Rebel The Odds

Chapter 9 - Like a date

Chapter 9

Her phone buzzed on the table. Leah glanced at it curiously before dropping the pen she was holding, and reached for her phone. She checks her notification and saw that she had received a text message from a number she had just recently added, Ethan.

'What are you doing right now?'

Leah typed back her reply, 'Homework'

After hitting the send button, she placed the phone back on the table and resumed her homework. She thought their text would end there but the vibration coming from her phone proved her wrong.

'Is the homework hard?'

What an odd question to ask. Leah's fingers moved across the phone screen. 'A little'

'Do you have many homework? Do you need to send it tomorrow? Are you feeling stressed?'

The text came in separate paragraph, not allowing her a second to reply to them before he continue asking. He sounded concern.

'I am fine, there isn't that many. I have to send it this Friday'

Leah waited for a moment, surely afterwards, her phone buzzed to life one again. She read the text Ethan sent her, her eyebrows furrowing at his perplexed statement he made in reply.

'Then don't do it yet. You should relax'

'But I want to do it' she replied back fast. 'Is something wrong?' she added afterwards, curious of his behavior.

Ethan was an odd man, then again, she didn't know him nor did she know that much man. Perhaps all men were weird. What was so crucial regarding a trivial matter such as homework that Ethan and her actually had a full conversation about it?

'No. Just worried you were stressing yourself' a part of her felt slightly touched at his concern over something so small, but it was a habit of her to do her homework during the night.

Mother would sometimes come in and check on her work whether she did it correctly or not.

'I am fine.' She typed and waited a couple of minutes, seeing that he replied with a simple 'Ok', Leah placed her phone back on the table and look down to her homework.

Her pen suddenly felt heavy and the words were a series of incoherent symbols. She suddenly didn't feel like doing homework tonight. Leah sighed loudly, a small grin on her face.

"Guess I'll just do it tomorrow then"

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A week had passed ever since. Ethan and Leah had gone to school together, and went back home together. They would talk and exchange a few things about themselves along the way.

On Thursday morning, Ethan as per usual, had texted her saying that he was waiting at the post guard office of her neighborhood.

Leah scoffed when she read the text and quickly wore her white shoes. Leah had braided her blonde hair into a waterfall braid neatly behind her back and wore a simple green cardigan over her white school uniform. She tied a ribbon around her neck.

Without a word, Leah left her house and walk quickly towards entrance gate of the neighborhood.

"I told you not to wait for me here but at cafe instead" Leah slightly complained when she saw the man leaning against the fence walls of the neighborhood outside, he wore a simple black tee with his usual leather jacket over it and had his bag over his shoulder.

Ethan offered her an apologetic smile, "I forgot"

Leah never bought the excuse.

They walked side-by-side in silence. Ethan and her had been doing it for the past few days, a week to be precise. Ethan was serious about promising to walk with her to school and back home, she appreciated the effort.

They weren't suddenly super close or whatever-it had only been a couple of days, but it was a mutual friendly friendship between them, and getting to know each other more. 

"Let's eat first" Ethan tugged her arm gently as they were about to pass his aunt's café. Leah looked at the café before nodding her head slightly. Ethan smiled and led her inside, he was slightly glad his aunt wasn't inside because after last week, she had managed to annoy him by pestering questions about Leah.

They went to their usual table after ordering some light breakfast for themselves. Leah had two bread of croissants while Ethan ate a cheese sandwich.

Like always, Ethan would quietly stare at the girl across him with his peripheral vision, seeming discreet. He thought she looked cute today, with her hair braided and a ribbon around her neck.

She was always dressed so beautifully and simple, proper for school. Ethan had to admit, their private school had a good fashion designer for their school uniforms, it looked fashionable yet smart.

They had a variety of school uniforms but Ethan noticed that particularly on the first two days of a week, they'd wear their proper school attire with the blazer on. She looked divine in any.

Days spent with Leah had been a bliss, though he wished to further his relationship with her, in consideration of her, he could only have wished she'd feel that their friendship was growing.

How should he do it? How does he break the barrier?

"What time does school end?"

Leah lifted her head to him, her closed mouth moving while she munched the food inside. She swallowed before answering him.

"The usual, I don't have extra classes until tomorrow" Ethan winced slightly, recalling back that he couldn't walk her back on last Friday because she had extra classes somewhere else.

He was always worried about her well being, how she was coping with the packed schedules and piling homework.

It was no secret; Leah had given him an honor student vibe from the first time they met. When he once asked her how she managed to finish all her work, days before submission date, she had answered saying that it was a habit and that she was used to it.

At that time, Ethan had wondered when was her personal free time that she spends doing the things she finds enjoyable and fun.

He wanted to let her have a breather, to have fun, to relax.

Ethan wanted Leah to enjoy and remember her time with him.

Ethan wanted Leah to smile because of him.

"Good" he said, "After school, I want to take you somewhere"

"Somewhere?" Leah echoed back, her eyes sparkling in curiosity. Ethan melted inside when he saw her looking at him with those eyes, her expression so open, and her oh so hypnotizing hazel eyes solely looking at him, him only.

Ethan nodded, a smile couldn't help but appear on his face.

"Where?" she asked.

"You'll see" was all he said. He wanted to surprise her.

He wanted to see her surprise and excited expression.

It'd be like a date, he thought to himself, just the two of them.