As I went to my first period class, Mr. Rhone greeted me. I knew him because he was my social studies teacher last year. I saw Jiro at the front seat of the second row, wearing a white hood. He looked at me but I pretended not to notice to avoid eye contact. My heart would have exploded. There were six rows and about thirty chairs, and luckily, the chair on the second row behind Jiro was not occupied, so I sat behind him. Sitting behind him made me feel like flying, but I still focused on what the teacher was saying. I really didn't want to fail this subject. Mr. Rhone passed some hand-outs to Jiro.
There were five people behind him including me. My heart jumped as he passed the paper to me. I was in a state of shocked for five minutes and the people behind me complained.
"Mr. Rhone, where's our paper? We didn't get one."
Then, someone behind me said in a low tone, "Cyndi, you’re supposed to pass those papers to the person behind you."
Just then, I remembered that I was supposed to pass it to the person behind me. He held the paper and kindly handed it to me. I forgot because I was daydreaming again. I gulped, slightly embarrassed with the four people behind me. Jiro was always quiet in class, listening to what the teacher was saying. He was never rude or late to class. Recently, I found out that he actually played hockey against different provinces in Canada.
Jiro has a few friends but I barely see them hang out together. I thought it was cool of him to be serious about his studies. I thought all the girls would like him because of his personality and looks, but I don't actually judge based on the appearance of a guy. I look deeper into their personality and their heart. The next day, Mr. Rhone asked Jiro and another student to distribute Atlas’ to all of the students. Jiro gave one to the guy beside him and the guy beside him thanked him. Jiro politely replied with you’re welcome. He was almost at my desk, about to hand me an atlas. I was wondering whether to say thank you or not.I didn’t know what to think if he didn’t reply back.
"Thank you…" I mumbled nervously, but he didn’t reply.
I felt like the wind slapped me across the face. I shouldn't have said thank you. Maybe he didn't hear what I said; maybe my voice was so low that he wasn't able to hear it. That guy beside him was probably his friend. I knew should stop admiring him but this stupid heart of mine was so crazy. I wished I could turn this thing off for once. It felt like I had been rejected, and I shouldn't feel this way. I shouldn't give up, but I shouldn't expect too much. He was only a crush and nothing more; I can show him that I'm smart, and maybe one day he will notice me. After some time, the bell rang and I had to go to my next class. As I walked out of the classroom, I passed through the next hallway where my next class was located.
I was shocked to see Xiu was walking down the hallway; His expression was neither happy nor sad, but calm and content. I saw him drinking at the fountain near the gymnasium. He didn't seem to notice me because he was focused on drinking water. I wondered if he will be in my class like last year’s art class. I wondered why he never approached me, because we speak the same language, so can’t we be friends and chat together? Science was the subject of my next class in room twenty-five with Mr. Golub. I have never been in room twenty-five before. I looked around and I became shocked as I realized that Danson was my new classmate. Although he sits at the very back, I was still happy.
Most of the seats were occupied except for the front row, so that’s where I took my seat. I was a little sad that I couldn’t turn around to see him because Mr. Golub would notice me instantly. Danson is a quiet guy like Jiro. I discovered that he was from South Korea and he spoke fluent Korean, although his English is not as good. When he enters the class, he always has his backpack on and would be listening to his mp3, so music must be a great value of his. I liked him quite a bit because he reminded me of an idol that I had back in the Philippines, and it was like seeing my favorite artist every day. I also really liked his hairstyle because it was stylish, cool, and suited him well.
I didn't know if he knew my name though. One time, Mr. Golub had a pair assignment for us involving light bulbs, conductors, and batteries. Everyone already had a partner except me because I wasn’t familiar with anyone yet. Danson also did not have a partner, so Mr. Golub told me to become partner with Danson. He came and sat beside me, and I was glad that I had a partner even though I didn't expect that it'd be Danson. We did the lightning bulb project together and we were the first among the class to complete this project. Everyone failed to light up the bulb but the two of us were able to light it up. I felt accomplished, but what made me even happier was that I got to accomplish it with my crush, Danson. I was able to talk to him and chat a little. Our next assignment was about punnett squares and should be with a group of two to three people.
I didn't have a partner again, so Mr. Golub told me to pair up with Danson once more. I was glad that he was my partner again, especially because he does what he's told unlike others who don't listen to the teacher. We had to make up questions of our own relating to punnett squares and trade them with other groups. I made the questions while Danso made the answer keys. I was amazed when we handed it in to Mr. Golub, because he told me that it was awesome. All the answers were correct, so I thought that Danson isn't good at English, but he is great at science. Then we had another group assignment in science again and Mr. Golub always paired me up with Danson. Everyone always had their groups, and it was because I was so quiet that I've never gotten close to anyone. Our group assignment was to answer questions about hemophilia.
We answered them on time and submitted them to Mr. Golub. I wished like Danson, I would be paired up with Jiro or Xiu or maybe all three together, and that we would be teamed was a group. If that ever happened, I would probably faint. Just then, the bell rang and as I exited the classroom, I saw Jiro in the hallway, about to go to his locker at the end of the hall. Xiu and Jiro’s lockers were beside each other. I knew this because once, I happened to passed by the end of the hall and saw Jiro and Xiu opening up their lockers. I didn't have any idea where Danson's locker is, though. I went to my English class that I had with Ms. Arbuckle.
The room wasn't new to me because it was my English room last year, but I still gazed around.
Jiro was there, sitting at the front of the second row. I went to sit at the third seat of the second row, and then someone came in. It was Xiu! I couldn't believe that he was my classmate as well. I had noticed that Xiu is a quiet guy, and I have never heard him speak besides being asked a question from the teacher. I don't see him hanging out with anyone. He was creative and liked art a lot; his personality was pretty much like me. As each day passes, my heart gets more and more confused. Which guy did I like more? I like them all but I didn't know who stood out the most in my heart. Ms. Arbuckle always shuffled the groups to team up in class whenever there's a group project. How I still wished that I'd be team up with Jiro, Xiu, Danson, or all three of them.
My first group project was about identity. I was joined with Danson, Tasha, Yigal and another boy who I forgot the name of. It was cool when Danson spoke korean in front of the class, and he also wrote his name in korean characters. Now that we became teammates, he knew my name for sure. We presented our identity project at the front and I was really nervous, especially because Jiro and Xiu were watching me. I had to do my best even though I don't like presenting projects in front of many people. I had to do it for marks, so I should be used to it by now. I went to the front and realized that I wasn’t as nervous as I thought I would be. The next project was to tell a story based on the theme we were given. I was grouped with Tasha and Danson's friend, Jung.
I didn't know if they were only friends or more, since they always sat together. We made a story about Kitch-Sabe, an aboriginal animal, and most of the ideas were from me. The story must display the virtue, honesty. We presented them the next day and I had memorized my part. I was still nervous because Jiro, Xiu and Danson were all watching me. The presentation went well and I was relieved that it was over. Another project was assigned right after, and we were told that we were to be advertisement executives. We were divided into groups, and I was grouped with Jiro, Xiu, Tasha, and Jay .The product we were assigned to advertise was a scented candle.
We were to make-up a poster that showed why people would want to buy this product. As our group gathered together, I sat beside Jiro. I felt nervous and my heart was beating out of control. I couldn't even make eye contact with him or Xiu. Xiu sat one person away from me, with Jay in between the two of us. I didn't think that I could focus on this advertisement because my two crushes were so close to me. I couldn't even look at them because I was too shy! We brainstormed some ideas on how to advertise the scented candle.
Jiro drew a tiger on his sheet of paper. It didn't look really good, but I'd say his drawing was pretty simple and cute. Xiu's drawing was amazing, of course. He drew an anime boy holding the scented candle. I drew a simple candle because I wasn’t in the mood to draw. I would much rather stare at Jiro and Xiu. I was so captivated by their presence that I couldn’t focus properly. I realized that I should use my time to show Jiro, Xiu and Danson how good of an artist I am, and maybe they would take more notice of me. On the following day, we were required to draw on poster paper. Xiu suggested that he would draw the candle, but then he couldn’t draw the man running. I wanted to draw for him, but I was too shy to volunteer.
I’ve been a good artist since I was little, and I have won several contests back in the Philippines. I lost some interest in drawing, but when I’m in the mood, I love to draw. Art is something important to me, because it reminded me a lot about my childhood. Ms. Arbuckle insisted, "Cyndi's a good drawer! Cyndi, would you like to draw?" I nodded and took a deep breath. Jiro and Xiu were both in my group, and this was my chance to impress them with my artwork. I drew in a comic strip style, feeling shaky at the fact that Jiro and Xiu were watching me. Xiu made the three comic boxes, and then I drew a man running while being chased by a tiger .
As I finished the first box, for the first time, Jiro spoke to me."That's a really good drawing." he commented.
"Thank you." I said. I wasn’t nervous anymore. Jiro had spoken to me, and I was happy.
I thought my heart was going to explode from his flattery. I was touched, and his compliment inspired me to continue drawing for them. Ms. Arbuckle and my other group mates complimented me except for Xiu, who kept quiet. I wondered why. When were about done, Tasha asked how my name was spelt, and I told her. I was so happy that I could declare this day my best day ever. Crushing on someone made school more interesting because you can be inspired by them at any given time.
It makes your day bright, even when it's raining. It makes your mood happy even though you may have had a bad day. Finally, Jiro noticed, and I never thought this day would ever come. Danson has always noticed me because of science class, and I realized that Xiu had noticed me too because of the clay project in art class. Things get really interesting at school as each day passes. I’m excited everyday when I wake up in the morning; despite how sleepy I may physically be.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Based on a true story.To my readers, thank you so much for the support that you’re giving me.
Credits to Skye for beta-reading
Post a Comment