Childhood Crush II [Part 2 - Complete]

Chapter 26 (Since When?)

          Oh freakin' great! Anne's moment of triumph faded when Alexander and Bea walked into class while holding hands. As if not seeing them was not bad enough; why did they have to be such braggart of their sweet sweet puking relationship?

          He froze a bit too. Shock to see he was sectioned with Anastasia; even their fellow classmates grew tense with anticipation. They were walking in very thin ice. Bea sat in-front, forcing Anastasia to have a clear view of her silky black hair that was up to her waist.

           Meanwhile Anne was sitting at the middle, hoping against hope that their teacher would sit her supposedly "lying-bastard-ex-husband" at the back, so she would not have to see his stupid gorgeous face everyday. Unfortunately fate did not favor her. He was destined to be her seatmate for the rest of the school year, they both groaned inwardly.

           "Miss Greene, please read Emily Brooke's Wuthering Heights." She instructed. "Ma'am do I really have to?" Anne complained.

           Her English teacher frowned, "Unless you want a zero in your oral; then it's up to you."

           Anne's eyes grew red; she exhaled and cleared her throat. "I gave him my heart and he took and pinched it to death and flung it back to me."

            "Ouch!" one of their classmates remarked, earning him a smack on the head by their teacher. "So who would want to read Gabriel Garcia Marquez's love in the time of Cholera?"

             A hand shot to the air, surprising everyone. Alexander stood up and started reading the passage. "But when a woman decides to sleep with a man, there is no wall she will not scale, no fortress she will not destroy, no moral consideration she will not ignore at its very root; there is no God worth worrying about." Now the whole class hooted with teasing. He sat down without even glancing at Anastasia.

            "Give it to me baby! Uh-huh! Uh-huh!" an obnoxious classmate sang, to tease Anne. "Robert! YOU'VE EARNED WEEK'S DETENTION!" Mrs. Crane pitied the poor girl. She knew what she was going through.

             It felt like he had slapped her a hundred times over. Her hands were clenched with fury; it was a tremendous effort to keep her temper in check. How could he be so close to her and yet manage to pretend she does not even exist? Like he never made her feel special? How can he change so quickly in a wink of an eye. She wanted to ask these all to him but her pride would not allow her, so she gulped in her tears, put on a fake smile and act like she meant absolutely nothing to her as well. Let the battle of emotions begin!

***

         Anastasia saw her best friend heading towards the cafeteria for lunch, she catch up with her. "Hey Serra! So anong pagbubusawan natin ngayun?" (so what are we going to wolf down today?) she linked her arms with her. Serra laughed, "How about the whole food in the canteen?"

"Sounds good to me!"

"Ditto!"

         "Thank you!" they both giggled. They put their books on the table and then headed to the food counter. Anne searched his face in the crowd, like it was second nature to her. She spotted him sitting by the window with Bea Saunders and his friends, he looked so happy; the kind of look he never gave her. She felt another stab in the heart. She realized the only look he gave her was how much he wanted to devour her; she really was just a rebound.

         "Hey you loser!" Serra tried to call her best friend's attention, she followed Anen's gaze. She rolled her eyes, wiped the tears of her. "Besh, bakit ka umiiyak?" (Why are you crying?) Anne was surprised too that some tears actually managed to escape her emotional security. She shook her head, "I'm fine besh. Come on!" she smiled.

             They arrived at the table. Anne and Marco was shock to see each other. There was an awkward silence, Serra cleared her throat. "Sorry besh, nauna kase si Marco in asking me to lunch." (I'm sorry besh, Marco asked me first to eat lunch with him)

           "Yeah, it's okay." she tried to be easy going about it. Why did she suddenly feel a bit of jealousy that her best friend and old suitor was now actually so close they failed to include her into their plans? Marco grabbed his food and then stood up, "Next time nalang Serra?" (Let's have lunch next time, Serra)

           Serra shook her head, pushed him back to his seat. "Don't be such a drama king! We'll all eat together." She tried to be firm about it. Marco and eye's met briefly, and then they looked away.

           "Hey you dupe face, don't you not show up at my party! You better come okay?"

         "You party like the entire time dude; it's not a big deal if I ever don't show up." He cracked a tiny smile. They eased into a comfortable talk with each other. Anne felt like a third wheel, it was so weird. She never felt more alone in her life.

          They both looked at each other, and then chuckled. "Besh, ever since summer started."

"I called her everyday..."

           "...because after my effort, he finally realized what my value is and how much he misses me!" Sera was pretty pleased with herself. Marco acted like he was about to puke, "Have some shame Serra!!!" he joked.

           "Hey don't go Serra, I need you my rastah girl." She imitated Marco. He tried to trap her hands so she would shut up; she withdrew her hands with her quick reflex. She stuck out her tongue childishly. They both giggled.

            They were now so close that they were even finishing each other's sentences? She could not understand why she felt so weird about it. She muttered a lame excuse that she needed to go to the library just to get away from the suffocation of the whole situation now; was this her karma for having such a grand summer.