and you’re curious on the reason why. I can’t tell you the reason why they wanted to be friends with me so you better ask them.”
“I am curious but as I said, I want to be your friend. Stop overthinking the reason why I want to be your friend.”
I am not really sure if I made the right decision to be friends with him. We are seriously the complete opposite of each other. He is the bubbly and smiley type of person while I am more of the serious type. He is easygoing while I am a little uptight. Henry is closer to my personality since he is also an introvert that can also be chatty when he gets comfortable.
Our chat was disturbed when both of our phones rang due to messages. We exchanged glances as we finished reading them. We even spoke at the same time.
“You go first.” I said
“Did we spend too much time here? The program is almost over.” he said
“I was about to ask the same question. My friends are asking me where I am.”
“Shall we go and meet them? Tell them to meet us at the gate.”
We both stood up and went back to school where we waited by the gate. People are now flocking to go home. We waited for some time before I saw my friends walking towards us.
“Where did you sit? We have been looking around the crowd but couldn’t spot you.” Jessica said as soon as she came near me.
“And why are you both together?” May started nitpicking when she saw Vladimir beside me.
“I hope you wouldn’t mind me accompanying her.” Vladimir said smiling
“Are you going to suspect everyone that is hanging out with me? I already told you that I am not interested in THAT thing.” I said while making a quotation sign
“Why are you so defensive?” she continued teasing
“I just don’t like you teasing every time. Other people might misunderstand. What if it reaches Nana?” I said