The Lost Girl

Chapter 3

Meant to be

Julia

Boring day and boring lecture. I had such a tough time deciphering the concepts taught at the lecture. I am not gifted to be studying mass communications, I guessed. My mind still wandered to the guy whom I met three days ago. His smile, his shining big eyes and gorgeous smile. When will I ever meet someone like him again? Upon realizing that I am having some sort of hots for a guy made me blushed. I have never felt this way for a guy before.

After the end of lecture, I headed to the school entrance to prepare myself for my part time work. I felt a tap at the back of my shoulder. I turned and saw Kenneth smiling at me. Kenneth Tan, 25 years old, my close guy friend in school. He has dark black hair and brown eyes. Even though his eyes were small, he had double eyelids. He is handsome in many girls' eyes, especially Cynthia's. I cautioned myself away from him recently due to Cynthia's rising jealousy. Even though Cynthia has a boyfriend, she still hoped that one day Kenneth will have eyes for her so that she can finally ditch her current boyfriend to be with him. I heard her saying so to the girls while I am in the washroom's cubicle. Even though Kenneth is cute and handsome, my mind still thinks about Red.

"Hey, what is up?" I turned to his face and asked him. "You seemed like avoiding me these days," he frowned. "Oh well, you know Cynthia? She thought that we are dating or you have the hots for me! I do not need any more drama during my project meetings." I rolled my eyes while replying him. "Then let her think this way then? We are very close friends anyways? And what if I have the hots for you? It is my decision, my feelings and my life!" He winked at me while saying. "Quit joking, you will land me in more hot soups and dramas. I need to rush to work now. See you!" I replied while giving him a lame expression. "Wait up, don't be a rushful kid. I am taking the same bus as you today. I am going to Novena for my dance lesson!" He replied with a casual smile. "Alright then. Let's go before Cynthia sees us." I replied and was shocked when he wrapped his hands around my arm. "So what? If she sees us?" He said and we walked towards the bus-stop.

Kenneth sees me to the Times Bookshop before heading to his dance lesson. He mentioned it was his first time trying out the hip hop dance classes here and mentioned that he will wait for my work to end so that we can head home together. One of the factors that made us close friends was the fact that we both lived in Toa Payoh. He just lives a block away and is a hardworking student. His dad is a manager and his mum is a marketer. We are each other's study buddies. I told him that he can go home early as my work usually ends quite late. I wondered if took my words seriously. I do not really want him to really wait for me.

Work today was busy. There were many parents buying books and stationaries for their kids. I guess it was because school will be starting for primary school next month. I was busy doing my duties at the cashier and dealing with customers. After attending a customer, the next customer passed me some books to make payment. "Hi," a familiar voice spoke. I looked up from the books and was astonished by what I saw. There he was, the guy who helped me three days ago. "Oh hi!" I replied casually, trying to hide my anxious self. "It is so great to see you here. To think I am able to catch you while you are working. I came here yesterday to buy some stuff and did not see you. Guess it was not your shift?" He smiled and said. "Yeah..." I replied, unsure of what to respond. "Since we have such affinity, do you mind giving me your number? We can be friends!" He asked while taking out his phone. Sure. I entered my number and name into his Iphone. I could see that my fingers were trembling slightly. I must be so nervous. "I will message you my number! Remember to save it! See you!!" He said, giving me that dashing smile once more before going off.

Worked ended pretty late as there were many customers. After closing the store's gate, I spotted Kenneth waiting for me from a distance. I was feeling slightly annoyed as I hoped that he would go home. How am I supposed to avoid him as much as possible this way?

"Hi there!! Finally you are off work!" He exclaimed. I avoided his gaze and walked away. "I told you to head home first right!" I replied angrily while feeling bad for treating him this way. He grabbed my hand, spun me to his direction and looked at me with his deep gaze. "You have not being yourself these days you know? Even in today's class, your mind seemed to be elsewhere. Your avoidance is ridiculous. Are you that afraid of Cynthia? I am just her crush, she will get over it." He asked sadly.

"I am sorry. It is the final term and I do not want to graduate with much negative drama. I just want to graduate smoothly. We can meet and chill out as usual after graduation!" I replied, trying to be rational about the situation. "This is my life. Who knows whether we will still keep in touch after graduation. Nobody will know what will happen after that. Besides, I really want to study with you and help you out in your studies. Live in the moment Julia. Treasure every moment in life!" He answered back. He was right. He is smarter than me and usually helped me most during my study sessions. Without his help, my grades might drop during this crucial final term. "Yeah. You are right. I need your help with my final term studies too." I replied. "Glad you understood!" Kenneth smiled and said. He wrapped his hands around my neck like a buddy. "Lets go home!!" He exclaimed. "Yeah..." I muttered while giving his back a huge tough pat.

We waited for our bus at the bus-stop. My mind kept turning back to today's encounter with Red. Will we ever meet again? I wondered. I looked at my handphone and saw his message.

Hi. Red here. Have you ended work? Hope you arrived home safely! This is my number. Remember to save it! =)