My Ex-Boyfriend From Kindergarten

Chapter 14: A Sunrise

This is yet to be edited.

The day when Nairobi and I first saw Miguel, we wanted so badly to talk to him. Since he was behind the cash register, our bright idea was to buy the big blue book that led to us seeing him. We pooled the money in our pockets and went inside the bookstore. We looked for a copy of the big blue book in the shelves of the bookstore. When we found one, we immediately took it and went to Miguel—err, the cash register.

We put the book on the counter and then took the coins out of our pockets to pay for it. Miguel was beyond amused. Of course, we didn’t have enough money to buy the book. We were too distracted by our attraction to Miguel that we didn’t even bother to check the price. But Miguel was so amused by us that he paid for the deficit.

I don’t even know where that book is now.

The next day, Sunny still wasn’t around. I was getting really worried. I’ve sent him like a dozen texts. I even tried to call him. But he didn’t pick up. I started thinking that maybe he got sick. In which case, I wanted to pay him a visit. But then I realized I didn’t know the way to his house.

I was starting to miss him.

The day went by quickly. Our last subject every Wednesday is Arts. Today, Ms. Ku told us to go to the arts room because we were going to paint. The subject was scenery. Ms. Ku let us choose what scenery we wanted to paint. Nairobi chose to paint a city. I saw Jael painting a hilltop. When I glanced over to Cai, he was working on a beach.

It seemed like everyone easily came up with what they were going to paint. Everyone, except me. I was just staring at my blank canvass for a while. On my palette were the primary colors. I picked up my brush. I was actually planning on dipping it in the blue paint, I was going to paint a clear sky over a plain covered in green grass. But the brush accidentally touched the yellow paint.

Yellow… Like the sun.

Before I knew it, I was painting a sunrise. Most people like to paint sunsets. They look romantic and sad, which make for good paintings. But I’ve always leaned more toward sunrises. I mean, I appreciate the beauty of a sunset. But I appreciate even more the hope that comes with every new day. That’s why I like sunrises. It’s like the world telling you, “Hey, it’s time to try again.”

Once I started painting, I really got into it. In fact, I was so into it that I didn’t notice Nairobi had finished her painting and had started watching me paint. It wasn’t until she tapped my shoulder that I realized she was standing behind me.

“Looks like someone’s missing Sunny,” she said.

“What?” I really didn’t understand what she meant.

“Uh-huh, you planning on putting two eyes and a smile on that sun?” she teased me. That’s when I finally understood what she was saying.

“It’s just a sunrise,” I said.

“I think you subconsciously painted a sunrise because you missed Sunny,” she insisted.