Love Alarm [Based On A True Story]

A Pain In The Ass

I didn't go to school the next day. According to dad, some important guests would be coming over at our house and he needed all hands on deck, so Alice and I decided against going to school.

What a bummer. That important guest was no one other than his older sister.

Now this might not seem like much, but apparently it was considered a big deal if this 'older sister ' ever came to visit her siblings. For she wasn't like any random sibling, she was like a mother figure.

Aunt Kathy is the first born of the Manzel family, dad's generation. She got married when she was fifteen, long before dad was even born. Her first born, that is the first cousin, is months older than dad.

Yeah, she was really older than dad.

She is a spitting image of our late grandmother, and having seen more about life than anyone in this family, she is considered like the family elder, which she is, but more like a mother figure than a sibling.

Now you know why it's a big deal to dad if she comes by.

Nonetheless it wasn't a very enthusiastic moment for us, so all we had to do was wait till she left.

The next day when I got to school, I was greeted with both Claire and Sandy running towards me, which is odd because Sandy never shows up at school early, and I'm supposed to be one of the earliest students.

I had to raise my hands to stop them at the speed they were coming at and would have likely ended up in a crash. And when I saw the giddy smiles on their faces, I knew something must have happened yesterday. Something exciting.

Yeah it's true. Fun things always happen at school when you decide to miss it.

"You will not believe what happened yesterday!" Sandy shrieks, while a smile slowly builds in my face as I see her excitement and the blush in Claire's face. "What is it?"

Without beating around the bush, Sandy let the words leave her mouth in between giggles. "Our Claire sent a love letter to Patrick!"

My eyes widened out of their own accord, and my mouth turned into an O before I started jumping up and down along with them, the three of us squealing like hungry hyenas.

This might not come as a surprise to many, but back then this was a big deal. True, Claire and Patrick were already seeing each other, which meant the duo already knew about each other's feelings, but sending in a love letter in the middle of the relationship was considered a sweet gesture to appreciate one's love. Something not everyone has the guts to do, and Claire here just grew the guts to do so.

I slap her back in between giggles while she shies away. "I'm so happy for you! Did he reply back?"

The silence that follows after this has my smile faltering as I look from one face to another while the duo glance at each other. "Claire?"

"He hasn't said anything yet." Claire plastered on a smile, but I knew her excitement had died down and now she was hiding the pain behind that smile. But I didn't let it diminish her hopes. It's not like she was confessing for the first time. They were already in a relationship, and we all know he likes her too.

"Well then, I guess we are in for a surprise today!" I say in between squeals, making it sound like Patrick was preparing something big. I don't know if he is, but if Claire believed it and was happy again, who cares?

So thinking, the trio of us make our way towards the class, chatting all the way. Once we step in, I notice that the class is already a little too full unlike how it is when I usually arrive, making me realise that Sandy wasn't early. I was the one that was late.

Then my eyes darted to the group of boys in the corner of the class huddled together and laughing, making me notice Stefen at the same time he looked up to see me too.

But before he can look away first, I do it, and it comes so naturally I don't even bat a lash at it. Don't get me wrong, I didn't do it to show I didn't care, I did it because I seriously, really, genuinely didn't care. Locking eyes with Stefen now felt like locking eyes with any random person mistakenly so you look away.

And besides, my feelings for him felt like they never existed.

"Oh right! Sandy, tell her about what happened yesterday!" Claire suddenly jumps up once I place my bag on the seat, making me look at them. "What happened yesterday?"

Sandy smirks, her eyebrows dancing madly before she says. "We talked to Nathan."

"No way."

Yup. No way. No freakin' way. How the hell did my two cowardly friends talk with a senior boy? That too Nathan of all people?

They are lying. They surely are.

"Yes way!" Claire exclaims before slapping my back. My eyes must have been huge as baseballs because now Sandy was laughing at my face. "You should see your face!"

"What did you guys say?" I don't even realise how excited I am until I notice I'm smiling madly. Why am I excited again?

"Well," Sandy begins with an air of confidence. "We asked him if he was from ninth grade."

"And?"

"He said yes!" The two of them continue to giggle, while the smile on my face slowly starts feeling forced as I realise, I was excited over nothing.

"That's it?"

Claire and Sandy stop giggling and turn to me. "Yes."

"Y-you didn't...ask... anything else?"

They seem genuinely confused. "No?"

What the hell did they even go talk to him for!?

"So," I slowly begin as I lick my lips and stand straight. "You are telling me, that you got the guts to go talk to a senior boy, only to ask him which class he is from? Even after you knew?"

"Yeah?"

"Are you kidding me right now?

Their giggles and laughter came to an end as they saw the look in my face. "What? Did you expect us to ask him if he had plans for lunch?"

"Why not?"

"Ariana-"

"Why did you even go talk to him in the first place?" I really need to know. After hearing what they asked, I feel like they had an ulterior motive that they aren't sharing with me. And one look at my face and they knew not to make excuses.

Claire sighs before surrendering. "Fine. We wanted to know what Cuties ' actual name is."

This had me raising an eyebrow. "What?"

"We were going to ask him, but we chickened out last minute."

"No, you didn't."

My straightforwardness was pissing them off, but they don't argue because in the end, they know I'm right. They didn't chicken out. That's just not who Claire and Sandy are.

"Fine, fine! God Ari, you are really persistent!" Sandy exclaims with an exaggerated huff before continuing. "We wanted to ask but...he just seemed so cold and... rude. Made us lose our confidence."

I didn't say anything after that. I didn't need to. The moment they told me they talked to Nathan I had a feeling our excitement was a little bit too much. Because talking to a guy like Nathan was never exciting news. Not for us juniors at least.

Nathan isn't really good looking, heck he doesn't even fall in that category, he just has a lot of charisma and attitude going for him, which some girls find... attractive. But in reality, he is just a pain in the ass.

The bell rings right then, signaling the start of assembly. So, without further words we walk downstairs, leaving it all behind.

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