Hey You

Chapter 7

Nella was suspicious, so she moved her head from side to side. "Um, I think it's best that we forget we even had that one chance encounter sa detention. I'm not going back there ever." She slammed her locker close and started walking away.

"Bakit naman? We don't have to be detention buddies. Why can't we be friends?" Jane frowned while she caught up with her.

Nella stopped and faced her. "I don't need buddies. I don't need friends. Like I said: that whole detention thing? It was my first, and it's going to be my last. Why don't you do me a favor and go back to the time where you don't know I exist?" She suggested hoping that Jane would finally leave her alone.

"Pano ka naman nakaka-siguro na you won't get in trouble again and na hindi ka na ever mabigyan ng detention? And no, sorry, past is past unfortunately. We can't go back in time," Jane grinned. Her upper body inched closer towards Nella who backed away from her.

"I actually care about school, Jane. Unlike you na popular at halos sambahin na ng buong school, I only have my academics. That's all I care about. It's my last year, and I'm going to make sure na I won't get in trouble again. There's just too much at stake, and I don't want any distractions. So how about I go back to the library and be on my own, and you go mingle with your friends like we don't know we both exist?" Nella asked. She stared at Jane while waiting for an answer.

"Is that how you want to spend your last year of high school?" Jane stared right back at her.

"Yes," Nella said with no hesitation.

Jane sighed. "Okay," she nodded.

"Thanks," Nella said and off she went.

Finally. She let out a sigh of relief. She thought Jane would be like a rash that won't go away. She was glad it was over. However, she thought about what Ms. Schafer, her counselor, had told her. She knew she needed to be more active in school. She's smart and is a fast learner, but somehow, the social scene was something she never mastered. She exhaled another huge puff of air and decided to let the thought go. She promised herself she'll deal with it some other time.

The library was Nella's sanctuary. It was her safe space. It was a haven for people like her who would rather be surrounded by books than people. It was where she spent majority of her free time in school. She could just pick out a book and sit on one of the many aisles while resting her back on the enormous bookshelves. When she wants to be extra relaxed, she wears her headphones and listens to the sound of rain and thunder in the background. That was her escape. It was all she ever wanted.

She set her backpack by one of the shelves and sat on the carpet floor. She stretched her legs in front of her and got the sandwich she packed for lunch. She munched on it while checking off her to-do-list.

Just as she had finished eating her lunch and with fifteen minutes to spare, a pair of running shoes appeared right next to her. She looked up and sighed when she realized who it was.

"Ikaw na naman?" She frowned while looking completely annoyed. "Didn't I tell you—" she was about to say when Jane handed her the pen she borrowed during detention.

"You darted out of detention so fast, I didn't get the chance to give it back to you," Jane told her.

Nella hesitated. She stared at the pen then she looked at Jane. "It's okay. You can keep it."

However, Jane continued to hand it to her. "No, this is yours. I have plenty."

Nella sighed. "I saw you put that in your mouth kaya sayo na yan."

Jane stared at her. "I know and I realized that kaya sinanitize ko na bago ko pa ibalik sayo. Here. Take it."

Nella shook her head. "Sayo na nga yan," she insisted.