Secret Diaries (Heartlake Cliche #1)

Chapter Three

February 4, 2008

 The key to a guy's heart is not a key. It's a hammer. You have to hit him hard on the head.

     Only models could still look fresh, clean and beautiful after playing a tiring game of tennis. The last time Grace tried to play, she got exhausted after running around the court for twenty minutes. And her entire appearance was so disheveled that she might as well have been doing strenuous exercises for more than an hour. Rachelle Harlow, apparently, was not only beautiful and sexy but also athletic. I must have been sleeping when God bestowed all kinds of beauty upon the women of the world, Grace thought unhappily.

      Guys who were attending club activities had stopped to watch when Rachelle started playing against the Tennis Club’s president. It was actually rare for Rachelle to stay behind long after school hours. She wasn’t part of any club and she was often scheduled to do pictorials even during weekdays. So there really was no reason to stay except that she probably liked hanging out with friends instead of going home immediately after class.

      Grace walked over to a far corner where only a few people had gathered. She decided to wait until Rachelle was no longer being surrounded by her many friends and admirers before she actually talked to her. She had known this teen model ever since she got into St. James Academy four years ago. This young lady had always been admired by the boys, and the girls either loved her or hated her. She was popular not only because she was a model but also because her brother was the vocalist of a famous Heartlake band, Quarter To Five. The siblings were often thought of as royalty as far as St. James high school was concerned. Quite a different level from other students. No, a really different level from others. If Grace was a normal human being, she’d put those two in the gods and goddesses category. Right where she placed Nick Cleveland.

      Now, why did her thoughts always seem to wander towards that mysterious guy these days? She knew of Nick Cleveland for as long as she knew Rachelle Harlow. No one in campus (except maybe, Rachelle and Matt Harlow) knew the real person behind that mysterious façade. Even the guys from the Judo Club where he belonged didn’t seem to know much about him. Or maybe, he swore everyone to secrecy about his personality. Either way, Nick Cleveland was an unsolved puzzle. Therefore, all kinds of rumors about him circled the school almost every day.

      The worst by far, would be that gay issue. Girls had been trying so hard to catch his attention longer than she had known him. However, no one had succeeded. Ever. And so, people had speculated that maybe he preferred boys rather than girls. This, in her opinion was just plain rubbish.  

      One look at Nicholas Cleveland and the only word that stayed in your brain was “gorgeous”. He was not necessarily beautiful or even handsome in a smooth, perfectly sculpted way but his ruggedness had a way of piercing through all beauty standards. It must be his eyes. He looked so tough physically but his eyes had an angelic softness in them that would make you think that he would never hurt a single soul. A contradiction that made him all the more mysterious.

      This was what had drawn Grace to him right from the start. She knew he would never notice her but somehow, she had always wished for it to happen that she ended up confused about her other possible romantic relationships. She would think that maybe this guy would be the one for her but her standards were always Nick-biased and the guy would often come up short. Logic told her one thing but her heart said another. Oh, the problems of a teenage girl.

 *****

      The people around Rachelle were starting to disperse. Grace waited until the last one had said his goodbyes before she started walking towards the owner of the brown journal. She caught her just before she entered the building where the girls’ locker room was located. Of course, she would need to take a shower.