CH. 2 - The Memory Lane

A FEW YEARS AGO…

  

My heart was pounding loud while standing near the school entrance of Manggahan High School – a public school that I was attending that has around four thousand students. My school wasn’t that big so it only has one entrance gate which made it easier for me to look for my target.

I was checking every boy entering the gate while holding the letter in my hand tightly. It was the first day of my senior year and I have gathered my courage to confess my feelings to the person who snatched my heart the first time I ever set my foot in this school.

After hiding this admiration for him for three years, I finally convinced myself to tell him how much I like him.

But having a crush with the most handsome guy at school was challenging for me. When we were still freshmen, the seniors would visit his classroom which irritated the teachers and other students. Well, it was understandable. Once you laid your eyes on his alluring brown chocolate eyes, you will be mesmerized by it.

In one classroom which consisted of twenty girls and twenty boys – yes, there’s a lot of students per room – more than half of it were captivated by his gorgeousness. Mind you, the boys who joined the rainbow parade weren’t included yet. That’s how many admirers this guy has.

I always knew that it’ll be hard for me to compete.

Who would even like a girl who looks ordinary? I’m not even that sexy compared to the girls who kept throwing themselves at him and I’m really not that pretty. I also have a bad eye sight that’s why I always wear thick lensed eyeglasses. My unruly curly hair keeps getting tangled too that’s why I always have to keep it in a pony tail. I am so far-fetched from these girls who obviously has a big chance for him to like.

In short, I’m a… normie.

Unnoticeable and invisible to some other people especially towards the girls who worship him.

Well, that’s fine by me.

Because those girls were vicious! They bully whoever approach their so called ‘Prince’ – which I agree to call him – so a lot of girls just ended up admiring him from a far. We were supposed to have a junior prom last year but it was canceled when majority of the girls started fighting over him as their prom date that these girls initiated.

Anyway, here’s where my ‘ordinariness’ comes in.

For them, I am not a threat. I once got close to him physically – which was required because the teacher asked us to return the books to the library and they didn’t mind. If I was a pretty girl with a curvy body then they might have run amok and even declare war against the teacher.

That’s the reason why I somewhat felt confident of confessing my feelings despite the fact that these girls are the greatest bully in school. If this fails, for sure they’ll just shrug this scene off of their minds.

“Rebecca.”

My body stiffened when Mirajane suddenly nudged me. She’s my best friend since elementary and we got in Manggahan High School together. We were even placed in the same section which made it easier for us to adjust in our high school life.

She gave me a curious look. “What are you doing here?”

“Uhm…” I was trying to stop my eyes from looking away because she’ll instantly know that I’m hiding something but it still ended up the same. “N-nothing.”

“Aha! You are hiding something from me!” She leaned her face closer to mine. “You foolish girl! You know well that you cannot hide anything from me. What is it? And what are you holding in your hand anyway?”

I immediately hid the love letter that I was clasping for a while and aggressively shook my head. “I-I told you it’s---"

Her eyes widened and squealed in excitement. “Oh my gosh! Is it what I think it is?”

“Shhh!” I covered her mouth with my free hand. “Shut it and don’t make a scene!”

I looked around to check if someone was looking at us. I was already nervous knowing that she’ll keep me under her radar, so having someone secretly observing me was the last thing I wanted.

She removed my hand and stared at me in awe. “My, my Rebecca… I didn’t know you're this straightforward.”

I let go of her hand and looked at the letter I wrote few nights ago. “I’m just trying to be brave, Mirajane. You know how long I’ve endured to hide my affection for him, right? I even started writing a diary dedicated to him.”

“A diary that you kept under your bed. A diary that also served as your story book about your dream scenes with him.” She teased.

My cheeks felt burning when she mentioned it. “You dummy! You’ve been reading my diary?!”

“Yes. Because I was curious about it. And girl, I suggest you stop that fantasy of yours. If someone reads that love book aside from me then you will melt down to the ground.”

“That’s why I hid it, you thief!” I hit her shoulder.

She laughed. “I know. Anyway, it’s a good thing that I’m immune to his charm. Err… not even sure if he has a CHARM. There’s nothing to like about him really. He had these dead eyes and the ‘I don’t care’ attitude that makes me smirk whenever I see him. I wonder what made you fall for that kind of guy.”

“Dead eyes?! They are not dead eyes, girl! You’re just blind!” I hissed. “It is I who wonders what type of guy you like, because it appears that men don’t interest you.”

She squinted her eyes at me. “Just to clear things up, I am not a lesbian if that’s what you are thinking.” She even wagged a finger close to my face. “I just haven’t found the one in this school that would give me that cliché ‘spark’. You know what I mean?”

“Dummy! I know that you are not a tomboy. I have a hundred reasons to prove that. And I know more about that spark thing since I experienced that with him.”

She frowned and teased me. “Then you now have the love expert title.”

“A love expert who can’t confess?” I jested that made us both laughed.

“Anyway, a lot of students are coming in since it’s almost time for our flag ceremony. Do you really have to give that at this time? Ms. Leni might scold us for not staying in our line.”

Mirajane was referring to our guidance counselor slash current advisor.

I nodded. “Yes! Or else my confidence will fade away. If you want, you can go back to our section’s line and I’ll quickly run as soon as I give the letter to him.”

“Fine! Then…” She squeezed my face with one hand and turned it at the gate. “Your prince is here. Good luck!” She giggled before playfully hitting my buttocks.

“Oh my gosh.” I uttered as I stared at his handsome face. The nervousness I was feeling earlier doubled.

Oh God… Can I really do this?