4. The Book

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All the way home, Ryan was thinking about her

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All the way home, Ryan was thinking about her. Her perfect smile swam in front of his eyes, though a bit vague.

After having dinner, he went to his room. He couldn't sleep that night. He thought to study for his last exam, but his concentration was lost in her smile. He kept tossing and turning as her face floated in his brain.

Eventually, he slept.

He spent the entire Friday studying for his upcoming exam. His focus was still wavering due to her glimpses.

Saturday

He was restless the whole day. He had revised more than half of the syllabus on Friday and didn't care about the rest that was left.

When the clock rapped seven, they left for her abode. The rock of anticipation was deepening the walls of his stomach as the distance lessened.

When the car skidded to a halt, he could feel his heart pounding loudly and rapidly in his chest. He took a deep breath, but even that didn't help.
He got out of the car and beamed at his reflection. That helped him soothe himself.

His dad rapped on the door. He could hear footsteps descending the stairs. The footfalls, too, sounded impatient, but somehow they made him feel relaxed.

Obviously, that was Shailene. She was wearing a silk black tank top tucked into a straight silver skirt. She had pinned her hair into a bun. In simple words, she didn't look like high-schooler.

"Have you changed your mind?" she asked Ryan.

"Huh?"

"Do you want to come inside or not?"
That's when he realised that his mom and dad had already gone inside.

"No, let's go inside."

Their parents were sitting in the living room. It wasn't time for dinner yet, so they were conversing. Ryan greeted Shailene's parents. They sat down, beside each other, on the couch.

"Well, dinner will take some time. Why don't you show me around your house?" Ryan asked to get some alone time with her.

"Yeah, sure."

They got up from the couch and excused themselves. Shailene stayed a few steps ahead of him as he followed the trail of her perfume.

"Well, this is our little library," she said gesturing towards a room with a glass door. Her hand was on the doorknob and she was going to open it when he interrupted.

"No, wait. You seriously thought I wanted to see your house? No offence. I mean, I just wanted a getaway from the boring chatter of our parents, " he admitted as he looked down. His neck turned red with mortification.

"Oh, well."

An awkward pause.

"So what do we do now?" She asked.

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