Sophia
Lucas played Bruno Mars' "Just The Way You Are" using the acoustic guitar.
When he opened his mouth to sing, heads turned to look at him. There were no more than fifteen people in the music store, and all of them listened to Lucas play and sing.
His voice was rich, well-rounded, and mesmerizing.. he was even able to hit the high notes.
The whole time he sang while playing the guitar, Lucas locked his brown eyes on mine.
In between lyrics, he would make exaggerated faces and gestures for dramatic emphasis, and I erupted in fits of giggles and laughter at his comical but impressive performance.
After he finished the last verse, I repeatedly clapped my hands, my applause joined by the other people inside the music store who also began to praise Lucas and his talents.
"That was awesome,man," whooped Jonas, an employee sitting behind the counter.
Lucas nodded at him. "Thanks. Could you ring this up for me? I'm buying it."
"You're gonna what now?" I gaped at my handsome friend holding up a guitar.
He gently poked my forehead as he chuckled. "You heard me right, Sophia. I'm getting this."
"But.." my voice trailed off, and I fixed Lucas with a curious look. "I thought you were just..."
"..going to play?" he supplied for me. "Nope," he said, popping the 'p' sound. "I'm buying it."
I lowered my gaze to the price tag dangling from the bottom half of the fret-board. I gasped.
Reaching for his purple sleeve, I urgently tugged at it, dragging him closer in order for me to mutter inside his ear: "It costs 2,950 pesos! You can purchase a similar guitar online for a reduced price! Is this even your first guitar or do you have a good, efficient one at home?"
I felt him tremble with laughter. "Sophia, my only and oldest guitar was given to me by one of my grandfathers." He paused,clearing his throat. "Okay, I'll be more thrifty from now on, but I really want to get this particular instrument." He slowly pulled away from my grasp, and I released him.
"Well, it's your choice," I mumbled as I witnessed him pay for the guitar. "But why THIS guitar?"
He had his back turned to me. "I have my reasons."
"Ooh. Intrigue. I'm so turned on," I absentmindedly said.
Lucas straightened up and craned his neck to send me a teasing smile. "Are you serious?"
My heart skipped a beat. "No? Yes? I'm confused. You know what, I'll just go ahead. Bye!"
I scurried away before he could interrogate me further.
My stomach grumbled. I was craving something sweet and soft. Bingo! There it is.
K.K. or Krispy Kreme---My favorite doughnut place. The walls were made of glass and the green sign was emblazoned with bold red text reading KRISPY KREME. It was rather crowded but I'll take my chances.
The heavenly scent of sugar and glaze invaded my nose the second I entered the establishment.
I noticed a piece of paper underneath my left sneaker, so I plucked it off the sole and I squinted.
ONE-DAY SALE! BUY THREE ORIGINAL GLAZED FOR ONLY SIXTY PESOS!
OR SIX ASSORTED DOUGHNUTS FOR 126 PESOS WITH PURCHASE OF ANY COFFEE!
NO. FUDGING. WAY. I couldn't believe it! The first bargain caught my eye more.
I excitedly fell in line--which was pretty long--and I waited patiently for my turn.
Wait a minute. The young man in front of me sported a purple shirt and a mop of black hair.
My hand flew to my mouth to stifle my snickers but I was already shaking with sheer glee.
A coy smile gracing my full lips, I folded my arms over my chest and I quietly hummed the tune of "Just The Way You Are" while looking to the side.
In my peripheral vision, I caught a glimpse of Lucas raising his head with alertness. "No."
"Yes." My smile widened.
"You don't look like the trailer type," he slyly told me.
I sputtered a laugh. "Did you hear about the sale?"
"What sale?" Genuine bewilderment contorted his face.
I waved the promotional flyer in front of him. "This one!" My tone was indignant.
Lucas swiped the paper from my fingers and perused the advertisement. "I'll pass."
"Well, if you're not in the mood for doughnuts, then why are you here?" I asked him.
He looked at me while pointing to the right side. "I'm a sucker for their iced coffee."
Iced coffee.. He loves that, too. It was proving to be torment being his friend when he shared common interests with me. Movies.. pastries.. music.. I'm not much of an artist, though.
"Hey, Lucas?" I called him.
The tall male smiled at me. "Yeah?"
I squirmed a little but I met his brown eyes anyhow. "I never got to see your drawings."
"Oh? Oh," he said, comprehension dawning over his features. "Nor me your poems."
My lips parted to utter something, but I wasn't sure what to say, and I ended up closing my lips.
"How about this," proposed Lucas, pressing his palms together. "I'll bring my sketchpads no matter where I go for as long as we can,and you carry your poetry during the same length of time. That way, the next time we bump into each other like passing ships, it will be easier."
Did he just make a nautical reference? I nodded my head at him. "Deal."
Soon enough, I bought my doughnuts while Lucas ordered iced chocolate coffee, to his joy.
We parted ways for the third time in one day, and I checked my white phone for the time.
3:56. I better hurry to the supermarket if I wanted to avoid the traffic rush later. I quickened my pace and when I arrived at my destination, I grabbed a grocery cart and pushed it forward.
I rooted inside my green string bag and produced a neat to-buy list of food ingredients. It shouldn't take too much time to search for them. I only had thirteen items to hunt for.
To my shock, a random guy purposely bumped his metal cart against mine. "Hey!" I cried.
"I swear I'm not following you," said my assailant.
Not so random after all. I ogled the tall male in astonishment. "Lucas?"
The black-haired,brown-eyed teenager in a purple shirt and faded jeans scratched his cheek.
"Fourth time's the charm?" He gave a nervous laugh before curling his fingers around his cart.
"Just so you know, I don't mind these chance encounters," I confessed to him. "But to be frank, I'm sort of worried you'll get sick of seeing my face too much."
"I don't see that happening anytime soon." I froze at his words. It was probably my imagination, but I could have sworn the twinkle in his brown eyes and the tone he used was.. flirtatious?
Stop deluding yourself, Sophia. Don't read too much into things.
"Cooking dinner tonight?" Lucas asked me as he spotted the checklist in my hand.
"Yep," I replied, thrusting my cart along the hygiene aisle. How did I end up here?
"That's a short list," he noted and I raised my left brow at him.
"What are you insinuating?" I lazily asked.
"It's just that.. I'm not buying much either, so I thought, maybe we could share one cart?"
I pursed my lips, poring over the idea. Not a minute later did I abandon my empty grocery cart and requested my friend to cautiously grip the metal cart in his hands.
"Oh, good. I didn't think I would fit in here," I breezily mused as I climbed into the large cart.
Lucas relentlessly laughed as he pushed the grocery cart containing me, and as he guided and swerved the metal cart to specific aisles, with me grabbing at products and dumping them on my lap and some items into the actual cart, several adult shoppers glared at us in disapproval while fellow teenagers and multiple children looked on with awe and nostalgia.
Thirty-five minutes later, we were done collecting stuff, and I was still riding the grocery cart while the cashier scanned the products, all the while eyeing us with a strange look.
"Sophia, let me carry those for you," offered Lucas as he and I walked out of the mall.
He reached for one of my bulky yellow plastic bags, and I told him: "Thanks. I'll just hail a jeep."
"What? The traffic is horrible," he said, gesturing to the bumper-to-bumper vehicles outside.
"I'm used to it," I told him with a tiny smile.
"But you don't have to be all the time," he argued, and I was startled when he placed one hand on the small of my back and nudged me in the direction of the parking lot.
"Lucas, I'm fine," I protested.
I glanced at him. He was shaking his head. "I'll give you a ride home."
"You are one stubborn and persistent guy, Lucas De Los Reyes."
We neared his white mustang, then he opened the passenger door for me. I stepped inside.
"You'll find that it's my strongest and most endearing quality," he cheekily announced.
"Hmm..whatever floats your boat," I murmured as the car began to wheel into the streets.
Lucas didn't respond so I turned to face him. He drove slowly, and he pointed at his chest.
"What?" I inquired with a perplexed frown.
He pointed a finger at his chest again. I squinted at him before realizing that he was pertaining to the black seat-belt slanted from his shoulder to his waist.
I smiled, fastening my own seat-belt, securing the clasp in place. I then grinned at Lucas.
"You were wrong," I told him as he drove at a faster but careful speed.
"About what?"
"That's for me to know and for you to find out," I crowed while gazing out the window.
"Ooh. Intrigue. I'm so turned on," he said, playfulness evident in his voice.
I fought back a giggle.
He's wrong---because his strongest and most endearing quality--is his caring heart.