Finally, I can settle down and finish my homework. There was a problem that I couldn't get and I'm taking differential equations.
My poor brain is being brutally worked out, this class is seriously killing me. I asked Mr. google for help and sister you tube with no luck. I called my last arsenal, Michael.
My bother with a different mother and father. Okay, It's not really funny but Michael is my math savior and my brother's best friend. They practically grew up together like me and Angelique. He's saved my behind several times when I'm stumped with a math problem.
He puts me on speaker and I started going over the problem. I still don't get it after he explained it twice, so he told me to put him on facetime that way I can see how he got to the answer.
He's my math hero. I would marry him in a heartbeat except I found out one day that he was like my first love, prefers to be with a he that a she. After an hour of mind numbing math equations, he changed topic, wanting to know if I've met Alex.
'You know about him too? How come I've never heard of the guy?' I was a bit perturbed.
'Because your head is always somewhere else except when you're in your shop class or playing with gadgets,' he replied. Too true.
'Mark seems to like him and I heard he's smart too,' I can hear admiration from his voice.
'Ohh, does Mikey have a little likey with Alexey?' teasing him.
'Heck no, He's straight as an arrrow. Besides Mikey is liking Mattey right now,' he said.
'Mat? Who's that? Is he new?' my curiosity got peaked again.
'Jayden, he's been in my class for like 2 years. We started going out a year ago. I even introduced him to you last summer. Are you still having memory issues? Does your aunt Jenny know that you're forgetting a lot of stuff still?' his voice of concern is starting to annoy me.
'I'm just kidding, of course, Mat, the cute guy, your boyfriend . Yah, I remember now,' I quickly lied to stop him from telling Mark and sic Aunt Jenny on me.
'Jayden, don't try and fool me. If you're not feeling well or you feel like something is wrong, let me know,' guilt eating me away because I truly don't remember Matt. Nice, and I thought that episode of my life is over.
I called Aunt Jenny the next day and told her what Michael had noticed about me last night. She made an appointment for me to see Dr. Swanson again for next week.
When the doctor heard what had happened, he figured that not only have I lost 6 months but some snippets of past happenings. He was slightly concerned but he felt that it's just part of my amnesia. 'Whew, what a relief,' I said to Aunt Jenny.
'Jayden, honey, you need to be more upfront when there's something not right about you,' looking at me peripherally as she was driving me back to my house.
'I know, but I truly wasn't even aware that there was something wrong until Michael pointed it out to me,' defending myself.
She had a thoughtful look in her face, she's probably gonna tell my parents and Mr. and Mrs. Sherlock Holmes will resume their mission, 'watch Jayden like a hawk and see if she's going cray cray again.'
Seriously, like I don't have enough in my plate. I went back to school the next day and totally forgot about my brain issue. It suddenly occurred to me that maybe that's why I can't get differential equation.
That part of my brain that is dominant has been disturbed. Maybe it incidentally killed some of my math brain cells. Likely excuse, although I doubt my professor would fall for it.
I was having lunch with Angelique's group when she asked me again, 'so? Did you find out anything about the new guy?'
If I don't satisfy her curiosity, I know she's just gonna turn mosquito on me, poking until I smack her, then she'll stop buzzing.
'ok, ready? Here's the scope. He's a transfer student, same class as Mark's and he's from Colorado,' I beamed at her, so proud of my detective work.
'That's it? 'She seems insulted.
'What? Not enough? Oh yeah, he lives with Caleb,' I added to make him more interesting.
'Who's caleb? His lover?' frowning at me.
'No, his cousin. His mom is the sister of Caleb's dad,' she's still not satisfied.
'Who's caleb again?' seriously.
'Caleb, BB's friend', I said irritatingly.
'O, o 'kay', she said. Jeez, finally. She got it. Did she got hit in the head too with a ball? What's her excuse?
'That still doesn't qualify as a bio. It only filled 3 blank spaces,' says Miss annoying.
'Ang, if you're that curious, go talk to Mark. He's his new BFF,' I just gave up and went back to finish my lunch before next period starts.
Boy, she must really like the new guy. Me? I thought he was cute but as soon as I heard the word 'transfer' a big red NO with an x sign showed above his head.
I rushed back to my class and I almost tripped and fell again. All I saw was a hand reaching for my bag that fell while I tried to keep myself from falling.
You would think with my training in karate I'd be less prone to meeting floors unexpectedly. Guess I forgot to earn the agility belt. I looked up and said thank you to my helper and it's the new guy, Alex.
'Hi, Alex. Thanks for picking up my bag,' embarrassed but wanted to be polite.
'No worries, are you okay?' looking at me with concern, checking for any signs of injury.
'Of course, I'm used to this. I think I'm the only short person that has the affinity to kiss the ground at any given moment, hehehe,' trying to lighten up the mood.
'Here's your bag' he said and left. My guess is he's not much into socialization.
I couldn't wait to get home, it's finally Friday. I get to relax now and recharge myself over the weekend. I'm so looking forward to 'me' time. The weather has been nice lately and there's a light breeze.
A short run might be nice. I grabbed a power bar and a glass of water. As I was chewing on the power bar, I saw caleb coming down the stairs followed by BB. I can hear them arguing about something.
Caleb insisted, 'I'm telling you, I heard he was called a Cassava in his old school.'
BB sat down in the bar stool facing the counter, 'dude, that doesn't make sense. You know what a cassava is?'
'Yeah, someone who has a lot of girlfriends,' Caleb fired back. Good thing I was facing the sink because half of the water I was trying to swallow sprayed out of my mouth. Both of them looked at me and started laughing pointing at me.
'What? why are you guys laughing?' I asked as I was wiping my face.
BB was quick to say, 'sis, you got booger in your face,' and continued to cackle.
I ran to the bathroom and looked at my face, ewww, it is a booger. No wait it looks like a piece of peanut from the power bar.
I came out holding the said booger and said, 'you know boogers are full of protein and they're good for you, helps develop muscles' and proceeded to put said booger in my mouth.
And there's the shocked look I was expecting, I took my cellphone out and took a pic, priceless and so adorable.
'Sisi, I'm telling mom when she comes home. You're really acting funny,' I didn't see that one coming.
'Wait, It was a piece of peanut from my power bar.' Quickly changed topic to avoid being reported.
I turned to Caleb's direction, 'Cassava is a starchy root like potato, I think what you meant was Cassanova, it's more for guys that have several girlfriends.' Explaining the difference between a root and a guy who girls need to stay away from.
'Ahh, makes sense now,' both of them just turned around and went to the sofa to watch movies.
I told them that I'm just gonna go for a short run and I won't be long. With the weather so cool and crisp, the park is the best place to be right now. The leaves are starting to change color which signals the coming of fall.
I love this season, everything is so colorful. I shied away from any ball and kept jogging until I've reached my mark and then turned around.
I saw some of the neighborhood kids playing in the swing, some waved at me. I'm glad we decided to move here a longtime ago, because this neighborhood is the best.
Where we used to live, we barely spoke to our neighbors. The only thing with being close to your neighbors is they know everything about you.
Mrs. Goldstein, a widower that lives in a small but cute cottage, waved at me to come over as I was nearing home.
'Hi Mrs. Goldstein, how's your back?' enquiring about her frequent complain.
'It's okay today since the weather is sunny, dang arthritis so moody,' she grumbled back.
'How's school? Michael said you're doing good even after that ball incident,' she's Michael's aunt so she knows a lot about us.
'Yah, I'm doing okay. I had to work harder but Michael bails me out all the time,' making her feel good about her nephew.
'I wish I can find a good girl for him, he's so sweet,' she said as she continues to prune her roses. I guess, Aunt Martha doesn't know about Michael's preference.
I waved my goodbye and finished my run. As I was about to enter our gate, Alex was coming from the opposite direction. He looked at me with one eyebrow slightly tilted up.
'Hi, I just went out for a short run,' to answer his curious look. He just continued on towards my door.
'Guys, I'm back,' announcing my return. Caleb had his bag ready and gave me a hug as he said his goodbye. I dragged him back to me.
He looked, 'your zipper is half open, your stuff is gonna fall out,' I pointed out to him and zipped his backpack properly, ruffling his hair. He gave me a big smile and I smiled back at him.
All Alex said was, 'thank you'. How is he a cassava, I meant Casanova, when he can barely string more than 3 words with me?
Does he not like me? Or does he find me offensive, I mean odor wise? I thought all players flirt with anything that moves.
So far, I haven't seen him with any ladies. Believe me, some tried to get his attention but to no avail.
It was Saturday afternoon and my one and only best friend wanted to go to the mall. She promised she's just there to find one outfit and we'll leave.
Yah, right. She keeps using the same line over and over again and fool that I am, continuous to fall for it.
Whatever, I wasn't doing anything anyway. Both parents went to visit some sick coworker and the boys are with their friends. So I agreed to meet her at her house.
When we got to the mall, she dragged me to her favorite store, forever 21. She said that they have all kinds of cute stuff that would look good on me.
But why buy something if I can't wear them anyway since all I wear to school is dark shirts and dark jeans. Which reminds me, I need a couple of shirts to replace the one I tore when it got hooked onto a piece of metal at shop class.
Angelique kept throwing dresses at me and keeps ordering me to try it on. I just put it back in the rack and keep looking for dark shirts which I can't seem to find. Most of the colors here are either light color or sleeveless and cut above the navel.
Are they for real? Meanwhile, she finally got the hint that I didn't want any dresses after the 5th dress she threw at me and I promptly put it back in the rack.
'J, why won't you wear a dress? You would look so cute with your short haircut. You'd look like a doll,' twirling a pink dress in front of a mirror.
'A, you know right that engineering students including girls cannot wear dresses in the class. I'd be the laughing stock,' grabbing the pink dress and putting it back in the rack.
'Hey, I'm not done checking out that dress,' she pouted at me for taking away her dress.
'Look, it would be a waste of money since I can't wear them anyway whereas you can wear anything you want since you have to look presentable all the time.' Handing her another dress that's less revealing and it's pink.
She likes it. Success, we're outta here. Now chow time, I love mall food.
Alex's POV
Ever since I've laid eyes on Jayden, she'd peaked my curiosity. She's so different from other girls that I've met before.
She's not bugged down by her looks, she charms people without trying and everyone just loves being around her. I should know, Caleb, my cousin, keeps talking about Jayden.
He pretty much gave me everything I wanted to know about her before I even met her and without my prompting. I think he might have a crush on her.
Can't blame the little guy, after our few meetings and Caleb reciting why she should be the queen of the universe, I, too, find myself falling for her. Though I barely know her, I've noticed her around the neighborhood and the university.
For some reason, I couldn't take my eyes off her. The few instances that we've met, I just felt a pull towards her which is kinda hard to explain.
Caleb's adoration and constant mention of her name compelled me to pay more attention to her just to see if he's right or wrong. The problem is, the more I hear about her it's as if I was being brain washed to like her.
I wanted to stay away from the ladies because I want to finish medicine as soon as I can. I did date a couple of girls back home, one at a time of course but I could tell it wasn't meant to last.
I've had quite a few offers from girls wanting to go out with me but if my ultimate goal is to finish med school, being distracted won't help me any.
Which is where I find myself right now, being distracted by Jayden.
I moved with my Aunt because mom and dad are getting ready to move down here from Colorado. They didn't want me to start midway of the school term.
My dad was headhunted to open a branch of his company as part of their expansion project, he's an architect. They decided that they will retire here for the weather and took this opportunity to start the process.
My mom is supposed to get here next month to start looking for a house for us. So far, I'm loving this area.
The neighborhood is noisy but everyone is nice and friendly. As an only child, I was used to peace and quiet. Living with my Aunt and her family took a little bit of getting used to.
Now, when I hear yelling, I can practically ignore it. Now that I've been living with them for a month, I've come to know a lot of people. I'm pretty much on first name bases with the grocer that sells my favorite ice cream.
I like to explore new places and the few times I was walking around the park, I've seen Jayden jogging while listening to her headphone.
Every time I see her, I think about that incident with Caleb and the bully. That's when I first heard about Jayden.
I was expecting a much taller person and bigger built. For her to incapacitate a guy, she must either be full of confidence, stupid or just plain reckless.
The first time I met her up close, I was caught off guard with her short stature. She barely came up to my shoulder but she was full of personality and her face is so cute.
I got tongue tied, I didn't know what to say or how to form a conversation. I just kept looking at her. I tried to stay conspicuous when she's around because I didn't want to come off eager.
That's how I ended up in this girly store now pretending to look for a shirt that I don't even need. I saw them coming in at the main entrance as I was talking to Craig.
He's one of my classmates who wanted to hang out at the mall because the girl he likes wanted to come. He felt awkward with just the two of them so I get to be the third wheel.
I was surprised, at first, to see Jayden in a mall since I know that she's not into dressing up, this I found out courtesy of Caleb.
I followed them surreptitiously to see what they're up to. I heard their conversation and impressed at how she handled her friend.
As I was about to leave, her friend, Angelique saw me.
'Hi Alex, what are you doing here?' she asked as she approached me. Her eyes looking like she's getting ready to gobble something. Hope it's not me.
'Oh, hi. Nothing much, my friend wanted to hang out with a girl so I left them alone,' I answered back as I was about to turn away.
She grabbed my arm and pulled me towards the food court. Jayden just looked at me and shrugged her shoulder, like she doesn't care.
They lined up for their food while I got me a slice of pizza, I offered to pay for their food but they refused. They finally sat down and started opening their bags. Jayden couldn't stop making humming sounds as she smells her food. She looks so cute.
She practically devoured her philly cheese steak, whereas Angelique was just picking on her salad. Jayden offered her a bite but she made a face and pushed the sub away from her face. Jayden took a piece of meat with a fork and fed it to Angelique.
'J, I hate you. Stop tempting me,' she looked at her after she swallowed the meat.
'A, if you're gonna eat why are you killing yourself with just a salad. Mall food is there to replenish your energy so you can continue shopping,' convincing her friend.
'No, I can't gain weight because I have to look good for our next project. We get to pretend and talk in front of the camera. We're being graded on our topic content, delivery, and how we look,' Jayden just looked at her and continued eating her food with much gusto.
She's so refreshing. She probably could beat me at a pizza eating contest. She looked at me with a smile in her face and a small onion stuck on her cheek. I pointed at her left cheek signaling her.
'What? Something wrong with my face?' she asked as she grabbed a napkin and wiped her face.
'It's gone,' I said. She smiled back at me and said thanks.
Meanwhile, Angelique perked up and started asking me all kinds of questions about myself. She wanted to know practically everything, from the time I was born to the time I moved here.
I tried to be nonspecific and nonchalant. Although all this questioning is starting to make me sweat, especially when she moved on to my love life.
I'd rather Jayden not hear anything about that, I didn't want to give her any wrong impression. She noticed my discomfort and intervened.
'Ang, I'm tired. Let's go,' as she slowly got up, collecting her trash and head towards the exit.
'But, but, I'm not done yet,' trying to push Jayden to a makeup store.
I interrupted them and offered to give Jayden a ride back home and Angelique can stay and shop some more. It's the least I can do for what she did for me back there, besides it would give me a chance to be with her.
They both agreed to split up. Angelique with her shopping and me taking Jayden back home. I called my friend and told him I'm heading back since I had stuff to do. As I was about to hang up, I heard him say, 'dude, I scored'. Lucky guy.
Jayden must have been truly tired, as soon as she sat down, she closed her eyes. I grabbed on to her seatbelt and buckled it for her. I was so close to her, I could feel her breath against my skin. With her eyes closed, she softly thank me.
I just sat there staring at her, feeling my heart picking up speed. She looks adorable too when she's sleeping.
I don't know what came over me but I took out my cellphone and secretly took a couple of pictures of her sleeping. What in the world is happening to me? I've never felt this way before.
When we arrived at her house, she was practically dragging her feet as she climbed out of the car. She waved at me and said her thanks, she went in without looking back.
I was somewhat disappointed, I wanted more alone time. I noticed my heartbeat didn't slow back down until I got home after droppping her off. This is so weird.
Mark was one of the guys that I've quickly gotten close to because I sit next to him in my advance chemistry class and we have practically the same class schedule. He can be rowdy sometimes but in a good natured way. One day he got a call from someone.