“How was the party?”
Claire remained silent and continued to sip on her iced coffee. After the incident with Ethan in the backyard, she tried to act as how she normally would while casually ignoring him. Ethan might've found it amusing but she wasn't delighted at all. Worse, she wanted to slap herself for not disliking the fact that he touched her.
Luckily, Jess was more than happy to answer.
“It was fun!” she interjected, raising her arms for more effect. “Claire got drunk and I got to flirt with a guy!”
“Wait”, Claire interrupted, abandoning her coffee. Upon hearing Jess, her ears perked up and her eyes went wide in shock. “What guy?”
She tilted her head in confusion and looked at the ceiling, trying to remember as much as she could about last night’s events, which proved to be hard. After Ethan’s ridiculous antic, she couldn’t focus at all and kept on drinking to distr
Five minutes before 9 pm, Claire headed out. The playground that they agreed to meet at was actually in the neighborhood so it was a mere five-minute walk to get there. A block after, she realized that it was rather chilly tonight, and regretted not wearing a scarf, but she figured that it would be too late for her to go back to get one. The cold wind rushed by, causing a mini tornado of autumn leaves by her feet, and she hugged herself in an attempt to keep herself warm.When she arrived at the playground, five minutes later, it was deserted. She hopped over the chain that hung around the perimeter and settled into one of the swings. There were no other people around and cars rarely go through these streets so it was quiet, in a serene way rather than a terrifying one.“I’m not too early, aren’t I?” she mumbled to herself, craning her neck side to side in case she just didn’t spot Jay when she got there, but true enough, she was alone.
The school bell rang, signaling the end of the last period. As the students hurried towards the corridors, happily chatting along with their peers, Claire immediately slammed her forehead into her desk and she was tempted to sleep right then and there. Due to the unexpected turn of events on the previous night, she couldn’t sleep at all.“Yo”, she heard Jess say while poking her head with her index fingers. “Why so glum-glum, Claire?”“I just need a nap”, she groaned, closing her eyes. “You can go ahead without me”“A nap? Here?”“Yeah, I don’t really care”Jess fell silent but Claire could tell that she was still there, contemplating whether to leave her alone or not. She wasn’t able to tell her anything yet since she was still confused and didn’t really know how to do so. Even so, Jess knew that something was up and she had been obviously trying so har
The weekend came and ever since then, Ethan has been waiting outside her last period classroom and insisting to drive her home. Although the ‘little incident’ last Monday, as she called it, never happened again nor was brought up in their conversations, Claire still felt a little bit awkward with him and she even sometimes caught herself staring at his lips. Fortunately, Ethan wasn’t acting out of the ordinary so it was easier for her to shrug it off.“Brian”, she called out as she gestured towards the stack of books left unattended on a nearby table. “Can you go and reshelve those?”The guy paused from arranging the borrower’s cards and nodded at her before heading towards the table to do as she instructed.Today, Claire was in charge of check-out counter duty since Katie had family plans for Thanksgiving and couldn’t come. The head librarian did assign another part-timer to work with her in the meantime, th
“Soooo?”Claire suppressed a smile before closing the bedroom door behind her and leaning against it. She looked at Jess who was smiling expectantly at her while sitting cross-legged on the bed and hugging a pillow. A second after locking eyes with Jess, Claire burst into fits of laughter then ran to her bed to grab a pillow for herself and bury her face there, hiding her red cheeks.“You sly dog”, she heard Jess say while hitting her repeatedly at the back with a pillow. “I really had no idea until Jay asked me to help him have some time alone with you!”“I’m sorry! I’m sorry!” she exclaimed and rolled over to shield herself from Jess’s pillow attacks and look up at her. “He’s your cousin so I was hesitating”“You suck”, Jess laughed. “But looking back, I think I see it now. I can’t believe I missed that”“Well, we talked about i
For the rest of the week, Claire has been trying hard to not get herself distracted. Winter break was coming and her academic load has been getting heavier and heavier so it was quite easy for her to focus on something else to keep herself from thinking about the possibility of her parents getting back together. Jess has been really cheerful, as well, ever since she went on a date with Greg so she counted on her to make her smile. But at the same time, because of her behavior, Claire found it difficult to open up to her about her situation as she didn’t want to spoil her mood.“Hmm”, she mumbled as she checked the mock quiz she made for Ethan. “Looks like you’ve grasped the concepts pretty well”“Well”, Ethan said and leaned in towards her. He crossed his arms and rested them on the table as his eyebrows wiggled playfully. “Do I get to receive a reward, then?”Usually, Ethan’s tactics like this on
The school bell rang which was then immediately followed by a mixed chorus of the students’ excited cheers and frustrated groans. Their chemistry teacher pounded her tray on the table, wordlessly instructing the students to place their test papers there. Claire, confident in her answers, stood up and did so, shoving her body against the wave of rowdy students. It was officially winter break. Clare didn’t have any concrete plans besides hanging out with Jay and Jess every now and then since the library won’t be open again until next month, but she was fine with that. “Hey hey”, Jess greeted her as she approached her desk. Claire looked up from arranging her books and pencil case in her backpack to return her smile. “Let’s go home together today!” “What about Greg?” she asked, tilting her head a little in confusion. “He’s not accompanying you today?” “Nah, I told him that I wanted to come home with you” “Oh, okay, then”, she nodded before slingi
Claire rested her chin on her palm as she looked at the trees rushing by through the car window. Ethan knew that traveling from Cartersville to Memphis would take around five to six hours but much to her surprise, he agreed as soon as she asked. Now, they were a few hours in through the ride and have already finished listening to the same playlist thrice. The music resonating in the vehicle through the speakers wasfaint enough that she could still hear her heartbeat racing. Claire realized that she was likely to spend at least the next twelve hours with Ethan— a flirty billionaire playboy who always acted recklessly. The realization hit her after she got over the mysterious surge of boldness she had, and it made her antsy. “I’m sorry”, she mumbled without taking her eyes off the scenery outside. “I know this is too sudden” “I don’t really mind”, Ethan replied with a grin. He peeled his gaze off the road for a split second to glance at her dim reflection
“So…” Ethan started to say after taking a sip of coffee with finesse. “Where do we go from here?” Claire heard him but didn’t bother replying as she was too busy stuffing herself with some pancakes. They slept with an empty stomach last night, thus, she was extra hungry that morning. So, after checking out from the motel, they found a diner and settled in with some breakfast. “Careful”, he said, chuckling. “Eating like that isn’t really lady-like” “Huh”, she mumbled with a stuffed mouth as she looked up at him with a glare. “I ron weally hare” “I can’t understand you when you talk with your mouth full” Claire swallowed. “I said, I don’t really care” He sighed while shaking his head. A small smile played on his lips as he grabbed a napkin before leaning in across the table to wipe off a small trace of syrup on the side of her mouth. “Eat slowly, geez. You’re such a pig” “Who are you calling a pig?!” she exclaimed as her ch
For the rest of the week, Claire didn’t really have enough energy to worry about Ethan. She was swamped with her responsibilities at school and her college applications. She was also pressured more than usual to do well during the exams while still helping Jess and Greg study after their classes, but this time, in preparation for their university entrance exams.She was so busy that once she got home, she would barely have enough time to do her homework before knocking out on her bed.“Claire! Don’t forget to eat dinner, okay?!” she heard her mother yell from the living room. “Or call Jess over if you want!”Claire looked up from jotting down notes on the margins of her textbook. “Yes, mom!”As usual, her mother was going o
“You got this part wrong, Greg”, Claire stated as she pointed at his notebook with the tip of her pencil. Then she leaned in a little bit closer to encircle the incorrect part. “Try to figure out what went wrong here”Greg groaned in complaint but he erased his answers anyway before starting to redo everything from the beginning. “This is so annoying. I’ve been answering the same problem for the past fifteen minutes”“That’s because you’ve been sneaking peeks at the basketball practice outside the window for the past fifteen minutes as well”, Jess retorted. Her boyfriend childishly stuck out his tongue at her in reply.Claire shook her head at them but a small smile was playing on her lips anyway. Greg was indeed the perfect match for Jess’s per
Jess groaned in frustration as she slumped into her chair. Her laptop sat on her desk in front of her, the screen showing an empty document page. For the past half hour, she had been trying to finish writing her application letter for university admission, but to no avail. Claire looked up from reading her book and chuckled. “Still nothing, huh?” “Yeah”, she nodded as she kicked to turn her swivel chair around. “Tell me how’d you do it” “Just tell them why you want to enroll in their university, that’s all”, Claire replied, setting down her book. She was sitting on Jess’s bed while her friend agonized over an unfinished letter. “You can also look up templates on the internet if you’re really having trouble” “I already did! But still nothing…”
Ethan clutched the straps of his backpack as he panted, trying to steady his breath. They were in the middle of a two-hour hike to the top of the hill, and his head was pounding with a severe hangover. He knew that it was a bad idea to give in to Luke’s offer to ‘have fun’ last night. He promised himself to get it over with a couple of shots, but his plan had obviously failed. It was especially warm that day. The sun shone brightly through the trees and the birds chirped as the students chattered excitedly about the apparently breathtaking view at the end of the hike. But the brightness and the happy noises only made Ethan’s headache worse by the second. “Ugh”, he groaned in complaint. Greg, who was walking alongside him, chuckled and threw an arm over his shoulder. The latter was a little bit shorter than he was, and the act made him stumble.
“We need more chairs here!” “There’s not enough energy drinks for everybody!” “Can someone dry these towels?!” The long-awaited camp was here. The committee had been in the venue a few hours before the buses arrived to make the final preparations. As soon as the rest of the students arrived, they had done nothing but scurry around to run errands and make sure that all the events go as smoothly as planned— from arrival until dinner time. Claire could catch a glimpse of Ethan every now and then, but even during the breaks, she couldn’t find the time to talk to him. She had something important to say, but despite that, she didn’t want to do it the whim, seeing as she was busy. The atmosphere would be crucial. “Ugh”, Patrici
“Bye!”Claire waved her hand as she watched Jess run towards her boyfriend, Greg, who was waiting by his parked car. The sun was already setting since the committee meetings were getting longer and longer as the camp nears, but impressively enough, Greg decided to give Jess a ride home as much as he could. He also offered to drop Claire off every time, but she would always make excuses like running errands or staying behind to finish extra work just so she wouldn’t get in the way of the two.As Greg pulled out of the parking lot, Claire smiled as Jess continued to wave at her through the open window until the vehicle turned to the highway and disappeared from her line of sight. Stretching her arms and sighing in relief, she started to walk towards the bus stop.It was late so she was expecting the
“I think we can wrap it up here”Claire sighed in relief before dropping her pen and stretching out her arms. The camp was finally coming up, and the committee has been working harder than ever to finalize everything. It was fortunate that they never had to revise their draft plan outlines since even the principal himself was being lenient— as long as they stick to the allocated budget, that is.“Justin”, Patricia called out, and the boy perked up almost immediately in response. “Make a follow-up call on the t-shirts, don’t forget”Justin nodded. “Will do”She looked at her notebook. Her meeting notes were usually organized and neat, but because of the incident at the library last weekend, she couldn’t seem to focus at all. Her mind automatically drifted to the memory of kissing Ethan which was then immediately followed by a strong feeling of guilt.For the past couple of days, she h
Claire pushed the cart down the aisle as her eyes quickly scanned the signs attached on top of each shelf. She mumbled ‘history’ over and over under her breath as if the enchantment would help her get to the history aisle faster. After arriving at the row of shelves containing history books, she parked the cart at the side.“Ugh”, she groaned as she carried the stack of books. Every shift at the library was a workout for her since it meant she had to reshelve heavy books.Books were supposed to be arranged in an ascending order based on the numbers taped on their spines for easy location. And despite the weight of the stack that she had to arrange, she held it with an arm while her other hand was busy placing the books back onto the shelves.The last book in the heap had to be placed on the top shelf. So, of course, being the petite girl that she was, she had to use one of the footstools that were normally scattered within the area. She t
Claire clutched her textbooks against her chest as she stepped out to the school corridor. The bell rang a couple of minutes ago, signaling the end of the morning classes and she was supposed to have lunch that day with the committee as the trip was right around the corner. She cursed under her breath as she struggled to push her way through the hallway. The conference room was on the opposite hall where the cafeteria was, thus, she was literally going against a wave of bodies. As she concentrated on getting herself past the crowded corridor, a student suddenly bumped into her and she gasped in surprise as her textbooks flew to the floor. “Sorry!” Claire craned her neck to see the culprit running away while waving a hand over his shoulder. His attitude annoyed her but instead of calling him out, she sighed and bent down to pick up her stuff. She tried to pick up everything as fast as she could as she was in the middle of the hallway but unfortunately, she was