Jae Ham
"You've got nothing to lose!" "Just my dignity." "Oh, I thought that was already nonexistent."
So noisy.. It's Saturday morning and we're in the middle of PE class. Our professor is at a meeting but we're not allowed to leave the gym. Not that anyone minds. They're all killing time with sports; Basketball, volleyball, and badminton. At the other side of the gym, there are girls and guys having a jump rope competition. Shouts of applause and enthusiasm are filling the air.
I'm sitting on the bleachers, quietly observing everyone, when a group of three girls huddle a few feet away from where I am. There's one blonde, one brunette, and one redhead. My vision is spinning. They remind me of a watercolor palette.
"You can do it, Alisha!" says the redhead to the blonde. "Tilly's right," agrees the brunette. "The worst thing that can happen is a meteorite crashes into the roof of the gym and kills us all."
Alisha grimaces into her palms. "Don't act like it's not a big deal just because it's not your problem," she fumes to her friends. "It's not easy building up a spine to confess to your crush!"
"But this is your chance!" urges the brunette. "Sage is a busy person. She's obviously loyal to her girlfriend but who knows what will happen in the future? A lot of stable couples split up in the end!"
Let me see if I've got this right. Alisha's the blonde. Tilly's the brunette. And the redhead is.. "Whatever happens, Tilly and I will be here for you." "Alena's right," says Tilly. Ah got it. Alena is the redhead. "Go talk to Sage! It's do or die!" cheers Tilly. "Is that an option?" asks Alisha.
As if on cue, the three girls turn their heads to watch Sage talking to a guy and a girl. "She's with Mel and Abby!" wails Alisha, burying her face in her palms. "What now?"
"I don't get why you're panicking," says Alena, rolling her eyes skyward. "Abby has a boyfriend while Mel is straight and still moving on from his ex-girlfriend."
"That's right," says Tilly in a reassuring tone. "They're probably just discussing the dance numbers for College Week. It's in less than two weeks, isn't it?"
Alena nudges Alisha forward. "Now go! Confess your feelings! What's the worst that could happen?" "A lot," answers Alisha, her shoulders drooping.
Suddenly, the three girls seem to sense that someone is watching them. Tilly looks at me with revulsion. "Yuck. Ham, were you leering at us? Gross. You are not our type, so go away, pervert!"
"I'm not a pervert, and I wasn't leering at you!" I hiss at her. "Don't you know it's a rule of life to never assume unless directly stated?" My words put them to shame. Kudos to her, though, for telling me off like that. I know I'm handsome so I expected them to giggle when they caught me staring at them. Women truly are a mystery.
"What if she rejects me like she rejected Nate yesterday?" whines Alisha for what feels like the hundredth time.
Okay. This is getting overly annoying. I cup my palms on either side of my mouth and shout over the noise of the energetic gym, "HEY HEART! COME OVER HERE FOR A SECOND!"
All eyes are on me, but when I glance at Alisha, her whole face is redder than a cherry. "Ham, I will kill you for this!" she says through gritted teeth. She tries to get away but her friends stop her.
"This is it!" trills Alena. "Oh, oh. Sage is coming," Tilly narrates. "Maybe this wasn't a good idea." "Are you fucking kidding me right now, Tilly?" demands Alisha, looking ready to faint on the bleachers.
My breath hitches when Sage finally stands in front of Alisha. "I think we should talk somewhere more private," says Sage to Alisha, who nods in embarrassment. The two blondes descend the bleachers, walk out of the gym,and one hour passes before they return, just a few minutes before PE is over.
