The Heart Never Lies

Chapter One

Andy

"Do you believe in love?" A dark figure unravelled itself in front of me. "Falling... in love." He cleared his throat. "You see... we don't call it... rising in love. There is only the idea of the fall." He continued. "The act of falling in love... is a gamble. An immense gamble into the deep abysmal of hatred, jealousy and most important of all... love." He smiled. "So... love one another."

I woke up from my daydream by a loud shout. "You are doing it wrong! Andy!" Karl cringed as he saw what happened to his small little line that he drew as a starting point for my artwork. Karl and I signed the best friend's forever certificate ever since we were nine. Although he looks like a nerd, he has a certain edge to him that is more precious than loyalty, still trying to figure out what that is though. I digressed from my thoughts and stared at my artwork of a corner shop restaurant with a few apple trees behind the wooden fences that surrounds the restaurant.

"Why not? It looks amazing!" My eyes suddenly perk up at the magnificent sight of my art, surely it can be rivalled to that of Leonardo's. "No, it doesn't. My grandma can draw better than you" Karl said it with a grin while trying to complete his science fair project on his computer. I tried to scan for any mistakes on my artwork to prove that what he is saying is true, but I couldn't find any.

"It does! And no grandma jokes allowed in my humble abode" I dropped my paintbrush and stretched for a little while before getting up to enjoy the picturesque scenery outside the window of my small room. "Whatever" Karl continued his typing while I finished the remaining few lines of my artwork. "It is done, finale" Karl took one look at my artwork and cringed. I breathe out a heavy sigh of relief now that my first ever art is done, maybe I should share it with my friends and see what they think about it. Who knew that drawing could be so fun?

"Classes are going to start soon y' know, and here you are finding a new hobby out of nowhere. Oh well, typical you, always with the adventurous spirit" I let out a quick laugh at my new found hobby, maybe this is how I would make money in the future, by drawing pictures. "I guess it would be another year of suffering with exams huh?" Karl said it hypocritically as if he is not a genius himself. "That coming from you?" I looked at him incredulously. Sometimes I hate that he is trying to show off but couldn't do it in a straightforward way. Maybe that is what pisses me off the most about having him as a friend. I yawned before going to my closet to change into a casual wear for today's class.

"Whatever, I am leaving for school now, see you in a jiffy" He brought his laptop along with his water rocket that he made yesterday night. I wonder if he could even get it through the front door without breaking one of the fins. "Argh, gosh darn it!" As I expected. He took the remaining part from the rocket and fixed it back before walking to school. "Have a great day Karl!" My parents are relaxing on their settee with my dog watching some cartoons.

I combed my hair and applied some deodorant, just my usual style of going out and meeting new friends. "First day of school, who am I going to meet? Genie oh genie, who will you give me today?"? I smiled at myself and did some power pose in front of the mirror before going out. "Have a great day sweetie! Make sure to make some friends, especially some girls"

"Mom" I shook my head at her usual insistence of me getting a girlfriend. She does not want me to live my life alone without anyone looking after me when dad and her passes.

"Alright I understand, have a great day" My mom kissed my cheeks and waved me goodbye before closing the front door. "Here we go I guess" I took the usual public bus to school. I had been taking this bus since three years ago. My usual seat at the back is still vacant, probably because everyone has vertigo sitting at the back. Looks like I am the first person to board this bus apart from the bus driver himself. He gave me a fierce look with a scar on his left cheek holding a cigar on his free hand. He revealed his empty set of teeth when he told me to get seated. I went to the back and got comfortable before looking out the window at my empty neighborhood. We eventually emerged into the streets.

About a few minutes later, the bus stopped at the side of the road to pick up some passengers. I could see Max, Bailey and a newcomer. My first impression of her is that she is kind of nerdy, just like Karl, but there is something in her that is... different. As Max and Bailey took their seats, I examined her from top to bottom with my eyes as she came closer to my direction. Asian. She looks pretty decent too, with her hair tied up in a pretty bun and her big round spectacles drooping a little downwards. One could say that her spectacles is too big for her princess-like face. My eyes immediately turned to her small chests, where all the boys would look at first when they scout a girl. I shrugged off the thought of me touching that area. "Keep your testosterone to yourself "I whispered to myself.

I expected that she would take a seat in the middle of the bus but she kept on walking her way to my direction. And before I know it, she handed me a note covered in squiggly words that she had probably written before she board the bus. I concentrated on the sketches and managed to form a word in my brain. MY SEAT. I looked at her questioningly. She shake the paper, and pointed to the words. MY SEAT. "Oh, I mean, yeah, sure you can have it" I got up and took my bags to leave the seat. She immediately puts her bag down and sat on the seat, as if she is in a hurry to sit.

My sense of smell immediately betrays me. Jasmine fragrance. She smells like Jasmine. I looked at her for a while before walking two seats in front. "Max, who is she?" I whispered to him as I took my seat near the window. "No idea mate, I bet she's a newbie at our school" Max whispered back as he and Bailey are cuddling in the bus. "She looks like a weirdo, I don't like her" Bailey eyed her out as they started smooching. "Oh geez, come on guys" I cringed at the sight of them.

I couldn't help but take another look at her. Hey eyes looked dead inside as if she is acting her part as a zombie in a horror movie. The outfit she wears is proof that she is a zombie, a white T-shirt and a huge jacket? It's like she didn't even try to dress up for the first day of school. "Dude, is she a beggar?" Kyle walked in the bus and sat beside me as he exclaimed loudly. Oh god, she heard it. I motioned Kyle to sit down with my jerky reactions.

I looked back at her again and she seems to ignore us. Don't make another big scene when school hasn't even started yet. I mouthed the sentence to Kyle as he dislodged his bag on the floor. The four of us continued chatting about the school year in the bus. Nothing interesting came up so I took another quick peek at her before the bus reached our destination. We got off the bus and went our separate ways. Mr. Jefferson was the first normal person in school that I have met today. He stood guard at the main entrance and when he sees me, he greeted me with a smile. "Mr. Jefferson, how great it is to meet you, I hope you had a splendid holiday." He decided to leave his post to another teacher as he walked me to the cafeteria.

"Yes, it was splendid, I went to Yellowstone Park just last month, it was an amazing trip" I exclaimed as he bought me a drink in the school cafeteria. "Well I am glad you did, but it is time for more schooling, do you think you can make it through for this year?" he said as I started sipping the drink. "Sure do sir, I believe I can make it" And with that, he gave me a smile and left for the office while I am left alone in the cafeteria with other students.