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“I have something to tell you…”
“Me too,” the fair lad replied on the verge of tears.
With her heart pulsating wildly and her hands felt cold and clammy, “I really like you.”
I immediately grabbed the remote controller and switched the television off.
“MUM!! No more Korean dramas already.”
“QUICKLY SWITCH IT BACK ON! THEY ARE ABOUT TO KISS ALREADY!” my mum exclaimed as she jumped out of her chair.
“No you may not. These Kdramas (Korean Dramas) are always a scam.” I counterargued.
My mum, as stubborn as a mule, took the remote controller out of my hand and turned the television back on. To my relief, it was already the end of the scene. “Darned it.”
‘Thank goodness’ I thought to myself as I got up and took my blanket with me. “I am heading to bed already mum. I have to wake up early for school the next day.”
“Okay girlie. Have a good night rest.” She answered as she stood up to caress my cheek.
I walked into my room and closed the door gently behind me. As I slumped onto my bed, I let out a sighed. ‘These Korean dramas are so unrealistic. How can two people have so many coincidental incidents and develop mutual feelings for each other?’ I turned to my left to see a lantern displayed in my cabinet. It triggered melancholy memories of when I used to have a lover and we shared so much affection before he broke my heart. ‘There is no such thing as love.’ I told myself before I drifted off to sleep.
The sun poured through my window. As I slowly open my eyes, images of him flashed through my mind again. ‘UGH! Not again!’ Annoyed by it, I immediately got up and went to get ready for the day. I slipped on a striped shirt and struggled to find my balance to put on my crumpled jeans. Grabbing my tooth hair comb, I gently brush it down my disheveled brown hair. ‘Why can’t I look as pretty as other girls?’ I have syringoma under my eyes due to genetics, a big button nose and patches of acne. Maybe this was the reason. Maybe this was the reason I was still single because I was unattractive and not as visually appealing. ‘Whatever, it’s not like someone is even interested in me in the first place right?’ I quickly grab my bread which my mum had prepared for me before she left for work and headed towards school.
“Yo!” Natalie punched me lightly as I was walking to my classroom.
“What’s up gurl? You look dull this morning. Stress about school again? Come on, stop worrying so much about your schoolwork, I can’t even get my GPA (Grade Point Average) above 3.” Natalie - we used to be in the same CCA (Co-Curricular Activity) which was dance. However, I decided to pursue dance outside instead as dance in my school usually ends extremely late and it gave my parents insecurities.
“I am just tired from studying every day after school and coming to school to mug some more.”
“Here, take this.” Natalie reached into her pocket to pull out a chocolate bar.
“Have a Kit Kat. Have a Break.” She joked as she placed it into my hands.
“Thanks, Nat. You are such a ball of sunshine.” I smiled.
“No problem. See ya soon gotta head to class now.”
She gave me a wave before disappearing into her classroom.
I pushed the door gently and to my dismay, I saw Matthew and Lovisa sitting next to each other in an intimidating manner.
“Stop it!” Lovisa gently whacked him in the arm.
“Haha what did I do?” Matthew smirked.
A pang of jealousy came across me as I watched them. I could not believe my eyes. Matthew, the quiet guy who rarely even talks to anyone is now talking to Lovisa, the extrovert and popular girl.
“Madeleine!” Alison called out.
“Oh hi,” I replied tears welled up in my eyes.
“Why are you upset? You got full marks for your Math paper quiz!”
“Ohhh… thanks for informing me.”
“Don’t tell me full marks isn’t enough for you.”
“No no I’m elated about it. It’s just…I am just tired.”
No I was not tired. I was tired of thinking about him. I headed to my seat and sat down waiting for the lesson to start. I wanted school to be over quickly so that I can go home and drown myself in my books and studies. “Okay class. Let’s go through the previous paper quiz. Can someone volunteer to do the first question and explain it to the class?” My math teacher asked the class in a monotonous voice. I raised my hand and walked towards the whiteboard. With the marker in my right hand, I started to scribble numbers and symbols on the board.
“So.. the first thing you need to do to solve this question is to analyze what it is asking for. It wants us to find the coordinates of the maximum point. So after differentiating, you would have to sub back the x value back into the equation to find the coordinates. Remember that finding the maximum point means the value of the double differentiation should be a negative value and bingo… here’s your answer.”
“Wow. Very good job Mad. Well explained and nicely done,” my teacher applauded.
I turned to my left to see Matthew unbothered and disinterested.
‘Oh well. it’s not like my intelligence was going to attract him anyways.’ As I returned to my seat, Nathaniel playfully teased me. Nathaniel was known to be the class witty and sarcastic clown. He always likes to bargain with the teachers in my school and make them seem like they have an IQ (Intelligence Quotient) of a rock. Though, if you actually get to know the real him, deep down he is a softie.
“Dude, you need to chill man. No one asked you to rap your explanation LMAO.”
“Ha Ha Ha, you funny shit.” I rolled my eyes at him, trying to hold back my laughter.
“By the way, can you let me copy your notes? I slept in for the past 30 minutes and I don’t know what is going on.”
“Why am I not surprised.” I handed him my stack of notes which I hold dearly to. I mean who wouldn’t? I spent sleepless nights and hours trying to summarize the entire lecture.
“Thanks man.”
“You better not lose it or you are going to rewrite all my notes for me, dumbass.” I threatened as the bell rang to signal the end of the period.
It was finally time to fill our famished stomachs, even though I was starving, I could not bear to eat as I wanted to practice as many questions before the start of the Paper Quiz which was held at the end of the day. I watched as Matthew exited the classroom. Unlike the rest of the boys, he did not have friends to eat with. He usually goes solo when it comes to lunch. When he re-entered the classroom, I felt a flick in my hair. It was light and gentle yet I could feel the warmth from his fingertips
“Don’t forget to eat your lunch okay?” he smiled at me with concern in his eyes.
‘What… did he… he did not just…’
It was not long till school was over and the horrible cycle has to repeat itself, Reflection Journal. This time, Alison had to rush off earlier because of her family-related stuff and I was left to go home alone. I packed up my stuff after staying in school till the sky was fluorescent in orange and red. As I stepped out of the class I saw Matthew and his friend at the lift area. ‘OH CRAP.’ My face was stretched thin with fear as I hurriedly went to hide in a corner. Thank goodness at this moment, I saw a bunch of my classmates coming out from the other classroom.
“Hey!” I immediately went forward to greet them.
“Oh hey Mad! We just finish our group project for the innovation module.” Angel replied.
Angel is my classmate for the Innovation module. She is a mixed-blood which makes her easily unique.
“Cool what did your group came out with?”
“We decided to create a cool machine that could automatically recycle waste products after you dump it in.”
“Wow! that’s an awesome invention…”
Before I could finish my sentence, I felt a familiar finger-flicked through my hair.