Beginnings and Endings [complete]

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Twelve

"Stay with the group, don't go anywhere alone, call us in an emergency, report to the teacher in charge if something goes wrong, steer clear of anything that looks suspicious..."

I resisted the urge to roll my eyes and heave a heavy sigh. Honestly, my mom's advice was just going through one ear and out the next. She'd been repeating the same thing for the last ten years, since I started going anywhere out of their sight - my slumber party, my church camp, my outing with friends...what did she think, I'd wake up with some memory loss one morning? My dad would usually go on alongside my mom, but I think the only reason he wasn't was because he was concentrating on driving.

When I got out of the car, she was still going on. God, how many rules did she have? And this was just concerning behaviour out of their sight!

I heaved my bags out of the boot and kissed my dad on the cheek. When my mom took a deep breath, I took the advantage to kiss her cheek too, just to shut her up. Of course, an ideal one would be to kiss her lips, but hello, this is my mom not a boyfriend I wish I had, and I would cringe at the very idea of it.

Walking towards Daniella and Mel, I realized they'd been holding their breath and laugh in. I rolled my eyes at them and sighed as discreetly as I could without them watching.

I dumped my bag next to a large red suitcase and stared. "Who the hell..." I muttered, running a hand through my hair and pushing stray strands away from my face. Mel looked at me with a sheepish grin.

"Good Lord, woman, what the hell did you pack in there, your entire closet?" I asked, bewildered.

"I'm going to Sarawak after this!" she justified quickly.

Daniella choked and burst out laughing. Mel whacked her across the shoulder, and thus, a catfight began. I grinned in their direction and rolled my eyes at them as I looked at everyone else. Naturally, us seventh-graders who didn't know many people yet were sticking among themselves. Everyone else, however, were in their own groups, talking at the top of their voices like they were on the opposite sides of a football field.

Among them I caught sight of a senior girl dribbling a basketball among boys I knew were school team, and they failed to snag the ball fantastically. Among them, I saw Dominic. In his black shorts and white, grey-collared polo tshirt, you would've mistaken him for an amateur model.

As I watched him with interest, not even pausing to wonder why I was doing that, he turned to look at me, and I froze, eyes wide. He grinned in my direction, and chuckled, and resumed watching the girl.

I breathed out slowly. Since yesterday, I...well, I hadn't really been able to stop thinking of him. Not in a romantic way, but sort of like trying to figure him out. Girls are complex, my arse. Him, it was like trying to figure out a Rubix cube - only people who followed directions or knew how could have a cube with all its sides the same colour. I was not one of those people.

But admittedly, I hoped I would be.

I snapped out of my momentary daydream and turned to find Mel and Daniella looking at me, the latter with an eyebrow raised and the former with a smug smirk. "Oh, shut up," I muttered darkly, turning away from them.

At that moment, the teachers walked out, and with the stern look on Philomena's face, we rushed back to the railing to give the scrawny teacher ample space to walk through. The man next to her did not look like he was capable of getting mad at anyone. Mr. Lee was our Head of Academics and he was so quiet it was incredible.

What a team.

Like a military line, we began queuing up as Philomena began calling names. I was first, and I hated it. When she finally confirmed everyone who'd signed up was here, she thrust a basket of flowers into my arms and shooed me into the bus first, not even giving me a chance to open my mouth to ask her what it was about.