Back in Time

Him | Chapter Eight

That summer she wasn't in Oldsbourne for the first time, I realised how much fun she had brought into my life. Because when she was gone, my days filled with nothing but boredom, and that's how I knew what a good friend she was, and how I really enjoyed her company. But when she told me about leaving Oldsbourne that night, I tried not to show any worries and I did a good job hiding my feelings.

Then I found myself asking to whom exactly was I hiding my feelings to, was it just her or also myself? Because on the edge of the summer, when I was about to fall asleep, I opened my eyes wide just because I heard a gate was being opened, I quickly jumped out of bed as if an earthquake was happening. When I looked out of the window, my eyes saw her mansion gate was opened and a car was going in. I didn't even know I recognised the sound of her mansion gate.

— My bedroom, Oldsbourne.

From afar, I saw her stepping out of the car. She turned around, facing my house, looked into my bedroom window, and me froze for a second. She couldn't see me, could she? Sure our houses were close but not that close that she could look through my window.

But then Quincy ran passing the gate towards my house. I could vaguely hear her mum shouting her name, "Quincy, where are you going? It's late, Quincy, come back here."

The girl didn't listen to her mother and kept running to my house. "Luth, I see you, I see you! Come out here!" She had a wide grin on her face.

I rushed out of my room, and when I opened the door, she was already there standing on my driveway. She immediately approached me at the door. As she got closer to me, she chuckled and said, "I saw you opened the curtain."

"Did you?" I looked at her gleaming eyes right in front of mine.

She smiled and then she hugged me. "I've missed you so much."

I held her back. Her body felt cold, probably because of the air conditioning in her car.

"Why are you not asleep?" She asked as she stepped back. She looked concerned. 

"I was going to sleep but then I heard you coming back."

"Oh, I'm sorry we woke you up."

"No, it's fine, I'm glad you're back here."

She grinned again. "Okay, go back to sleep now. See you at school tomorrow."

"Yes, see you."

☼ ☼ ☼

Everything went back to normal after that. Quincy and I went back to school, did our homework together, studied for exams and quizzes, then hung out on every weekends. But that only lasted for seven months, until she brought another news of leaving Oldsbourne.

More than two hundred days did I spend with her but it still felt like it was only yesterday when she hugged me at my door. As usual, days gone by very quickly, it brought us to the beginning of April 2015 when Quincy told me she was auditioning for a role on some film. Then on the end of the month, she brought me the supposedly good news about the audition.

— Lunch time, Oldsbourne Primary School.

This morning Quincy told me that she got the role, that's why I asked her to have lunch with me. I wanted to talk about it more. "So how long it would be this time?" I asked.

She was walking beside me looking for a table. "I don't know the exact time but I won't be here until we graduate," she answered.

I pointed an empty table, then she followed me there.

"I mean, I will be here, but just for the finals," she said as she sat down.

I sat on the chair opposite her. "Oh," I nodded. It was so long, this was just the beginning of spring term and she said she wouldn't go to school until graduations. It's like three months long. "Then how about your school?" I asked again.

"Online classes. Easy."

I nodded several times.

"Do you want some?" she offered her croissant.

"No, thanks."

"I want your ravioli," she said with a smiley face.

"Take it." I pushed my plate towards her.

"Thanks."

"Sure." I couldn't talk too much. There were odd feelings annoying me. My chest was like being pushed and so was my head.

"You haven't asked me where I am going." She stopped eating and looked straight to me.

Oh how I wished I had the courage to tell her I was scared. I was scared of missing her. But then again, the same voice from that summer camp told me not to worry and it made me feel stupid by feeling disappointed because she was going to leave.

"I'm going to Phoenix, do you know where it is?" she told me before I asked.

"Like in Arizona? The US?"

"Right." She started eating again.

"Cool." No, it wasn't. Not cool at all.