ECHOES OF YOU

Chapter Eight

As I made my way to the library, she was still clinging to me. I was sure that Leila was already there and probably she’d gotten tired of waiting. We walked in and the look on Leila’s face almost left me patronized. This girl had done it now. I’m sure Leila thought that something was going on. I barely even knew her. I didn’t even know her name.

I took the seat beside Leila and hoped she’d get the hit and leave. But instead, she sat next to us. Honestly who sent this girl?
“Today you quite early Leila,” I said.

“Well, I didn’t want to keep you waiting like yesterday, but you kept me waiting instead,”

“In that case, I’ll have to make it up to you,” I added.

“And how will you do that?”

“How about I buy you lunch,”

“Well, if it weren’t for the fact that you kept me waiting, I’d think you were flirting,”

“C’mon now Leila, aren’t you just full of yourself,” this girl had nerves.

“Oh, and what are you still doing here,” Leila asked with the most forced smile ever.

“Nathan and I we were just……,” what was she going about telling me and her? I was nothing and I just couldn’t let her start to spout unnecessary nonsense.

“….. Just nothing. You followed me here I don’t even know what you want,” I cut in before she could finish whatever she wanted to say.

“Well, I just wanted to check on my friend, is that so bad? I want to help you too,”

“Annaliese let’s just drop the act, we’ve never liked each other, not even before you started dating Liam.” So that was her name.

And she dated Leila’s brother. Wow, so why did they hate each other so much then? Maybe Leila didn’t think she was right for her brother. Because after all who would?

“You knew I loved him and you made him break up with me.” Leila didn’t think she was fit to be with Liam.

Suddenly Leila just grabbed her bag and rushed outside. I quickly followed her, this time I wouldn’t let her slip. Especially when it was all my fault.

I went up to her and just squeezed her shoulder. I could see that whatever Annaliese said had upset her.

“Don’t mind her. I heard she has anger management issues,” I tried to be sarcastic.

“Well, I’ve had to deal with her firsthand, I’m used to her buttering,”

“Since she has already ruined our study time, why don’t I treat you to lunch as a double apology,”

“Why don’t we start with a milkshake,”

“I should have known a girl like you was a sweet tooth,” I smiled and held her hand. She was so cute I was tempted to kiss her. I advised myself and just left after.

Since I had a free period, I decided to go and get her that milkshake. If I wanted to warm up to her and I needed to do it right.
When I got back to school, I’d missed a lot. I rushed to her classroom with my milkshake in hand only to find her sitting outside crying. Sheila was with her and so was he. I saw him wipe her tears and a lump formed in my throat. She smiled at him and from the way she looked at him, I knew I didn’t stand a chance. It was him and it would always be him. I don’t know what I was even thinking. A girl like her clearly would never be interested in a guy like me. I gripped the milkshake so hard it spilled onto my shoes. After what I’d just seen, all I could do was just leave.

Since I couldn’t get her, it would be better if we were even friends. So, I decided to bring her another milkshake after school. I guess sweet things do bring joy. Every time I’d bring her one, she’d always end up smiling all through. It almost gave me a glimpse of hope. But I just brushed off that feeling. She’d never see me any other way except for her sweet tutor who always brought her milkshakes.

By now she’d risen to the highest ranks in school after her fight. Everyone hated that girl. As for me, I don’t know how to describe it. She’d kept bugging me to help her with my brother, someone I never talked to. We never even saw eye to eye. Even so, I still wouldn’t help her. Until she came up with something that almost made me punch her.

I was casually taking pictures in the field when she approached me.

“Nathan, for how long have you decided to ignore me,” just the sound of her voice made me feel irritated.

“For as long as I can,”

‘I know she told you I’m the bad guy, and since you like her, you’ll probably believe her,” I listened to her muttering as I went on taking photos.

“And what’s your point,”

“I’m trying to tell you that’s not who I am,”

“Just get straight to the point, I don’t think you’re here to clear up some rumor about you,”

“You just don’t get it, do you,”

“Get what exactly,”

“We should be working together,”

“No thank you,”

“I know you like her and I’m sure you know he wants her to. Why don’t you just help me get Kelvin and it’ll clear a way for you to get her,”

“Since you know I like her, I bet you also know I don’t need your help,”

“As far as I can see he’s already gotten her. I’m sure you’ll reconsider my offer,” I watched as she left and I realized she was right. Kelvin had won and I was just giving myself false hope.

After that, I decided to avoid her as much as I can. She was improving so I’d cancel some of our tutoring lessons. I’d use that free time to practice my photography at the mall. I was busy taking pictures when I met an old couple who requested pictures.

“Hey young man, can you take some pictures of us?” The old man asked.

“Sure, why not,”

“Oh, thank you so very much.” I could see how happy they were. They seemed to be in their sixties at most and yet they looked so in love. How did they manage to do it? How did they even manage to love each other for this long? Did love like this even exist, and if it did how could one even get to it?

If only I could have what they had. All my life I’d lived knowing there was nothing like true love. Take my parents, for instance, they loved each other, and yet they managed to split up. You can’t love someone and then just let them go. Unless you never truly loved them. I had this feeling for a certain girl but my brother took her before I could even get her. Or maybe the rational explanation for this is that love was never meant to come my way.

“Hey young man, I think that lady behind there is staring at you,” the old lady said.
I turned around to see Leila at the window staring at us. She looked as though she wasn’t even looking directly at us. Her mind had wandered far away from where she was. It was like she was thinking about something, maybe a memory.

“Do you know each other?” The old lady asked again.

I just chuckled before I could reply, “yeah, I do. I know her,”

“You like her don’t you,” the old guy added.

“Maybe I do, but she’s not meant for me,”

“Oh, young people these days. It’s clear she likes you back, she’s been smiling and staring at you the whole time,” the old lady said.

“Maybe she’s looking at something else, maybe you two just inspired her,”

“Dear do you remember when we were their age? We’d play around like these two, trying not to accept what we already knew,” she added again.

“But you two were meant for each other, as for me and her, we aren’t meant for anything,”

“Oh silly, at some point we lost each other. Before we could be together, I’d always thought I was way beneath him. He was dating this pretty girl from our class and they looked like the most perfect couple. It was as though they were fated,”

“And then what happened,”

“Ai ran into her one day in the cafeteria and I felt something inside me jump. It was like a feeling I’d never felt before. It was love at first sight. And there my boy is where our love story began.”

“And look at us now, still together after forty-two years,”

“That’s a very lovely story,”

“You see, I didn’t know I loved her until that day. We were in the same class I didn’t even know her name,”

“You’ll know it when you feel it, young man. And that’s when you know it was meant to be,”

I walked over to where she was and she came out to meet me.

“Want to come for a closer look,” I asked.
“I don’t think so, I’m still waiting for Sheila,”

“You two are inseparable huh,”

“Well, she’s like my other half,”

“Guess that means I’ve got some competition now, don’t I?”

“You do. And I didn’t even know you were into photography,”

“It’s just something I do by the side,”

“You seem to be good at it,”

“Not exactly, but I am not that bad either,”

“Maybe I should hire you to take some shots of me one of these days,”

I stepped backward and took some shots of her.

“For you, I’ll gladly do it in a heartbeat,”

“Will you two stop flirting and bring my mirror back here,” Sheila snapped behind us.

“Well, I got to go. See you later I guess,”
I waved as she went back inside.