FlaviaThe displeasure I felt at having to deal with Vance earlier today refused to go away. I couldn't imagine what made me date the fool for so long. Having to put up with his higher-than-thou attitude just because of what I wanted to get from him had been nothing but torture. For months he had tried to get me to be his girlfriend, asking me out publicly while trying to be manly about it. I didn't care a fig about him but I didn't need to care for him to get things from him.I wouldn't have had to date the fool if mother had just given me things whenever I asked for them. Always, she would tell me she was saving for this and that and couldn't give me money every time I asked for it. To punish her while still getting what I wanted, I decided to teach her a lesson by accepting Vance as my boyfriend. I was so gleeful when I announced to her and my cousin that I was now dating the school's biggest contributor's son. Mother had opened and closed her mouth repeatedly like a fish before sh
DianaI felt like my head was about to be ripped open as I opened my eyes. Slowly, the sound of activity filled my ears and I looked around me. I was in the emergency room of the hospital my aunt worked. The smell of bleach, blood and God knows what assaulted my senses, fighting for dominance. The overpowering smell caused nausea to crawl up my chest. A sharp pain travelled from the base of my spine and spread to the other parts of my body. I sucked in a breath to keep myself from crying out and pressed a hand to my left side. It was like I had a ton of bricks on my body, grinding and crushing the life out of me. A dark-clothed figure surprisingly rushed at me before I could see who it was and wrapped part of my upper body and head into a tight hug. Not knowing who it was, I stiffened and tried to free myself as I couldn't breathe well–not that I had a problem with the sandalwood scent I was currently inhaling. It was far better than the air I had been breathing some seconds back.“I
DianaIt's been three days, fifteen hours, and thirty-three minutes since my elderly neighbour, Nancy's grandson arrived. Ever since I saw him get off his black Harley Davison motorcycle, I knew I was in trouble from the way my heart began to beat faster than a theatrical drum, pounding during suspense. The moment he freed his beautiful blond hair from the helmet, I felt this great need to pack my things and move into his cool black helmet. Unfortunately, that was not an option. My point is, I was so attracted to him immediately I laid my eyes on him in ways I had never felt towards all the boys I had crushed on since I began to have such fleeting feelings. It was quite disconcerting, but I couldn't find it in me to care. Unlike me, my cousin Flavia had gone to introduce herself to him the same day she saw him. I also wished I could have been just as bold to follow her example, but the saying "a leopard can't change its spot" rang true in my case. I just couldn't muster enough coura
DianaAdd two days forty minutes to three days fifteen hours thirty-three minutes, you have five days, sixteen hours, thirteen minutes. And yes, I was still counting. My friend Jane dropped me in front of my house. She had her laser-focused gaze on Nancy's house. She usually did that whenever she was super interested in finding something out and this something had to do with my neighbour. I found it weird that this new guy could command such attention even in a school he doesn't attend. "Did you x-ray it well? Do you know which room Adam sleeps in? Ugh! Don't tell me he is in his underwear?" I said, teasing my friend. Her milky cheeks went red, and her nose became red reminding me of a reindeer. Blushing was something Jane did openly. She could never hide it, thanks to her very white, vampire-like skin. Some days, I could be jealous of how smooth it was and other days, once the sun decided to leave its mark, I wouldn't wish my enemy her kind of skin. All in all, she rocked her skin
DianaIt was exactly three days since Jane gave me the information I needed to push Adam out of my mind. I had been mildly successful at best, but I was happy about it. Since it was the weekend, I decided to invite Martin over to do some of my work with me as I was swamped with a lot of it. Martin gladly offered himself, telling me that he wouldn't mind dropping all he had to do to come over. My response was an exaggerated eye roll. Immediately after I finished the call, I heard the doorbell ring and was on my way to check who it was, when I heard the footfalls of the only person in the house at this time apart from me. Soon, the voices of Flavia's friends filled the whole ground floor as they excitedly greeted each other. I didn't think anything of it, till suddenly I heard them in the back yard, instead of going out the front door as I expected. I went to take a peek and I saw them getting out of their clothes and wearing matching bikini tops and pants. It took all the power I had
DianaLast night had fortunately been unwitnessed by anyone but me, Walter and Adam. Even in the glaring light of day, I was still shocked, wondering what force controlled my arm, making it act like that. The memory of what I had done kept playing and replaying like someone other than me had a remote controlling it. It interfered with my sleep to the point that I laid awake, staring at the stars I hung on the ceiling, trying to delete the footage. My brother decided to pity me by not saying anything about what happened, but Walter kept giving me a look that was weird for a dog. Because of it, I didn't let him sleep in my room. Luckily, my aunt hadn't asked what happened when she saw me standing in the kitchen, staring at my hands with my mouth wide open. She grabbed the lemon cake on the counter and cut a slice for herself. Somehow, through the fog in my mind, I heard her praising Nancy's baking, but at the same time, I couldn't hear her. Now, as I tried to leave for school in Marti
DianaSo, it suddenly dawned on me that I never explained what happened between Adam and me which made me act crazy. Silly me! Ever since that boy arrived, my head has not been set straight. Let me take you back to the previous night.I was alone, not because there was no event to attend but because I refused to attend any. It wasn't like I was directly invited, I just had friends that were way cooler than I was. So, I was alone, out of choice, licking a bowl of ice cream–not to drown my social life sorrow– because it was my favourite thing to do alone. My eyes were glued to the stupid reality tv show I got hooked on thanks to my aunt. An emergency came up at work, so she ordered me to save the show for her so she could watch it later. With that plan arranged, I was surprised when she rushed into the house like a mad woman, her hair in disarray as she dropped her purse and things and sped into the living room like her life depended on it. I was waving my welcome when she yanked the
DianaNow that I have brought you up to speed, let's get back to where I am at.As Martins and I arrived at the parking lot of our school, he killed the ignition of his car and turned with his arms crossed to face me. He had a brow cocked and his head angled as he stared at me. I could tell he was waiting for an explanation, but I had none to give so I stared back at him.“What?” I asked, a vein bobbing in my temple in annoyance.“Don't what me? I know you well, Diana, and I know you are hiding something from me. I'm not dumb. Do you have a crush on that Adam fellow like all of the dumb girls in town do?” He demanded, giving me a frown that was pretty third-degree. I slammed on my best-affronted impression before responding in Spanish.“Absolutamente Nunca!” I tried not to yell, “That is not why I ran the way I did. You know me enough to know that I can't crush on a guy like that.” He narrowed his eyes suspiciously at me, making me feel like I was a lab rat being watched for the tini
DianaI felt like my head was about to be ripped open as I opened my eyes. Slowly, the sound of activity filled my ears and I looked around me. I was in the emergency room of the hospital my aunt worked. The smell of bleach, blood and God knows what assaulted my senses, fighting for dominance. The overpowering smell caused nausea to crawl up my chest. A sharp pain travelled from the base of my spine and spread to the other parts of my body. I sucked in a breath to keep myself from crying out and pressed a hand to my left side. It was like I had a ton of bricks on my body, grinding and crushing the life out of me. A dark-clothed figure surprisingly rushed at me before I could see who it was and wrapped part of my upper body and head into a tight hug. Not knowing who it was, I stiffened and tried to free myself as I couldn't breathe well–not that I had a problem with the sandalwood scent I was currently inhaling. It was far better than the air I had been breathing some seconds back.“I
FlaviaThe displeasure I felt at having to deal with Vance earlier today refused to go away. I couldn't imagine what made me date the fool for so long. Having to put up with his higher-than-thou attitude just because of what I wanted to get from him had been nothing but torture. For months he had tried to get me to be his girlfriend, asking me out publicly while trying to be manly about it. I didn't care a fig about him but I didn't need to care for him to get things from him.I wouldn't have had to date the fool if mother had just given me things whenever I asked for them. Always, she would tell me she was saving for this and that and couldn't give me money every time I asked for it. To punish her while still getting what I wanted, I decided to teach her a lesson by accepting Vance as my boyfriend. I was so gleeful when I announced to her and my cousin that I was now dating the school's biggest contributor's son. Mother had opened and closed her mouth repeatedly like a fish before sh
DianaVance advanced and tried to land a punch on Adam's face but Adam moved out of the way quickly. Seething, he tried again but Adam was just so fast that his blows didn't graze him not to talk of touching him. For every failure, I watched Vance get angrier, his wide nose flaring as he grunted. Adam, on the other hand, looked like he was enjoying himself, his face had this unholy glint that made me think he was enjoying this. Vance almost got lucky when his punch looked like it would connect with Adam's tummy, but he twisted out of the way and kicked Vance brutally, causing him to fall unceremoniously to the ground. Vance jumped up and charged in but he still couldn't land a blow. Adam caught him by the arm and began punching him solidly in his face.I spared a glance towards Vance's friends, afraid they would try to interfere, but I saw them rooted to their spots, flinching as they watched their friend struggle to beat someone who was not up to his size. Vance went down on a knee,
DianaAfter the crazy day I had in school, all I wanted to do was to go home and rest. I was not surprised that Vance was punished lightly, even after we reported everything that happened during lunch was his fault. The principal dared to tell us that Martin provoked Vance and that Jane was out of line for wanting to save her friend. Our argument that Martin had to be treated at the nurse's office because of the injury he sustained fell on deaf ears. After punishing Vance with detention for a week, he took Mr Scott into his office, probably to brief him on whom the chairman of the school's committee was. Jane was so angry at Martin that she kept rubbing it in his face that Flavia didn't tell him thank you even after he jumped into the fray on her behalf. I tried to get her to calm down, but she was beyond listening to reason, she just kept talking. Poor Martin looked so glum with his swollen left eye as he sat listening to her without defending himself. Immediately the closing bell r
DianaThe next three days flew by so fast that I was left wondering if the person controlling time had it in for me. Jane had returned to school to the delight of Penelope, who had missed her and had been worried she was missing. Jane didn't want Martin to know about her pregnancy, so we had to cook up a story about her being depressed because she was unable to perform like she used, to which was partially true. Martin had been so concerned that I felt bad for lying to him, but we could not tell him the truth, especially now that the father of the baby was close by. I still hadn't gotten Flavia to take Vance back. Not that I was even trying after what I discovered some nights back. It was clear from all indications that she no longer had any interest in him or the comforts his father's wealth could provide. If I needed any proof that she was serious about Adam, that would be it. As each day zoomed by, I grew more anxious as my mind began to create dreams where Vance got to torture me
DianaJane took some steps back as she watched the victorious smile on my cousin's face, her already pale face losing all the colour it had succeeded in getting some minutes before. Quickly, I rushed to my cousin and held her by the arm, dragging her out of my room while telling Jane not to follow us before slamming my door shut.Jane was too unstable right now, and I didn't want Flavia sinking her teeth and releasing poison into her already troubled soul.“You were eavesdropping.” I attacked as soon as I took her far away from my room, folding my arms under my small breast. Flavia smirked before using a hand to throw back a stray strand of her platinum blonde hair.“Like your life was of any interest to me until now.” She replied with a smug smile. I closed the distance between us, intending to prove to her that I was not afraid of her. “You didn't hear anything.” My gaze was unflinching as I tried to force my will on her. She clucked her tongue while wiggling her forefinger.“Dear
DianaLater that night as I laid down on my bed trying to finish up my literature assignment which I was having trouble finishing because I couldn't concentrate, I got a text message from Jane. I quickly sat up, dislodging Walter who was lying on the bed with me. Jane: Hey, you up? I read the cryptic message like three times before I typed out my response.Me: Yes, I am. Where are you? 😟I waited for a minute, till a minute turned to five, then five turned to ten, and ten turned to twenty. When it seemed like I would not be getting a response any time soon, I decided to go take a shower and wash my hair, maybe then I would be able to remove the unrelenting thoughts about Adam and my best friend long enough to focus on my assignment.After twenty minutes of self-pampering, I came out of my bathroom with my eyes closed while I towel-dried my hair. A scream left my mouth when I saw Jane sitting on my bed beside Walter. My eyes went wide as I took in her appearance, wondering what the
DianaVance luckily didn't cause a scene, but he got Adam's name out of me. I released the name not because I was scared but because I knew he would get it from someone else; Adam's identity was no secret. Vance had to be the only one who didn't know anything about Adam, which was an indication that he was so removed from whatever went on around him that doesn't affect him.Immediately I told him what he wanted to know, he freed me, but not without telling me I had three days left to do what he told me to. I opened my mouth to argue that it was eight days not three, but I kept quiet when I realized it would only make him stay longer than he already had, and I didn't want that.After handling Vance, I met with Penelope and Martin in the hall as they chatted about Martin's outing yesterday for their club. Penelope's hair was packed in her usual loose pigtails. She twirled a tail absentmindedly around her forefinger as she gawked at my oblivious friend. It was ironic how Martin couldn't
DianaSo, last night would go down in history as one of the worst nights ever. In my heart was a mixture of emotions that had me feeling lethargic, without any strength to face the day. If I could be feeling this way, I wonder how my aunt felt after all that happened. I imagined she must be blaming herself for what happened the same way I was blaming myself for starting the whole freak show by inviting Mr Yukino over for dinner. If I hadn't tried to sort out someone's feelings of loneliness, this wouldn't have happened to us. The irony wasn't lost on me that I had been trying to help someone who felt alone and unappreciated when I also felt the same way....most times. The reason why we were slightly different was that I had my aunt, my dog, my friends and my brother. He had no one except his family who had relocated back to Japan, leaving him all alone here. I didn't need to solve anyone's problems when I still had mine to face. The thought of how I'd handle Vance and his soldiers t