Chapter 11

Large tears began rolling down my face and I heard myself yelling at him. “Why do you do such things? You don’t even know me! Let alone like me! Do I seem like someone you can play with? Have I ever offended you in any way? I don’t even know you and yet you… you… “I began to cry uncontrollably and flopped down onto the floor like a two year old that’s throwing a tantrum.

Jayden had a mortified look on his face.

“I-I-I…” He couldn’t find the words to complete his sentence.

Before he could say what he wanted to, I got up an said, “ I don’t want to have anything to do with you!” and ran away. Leaving him standing at the same spot speechless and shocked by what had just happened.

As I ran, I could still feel tears streaming down my face. It was as if my eyes were producing a miniature waterfall that just wouldn’t stop no matter how many times I’d tried to wipe them off my face.

Not noticing that there was someone in front of me, I collided into that person.

“I… I’m sorry.” I muttered, keeping my head low, hoping that whoever it was hadn’t seen my tear stained face.

“Lenna! I was just about to go and look for you.” Mal said in a worried voice. “What happened?”

“MALLLL!!!” I wailed like a child seeking comfort and hugged her tightly.

“What happened?!” Mal said in a shocked voice, “what’d he do to you??” as she stroked me on the head like a mother.

Chapter 10

“Hey! You! Wait up!”

I could him running right behind me.

I felt like a deer that was being chased by a predator.

Unknowingly, I ran faster and faster until somehow I ended up at the rooftop of my school. Feeling trapped, I turned around slowly…

“Oh thank gosh! I’ve lost him!” I breathed a sigh a of relief. “But why was I even running away from him in the first place?” I wondered out aloud.

Suddenly, someone grabbed me from the back by my waist, causing me to fall backwards onto the person.

“You’re really as predictable as I thought you were.” The same deep voice whispered into my ear.

I could feel the heat of his body and his breathless voice confirmed my suspicion that it was  no doubt who I’d thought it was.

My body froze as I felt myself being turned slowly to come face to face with none other than Jayden Smith.

I immediately wanted to escape from his clutches but he held on tightly as soon as he sensed that I wanted to run away from him again.

“Let go of me!!” I yelled as I struggled against him forcefully.

“Give me reason for why I should.”

“No! Just let go of me! Why do you always do this to me?”

“Do what to you?”

“THIS!” I pointed at his hand grasped around my waist, “and, a-a-aaa-nd that, that…” I couldn’t finish what I wanted to say and started blushing furiously.

Realizing what I had meant, Jayden replied, “Oh you mean this?”

He turned me around and pulled me close to him and the next thing I knew, I felt this thing around my lips.

I froze again and this time, I couldn’t even move away no matter how much I wanted to. I really wanted to push him away but I couldn’t.

Suddenly feeling really weak and vulnerable, tears welled up in my eyes and slid down my face, eventually coming into contact with Jayden’s skin. Shocked, he stopped what he was doing and starred at me.

Chapter 9

“OMG! I can’t BELIEVE it! No wonder I found him oddly familiar the last time he forced a kiss on you!!” Mal exclaimed.

“Keep it down will you?” I hissed at her.

“Okay, okay. Don’t need to be so touchy about that”.

“How can I not be? It was my first kiss and that tha-ah-tt JERK… that JERK… did that!”

“Yeah I get what you mean. But at least he’s hot Lenna. It could have been worse. Imagine if you were kissed by a jerk that also happens to be lacking in the looks department!”

“Yeah I suppose so. But he’s still an idiotic jerk! Not to mention he’s also an…”

“asshole. Yeah I get the picture Lenna. But from what I know, he’s far from being a jerk. He’s rather well-liked you know? Responsible, smart, sweet, athletic, musically inclined and not to mention really goo…”

“I don’t care what others say. If he is the gentleman that people say he is, he wouldn’t have done something like THAT to someone he doesn’t even know! Not to mention that I had only seen him twice maybe thrice. And it was all really pure coincidences! I feel really indignant about it!”

“Yeah, I get how you feel love.” Mal closed in and gave me a hug. “But I really have to say that he’s one big Hottie. I wonder why I haven’t noticed him before…”

As she said that, Mal had a dreamy look on her face.

“Snap out of it.”

“Aw, you’re such a grouch!” (*sticks out tongue*)

“Sorry, I can’t help it! I just loose-control when it comes to that Jayden Smith…”

“You seem to like me more than I thought” a deep voice whispered into my ear.

The minute I heard it, I felt chills run down my spine. My body froze and I suddenly had an impeccably strong urge to run away.

Before I knew it, my legs started moving, faster and faster.

Back to school

"ESILENNA!!! WAKE UP!!!!!"

I was woke with a start by my mom's melodious shrills piercing through the air like a knife cutting through the darkness. I slowly opened my eyes and just starred at the ceiling for a few minutes, thinking of what had happened for the past few weeks, the journalism intern job, turned out to be so much better than I had expected it to be. The time spent doing my intern there passed by like a breeze. The whole intern thing just really confirmed all of my doubts about journalism as a career. Right now, I am really certain that I will definitely want to major in something that can lead me to the path that I want to take in journalism.

My holidays was fruitful compared to the holidays, which I spent my time lying around and thinking if it is theoretically possible to just disintegrate literally by staying home and doing absolutely nothing but sleep, eat and maybe sometimes, hang out with my friends. It was definitely a holiday that I will not forget as many pleasant things have happened (not including the freak incident with the literal FREAK- Jayden). But well, then again, today's the start of a new school term ---

"ESILENNA!!!!!!!! GET DOWN HERE NOW!!"

Boy is she hyped up so early in the morning. I think my mom practices her screaming with me so that she can do it to her subordinates. I totally can imagine her saying "WILSON! THE ARTICLE'S HORRIBLE! GO COVER ANOTHER EVENT! I WANT HEADLINES!!" or something like that. Mom's really no joke when it comes down to business. She can be really scary at those times. Believe me, I have seen it and besides, I live with her.

 I got out of bed, changed, styled my hair, chose my clothes, grabbed my bag and rushed out of the room before my mom could get a chance to scream at me again. I chose a new set of clothes which is really quite adorable. I got it when I went out with mal for "window shopping" but in the end, both of us just bought so much even though we had already spent a hefty sum just a few days back then. Well, I guess we all want to dress to impress don't we? After all, it's a girl thing as mal always says.

I rushed down the stairs and went into the kitchen. Mom didn't notice that I was already "reporting for morning role call" and took a deep breath in, ready to practice her vocals once more. It's really quite amusing to see her do that. After all, she is a rather small woman and to have such a large voice is really something that is extraordinary.

Before she could even scream, I said, "I'm here. You don't have to call for me again."

“If I don't call for you every morning, you would have most probably been suspended by now! Look at the time! You should prepare yourself in advance! Set your alarm clock-"

"But I don't have an alarm clock!"

"I'll get you one. Where was I?"

"Setting the alarm clock that is non-existent"

"Don’t get cheeky with me Lenna"

"Sorry"

"Then I would not have to scream at you every morning for you to wake up and prepare yourself! You're 18 for goodness sake!"

"But you still treat me as though I'm 5"

"Lenna" (warning tone)

"Okay, fine, fine, I'm sorry"

“I will go get an alarm clock. So you don't have to scream at me in the morning anymore alright?"

Before she could say anything else, I grabbed a slice of toast and my bag and headed straight for the door.

"Bye mom! Have a great day at work!"

And I closed the door behind me. Whew, that was close. If I had stayed longer, I would have been lectured till God knows when. I guess she's not in her best of moods today. I guess will have to stay on my toes around her for the day.

I met mal at the bus stop near our school and as we walked, we talked about all sorts of things and it felt as if we were on a shopping spree rather than going to school. That's what I love about Mal. It's like when we're together, it will always seem like time passes really quickly and no matter what, we will always be able to tell each other things that we can't tell others. I guess that's why we're best friends. It's a really great thing that we happen to be in the same class this year. It feels like it's going to be a great year! Not to mention that we will be graduating after this. So, the future seems bright!

*****

It's homeroom right now. As usual, the whole class is chatting and busy catching up with one another on what they did over the holidays. It somehow feels nostalgic to me. I wonder...

*Home tutor slides open the door and steps into the classroom*

"Good morning class, I'm Mr. Craig and I will be your home tutor for this year. So I'll seek your co-operation alright?"

Mr. Craig is one of the most popular teachers in school as he is really nice to his students and produces top results as well. So, having him for a home tutor for my final year is really an added bonus. I was too immersed in my own thoughts that I didn't hear what Mr. Crag had to say. Before I knew it, there was this person who put his hands on my table, leaned forward and was so close to my face!

I starred at him in shock and utmost horror. He looked at me, smirked and said in a smug manner:

"Morning Esilenna, apparently you haven't been paying attention to what Mr. Craig had to say. I'm Jayden Smith and I will be your co-home tutor as well as your literature teacher for this year."

"WHAT?" Before I knew it, I had stood up and banged on the table so loudly that everyone in the room turned around to stare at me.

"Is anything the matter Lenna?" Mr. Craig asked

"No, no nothing's the matter. I just have to settle some administrative work with Lenna here." Jayden replied in a smooth voice.

 I blushed and did not know what to say. It is the first day of school and I have to put up with all of this! To think that I had even thought that this year would be a good year for me. Looks like I'd thought wrong!

"What are you doing here?!" I asked in a fierce whisper.

“I think that it will be better if we talked outside" Jayden turned to leave the room.

I followed suit.

He closed the door behind us and smiled at me sweetly. It was so pretentious that I felt sick in the stomach.

“Now can you tell me what on earth are you doing here?"

"Haven't I told you? I'm a teacher here now and for this year, I will be teaching you. Aren't you glad?" As he said it, his smile grew even bigger and leaned forward, causing me to back off in fear of what had happened the other time.

“I know that! But how did you even get a job here?! I mean, you aren't even a certified teacher right? RIGHT?"

"You should really learn how to lower your volume if you don't want to cause a commotion about this. As for that, it's for me to know and you to find out"

Before I could say anything more, Mr. Craig stepped out of the class and said that I'd better get back into class if the admin work has already been settled. Jayden said that it was already done and I had no choice but to go back inside.

*****

As I slipped into my seat, Leticia turned to me and said "Isn't it great? Jayden smith is back! Now he's here to teach us as a student teacher for this year!"

"What? What do you mean by that?"

"Oh! You didn't know? I guess you might not have noticed him in school considering you were rather new at that point in time. Jayden is the most popular senior in our school. He's not only good in sports, he excels in music as well as academically and he's a very nice person to talk to. So, girls fall for him easily but he always rejects them with the same reason, "I already have someone I like", which, no one has seen or heard rumors about so far but..."

"Lettie, can you just tell me what on earth is he doing here?"

"Oh, erm, if I'm not wrong, it's due to a shortage of teachers in the school right now and the school asked him to come back to help out for this year as he decided to take a break from college life for a while. But isn't he just so good looking?" Lettie flops onto the table sighing as if she was love sick or something.

"Yeah sure, just great." I replied.

Now, there's really no way for me to escape from him. My favourite subject is going to be taught by the most detestable person. What a way to stain it. Sighs, but I guess I will just have to stick to it just for this year. After all, I can't give up my future just because there is someone like that standing in my way. Oh joy! Wait till mal gets back from the infirmary.

What I wish for on my 18th

I really wish that all those wishes that I have wished upon each and every one of the stars sparkling in the night sky will come true on my 18th birthday. The harshness of reality is just too much to bear. At least if it's a dream. If it's a nightmare, I still can wake up from it and find myself somewhere where I can be comforted.

What should I do? Without words, you gave me your love. Without words, you took my love. Without words, you left me.

First kiss???!!

“Hey!! Don’t leave! I don’t know your name! At least tell me your name!” Said a tall dark figure whose face I was not able to distinguish. Despite his desperate call, I turned and left. All I that was in my head was, I know I’m really going to regret this, but I really got to go. As I turned to leave, I saw a crown seated on that person’s head. But was I supposed to get reprimanded just so I could stay with a “prince”? (It could have been a fake crown, hence the use of the inverted commas) Nah! Not a chance! Like Cinderella, I fled the ballroom to go back to....

                               

*****

I woke with a start. A bright flash of light shone on my face, my covers were pulled away from me. “Oh brother!” I thought in my head, “Mom’s on morning call duty.”

I got dressed while still half asleep, but I guess I was more fashion conscious this way. My clothes turned out looking way better than they normally do. I thought to myself, “I should be in that state of mind more often” as I walked past the dining table and grabbed a piece of toast and headed out.

That peculiar dream kept disrupting my train of thought. It kept nagging at me for some strange reason. When I met up with Mal later on, I told her about the dream. The minute I finished telling her, she gasped, stared at me for a second and threw her arms in the air and hugged me, REAL TIGHT.

“Dreaming of a prince means, you’ll meet a prince charming in real life in the near future. OMG!!! YOUR PRINCE IS GOING TO COME!!!!! Maybe he’s Josh? For all you know! You guys have been quite chummy for a period of time now! And you DO like him! For all you know! It might just work out!” The highly enthusiastic look on her face made me feel that there were fireworks going on inside of me as well. It was as if, all that I’d ever wanted was going to work out!

Both Mallory and I were so engaged in our conversation that I bumped into someone. I looked up looking apologetic and wanted to apologise. But, when I saw who it was, my apologetic gaze turned into a fixated glare instead. He apparently recognised who I was and was like “Hey! Didn’t see you there, I’m Jayden.”

“Is that a useful piece of information for me? So that I’d know who to....” And bent down and kissed me. DO I HAVE TO STRESS THE FACT THAT IT WAS ON THE LIPS??? AND IT WAS MY FIRST KISS??? Some might say, oh well at least he’s hot! But I wanted it to be special! With someone I actually liked! Not WITH THIS CREEP!! I’m so totally going to write his name and pin it to a voodoo doll.

If he’s my prince, this is definitely not a fairytale but a NIGHTMARE!

Meet Mallory summers.

As I stomped out of the library in fury, I jabbed the buttons of my cell phone and dialed for my number one retail therapy partner; Mallory.

“Hello? May I speak to Mallory summers please?” I said the minute the call was picked up.

“Yea, hang on for a sec.” A cool female voice replied.

“MALLORY! PHONE!” She shrieked.

I was startled by Mallory’s elder sister who was at the end of the line that I held my phone at an arm’s length away from me. It was a good thing that I had a firm grip on my phone; else I most probably would have dropped it. If I do, I will have to get this one with my own cash, considering that I “accidentally” dropped the last one too many times till it crashed on me.

“Hey, hey, hey! This is Mallory, who’s that on the line?” A bright cheery voice boomed through the receiver.

“Hey, Mal, it’s me, Lenna. Just called to ask you if you wanted to hang at the mall?” please say yes, please say yes! I thought as I crossed my fingers in hope.

“Yea, sure! I will go get ready. See you in 10 at the park.”

“Okay, bye” I did a little happy dance in my head and hung up the phone. Mallory was my absolute friend for almost 4 years now; she was in my home class when I got transferred to Wilkins Ville and most of my classes as well. I guess you could say that we clicked and has got along well ever since.

It was a good thing that the city of Wilkins Ville was such a tiny one, you can arrange to meet a friend or head over to their place easily. I thought as I waited for Mallory in the park. The only down point about this was that, if you wanted to avoid anyone, you’d have to go to the next town which was 10 kilometers away. As I was thinking about that, a thought struck me; “You’d most probably run into that arse if he is from anywhere around here. Since Wilkins Ville is such a small town...” I dismissed that thought as fast as it had come.

It was almost impossible that he was from the town. Judging from his appearance, he should either is of the same age or slightly older than I am. Plus, there is only one high school and I haven’t seen him around. Being the person that he is, as in his looks, he’d make the headlines of the school newspaper if he ever transfers to my school. Well, enough of him already, I need some thorough retail therapy to get that “THING” cleansed out of my head. Even though, he was such a good looking “THING”. What a waste too! But then again, if he had a great personality plus those looks, he’d “kill” many in the aspect of the “love battlefield”...

A hard pat on the back brought me back to reality. I turned and realising it was Mallory, I got up and told her “Let’s go!”

“It’s time to spend till our wallets burst! OOOHH! Hey Lenna, I saw an awesome pair of boots the other day, let’s go have a look at them and tell me if they suit me alright? Hope it doesn’t make me look too, tough” She said jokingly.

I laughed in reply to what she said. Mallory is 5 feet 2, red headed, big eyes and rather slender. She was one of those lucky few who were born with straight hair. Unlike me, who has to get mine fixed every 2 to 3 months, before it gets too unmanageable.

We chatted carelessly as we walked to the mall. I was rather surprised at myself for not bringing the library incident up to her. Perhaps it was better this way. I would most probably have no chance of running into that guy again. Or so I thought.