Amnesiac

Thirty Fourth

It didn't take me long to find the two curls I was with, since their hair would be like screaming at you that they were the Labajo kids. I wonder if all Labajo family members have the same curly hair. That would be too cute.

Marj has stayed in my mind since I walked out of the line until I reached the table. There was something in her that I couldn't lay a finger on, it was a little hard to pry on her. She was a polite woman and she looked too clever to be a criminal or something. Then again, criminals can be like that in some ways. Maybe I should just forget our encounter earlier.

I sat on the stool opposite to Karlos and beside Colleen. She smiled up to me, her eyes shimmering brightly with delight. "Thank you, Ate Andy," she said out of the blue then hugged me.

"What are you talking about?" I asked her with a light chuckle, though it was probably because I am too surprised that she hugged me in sudden. "You mean the pizza?"

"No, about everything," she says and nuzzles her head on my belly, her head a mass of curls from my view. I immediately understood what she meant and smiled, patting her head. I looked over at Karlos and he just smiles at me. "And also for the pizza."

I laughed at Colleen. "I'm your friend, remember?" I asked Colleen. "Of course I would do everything for you. Anything, if I am not mistaken, actually."

"You mean; you can be my sister too?"

I don't know whose face was redder. Karlos' or mine.

"Maybe," I muttered, my cheeks flaring too much for my own good.

"You can be my big sister?" she gasped and smiled up to me. I timidly nod at her. "Oh! Pizza's here!"

-

I drove back to the house and parked by the curb. Karlos was quick to unbuckle his seatbelt but he doesn't exit the shot gun. "Can I ask you something?"

I turned to him. "Was that it?" I grinned.

He rolled his eyes. "No stupid." He groans and I lightly giggle. We were talking lowly. The arcade we went into drained Colleen so she was now in the middle of hibernation in the backseat of the car. "Did you mean that?"

"Did I mean what?" I asked him, an eyebrow up.

"When... when you said to Colleen that you can be her big sister, did you mean that?" he asked. "You do know that hypothetically, it implies being married to me, right?"

"Yeah, and so?"

I noticed how pale his face was as he looked over to me. His beautiful brown orbs watched me intently, reading me as if there is something for him to see, as if he can read my mind. "So, basically, you look forward on marrying me?"

My cheeks turned red. "Well, that's blunt," I chuckled as I gripped the steering wheel with my left hand tightly to keep me from squirming. "To be honest... I... well, I do."

I couldn't keep eye contact with him especially when his paleness vanished and his worried expression changed into his signature proud smirk. Happiness and satisfaction was evident in his eyes and I have to pull everything together to stop myself from turning any redder.

"I don't think the smile in my face would wear off for the next few hours." He says and I that was my cue to finally hide my tomato head in my hands.

"God, stop it.' I tried to sound stern but end up chuckling. I can feel my neck turning red as well and my ears go pink.

"I am just happy!"

"I can see that!" I hissed, trying to sound quiet and trying to avoid disturbing the little girl in the backseat. "God, this is so embarrassing."

"Nothing to be embarrassed about, love," Karlos winks at me, "I just... I don't know, I know we're young and the only things that should be in our mind are get this relationship stable and finish college and hope that it's still us in the end." He says, making hand gestures to prove his point. "However, here we are, in the car, talking about being married in the far future."

I leaned back. "I know right." I said and felt something warm by my right hand only to find that his hand gripped it in his. "So, are we really going to be stuck with each other probably 5 or more years from now?"

"Confident enough, I say yes," he nods and looks at me in the eyes. "I guess, you're the only one I have left. No backing out now,"

I laugh at him. "Well," I said, shifting my position closer to him. "I guess it would be a privilege to be stuck with you."

He smiles then leans in, finally closing the gap between the two of us. As usual, our lips moved in sync. Not like the most kisses we do, this kiss was different. Aside from the fact that we're doing this in a car, it was slow and passionate. For the first time though, the kiss wasn't laced with a small hint of lust. Every intention was pure and clear. Pulling away, Karlos smiled. "I'd be honoured to be stuck for life with you, too."

-

Today was Monday and though I love school, I was dreading the day ahead. I know that I should be thankful for the day, since school serves as a good distraction to me ever since I got here. Aside from it, I'd be having a late shift in the café later. I must have been having a lot of fun with Karlos and his sister that I forgot I am a working student.

I entered the Literature classroom and sat on my usual seat. The room was not even half way filled. Ever since I finished the syllabus assignments, I've been going to school too early. It was a good thing though, think it out, it's better to be early than to be running late.

The room was slowly being filled in fifteen minutes after I got in it. Person by person, I found myself watching the door and wait for Karlos. Usually, he'll be arriving in the classroom probably ten minutes after me. I don't know if I am being paranoid or something, but I am used to be chatting the hours of school with Karlos at this minute so having him late was fairly rare.

The class has started and the chair that was meant for Karlos was occupied by somebody else. I keep on checking with my phone and watch, trying to keep an eye for a call or text and check the time. Karlos was never the one to skip class, so why wasn't he here?

I don't want to sound like a clingy girlfriend who wants to keep her eye to her boyfriend, but my heart was pounding hard in my chest and I know deep in myself that something is going on.

I tried to listen to MsAmanda's brief introduction about RickRiordan, a modern mythology story author but my mind was drifting out of the classroom. I barely noticed that my teacher was calling my name and was pointing to the door. No, she wasn't kicking me out of the class; she was telling me that Liz was outside.

I excused myself from the class and stepped out of the room. Liz wore an expression that I can't quite decipher, but it sure caused my heart to pound harder in my chest.

"What's going on?" I asked her immediately.

"It's Karlos." She said, biting her lip. "No actually, it's about Leen."

My eyes shot up faster by the mention of Colleen's nickname. "What happened?"

We were suddenly going to skip classes, since I found myself running through the halls with Liz and we were obviously headed to the parking space of the school, where our shared car was parked in. "She was rushed to the hospital, she got an asthma attack and suddenly, the inhaler was not enough to tame her."

I rushed in the driver's seat once we found our black car. Within seconds, we were out of the school's premises before I can even tell Liz to dial Karlos's number and tell him that we are on our way.