My Elementary Crush

2nd Grade

Nothing much changed, except for the different classroom and newbies.

My life was somehow different from before. I went out from my comfort zone but still kept close.

Some of my boy classmates and I would rendezvous outside the classroom and fight. It was just for fun, though.

I was the only girl in the group but I got to beat all of the guys.

But, my aunt arrived at the wrong time. She thought that I was being bullied when she saw me being held up on the wall with my collar being grabbed by Akane.

My aunt decided to put me on a Judo Karate class but quitted when she found out that her friend's son was sent to the hospital because of the injury he got during his Judo training.

So she let me stay away from my boy classmates.

****

One early afternoon, I saw Ben and some of his friends picking on Hazel, one of the newbies.

"Hey, what are you doing?!" I stood in between them.

"Get out of here!" Riku barked.

"What's wrong with you, guys?!"

"Why did you come here, then?" Zin raised an eyebrow.

"To help her..." I muttered.

"Help her? Why?" he asked in a mocking tone.

"Because..." I looked at Hazel and saw her still crying. I turned to look at them "Because she's my friend!"

"C'mon guys. Let's get out of here." Ben spoke for the first time since I meddled with their business.

"W-what?!" Riku and Zin asked with wide eyes.

"Let's just go somewhere." Ben looked away and started walking.

"This is not yet the end." Riku backed away and ran to follow Ben.

"I'm watching you..."

After watching their backs disappeared, I turned to Hazel "Hey, you okay?"

"I'm fine. Thanks."

"No problem." I smiled at her.

****

Day after day, we grew apart. Sometimes, he would talk to me for awhile but there were times when he completely ignored me. I didn't bother asking him, though.

I became close with the girls but it didn't stop me from going out with the guys. After school, I would play hide-and-seek and tag with the guys and girls.

One day, our teacher wrote questions on the board and told us to answer them truthfully. There were all easy but the third question made some of us blushed so hard while the others were uneasy. The teacher made us go in front with a pair and act like we're asking the questions to each other. I was paired up with Hana.

I was able to answer the two questions but I didn't know what the third question meant. "Who is your secret crush?" Hana read out. I didn't know what 'crush' meant and I was too afraid to ask. So, I kept quiet.

"Who is it, Kei?" My teacher asked.

"What?"

"Your crush?"

I bit my bottom lip. How was I supposed to answer such question? I didn't know what it meant. What if I answered wrong? "I...I..." I stuttered, fists clenched at both sides. I closed my eyes tight and calmed myself. I regained my composure "I--" and just when I was about to answer, someone interrupted me.