So I still have an hour before my second class. Great. I have nothing to do. The training starts on Wednesday because Coach Greg is still on vacation, and my teammates are probably with their friends, or classes. Don't get me wrong. My teammates and I are close but they have their own set of friends. And I, choose to be alone.
By the way, I'm here at the library trying to waste time by "reading" a science book. I'm not actually reading, I'm ju--- WOAH, WAIT! There are 60,000 varieties of apple in the whole world? Cool! Ooh, and that it will take you 32 years to read the whole Wikipedia if ever this becomes a book? WOAH! This is so cool!!! I should read more!!!
But not today! My mind's pretty much occupied. I'm thinking about my life right now. On how I became popular, on how I suddenly have "friends" greeting me everyday with a huge smile on their faces. I still can't believe about this. I'm still not adjusted to it. I used to be alone. That's why I never really hung out with somebody. Unless of course, it's for a project.
This popularity started when I first bragged a gold medal for the school.
But first, let me tell you a quick tale about me. You see, I've always loved sports. I was so athletic that I was always competing back when I was young.... up to now, actually. I've competed in 4 different events in just a week. That's how much I am involved in sports. I once represented the country, I won the gold medal. I was recognized but it was only for a while. People still greet me though. And then the biggest thing happened in my life. I was lined up for the Olympics 2012. I was so happy. I trained so hard. But one night, the most unexpected tragedy happened to me. I was hit by a motorcycle. Driver was drunk. I was injured so bad that I wasn't able to walk for 2 months. I didn't make it to the last screening. I lost the only opportunity that I have to represent the country in one of the biggest competitions ever. I didn't know what to feel. I feel so lost.
Eventually, I got over it. High school came, and of course organizations started springing out, handling flyers, recruiting students. I wasn't recruited. But I did try out. I was accepted. After months of training, inter-school competitions came. In all of those, I bragged the gold. I never lost. I made a name yet again, and this time, I made my school proud.
This was the start. My school's team became the best. We were feared. We conquered. And with this, I had a lot of friends. Students were greeting me. I am now recognized. We are recognized. We feel like we are their gods. A lot of them would often tell us, that we are their inspiration. It was an over-whelming feeling. Really. They would always come to us, hand us their notebooks and ask for our autographs. They always looked forward to every competitions.
Soon enough, I realized, I felt, that most of them only use me to gain popularity in my school. They say they want to hang out with me, but they would leave me behind. They would talk about topics I don't give a shit to. Far from my interests. Some of them would only talk to me in school. That's when I decided to be on my own. I started avoiding them, but hey, I did still greet them. I continued winning numerous competitions for myself and for my school. I receiver endless praises. And now that I'm on my last year, I'm preparing for one of the biggest inter-school competitions. I wouldn't want to disappoint them. So hopefully, I wouldn't lose this one.
But there's something that keeps popping on my mind. It's the new student, Michael Clifford. He seems so mysterious. A part of him makes me want to know him more. I want to be friends with him. But how would I? I feel like he's trying to avoid everyone. Well, who wouldn't, it's only the first day, and he's new.
The students are being noisy here in the library. I think I'll just head to the fields. I'm sure it's quiet up there.
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I'm here right now in the fields. Ah, I've always loved the smell of fresh air. It keeps me calm. Keeps my mind refreshed. I've decided to go to the stairs, I looked up to see the benches. Tried to reminisce some amazing moments. I noticed someone was sitting at the far end. I climbed the stairs to take a closer look. But halfway there, I stopped. My heart skipped a beat. He's here. Michael's here too. He's right up here in the stairs. Should I go talk to him? Or not? I think he's busy. I don't want to disturb him. But I really wanted to talk to him. So bad. Phew, I've got to make a decision right now. Should I go?
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I've decided. I've decided to go to him. Talk to him and say hi to him. Give him a warm welcome, maybe. It's not bad to greet someone new, right? Well, here goes nothing.
I walked up to him. I stopped when I was just 1.5 feet away from him. He seemed annoyed. But he looked up. I greeted him.
"Hi."
I didn't smile. His confused face made my heart skipped a beat, once more. What is this I'm feeling?
