NINJA

Chapter 34

Beep..beep..beep...

Timothai could hear the beeping of the machine. He could smell the antiseptic in the room and  hear the shuffling of feet inside his room. He moved his hand a bit. He managed a smile but winced because he pulled one of the wires connected to his hand too hard. He suddenly felt eyes staring down at him. He slowly opened his eyes, blinking slowly as his blurred vision became clearer.  Three pairs of eyes stared at him. He knew those eyes. He could recognize them anywhere.

"Oh my God! He's awake!" Chris exclaimed

"Thank God" came Anida's relieved voice

"Does he remember us?"Cleo asked skeptical

"Only one way to find out"

Cleo smiled"Hello grandpa"

Timothai gave a weak smile, using his good hand to stroke Cleo's face. Cleo leaned into his cold hand

"Cleo" he croaked

A tear escaped Cleo's eyes

"I'm glad you're okay"

Timothai shook his head
"I..deserve..this"

"No one deserves this grandpa. Even after what you did. You're my family, the only one I've got" she leaned down to hug her grandfather. Tears wetting his clothes.

Tears rolled down Timothai's cheeks.

"I'm sorry Cleo" he apologized, his voice cracked"I'm so sorry."

"It's okay" Cleo whispered hugging her grandfather tighter.

                     ****

Anida and Chris took turns in hugging their sensei. They were glad he was okay even though he made Cleo suffer, he was their master and they had a very strong bond so their sensei's state crushed their young hearts.

They sat in comfortable silence for a while.

"We have a surprise for you" Chris beamed breaking the silence. Timothai raised a brow. He never liked surprises. He frowned

"You know I don't like surprises"

"Trust us Sensei. You'll love this one" Anida winked

Timothai just looked skeptical

Cleo brought up a bat wrapped in blue paper.

"A bat?"

Cleo did the honors of unwrapping it. Timothai's eyes widened. He rubbed his eye with his good hand. He blinked twice unsure of what he was seeing. It was the sword!

"The floating sword" he whispered, awestruck by the relic's magnificence.

Anida nodded "We retrieved it successfully"

A wide smile appeared on Timothai's face."This calls for a celebration"

"Yes! I've waited all month for those words" Chris grinned

Anida and Cleo rolled their eyes giving Chris the 'really dude' look.

Chris shrugged. That stupid grin still in his face. The girls groaned

"I think the celebration is well deserved, don't you think?" Timothai said winking at Chris

"I think so too sensei"

"When you recover we'll decide what to do with the sword"Cleo said and that ended the conversation.

                     ****

A week later

Summer was over and schools had reopened. The hallway was flooded with kids either putting stuff in their locker, walking to class or just staying in a corner chatting with their friends. Our heroes; Anida, Chris and Cleo were getting their books out of their lockers. Suddenly Cleo heard someone scream her name in the crowded hallway, making eyes dart her direction

"Cleo!" The person screamed again as they ran to her, knocking her down to the floor. The person's lean arms wrapped tightly her. Strands of black curly hair fell in her eyes. She smiled, recognizing those distinct curls.

"Hey, Ryan" she said

"Cleo!" Ryan whined "Where have you been?! I missed you"

Ryan had tried a lot of times to get Cleo's number from his cousin who happily refused to give it to him, a smug grin on his face each time. So Ryan had to wait all summer before he could see the pretty dark skinned girl again and she was as beautiful as always.

"I traveled. I missed you too" she replied, laughing as Ryan's curls tickled her face

A small blush creeped up the boy's pale cheeks painting them with color at Cleo's response.

"Now gimme a kiss" he boldly demanded making Cleo's eyes go wide

Anida and Chris just watched, not sure if to interfere. Before Ryan's lips could touch Cleo's, someone got him off her. Cleo recognized the pale arm that dragged the curly haired boy off her. It belonged to none other than her effeminate seatmate. Ryan smiled sheepishly, not regretting his actions at all. Jordan groaned, shaking his head at his sex crazed cousin.

"Forgive him" he said as he offered Cleo a hand which she more than happily accepted. She didn't think she would ever be happy to see her cocky seatmate but she was. As much as she liked Ryan as a friend, she couldn't handle him being too touchy with her. Jordan had a smirk on his face as he pulled Cleo off the ground. It was so fast that Cleo lost her footing and crashed into Jordan's chest. Anida's eyes widened, Chris and Ryan glared while Cleo was red in the face. Jordan wrapped his arms around Cleo tightly, ignoring the crowd that had gathered to watch.

"I'm glad you're back. I missed you" he whispered, his breath tickled her ear. Cleo's face was on fire but she liked having Jordan close. He always smells so good.

Wait..what? She did not just think that but she did, like as if she wasn't embarrassed enough.

Cleo was too embarrassed to speak so she pushed him away, covering her red face with her hands as she ran out. Anida and Chris followed immediately after.

"See you later, baby" Jordan yelled loud enough for Cleo to hear, further increasing Cleo's embarrassment. Most girls had already gone red in the face while some wiped their nosebleeds. Soon the hallway was empty leaving the cousins in its silence. Jordan had a triumphant smirk on his face as he looked at his furious cousin "Why the long face, cousin?"

"Shut up!"Ryan snapped.

"Aw little Ryan's mad"

Ryan was trembling with rage. He flipped his cousin the middle finger before walking away. Jordan laughed, knowing his cousin would go sulk somewhere else, it gave Jordan so much joy. It felt so good finally getting back at his cousin. And Cleo's reaction was so adorable. This was definitely a double win for him. He put his hands at the back of his head and sauntered down the hall. He couldn't wait for class to start. That victorious smile never leaving his face.