Unconditional Love

relating to the past

"Guys, has anyone finished their homework in Math? May I copy?" was Mark's entrance speech as he entered their room the following week.

In their section, almost all of them are crammers. Only the top 5 students do their assignments at home and the rest of the class are expected to copy it the following day. As usual, they all have the same scores in all their homeworks. Fortunately, their classmates don't mind.

"Here!" Bella, their top student, said. She approached him and waved her paper in front of his face.

Of course, that action made Van very irritated. What a drab, Van thought.

Mark obligely took the paper from her and thanked her. In return, Bella smiled sweetly that Van felt like puking on the floor. He sat down and began copying her assignment.

Van watched his every move, from the way that his muscles flexed when he wrote to the way he smiled when one of his friends joked. Long gone was the boy who easily smiles when he recognizes someone and who still needed her help to solve a math problem. The boy she was now looking at only cares about passing tests and playing basketball; texting girls and gaining favors. This sudden realization made her heart ache and brought her back to their time in 2nd grade.

*flashback*

"Who wants to be the first presentor?" Ms. Gant, their Science teacher asked.

It was a Friday morning and they were scheduled to present their skit on conserving energy. Their whole class was divided into 5 groups and they were on the same group; Mark was the leader.

"Us, ma'am!" Mark raised his hand enthusiastically.

Even at a young age, he was already full of charisma that the teahers favored him. And the fact that he was on top of his batch only made his classmates more envious of him.

Ms. Gant smiled and said, "Okay, Mark's group will be the first to present."

Their whole class proceeded to the gymnasium and prepared the stage.

"Why did you do that?" Van asked Mark.

"Do what?" He asked in return.

" Why did you volunteer to be the first to present? We're not yet ready!" She frowned and lightly slapped his shoulder.

"Shhh. If we present early, it means that we can eat early too!" He whispered into her ear, making butterflies to erupt in her stomach. She slowly looked away to create a space between them.

He surely knew how to make her blush; every girl that is. And to think that he was only 8 years old.

Shortly after their conversation, their group went up the stage and began presenting.

Their whole skit composed of a girl turning the tap off after using it, a boy using a glass while brushing his teeth and turning the appliances and light off when no one is using them.

After their presentation, they went backstage and congratulated each other for a job well done. Suddenly, Mark began scratching his eyes.

"What's wrong with you?" Van, the ever observant classmate, asked curiously.

"I have allergies," he continued scratching his eyes.

His eyes were starting to turn red due to his scratching and Van was starting to get worried. Instinctively, she took his hands away from his face to see the damage.

"What are you allergic to?" She asked, still holding his hands.

"Dust." He took his hand back and scratched his eyes again.