Almost Maybes

Chapter 12.5

I saw him laughing with a girl whom I don't personally know. She looks pretty when she laughs so hard. She looked perfect just by sitting next to him, hair bouncing in the air, as her voice blended with the sounds around the place.

It was fun watching the two of them as they shared a private conversation together. The view from here was exactly the scene movies would offer you.

Gripping the strap of my backpack, I walked past the library, past the spot they were occupying, past everyone whose faces I didn't dare look at. Someone shouted my name and it made me stop.

I turned around to look at who it was. She was one of my classmates in Economics last semester.

"You dropped your ID," she said as she approached me.

Checking my ID lace, the ID itself was missing. I didn't notice it slipped off.

"Thank you, Pauleen. You saved me from looking high and low."

"Yeah, sure. No biggie. Are you going home already?"

I nodded. She returned my ID and I put it back on its lace. "How about you?" I asked.

"Practice. I'm part of the volleyball team."

"Good luck on your game! Thanks for this again."

"It was nothing. Have a safe trip home."

And with that, she left. I've always been fond of volleyball, but I couldn't get into the team. I wasn't born as a player. I could only cheer for them from the audience.

"So, you dropped your ID again."

My heart jumped when he spoke.

"You almost gave me a heart attack."

"It is a pleasure to cause your heart to flinch for a moment," he said, a grin on his face.

I ignored him. His back was already with him, holding it as he used to often do. Would it be better if he just put it on his shoulder like the way it should be worn? How did he get into my spot that fast?

I continued walking towards the school gate.

"Who's she?" he inquired.

" A friend."

"You didn't respond to my messages."

"Haven't checked my phone yet."

I lied. It was the same moment I was with that girl when I read all his messages. Saying he was waiting for me, and that I should take my time talking with the school dean.

"I thought you already went home without me."

"I could go home without you, mind you."

He chuckled. "Stubborn, brat."

I was so busy watching the girl laugh with him that I didn't realize how his laughter could easily affect my mood. It was him that I should be watching and not anyone else. I didn't admit all these things to myself until there was nothing else left to do but accept them.

"You don't have to tag along every day. I know how to get to the bus station, just go back to your friends. They might be-"

"She's Perry's friend. You're the only girl I want to go home with."

Once again he made my heart flutter.

~

She was the same girl who visited Rex in the hospital last week.