Colourise

Chapter 10

Chapter 10

'Can I drop you off here?' Ciana chirped as she pulled the car to a halt in front of a bus stop.

'Yes, here,' Solum replied.

Ciana leaned back in her driver's seat, and grinned at Solum, her small eyes disappearing beneath her rosy cheeks. Her long hair was tied back in a high side ponytail, her bright purple hair tie matching her purple shorts coupled with a tight fitting black cotton shirt.

Solum stared at her long, lithe legs. He was surprised that she was in a chorale instead of a cheerleader. He may be a couple of inches taller than her, but she seemed to be the bigger one between them.

'What exactly is this important thing you're going to?' It was as if every sentence she said was like a cat's purr, high-pitched and enticing.

'It's just something important,' Solum laughed.

'But I want to know!' She whined, her lips forming a pout.

That was one thing she liked, and hated, about Ciana. She has always been trying to act cute and loud and well, act adorable since Solum met her at the hospital.

When he woke up from the operation, he vaguely remember of someone singing in his voice, a deep mellow voice he had never heard before.

When he met Ciana, she was always singing--in the car, in the hospital, even during meals. And whenever she sang, Solum loved it. There came a point when he believed that the girl singing in his head was Ciana, and he started to believe that she could probably be The One.

But still, it doesn't seem right. Whoever the voice that Solum had been hearing for a long time, he knew that it wasn't Ciana.

Whatever. She still drove him crazy.

And now that she had arrived from Serang, he was going to give her all the attention she needed. He smoothed his hair back, then brushed off dust from his gray shirt where imprinted were some of Marvel's greatest superheroes.

'Sorry,' he patted her head. 'I have to go. I'll see you tomorrow morning, okay?'

'Okay!' Ciana hugged him. 'I'll miss you.'

Solum smiled. 'I'll miss you too.'

He felt he couldn't hide his feelings anymore, he wanted to tell her how much he liked her.

But something was off somewhere.

Ever since he went for the arts exhibtion, Solum had begun to feel uncertain about his feelings for Ciana. He didn't even know why he signed up in the first place, but he had a strong feeling that art was connected to his past.

And June. There was something ordinary and yet special about her that Solum couldn't help think about. June didn't show much, but he felt that he knew more of her than he could imagine, even though he had only met her for three days.

It was as if he wasn't supposed to like Ciana, like there was this barely visible cloak over him which is distorting him from what he really felt.

Just what was it with June that made him feel this way?

I guess I'll just have to find out, he thought.

He got off the car, the words 'I like you' stuck in his throat.

---

June stared at the photo of her and Leon, which she had rummaged from her wallet. Her thoughts shifted to the day she had met Jenna at the food court.

'He still looks the same,' she had told Jenna when they met at the food court. 'But something about his attitude is totally different. Like he's a changed person.'