Matters of the Heart

Chapter One

Chapter One

I woke to the smell of pancakes: my favorite. Ever since I was little, this was all it took to signal the start of a bright, enormous day. As I look out the window, reminiscing how the rays of the sun went right through my tanned skin, I will surely miss the good 'ole days. Summer nights, the walks by the beach, campfires, movie marathons, road trips, sleepless nights, the countless photographs, mornings in planes and hotel rooms, the summer of endless possibilities, the summer of 2016. As I walk out of our home later today and enter Campbell University, it would probably mark the start of something new– the start of senior year.

It was just exactly three years ago when I first stepped in campus. It's going to be a great year. I remember saying to myself. As I walk through the strolls of the campus' hallway, bumping into someone who's tall, well-built and handsome, is the last thing I would like to happen for the rest of the school year. But it turns out to happen on the very first.

"I'm so sorry." I said and he looked at me in shock, staring right through my grayish-brown eyes as if it were his to look at, as if he didn't hear me say a single word. I waved my two hands right through his face and he shook his head trying to recover the shock that he himself made. He then flashed a smile and greeted me hi. I greeted him back and he rubbed the back of his head trying to look cool as possible. We both let out a soft laugh and that's when I realized I have found the man of my life, my very bestfriend, Howard.

And it has already been three great years of friendship with him.

"Hey Madison Tris, you're running late. Clock's ticking." I wasn't surprised to see Miguel, my older brother, reminding me of what to do and what not to. He always does that, being that overprotective and perfectionist guy he is, there's no way I can say no to him so I just nodded back in response.

"And hey, mom cooked pancakes too." He showed up again outside my room with that big dorky smile of his, only trying to make me speed things up. As I grab my favorite black towel and entered the bathroom, I wondered what the last year of junior highschool would be like. I have imagined ridiculous and impossible things that I would never, ever do – cutting classes, waking up at 10 in the morning only to know you're late for class, unfinished projects and paperworks, gatecrashing, and everything violent I guess. But those things will always remain outside the comfort zone and I hate to admit it, but taking risks isn't likely who I really am. It takes time for me to adjust to new things, things I have never seen nor experienced before. And it kind of represents what I am capable of and what I am not.

As I went downstairs I can hear Miguel and Mike, the eldest, piss of each other as mom tries to settle them down.

"You argue worse than girls, really." They kept silent for a second to look at me and went back to their own businesses. The good thing is they stopped arguing, making their topic intriguing. Usually, they continue to piss of each other even though my presence can be felt from afar. But today, it seems different.

"Hey, so what was that you two were just talking about?" I tried to compose myself, trying not to be so obvious but both of them just exchanged looks and shrugged. Okay. This is interesting.

"Mom?" I looked at her, somewhat pleading. But she just kept silent, pretending she didn't hear a thing.