Living the Dream

Chapter 6: Secrets

One Saturday morning, my grandma and my mom took me with them to their friend's house since I would be left alone in our house.

Since the people I was with were beyond my age, I had no one to talk to. So, I did the usual thing I do: scrolling through my social media accounts while having earphones on without music playing. Then, I heard something that caught my attention since I kept hearing my name.

(Ruth) "Wow, Elizabeth's a big girl now. The last time I saw her when she was this tall." - she gestured her hand to about three feet above the ground. - "What grade is she? Is she at college already?" - she was amazed on how time flies so quickly.

(Anita) "She's only in her ninth grade. And, no, she's not yet in college, though, after she graduates, I might take her to New York. She'll be there for a month since she'll only study more about makeup."

(Ruth) "Wow, I wish my children would go to New York."

Wow, only a month. I didn't know that. Wow!

Should I tell Sean? Hm, maybe not. I'll surprise him when I get back.

Four months have passed and nothing severly horrible happened -- my family never had fights that lasted for days, my friends and I were closer than ever, and Sean and I had friendly dates once every two weeks.

On the twentieth day of December, which was a Wednesday, Sean and I had dinner at Friday's in a mall few kilometers away.

As we sat down, I still felt a little awkwardness between us but it would just go away like the other dates.

As we were eating, both of us talked about random things and reminisced that caused us to laugh and remember certain moments of our lives that we spent together.

(Sean) "Hahahahaha!" - he laughed as he remembered something. - "Remember that time when I made you laugh by just staring at you than the water you were drinking came out through your mouth? Hahahaha! That was hilarious." - he reminded me about it as he wiped the tears that formed in his left eye from laughing.

(Elizabeth) "Oh my gash! That was a long time ago, and you still remembered that?! I'm trying to forget it but you just reminded me about it. That was humiliating."

(Sean) "Hahahahahaha! I'm sorry. Hahahahahaha!" - he laughed even more as I only gave him an annoying look and laughed about two seconds later.

Then suddenly, a question made my smile drop and the mood go away.

(Sean) "By the way, how long will you be staying in New York?" - he asked out of the blues.

I can't tell him the truth because it'll ruin my plan of surprising him.

Ugh, I really want to tell him. I can't. I have to lie.

(Elizabeth) "Uhm, five years." - My eyes widen as he asked the question and I answered in such a hurry my nervousness was evident. - "I'll take chemical engineering for college, right?" - I tried to slow down and succeeded. Good thing he didn't notice how odd I was. I got lucky on this one since I never told him what I'll take for college in New York.

(Sean) "You're not hiding something from me, are you?" - he gave me a suspicious look as he sipped from his beverage.

Keep it cool, Elizabeth. - I thought.

(Elizabeth) "Psh! Me? Hiding something from you? You know, I would tell you everything, right? Trust me, I'm not."

So, we finished our dinner and the night ended great. It was a good thing that he didn't bring up New York again. Because if he did, I wouldn't think of any more lies.

Besides, I can't lie much to him.