Stupid Heart

Part 3 : Irreplaceable

That day same day, our class adviser made all of us gather round and form a circle and bring out a pen and a sheet of intermediate paper

"Okay class. Now that you've formed a circle, I want you to write your names on the upper left corner of the paper." All of us followed her instructions while she narrated "After writing your names I'll count from 1 to 3. When I say 3, I want you to pass it to you right."  She said with a hint of authority in her tone.

Mrs. Cruz scanned the room to check if everyone's finished. Satisfied, she continued "Now I'll count from 1 to 3. Ready?  1..2..3" she emphasized her counting so that everyone would be in sync. After which she said "Now I want each of you to write a word which you think best describes the person below his or her name. If your don't know the person, just write your first impression on him or her. If you know the person, write the word that best describe him or her as you've known then put a star after the word so that it won't get mixed up with the first impressions.. after all "first impressions don't the last" or so the saying goes. Start now. Raise your pen after writing."

I looked at Julia who sat on my right teasingly. I chuckled at the thought of writing the name of that guy who sat beside the window on Julia's paper. It was too bad that our classmates won't be able to read it because I would be the last person to write on her paper but I am positive that her reaction would be priceless. Just when my smile was widening, Julia elbowed me. "Oof!" I said enduring the sudden jolt of pain.

"I know what you're thinking. Don't you dare write his name there or I'll write Kean's name on yours." She raised her left eyebrow then nudged her head towards her right. I looked at the direction and immediately saw Kean three seats to her right. My eyes widened and quickly looked away. That's bad news if he got to read his name on my paper. "Damn it!" I cursed under my breath. My plan on casually asking how he's been doing would be ruined. (NO!)

As soon as she saw my reaction, she smirked. Her left eyebrow still raising to mean "Ooooh.. got you there."

"Fine." I said in a sarcastic tone and managed to smile. "Deal. I won't write Chase Hipolito's name on it." I said surprised with what I saw. Julia's face turned red like a tomato in an instant. She covered her face while I desperately tried to contain my laughter.

"Don't get the wrong idea. I don't have a crush on him or anything." She said looking me in the eye " I'm sure that this won't last. Classes had just begun." She said with a resenting tone then proceeded to write on my paper.

 She let me see what she wrote before passing it along. She wrote "Trustworthy" and I was  touched. 1..2..3.. pass .... I gave her a warm smile then patted her back. "Aww.. thanks Juls. Your the best" I said happily.

1..2..3.. pass ....

1..2..3.. pass ....

Oh my gosh! this was it! I was nervous when my paper finally got to Kean. I wondered what he would write? will he put a star after the word? or will he pretend that he doesn't even remember me? And I also wonder what should I write? should I put a star? 

When I finally got his paper, I decided to write something that won't be too obvious and that I won't put a star because I might regret it. If he placed a star then he would've looked my way for a bit to consider what he would write but he didn't so I came with that conclusion. Pretend I don't remember him. Pretend you don't know him, Louise. I clenched my teeth as I repeatedly thought of these. In the end I wrote "tall".

Julia laughed when she saw what I wrote in Kean's paper and she did the same. She also wrote "tall" we smiled and winked at each other before she passed the paper. 1..2..3.. pass ....

After a few more passes, 1..2..3.. pass ... I finally got my paper. It was nerve wrecking for me because I couldn't stop thinking what Kean wrote on mine. Unfortunately,the teacher interrupted before we could read what's written on our papers.

"Alright, class. Go back to your places before reading the paper" We all stood up and headed to our chairs. Mrs. Cruz continued "by tomorrow I will have your seats rearranged. The seating arrangement therein will be permanent and none can change or switch seats. If you do so, you will be fined." with that she took her bag and left the room before any of us could do so.

Before I could read mine, I quickly fixed my things. When I was about to read mine, Julia pulled my paper down and almost shoved her paper to my face. She pointed r on the 8th word on her sheet. I bet it was from Chase as she was very happy. Surprisingly, he wrote "Cute".

"Wooooow! good for you Julia! looks like you've got a chance with him?" I said raising my head to look at her but before I could completely raise my head she pinched my cheek and made me face my paper then. 

"You're not so bad yourself. Look at here." she whispered. She was pointing on the 5th word on my paper and it read 'irreplaceable' and a star was drawn after that. 

At that moment my heart begun to thump like crazy... Julia was saying something maybe a conspiracy or something but all I could hear was my heartbeat getting louder by the moment. At first, I couldn't believe my eyes. but that penmanship says it all- it was still the same. It was definitely Kean who wrote it. The rest of the day was a blur. I didn't even realize that the bell rang, and I can't even remember how I got home did I walk? did Julia walk me home? did my father fetch me? did I ride public transportation? I just found myself inside my bedroom and it was night time. I stared at the moon. My thoughts were filled with what he wrote. But What did he mean?