Chemical Bliss

Chapter 16: Surprise Kiss

Elijah's group continued to act out their roles from the Water of Life script until they finally got to the part where Princess Anna had just gotten out of the carriage in the middle of the road while crying and lamenting over Prince Joseph's alleged death. She then fell onto the ground out of exhaustion and then a random guy wearing a blue hood over his head came by to provide her water in a pan.

"Here's your water ma'am," he said as he walked towards her holding the pan of water he fetched from the bucket.

"Thank you, that's very kind of you," Princess Anna replied. She slowly drank the water, and while she was feeling better, she asked, "So tell me kind sir, what name do you go by?"

A face was then reflected inside the pan and that face happened to be none other than Prince Joseph who chuckled and said his name with delight. "Well from around here, I'm known to be Joseph." But then when he looked down and opened his eyes, he was surprised to see it was Princess Anna. "Huh?! W-Why, it's you!"

Eva, who served as the narrator, gracefully voiced the next lines, "The prince and princess had finally been reunited, never to be parted again." Her words lingered for a while as Elijah and Yasmine, playing their parts to the fullest, ran toward each other with fake tears in their eyes. For a moment, the acting chemistry between these two felt realistic, and the audience could sense the deep connection the characters shared. Elijah, as Prince Joseph, squeezed Yasmine in the embrace, whispering his final lines with warmth, while Yasmine tried to cling to him, adding just the right touch of vulnerability to Princess Anna.

As the rehearsal concluded, the applause from their classmates and Mrs. Delacourt filled the room, praising the group's performance. Yasmine was still catching her breath from the emotional scene when Elijah, ever the cheeky one, suddenly decided to take things a step further. It's time for me to surprise her with a kiss! He reminded himself.

He grinned mischievously and unpredictably swept Yasmine off her feet and kissed her on the lips, adding a twist to heighten the "happy ending" between Prince Joseph and Princess Anna. Yasmine's eyes widened in shock as she instinctively tried to push him away. But the moment Elijah's lips touched hers, she found herself momentarily frozen, unable to resist. It was brief, yet the intensity was undeniable, and when they finally broke apart, the room erupted into playful jeers and teasing.

"Ooooh, look who's in love!" came the voices of their classmates, filling the rehearsal space with laughter and whistles.

Elijah, proud of his impromptu addition to the scene, flashed a cocky smirk, clearly delighted with the chaos he had stirred. His eyes sparkled with amusement as he met Yasmine's embarrassed expression, knowing full well this had caught her off guard.

Yasmine's face flushed crimson, and her pulse raced. Embarrassment quickly overtook her initial shock, and she lashed out, "Shut up! We are not in love, and this wasn't part of the script!"

Despite her outburst, the teasing didn't stop. Even Mrs. Delacourt chuckled lightly at the dramatic twist. Elijah simply wrapped his hands around her shoulders, his smirk still firmly in place, reveling in the embarrassment he caused for her. A few minutes later when the bell rang, everyone else got up and grabbed their backpacks to head out the door to catch a bus, drive home, or ride a bike to go home. Meanwhile, Elijah, Yasmine, and their other group members got off the stage and took off their costumes for the play.

Yasmine, however, was far from calm. Her mind raced as she recalled the improvised kiss that had happened in front of everyone. Still blushing furiously, she spun around to face Elijah.

"Why did you do that, you mindless idiot? In front of dozens of people!" she demanded, landing with irritation.

Elijah, unbothered by reaction, simply grinned. That familiar, nonchalant smirk spread across his face, the kind that always made it hard to tell if he was serious or just teasing. He shrugged it casually, as if kissing her on stage had been the most natural thing in the world.

"Come on, Angel. I did nothing but beautify the scene, didn't I?" he replied playfully, his tone light as ever. "Besides, it's not like you get a kiss on the lips everyday."

Yasmine crossed her arms tightly, trying to maintain her composure, but her face, like every other time, betrayed her with a deeper blush. "But still! That wasn't part of the damn script!" she repeated.

Elijah chuckled softly and contagiously as he stepped closer to her. "Well, sometimes you gotta improvise additional acts to keep things intriguing to the audience, correct?" he teased, winking at her before stepping back, leaving Yasmine speechless and even more frustrated.

"As if this is a movie we're acting for. But since this is just a play, it's best if you only follow what's on the script so you won't mess things up," she replied firmly.

"Meh, can't do that. It's better to think outside of the box than follow steps methodically 'cause this is drama class we're dealing with, not algebra nor chem," said Elijah as he strongly debated his point of view.

Yasmine rolled her eyes again and before Yasmine could even process what had just happened, Elijah, with his typical playful energy decided to tease her unexpectedly again. He picked her up again and carried her out of the classroom just like he did last time when they were at the bus station.

"What the hell!" she yelped, her face flushing even more as she instinctively clung to his shoulders. "Not this nonsense again! Put me down! Right now!" Her eyes were wandering around the room in case anyone else was still there to witness this.

But, as always, Elijah was unfazed. He flashed that mischievous grin, his tone laced with teasing as he walked toward the door, carrying her effortlessly. "Nah, your legs are too precious to walk all the way with that heavy backpack," he replied. "I'm only doing you a favor and you should stop worrying about what other people think, Angel."

Yasmine huffed, glaring up at him, her arms still looped around his neck despite her protests. "I can walk just fine! And for f*ck's sake, my backpack is not that heavy!"

"Sure, sure," Elijah laughed, clearly enjoying her flustered reaction. "But why walk when you can get a free ride?"

As they approached the hallway, Yasmine squirmed in his arms, still demanding to be put down, though a part of her had already resigned to the fact that he wasn't going to let her go so easily. "You did this last time too, at the bus station! It was so embarrassing!"

"Embarrassing?" Elijah quirked an eyebrow as he continued to hold her in his arms. "Anyone else would think it's cute and to me, you're enjoying it deep down."

A few days after that incident, it was the day of their first midterm in chemistry. Everyone arrived on time while some others who couldn't make it to class were excused by Mr. Waisanen with evidence of medical documentation.

"All right, class," Mr. Waisanen said, breaking the silence. "I hope you've been reviewing. Let's do a quick recap of some main concepts before we get started."

He proceeded to review a few key concepts on the board, going over stoichiometry, chemical reactions, and balancing equations. Yasmine scribbled down a few notes, but her mind kept drifting. She couldn't help but glance over at Elijah, who sat a few rows away, relaxed and confident as usual. He caught her looking and gave her a wink, causing her to quickly look away. Keep your head towards the board and don't look at him, she thought to herself.

"Okay, time's up for review. It's time for the test," Mr. Waisanen announced, snapping everyone back to attention. He began handing out the test papers and scantrons, moving up and down the rows. "Please put everything away except for a pencil and eraser. No talking, and good luck."

Yasmine took a deep breath as she received her test paper. She glanced at the questions and immediately felt a wave of relief as it didn't seem as hard as she feared. She picked up her pencil and began working through the problems, forcing herself to focus.

Yasmine caught Elijah's eye for a second, but quickly forced her attention back on her test, determined to get through the exam without any distractions. Just focus, she reminded herself. You've got this. You can do better than him.