Friendship And Family (Currently undergoing a rewrite. Do Not Read.)

CHAPTER 4. Feelings

                    Maria's POV

The first reading was coming to an end, and I was next in line for the psalms. I stood up with the heavy weight of my nerves, adjusted my white cossock, and made my way to the alter.

"The word of the Lord," the layreader said after she was done reading.

"Thanks be to God," the congregation responded.

He walked her to the front of the alter where I stood, his hands clasped together, and I tried my hardest not to stare, not to look in those dark brown eyes that had had me fantasising about stars these past few nights.

Standing in the middle of the two church workers, we all bowed our heads, and then I was accompanied by him to the ambo, while the layreader proceeded to her seat.

He held the microphone to my mouth, his other hand placed solemnly on his chest, and I thought it wise to take it from him so he doesn't get tired.

I could feel my heart thrusting to break out of my chest from the terror of the stage fright, and the worst part was having him this close to me as I prepared to sing.

"Cry out with joy to the Lord, all the earth," I read out the responsorial psalm, and the congregation repeated the words, after which I sang it in the form of a hymn, and the church responded in the same manner.

"Cry out with joy to the Lord, all the earth. Serve the Lord with gladness. Come before him, singing for joy," I sang the first verse, and the church sang the responsorial psalm which served as the chorus.

I searched for any form of judgement in his eyes from my peripheral vision, but he kept an impassive face that made him hard to read, standing still beside me with his hands clasped together. He was so good at it.

"Know that he the Lord is God. He made us, we belong to him. We are his people, the sheep of his flock," I sang the second verse, and the church gave their response. I was starting to feel comfortable.

"Indeed, how good is the Lord, eternal his merciful love. He is faithful from age to age," I sang the last verse and waited for the church's response.

"Cry out with joy to the Lord, all the earth," I ended the psalms with the chorus, placing the microphone close to the Breviary. He then walked me to the front of the alter to receive the layreader for the second reading, while the congregation sang the responsorial psalm.

We all took a bow, and I walked back to my seat with liberated lungs.

                          ******

I met Mathias, Francis and Agnes outside the school gate. Summer was over for the day, much earlier than usual.

Holding my notebook in one hand, I suddenly felt lightweight. "Oh, shush. I forgot my bag."

"How convenient," Agnes said with a tired face.

"Sorry!" I ran back for it.

As I strode to my class, I heard a strange noise and slowed down, then stopped when I was sure I hadn't imagined the continuous, disturbing sound. The environment was quiet, and that aided the walls to hear clearly. The door to the commercial class that I'd walked past was locked, but the window before me on my side had a slight opening. Curiosity got the best of me and I found myself moving towards the window on my tippy toes to take a peek.

The sight, which made my eyes bulge and my lips to split open had me retreating on impulse, and then marching ahead to my class to avoid being caught.

I entered my empty class, grabbed my bag and ran out.

Getting to the school gate, I saw Agnes approaching me with aggressive steps.

"What took you so long? And where's Andrew? We should be on our way home!" She kept yelling in her shrilled voice from the distance until she reached me.

"What's with the face? Did you see a ghost?" Her frustrated face switched into a confused one.

"I would have preferred the sight of a ghost," I said, not believing what I was about to tell her myself.

"What happened?" She became anxious.

"I found Andrew in an empty class."

"So?" She now looked curious.

"He was with Deborah, and they were kissing..." I spilled the beans, cringing.

"What...?" I couldn't pick out an emotion from the various ones running on her face.

"I know right!" I exclaimed like someone who had just aired out the best gossip.

"Can we go now?" she grumbled as she turned around.

I grabbed her wrist, pulling her back to face me. "Okay... that wasn't the reaction I was expecting."

"Are you even sure it was Andrew you saw?" She brought out her defensive side.

"I know our friend," I said, then took in her mood. "Or am I missing something...?" A smile began to spread on my face. "You like him..." I stated the obvious.

She stayed silent for a moment, confirming my suspicion. "Well, it doesn't matter anymore. And please don't tell anyone, not even Mathias or Francis."

"My God, it's true." My hands involuntarily covered my mouth in shock at her confession, and then I slowly dropped them, feeling sorry when I noticed the hurt in her eyes as she kept staring, but she wasn't looking at me. I followed her gaze, and my eyes caught Andrew and Deborah.

They had almost reached the gate in their pace that was delayed by flirtation. They held each other's hand, talking, smiling, laughing and nudging themselves lightly while they walked. It became difficult to turn back to Agnes because with a sight like that, she could be crying her heart out right now.

"I don't want to find anybody in class or around the school premises!" Mr Jasper, the security guard, yelled as he moved in the direction of the classes with his whip.

"Let's go."

I heard Agnes say and turned around, surprised that she had already covered a distance.

"Slow down!" I ran after the angry lady as she stomped towards the gate with her long legs.

"What kept you two in there?" Andrew asked when we met them, and I noticed the subtle glare Agnes threw at him.

"I went to get my bag," I said immediately, saving her the drama she wanted to keep a secret.

"It seems Mr Jasper gave you a little punishment," he teased her, worsening the situation he had no idea about, so I couldn't blame him.

Agnes didn't say a word.

"You okay?" he asked, concerned.

"Yeah," she simply said.

"We should get going," Francis said before Andrew could pry further on Agnes' mood.

"Or we could try something fun. We still have enough time before the day is over," Andrew suggested.

"I'm in," Mathias said, not minding whatever Andrew had in mind.

"Like what?" I asked the master planner.

"Seeing the last wall of the estate," he smirked.

"That's the church's farm, and no one's allowed to go there. And what if we get caught?" Francis was already bailing out as usual.

"That's the joy of living?" Andrew replied with a cocky smile, and everywhere went silent. "So, what do you guys say?" He raised his thick brows in question.

I was a bit skeptical and turned to Agnes for morale. She was caught up in her own feelings. I then turned to Mathias, and he looked ready for an adventure.

Francis sighed.

"Don't worry, Pope, Father George won't find out," Andrew said to Francis in a teasing tone.

He laughed, ignoring the name Andrew had called him, and still not buying the idea. "This won't be good."