When I'm with you

Chapter 16

"So, why didn't you go to the game?" she asked, "You didn't need me or anyone else, Cindy would've been the perfect companion. She's as good as having a whole group of friends with you! She's very...chatty." Was that a compliment or..? I could never understand her mood swings everytime we talked about Cindy. So, to avoid the change of atmosphere, I decided to tease her a little.

"Well, I know you'll get jealous if I go alone with Cindy." It was a success! Though she looked away, I could still tell that she blushed. Her ears were pink. Gotcha!

"What the hell?" She asked.

"I'm sorry. I was just kidding." I said, laughing, but stopped midway when I saw that she was starting to get pissed. I took a deep breath to compose myself and ran my hand through my hair.

"No, seriously, it would be boring if I went there alone. And it wouldn't be as exciting if you weren't there with me." When I realized what I just said, I wanted to jump off from the highest building. How much cheesier could I get? I didn't know what was wrong with me. I was being sickly sweet today.

"Another joke again?" She said. She probably thought that I was being weird today. Even I didn't know what was going on.

"N-no, it's true. I mean, I know you like sports so it would surely be exciting if you were there. You know, maybe you'll cheer like crazy for our school's football team. Like what our schoolmates do when they watch your races." I replied, trying to change the atmosphere.

"Correction! It's true that I like sports, but not football. And what do you think I am? A clown?" Of course she had to mention clowns. An image of her as clown suddenly flashed in my mind. I couldn't help but laugh when I thought about it.

"What are you laughing at?" She asked, annoyed.

"N-nothing. It's just weird to see you as a clown?"

I expected her to walk away or kick me out of their house. Much to my surprise, she joined me in my laughter.

After what seemed like forever, we finally stopped. Her cheeks were flushed, and she was still clutching her stomach. It reminded me of the good old days. We always laughed so much that our stomachs ached. It was good to be so carefree again: doing and saying crazy stuff, just like kids. The distance between us also seemed to have lessened, for which I was grateful for. I could feel all the awkwardness slipping away.

We were both quiet for a couple of minutes after that, but it was a comfortable silence. You know, like, when you're hanging out with someone and there's no need for words.

"Oh hey, you guys have an indoor pool here, right?"

"Yes!" she squealed, obviously happy that I mentioned their pool. "And we also have one outside. Since I started participating in swimming races, Mom and Dad agreed to put one inside, so that I could also practice during the cold season." She explained.

"If you don't mind, can I see it?"

"Sure!"

We stood up and headed to the pool. I could tell she was really excited, since she was practically skipping as she led the way. As soon as she slid the door open, the smell of chlorine overwhelmed us. It was a bit smaller than the one outside, but it was big enough for someone who wanted to practice for swimming races. We made small talk as we lurked around the pool.

"So, when will the swim team continue their practice?" I asked.

She was sitting by the edge of the pool, her feet splashing in the water.

"Katy told us that it will resume on the third week of February."

"Are you gonna participate in other events or just the Fresno Highschool Swimming Competition?"