“Hi! Can I sit next to you?” He pretended like he did not know me.
“No!” I retorted, mad at him. Very mad.
“Hey, why don’t you sit here?” A girl offered. He got a few more similar offers, which made me really jealous. And I could not stop myself.
“He’ll sit here. Sit.” I ordered him.
Jason sat down beside me and flashed his killer smile; I would have totally fainted had I not been angry. The other girls were surprised at him listening to me. They totally wanted him. I could tell. We all could. Even Jess was ogling at him. What more can I say? Throughout the class, everybody had their eyes on Jason, even the boys. And it was really distracting. I could not focus on my lessons. Ugh. After the class was over, I packed my bag and headed towards him. Before I could mutter a word, numerous female entities pushed me out of their way and began flirting with him. Great! So now I could not talk to my own bodyguard? What the hell?! I stood there with my mouth open and a big frown on my forehead.
As if that was not enough, the guys came over and started asking him to join the football team. ‘Do you know he’s actually 23?’ I wanted to shout out.
Finally when the crowd cleared out, I got to talk to him.
“You…” I began, only to be cut off by him.
“Your dad asked me to do this. Even I hated this idea. But now with all the girls over me, I don’t really mind!” He chuckled.
“Hey! You can’t flirt with them!” My possessive self said.
When I realized that would make him suspicious of my crush, I quickly added, “Because…if you do, umm…they will all soon get to know how proud and irritating you are and they will all hate you Jason. And you wouldn’t like that, would you?”
I had no idea if that made any sense, but I got to the point. “But why did dad… oh! ‘cause of the attack last night? Right. And how did all this get arranged so quickly?”
“Your dad is a friend of the trustee. And only the principal knows that I’m here to protect you. So don’t let it out, okay?”
I nodded. Ash and Jess joined us at lunch. Every girl, with or without a boyfriend, had their eyes on Jason, who was sitting right beside me. It felt awkward. They were probably wondering why he chose me out of the whole lot. I was popular, and pretty too, but not exactly the glamorous type. I never put on makeup except for parties. I never really liked to dress up like the other girls. But that was just me. And the other girls were, at that pint of time, making me really angry. Why were they staring at him? I did not like it at all. I just wish Jason knew.
Halfway through recess, Jessica started making a move towards Jason. As if things weren’t complicated enough already, my best friend was now advancing towards my crush. Shit. And I didn’t know if it would be right to intervene. I was confused and sad.
“Hey Jason, do you like this lipstick too?” She smiled, hinting at their meeting at the mall.
I wished she had a boyfriend so she would not hit on Jason.
“Yes. Better!” He replied.
I looked at the two with utter despair and helplessness. My phone beeped and it was Brad, texting me from across the mess.
‘What up sis? Why the frown?’
‘Jess hitting on Jason L’
‘Hey. U really like him?’
‘I guess L’
‘Me too J’
‘Help me idiot’
‘Will you ask mom to let me go out tomorrow?’
‘Depends on whether your plan works.’
‘Wait n watch sis J’
Brad walked over to where we were sitting. Now let me tell you this story. Jess fell for every guy that was cute and well built. She had the longest crush ever on Brad. Whenever she came over to our place, she would secretly peek into his room to get a glimpse. One time she literally tripped over when he waved to her. But Brad never paid any attention to her. Now, there was Jason in front of her. And she was trying to impress him too.
“Hey Jess!” Brad smiled at her.
Jessica immediately turned away from Jason and replied to Brad.
“Hey Bad! Brad.” She fumbled nervously. It was hilarious. But the plan was working! It was working!
“Wanna hang out?”
“Sure!” Jess picked up her lunch and waved goodbye to us! I did a mental fist pump!
At home, I talked to mom about Brad and she gave him permission to attend his friend’s party, on the condition that he would be back by ten o’clock latest. After all, he had turned away Jessica’s attention from Jason. And had made a way for me to convey my feelings to him. But would it be right to tell Jason? I did not have the slightest idea if Jason would ever feel the same way about me. And, more importantly, would I ever have the guts to confess my love? Only time knew.
It was seven o’clock sharp by the clock. This was when Jason always came out of his room and grabbed a snack. He was kind of strict about his fitness routine. I decided to cook him a little something. Although there was a chance of him getting poisoned by my creation, I still gave it a try. As they say, the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach! It was Brad’s idea. For a change, he actually suggested something good. I made Jason some chicken sandwich and fresh mango juice and waited for him to exit his room. Brad probably was more excited than me for some reason. He literally bullied me into practicing the dialogues I would say to Jason, to make sure the plan got executed perfectly.
We were arguing over how to say what, when Jason suddenly appeared in front of us. We both stopped talking and stared at him.
“Okay, honestly, why are you twins so weird?” Jason chuckled.
Oh no, he thought I was weird. I did not stand a chance. But still, I would give it a try, I thought.
“Jason, forget our weirdness, have a look at what I made you! Ta-da!”
Jason’s eyes popped out and his lips curved into a smile. He was not expecting this. He immediately snatched it from my hands without a thank you and started stuffing it into his mouth.
“Okay...you’re welcome?” I said to myself.
“Psst.” Brad whispered, “Go over there moron. Talk to him.”
I obeyed him and sat down beside Jason on the couch. He was, as usual, engrossed in a match. I gathered all my courage and spoke.
“Jason…”
“Shh…” he cut me off, “I’m watching a match here. Quiet!” He gestured with his hands.
“Hey, what was your girlfriend’s name again?” I was acting smart just to find out whether he had one.
“When did I ever tell you her name?” He asked with his mouth stuffed.
Fish. He did have a girlfriend. All my hopes went down. I heard my heart crack, I swear!
“Besides, I don’t have one!” He added.
“Really?” I said ecstatically, “I mean… a flirt like you, you don’t have a girlfriend?”
“Nah. I haven’t met the right one yet.”
‘But you met me, idiot.’ I thought.
I was stuck on what to say next. I forgot everything Brad had taught me. So I decided to say whatever came to my mind. But before I could, Jason interrupted me.
“Do you have a boyfriend?” He said, his eyes glued to the TV screen.
“Oh no, no! Not at all. Of course not! Ha ha! Why would I have a boyfriend?” I replied, acting like a total idiot.
He stared at me in a way which said ‘Are you real?’ and laughed, saying, “I can see why!”
I mentally punched him. Because if I did that in real, my hand would probably flatten at the knuckles, or I would break a bone or two. In short, I would land myself up at the hospital.
“No, but really?” He continued, “How can someone as pretty as you not have a boyfriend?”
He thought I was pretty? Aww! Or was he just flirting with me?
“I don’t know, maybe I have to wait for the right one!” I said, “Or maybe I have found him already but we are yet to find love…”
I hoped that idiot would get my hint. I prayed to God, and looked at Brad. He gave me two thumbs up from the kitchen.
“Oh… good luck!” Jason said.
Who was I kidding? What the hell kind of moron was he? Why could he not understand what I wanted to say to him? Ugh.
“Thank you.” I said angrily. But he did not notice my tone. Courtesy, our television. I felt like picking up the flower vase next to me and slamming the TV screen until all its circuits came right out. That stupid TV was coming in my way! And I also wanted to slam Jason’s head.
“So have you found the one yet?”
I kept quiet.
He turned to look at me. “Hey, I asked you something!”
I was still quiet, looking at the TV screen angrily.
“Oh. I’m sorry… I just couldn’t understand. I get it now… Oh my Gosh.”
What? He understood? Oh my God, I did not see that coming. What to do? I got nervous.
“You’re angry because I didn’t share this sandwich with you!”
Jesus, take me to the heavens.
“No, Jason. No. I’m not angry because of that. Maybe if you paid a little more attention to what I was saying rather than just staring at that stupid television, you would have understood. I’m sorry; I’m going to my room.”
Brad and Jason looked at each other. Brad shrugged his shoulders and Jason said, “Girls!”
I closed my bedroom door behind me and sat down on the floor. I was really mad at him. And I did not even want to talk to him. Okay, I did want to talk to him. But I wanted him to realize that he made me sad. So I decide to act like I did not want to have a single word with him. Girls!
But instantly, I had a better idea. I decided to write my feelings in a letter. Maybe that was an easier way to make that idiot understand. And frankly, I could not keep my feelings bottled up inside me. It was killing me. I really had to tell Jason how much I liked him before somebody else came and took him away from me…