February 2 : (Tuesday)
I bolted up after hearing my alarm clock ring. I unwillingly opened my eyes to take a peek at the time. It's just 5:30 am! Groaning, I pressed the snooze button. Five more minutes, I pleaded in my head. Somehow, I think my alarm heard me because it didn't ring for the next sixty minutes.
It was probably the sound of my phone receiving a new text that woke me up. I groggily looked at it and it said,
FROM: Garfy ;)
Good morning, sleepy head!
I was still feeling too sleepy to reply.
When I finally had the will to sit up from my oh, so very comfortable bed, I cursed. My alarm clock says it's only 6:03 am! I probably would've believed it if it weren't for the fact that the seconds stopped blinking also. The battery died!
Shit, shit, shit. I kept repeating in my head as I hurried to take a shower. I can't be late again!
As I was taking the shower, I told myself to move faster. So instead of my regular 20-minute shower, I managed to cut it down into 10-15 minutes. Then I got out of my bathroom, put on a yellow dress since it was the first one that my hand had touched inside my closet, and ran down the stairs. I almost tripped twice.
When I got into the kitchen, I came towards the fridge for something to eat. As I was about to open it, I saw a note from my mom. And it said,
Emma,
Mr. Owens, my boss, called earlier and wanted me to go to work immediately to do some paper works. Of course I couldn't refuse him so I left at around 5:00 am. Don't worry. I made sure that you'll have something to eat before I go. Your breakfast is inside the microwave, sweetie.
PS. You can drive yourself to school. Take care, love you!
-Mom.
I sighed and turned towards the microwave instead. I took out my breakfast--just like what my mom had promised--and thankfully, it was my favorite. Pancakes. I wanted to heat it first before eating it but then I remembered that I was running late thanks to my good-for-nothing alarm clock. So instead, I just decided to eat it as it is and poured a large amount of honey. Just like how my dad used to serve my pancakes. Too bad I can't take my sweet time on eating this.
After eating my breakfast--which only took like 3-5 minutes, I hurriedly washed them on the sink. Then I grabbed my neon pink Jansport bag and made my way to the garage. I must admit, I'm kind of a bit excited to drive my black mini cooper to school. So I practically jumped into the driver's seat and started the engine.
Before driving out, I glanced at my wrist watch and checked the time. I cursed. It's already 7:05! I only have less than thirty minutes to go to school! I pretty much have to drive fast so I tried to drive off immediately.
Unfortunately, I can't.
Shit, what's wrong now? I whined. Apparently, my gas is empty. Can't things go my way for once?! How am I supposed to go to school now?
Think. Think. Think.
If I called my mom... No. What good would that make? She'd have to excuse herself first before leaving the office then drive her way home. Even if she managed to excuse herself immediately, by the time she got here, I would be very late already.
I groaned. Ugh, who else is there?!
All of a sudden, an idea popped into my mind. There is someone I can ask for a ride. And he doesn't even live far from here. Probably from a few blocks away? Who cares? He's my only chance of getting to school on time. So I fished out my phone and called him, hoping that he's still on his way to school.
Garfy ;) dialling...
"Hello?" He picked up on the second ring.
"Garfy!" I beamed.
"Oh, Em, what's up?" I can almost hear the smile in his voice.
"Listen, I just finished preparing for school and can you do me a favor?"
He chuckled. "What kind of favor? Need help dressing up?"
My jaw dropped at the innuendo. "Pervert!"
He laughed for like 10 seconds before saying, "I'm kidding! What's got your knickers in a twist?"
"What's that supposed to mean?" I scoffed. "I don't wear knickers."
He barked another round of laughter. "It's just an expression! Ease up Jean!"
Now it's my time to laugh. "Let's not get started on mentioning second names, Russell."
"Shit." He swore. Though I could tell that he isn't all that bothered because I can hear it in his voice that he's amused. Again, is it weird that I find it hot hearing him swear profanities? "How did you know that?"
"It's in your contact number, dummy." Then I remembered why I called him in the first place. Seriously, talking with Andrew makes me forget or ignore a lot of things. "Oh yeah, about that favor. Can you give me a ride home from school?"
Silence.
Crap. What if he thinks I'm a bit needy? "You don't have to if you don't want to." I added quickly. "It's just that my car's out of gas and I don't know anyone else that I could count on around here and--"
"Chill." He cut me off. "I wasn't planning on refusing you."
I released a breath that I didn't notice I was holding. "Oh great! Then why were you quiet a few seconds ago?"
"Well, I was on my way to school actually but when you said you needed a ride to school, I immediately turned my car around. You know you didn't have to explain why you needed to do me a favor. I would gladly do it either way."
How sweet? He never fails to surprise me with his sweet little acts. I was actually speechless for a few seconds.
"Hello, Em? You still there?" He called.
I cleared my throat. "Uhm, yeah. Thank you very much! I owe you."
He chuckled. "You probably shouldn't have said that since I'm not really planning on having you on account for this. But now that you've mentioned it yourself, I'll come collecting someday."
"Seriously? I probably should've kept my mouth shut." I smiled. "But still, I really do want to make it up to you some time."
"Good." He sighed. "Oh, and I'm almost there."
"Oh, good." I repeated. "I'm already outside. Goodbye!"
"Bye!" He hung up.
And two minutes later, a black 2013 Audi A7 slowed down on our driveway. When it finally stopped, the driver rolled down the mirror. Andrew was wearing dark Ray Ban shades and sporting his usual bad boy smirk.
He just looks so freakin' handsome!
"Well?" He urged. "What are you waiting for? Let's go!"
I tried to swallow my awe and shock as he stepped out of the car, walked to the other side and opened the door for me like a gentleman. So I gladly got in his car and waited as he made his way to the driver's seat and off we go to school.
"So," He started. "What made you call me to drive you to school?"
I shrugged. "I was supposed to drive my cooper to school but then I just found out that it was out of gas. Also, I tried to call my mom and ask her to drive me but then she's at work. If she ever got back, I'd be late by then. And, since we're new in town, you're the only one that I know who goes to CPEHS too."
"Ouch." He touched his seemingly hard chest. "I'm the last option?"
"What? No. It's not like that!" I tried to explain.
"Yeah, right." He scoffed. "If I haven't known any better, I would've thought you just wanted to ride with me to school since you fell deeply in love with me from the very first day we met--which is just yesterday."
"Really?" I snorted. "Don't be so full of yourself, Mr. Garfield."
"Don't be too cocky, Ms. Stone." He retorted jokingly.
I just chuckled in response. "Whatever."
***
After a few minutes of bantering, bickering and driving with Andrew, we finally reached the school grounds with fifteen minutes to spare. He parked his car inside the school's parking lot and we both got out. And once we did, people started staring at us.
"Why are they staring at us?" I asked him as we hesitantly made our way to the school's entrance. "What are they thinking?"
"I don't know." He shrugged, seemingly indifferent and uncaring.
Then we walked passed two girls who were staring intently at us and we heard what they were talking about even though I'm pretty sure that they never meant for us to hear since they're whispering--but we heard them anyway.
"Who's that girl?" Said the girl on the right.
"Yeah." Added the one sitting on the other girl's left. "And what is she doing with my Andrew?"
"Oh my gosh, are they dating?!" Girl One gushed.
Andrew slightly snickered on my side. "Did that answer your question?"
"I hope not!" Girl Two continued. "I know Andrew belongs to me!!!"
And with that, I grabbed Andrew by his arm and dragged him away from hearing more of their conversation and inflate his already-huge ego since he's already smirking right now.
We were inside the school's hallway now and more people started to stare at us. I even recognized some of his guy friends staring at us with amused and confused faces. They were probably thinking of the same thing that those two girls back there were thinking. Well, except for the Andrew-belongs-with-me part. That'd be weird.
"Is it really a big deal if we went to school together?" I whispered to him as we reached our lockers which were a few feet away from each other.
He gave me a look. "Well, you see..." He seemed to be choosing his words. "My rep here in school is a heart throb-slash-golden boy, right? But they never really saw me with another girl--romantically. Truth is, I never had a girlfriend since my last one."
"Which is when?"
He scratched the back of his head before saying, "Since the last two years. People here probably thought that I only had flings during those two years, but honestly, I never even had an hour-long conversation with a girl from school besides you."
Wow. That's news to me.
Is he serious?
A guy like Andrew can be single for more than two years? It's not that I thought that he would date around and be the ex-boyfriend of town. It's just that, with his reputation plus good looks, it's given that girls would come crawling to him. But seriously, two years? He must've loved his ex-girlfriend very much for staying single after that relationship.
I faced him after getting my books from my locker. "Do you want me to stay away from you until people will stop making up assumptions on why we're together?"
He shook his head violently. "No, don't! Why do we care on what they think? After all, we're just friends, right? We don't need to deny or admit anything because there is nothing going on."
I nodded my head, contemplating his answer. "I guess. Let's just ignore them. They'll stop, eventually." I suggested. "Oh, and why am I the only girl here in school that you became friends with?"
He shrugged. "You're the only girl here who has managed to spark my interest. Truth is, I was intrigued by you at first so I decided to try and crawl under your skin. I wanted to see if your reaction would be annoyed like I thought you'd be, or flattered and flirt with me right away just like what almost every girl here did whenever I tried to talk to them."
Aww, that seems nice, I thought. "Well, then I'm glad I didn't try to flirt with you."
To that, we both laughed.
"It's a good thing too since I found a new friend." I added, smiling at him.
"Yeah, I'm glad you didn't flirt with me too." He smiled back. Then added, "Even though I know that you wanted to flirt with me so bad in the the first place. Nice to see you're holding back."
He deserved a smack in the shoulder for saying that.
"In your dreams, Andrew Russell Garfield."
"At least I'd have a very sweet dream." He feigned looking wistful. "Inside my dream, we would be doing all kinds of things like--" The bell rang.
We both looked at each other first before hurrying towards the Physics class. Thinking back on it now, it seemed ridiculous that the hallway where our lockers are placed was almost empty. I felt so oblivious for completely missing out on that detail. Again. It's like lunch time from yesterday all over again.
As we were hurrying towards the Physics wing, I thought back on what Andrew had said earlier. Inside my dream, we would be doing all kinds of things like--then the bell cut him off. I wondered, if the bell didn't ring, what was he supposed to say?
I mentally shook my head to get rid of that thought. Who am I kidding? This is Andrew we're talking about. He's always joking. Even yesterday--when we first met, he still had the guts to suggest an innuendo to me. That's why I don't take him seriously sometimes. I wonder what he was like with his ex-girlfriend before...
We made it to the door of the Physics class room and sighed in relief. Thankfully, we made it here first before Ms. Sanders. I cannot be late twice in a row.
So we made our way to our seats since yesterday, chatted, bickered, bantered and waited for class to begin. Which wasn't that long of a wait.
"Good morning class!" Ms. Sanders greeted as she entered the room. "Sorry I was late, the faculty had a meeting and we didn't adjourn immediately. But anyways, I have something interesting planned for today. We'll be doing laboratory experiments!"
The excitement in this room grew tenfold. It's so noticeable. Hey, doing lab experiments beat sitting around in class any day.
"You'll be working with a partner on this one." Ms. Sanders continued. "Unfortunately, your partner's already picked out for you. Originally, I'm okay with you working with a friend. But then I thought that since you're working with a friend, you may not have proper results and conclusions. So I made sure that you won't be partners with a friend of yours."
The whole class groaned except for me and Andrew. I don't really care if I can't be partners with a friend. I'm new here. My friends are only Andrew and Maggie. And maybe Jake. Hopefully. But anyways, both Maggie and Jake aren't here on this class which leaves me with him.
"Silence." Ms. Sanders ordered. And once we did, she brought out a piece of paper and said, "Alright, I'll be announcing your partners. No switching. I have a list and if I caught you switching partners, I'll be giving detention. First pair: Matthew Stoll and Candy Swan. Second: Holly Meyers and Chris Ross."
There must be something going on between these two because when they heard that they're partners, the both perked up and smiled at each other. Yup, Ms. Sanders was right. They're not friends. They're more than that.
She continued, "Fourth, Ian Walter and Cross Morrison."
Wait a minute. Fourth?
I looked behind me and asked Andrew, "Who's the third pair?"
"Seriously?" He gave me an amused look with a smirk yet again. "It's us, Em."
We're partners? "I'm your lab partner?" I asked him, still skeptical.
"That's what I just said." He answered, pinching my cheek. "You should feel lucky that I'm your partner, you know."
"Why?" I cocked an eyebrow.
He snorted. "Because I'm a freakin' genius. Without me, you'd probably fail this thing."
Oh really? "As if!" I countered. "I should probably let you know that my previous school is a bit advanced so I know a lot of things too."
"Is that a challenge?" Now it's his turn to cock an eyebrow.
"If you're up for it."
"Oh, it's on."
***
We're now inside the laboratory, sitting in our own lab table while Ms. Sanders was explaining what to do. All our lab equipments were set up on the table and we're just waiting for Ms. Sanders' go-signal. Apparently, Andrew and I were going to have a simple competition on who's better with this experiment. And of course, I'm not going to back down.
"Ready to lose, loser?" Andrew whispered in my ear.
"Speak for yourself, moron." I whispered back.
"Alright class," Ms. Sanders called. "Let's get started. You only have 45 minutes to do this. Make use of your time wisely."
And with that, we started our "friendly" competition.
***
"Hey, Andrew?" I called to him after a few minutes or so.
"Yeah?" He called back but without looking up from his share work of experiment.
"Can you hand me that pendulum?"
"Where?" He asked absent-mindedly.
"To your left. In the upper cabinet."
Too bad for him, he looked away from his experiment. So when he seems distracted looking for the non-existent pendulum, I subtly grabbed his data and tried to hide it. Then I acted like I never moved in the first place.
"Em, there's nothing there." He looked back to his work and suddenly looked confused.
I tried to hide my smile while I asked, "What's the matter?"
"Have you seen my data?." He said while scratching the back of his head.
"No, why?" I asked innocently.
"It's gone." Then he suddenly smirked. "Just like yours."
I frowned. "What are you talking about? Mine's right over h--" I cut myself short upon realizing that he's right.
My lab experiment's gone! Where is it? I swear it was still here a few seconds ago. Even before I stole his lab d--
"Is this it?" I looked back to see him holding up my sheet paper.
"Andrew." I whined. "Give it back!"
"Right after you give mine back." He countered.
I sighed. "Touché." So I brought out his data in trade for my own.
"On three?" I offered.
He nodded. "On three."
"One,"
"Two,"
Three!" And we hastily traded papers.
We checked our papers for any crumpled parts or erased writings. After checking,
"Nice one trying to sabotage my work." He said with a sly smile.
"Not so bad yourself."
He shrugged. "I kind'a figured it out when I felt your gaze staring at me then at my paper so I made a plan of my own. Genius, right?"
I snorted. "Whatever. How did you managed to take my paper then?"
"Well, while you were too busy trying to hide my paper, you left yours exposed--or should I say unprotected? And then, I grabbed them before you turn back and I acted as if I was still searching for that pendulum. But it's also something that I already know to be non-existent." He explained.
"I gotta say, you're a good player, Garfield." I said to him, smiling a little.
"In what game am I good at, Stone?" He said with a smirk.
I laughed at that. "Never in your wildest dreams."
He just chuckled in response.
"Stone! Garfield! What's the noise over there? Continue your work. You only have 25 minutes left." Ms. Sanders called from the other team's lab table.
And so we continued to work. Though we both know that we're almost finished.
"Just so you know, the game's still on." I told him.
"It never stopped." He replied, smiling.
And about 15 minutes later, "Class, we only have 10 minutes left. You should all be finishing up by now." Ms. Sanders informed.
"It's about time." I muttered.
Apparently, Andrew heard me because he snickered. "Whoa, pipe down Little Miss Cocky."
"Wanna play that game, Russell?"
"I have another game in mind, Jean. If you're up for it."
My eyes widened at his innuendo. Is he seriously suggesting those things to me?
Thankfully, I didn't have to respond because Ms. Sanders spoke up, "Time's up class."
Almost everyone stopped what they were doing. Only a few remained to continue their work, trying to hide from Ms. Sanders observant eyes. "Hand in your papers."
So Andrew took my paper with his and handed it to Ms. Sanders, as well as what the other students did.
"I'm going to go over these papers tonight and by tomorrow, I'll give them back with your score." And with that, the bell rang.
But before we got out of the room, "Emma, Andrew, it seems that you two really need to have your tutoring session. The whole time we're doing the experiment, you two kept talking and talking. Are you guys even taking this seriously? Andrew, what happened to you? You used to be a serious student in my class. It seems that Emma is influencing you."
My jaw dropped at the accusation.
I was about to object but Andrew beat me to it. "No, it's not like that Ms. Sanders. It's actually the opposite." He gave me a look that said "play along" before continuing, "You see, Emma really knows what she is doing. I did too but there was one point where I'm a bit confused. I asked her what to do so she laughed at me first before helping me out."
Ms. Sanders contemplated this for a bit. "Is this true, Ms. Stone?"
I nodded immediately. "Every word."
"Very well then."
"Wait," I told her. "So does that mean that we don't have to continue our tutoring sessions?"
Ms. Sanders snorted. "Of course not."
"But--"
"End of discussion, class dismissed."
***
Later that day, after the last bell rang, Andrew and I exited the room. Jake was absent today. What a bummer. Well, maybe he'll be here tomorrow. Hopefully. I wanted so bad to ask Andrew about it but then I don't want him to get the wrong idea.
I was about to head to the school's garage when Andrew called after me. "Where are you going?"
"To my car...?"
He chuckled. "I drove you to school today. Don't you remember?"
I whipped my head to look at the garage and search for my car. I suddenly remembered that I did call him for a ride this morning. I looked back at him with a sheepish smile and said,
"Right. Sorry, I forgot. So what now? Let's go home?"
He scratched the back of his head and said, "Not quite yet."
"Why? Do you still have something to do?"
"Yeah, the school's basketball team's having a training today. I was supposed to ditch and drive you home but our coach told me that I can't since I'm the MVP." He explained. "You'll have to wait for me. Is that cool?"
"No, no. It's fine. I can wait." I assured him which immediately made him smile. "Besides, I'm curious to see how you play."
He smirked and said, "Be careful though, you might be very impressed."
I returned the smirk. "I'll be the judge to that."
And with that, I followed Andrew to the school's gym since I don't know where it is. When we got there, there were already a few guys in their jersey's playing a few hoops and a few students watching them on the bleachers.
"You can sit over there by the bleachers." He instructed. "I'll just go and change my clothes."
"Sure, sure." I replied.
So I walked over to the bleachers and sat a little bit away from the other students. Thought I didn't sit far enough to not hear their not-so-quiet conversation. I stole a glance at those students and from what I've been hearing--which is mainly just gossip, they are three girls gushing on the players. I honestly have no interest on what they were talking about but I heard a certain name that sparked my curiosity.
"I wonder if Andrew's playing today." said the girl on the right.
"Why? You like him?" Asked the girl on the left.
"Come on!" the girl in the middle exclaimed. "Who wouldn't? With all his looks, smarts, and that body? Only a blind nerd would find him unattractive."
"Don't tell me you like him too." said the girl on the right suspiciously.
The girl on the middle smirked. "Of course." Obviously.
The girl on the left groaned. "Great. Now I'm the odd one out. Am I the only one who doesn't like him?" Nope, I'm with you on that one. I like Andrew, but not the way that the other two was pertaining to.
The other two snorted but it was Girl on the Right who answered, "It's only because you're so loyal to your boyfriend Flash."
"Whatever." Girl on the Left snap back.
Suddenly, Girl on the Middle snapped her fingers and said very excitedly. "I have an idea! Who wants to get noticed by Andrew?"
I almost laughed out loud at that one. "I do! I do!" Cheered Girl on the Right. "What's your plan?"
"Let's cheer him while he's playing!" Girl on the middle suggested. "I'm 100% sure he'll notice us."
Girl on the right contemplated while Girl on the Left said, "Yeah right, he might mistake you guys for that blond girl sitting over there." Oh, she was talking about me. "I mean, there's a reason why she's here right?"
Girl on the Middle shrugged. "Maybe. She's new here, right? I've never seen her before."
Girl on the Right replied, "Yup. She's in one of my classes. I wonder why she's here."
Girl on the Left joked, "Maybe she's here to cheer for Andrew too." She did not just say that.
Girl on the Middle frowned. "I hope not. I heard a rumor about her and Andrew. If I found out that it's true... Well, let's just say she won't like her stay here for long."
I stopped listening instantly. As if, I scoffed. I'm pretty sure what she said would be the worst thing for my day. If she thinks they can scare me off, then it's a good thing I know how to fight back. What's their problem anyway. I think it's pretty obvious that the rumor's fake. They're just finding a reason to somehow "fight" for Andrew. Wait, they don't even have the right to act like that. Who are they? His girlfriends? Pitty. They really sounded pathetic.
Andrew walked inside the gym wearing his jersey. Cue the gush of the other female students sitting on the bleachers.
"Go Andrew!" Girl on the Right suddenly shouted.
Unfortunately for her, Andrew didn't hear her. Which is weird since I'm sure everyone on this gym heard her. Hm, he probably ignored her, I thought.
Andrew walked towards where I'm sitting and dropped his bag to the space beside me. "Em, can you watch that for me?"
"Sure. Uhm, until what time is your training?" I asked him.
He checked his watch before saying, "Until 3:30." Just two hours from now? I'm fine with that. "After that, we can go out and have coffee before I drive you home. Cool?"
"As long as it's your treat." I smiled to him very sweetly for effect.
"Of course." He smiled back. Behind him, their coach blew his whistle, signaling the start of their training. "I gotta go. Cheer for me!"
"Never!" And I was answered by his laughter.
Behind me, I heard the three girls talk again. "OHMYGOSH! Are they dating?!"
"I hope not!"
"Shit, I'm so upset right now!!!"
"What does Andrew see in her? I mean, she might be pretty but who knows, maybe there's another side of her that we don't know of."
"You suggesting she's a flirt?"
"Probably why she managed to get our Andrew."
Alright, that's it.
I stood up and faced them saying, "Hey girls?" I said very very sweetly with a fake smile plastered on my face. "You do realize that I can clearly hear everything that you're talking about, right?"
Their mouths practically fell in shock and shame.
"If you don't want me to tattle tale on Andrew, I suggest that you all shut your asses up and just enjoy watching the Andrew show." That's when I turned my back to them. Serves them right. And for the next two hours, I never heard them talk about me anymore. Though I still often heard them gush about Andrew whenever he shoots. And I gotta tell you, he can really play ball. No wonder he's the MVP.
Their mouths practically fell in shock and shame.
"If you don't want me to tattle tale on Andrew, I suggest that you all shut your asses up and just enjoy watching the Andrew show." That's when I turned my back to them. Serves them right. And for the next two hours, I never heard them talk about me anymore. Though I still often heard them gush about Andrew whenever he shoots. And I gotta tell you, he can really play ball. No wonder he's the MVP.
When the varsity team was done training, Andrew came back to where I was sitting and sat down beside me. "Ready to go?" I asked.
"Can you wait for another minute? I'm going to change. I'm sure you don't to have coffee with a sweat guy." He chided.
I nudged his arm. "I'm not that picky, you know. Though I can't say the same for other people."
He chuckled. "Please, they'd beg to wipe sweat off of me."
"Just go ahead and change Garfy!"
"Garfy?" He raised an eyebrow.
Oh right, he doesn't know that I secretly call him that.
"That's my secret nickname for you. Well, it's not a secret anymore."
He stood up. "I'll deal with that name when I'm done changing."
After a few more minutes, he came back full-clothed. He grabbed his bag and said, "So let's go!"
I stood up with him and together we made our way out of the gym and into the school's parking lot. We drove to the nearest Starbucks and sat at the table outside the store. He bought our drinks and snacks and we just talked and talked until it's already around 5-6 pm. See, we spent more than an hour just talking. How productive of us.
It was when my mom texted me asking where I am since it's already getting late that I remembered that I need to get home.
"Hey, Andrew, it's getting late. We should probably go home. My mom just already texted me." I told him.
"Oh, right." Is it me or did he look--I don't know, deflated? "Let's take you home then."
"Thanks for the food and everything." I thanked him with a smile as we buckled inside his car.
And just about thirty minutes later, we're already parked outside our house. The lights are on in the foyer, in the kitchen and in the living room. Yup, mom's home. It's getting pretty late. I checked my clock and it says 7:43 pm. Wow, time really flies when you're having fun.
"We're here." He said.
"Wanna come over and meet my mom?" I offered him.
"Are you sure it's okay with her? I mean, she'd think that we just met and I'm already giving you rides around town. She'd think I'm a creepy stranger." He said hesitantly.
"A creepy stranger?" I chuckled. "That's the point why I want you to meet her. Who knows, maybe you really are a creepy stranger."
"Ha ha."
"Come on! I'm sure she'll be thrilled that I already have a friend from school." I tried to persuade him.
He sighed. "Fine. Again, I know your mom will love me. Everyone does."
"Narcissist." I muttered but I'm pretty sure he heard me because he snickered. "Hey, didn't you hear those three girls from the gym earlier? They were pretty much worshipping you and you just ignored them. They even gossiped about me. What's up with them?"
"Oh, them." He said the word as if he wanted to say something else but decided against it. "I call them the Twiddle Dumbs. They're always there every time we have training. At first, I kind'a felt flattered for their support but as time went on, I realized that they're just plain push-over flirts. That's why I just decided to ignore them. I can't ask them to leave since they support the team."
At this point, we're already by the door of our house, ringing the door bell. My mom opened the door on the third ring.
"Oh!" She said, looking fairly surprised after seeing Andrew. "Em, you didn't tell me you have company. Come in, come in."
"Oh, right. Sorry." I apologized once we're inside the living room. I cleared my throat. "Mom, this is Andrew, a new friend of mine. And Andrew this is my mom."
Andrew smiled very sweetly and attractively at my mom as he held his hand out for her to shake. "Nice to meet you Mrs. Stone."
She returned the smile and shook hands with him. "The pleasure's all mine. And please, call me Krista."
"Krista." He repeated. "I can see where Emma got her good looks from."
Of course, my mom laughed with a proud air. She turned to me and said, "Such a gentleman." Then she faced him again, "You don't look bad yourself either."
Andrew laughed whole-heartedly. "Thank you, Krista."
"Can you talk more?" My mom asked him. "I love hearing your accent."
I gave her a look. "Mom!"
"What? I'm just telling the truth." She chuckled with Andrew.
"Yeah, Em. What's wrong with what Krista said?" Andrew chided.
Wow, three minutes together and they already teamed up against me. I think I'll regret introducing them to each other. I sure hope that's not the case...
"Oh," Andrew said, snapping his fingers like he remembered something. "Krista? By any chance, do you know someone that has a name of Lynn Hill--"
"Lynn Hillman-Garfield? Yes, honey. Why?" My mom finished for him. Wait a minute? Who's Lynn and why does she and Andrew have the same family name? Don't tell me...
"She's my mom, actually." He replied to her.
"Seriously?" I asked him, still not believing.
He chuckled whatever expression I have on my face. "Seriously." He confirmed.
"Who knew?" I commented with a smile.
"I think I did..." My mom answered. "I get it now! Lynn once told me about her son going to some school somewhere near Central Park. It never really hit me that you'd be in the same school as Emily."
"What a small world." Andrew mused.
"What a small world indeed." My mom agreed. "You see, your mom and I have been great friends ever since you were still living in the UK. Her and your dad, Richard were clients of my husbands back then. And I guess we became friends after that. She's actually the reason why I got a job at the company that we're both working on right now."
"And you only told me about this now because...?" I asked her with a suspicious tone.
My mom shrugged. "I didn't really think it was that important before. Besides, would you have met him the same way if you already know who he is? Speaking of which, how did the two of you meet?"
Oh no. Not that question.
Andrew and I looked at each other. We both don't know how to tell her that our very first interaction was an accidental kiss on the cheek. He mouthed, "Shall I tell her?"
I responded with a nod.
Andrew cleared his throat before saying, "Yesterday, Em was in a hurry to get to class so she bumped into me and kissed me on the cheek. And, as it turns out, we were on the same class. We pretty much have almost the same classes."
My mom laughed. "My daughter kissed you on your very first meeting?! You definitely have to stay for dinner. We have a LOT to talk about."
***
As expected, I was the target of their conversation and chitty chat during dinner. My mom seems to like him very much. They're even teaming up against me! What a mother! And what a traitor! So at around 9:30 pm, Andrew said that he needed to go home because his mom already texted him.
"Say hi to Lynn for me!" My mom suggested while we were standing in the foyer.
"Sure thing, Krista!" Andrew said with a smile. "Thanks for that wonderful dinner. Thanks for having me. It was incredibly amazing."
"Oh, don't mention it, honey! Come back any time soon! Goodbye!"
"Goodbye!" And after a quick hug, my mom weng back inside.
"Well," he started once we're alone. "your mom seems nice."
"I know."
"I got an idea!" He said suddenly.
"What is it?" I asked, hiding my smile. He's a bit surprising sometimes.
"It's now your turn to meet my family. When are you free?" He asked.
"I don't know. Maybe this Saturday?" I said reluctantly. Truth is, I'm a bit shy to meet his family. I guess I'm just afraid that they won't like me to be friends with Andrew.
"Why Saturday? You're not free this week?"
"Well, we do have tutoring sessions this week." I reminded him.
"Oh right. Saturday then." He confirmed with a grin. "So...I'm gonna go now. See you tommorow?"
"Text you later." I corrected him.
He smirked. "Text you later. Goodbye! Thanks for letting me meet your mom."
"It's nothing. And thanks for the ride."
"Don't mention it. I already told you not to thank me. I'm more than happy to do it." He said with a wink.
I didn't reply to that. I have no words. None.
He chuckled at whatever expression I have on my face. "Goodbye!" he got into his car.
I cleared my throat. "Be careful driving."
"Yes Little Miss Cocky!" and with that he drove off.
I walked back inside the house and into my room. I grabbed my bag and hunted for my diary. But when I reached my bag, I saw that it was open. And my diary's gone!
I must've left it at Andrew's car! And now he's going to read every dirty little secret that i have.
***
Quote of the day:
"Show me someone who wouldn't give it all up for Emma and I will show you a liar."
-Ryan Gosling.