This is formerly a part of chapter 8. Still the same. --Love, stupidcupid
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Jaime’s Side <3
I watch Princess as she stands there on the stage. Clearly, she’s tensed and pressured. She looks unsure of herself. It's hard for me to watch my best friend hyperventilating on stage! Maybe not exactly hyperventilating but you should get the point. All I could do is silently cheer for her.
Suddenly, I notice that someone is beside me. It's someone tall and extremely fragrant.
I’d know this perfume from anywhere.
To confirm my suspicions, I find Mikee, my ever so charming prince. I immediately look away as I blush.
“Hello!” he greets me with an usual jolly spirit. I greet him with a smile, not really knowing how to respond.
Oh my gosh! Mikee just greeted me. Mikee just greeted me! Ahh!
“This play is some hard business.” Mikee starts saying. “Do you want to practice?” he asks.
All I could do was nod. For the first time in my life, I, Jaime Anne am speechless! I thought it's impossible but Mikee has just the magic to shut me up.
Afterwards, he grabs my hand and pulls me back stage. The way he touched my hand was a breath-taking sensation! I wouldn’t have let go but I had too. He wasn’t mine. But that didn’t matter now. Mikee is by me now, that’s what matters.
Before it becomes too awkward, Mikee lets go of my hand and I automatically miss how our fingers were intertwined. I stare at my hand for quite a while. I am never going to wash this.
“Jaime?” he says. His voice was so soothing as he said my name. Who knew my name was so pretty?
I turn and look in his direction. “Coming.” I say, smiling.
“So you’re playing my love interest.” He says.
“Basically, my character is playing you’re character’s love interest.” I correct him while I feel my cheeks heat up.
“So if that’s the case, is there a chance that you’d like me?” he asks.
“What?! – What are you saying?” I say while turning red.
“I’m just kidding.” Mikee says while laughing a bit. I decide to laugh with him.
Then we begin chatting and chatting for hours. He does most of the talking. Our topics are out of this world. It goes from his dead toenail to his uncle that pretended to be a monkey to get a job in the zoo. Mikee is so funny and energetic.
This Mikee is totally different from how everyone labels him. Mikee isn't really just simple and plain. In reality, he's an amazing person who can easily lift up your mood.
Oh how I wish this moment would never end. It’d be fine for me if he’d tell me stories forever. I’d listen to him. I’d even laugh at his corny jokes. I’d be an amazing life to spend with him. I know this is a cliché thing to say but I can't imagine my "happily-ever-after" without him.
I blush as I realize how embarrassing my thoughts are. I sound like a love struck sappy hormonal teenager!
I'm not really like this before. I was a normal girl who didn't have a clue on what having a crush feels like. I was just a loud girl that doesn't have the word love in her vocabulary. My old self would definitely scold my present self if she still existed.
But I can't exactly stop myself from changing. With Mikee being a part of my life, I just can't be that old girl anymore.
“So who’s you’re crush?” I suddenly hear him say. My eyes widen in shock.
“A crush – a guy you adore maybe because he’s handsome or kind or talented.” He says because I didn't answer for a while.
“Oh,” is all I could say.
“So who is it?” he asks again. Who would I say? I couldn’t admit that it was him. That would be suicide.
“You don’t have to answer that.” He says. I smile in relief.
“Thanks.” I reply.
“But if you would answer that who—“ he says before I stop him.
“That’s a secret.” I say.
“Oh come on.” He says.
“Nope.” I reply.
“I’ll tell you my crush.” He says. I rather not know.
“No thanks.” I tell him.
“Unfair.” He says, acting like a kid who lost his balloon. I stuck my tongue out and he does the same.
“If I catch you, would you tell me?” he asks.
“What do you mean by ‘if you catch me’?” I ask, confused.
He looks at me suspiciously and says “Run.”
I begin running back stage. He tries to run after me but I am too fast. I keep on sticking my tongue out whenever I see him.
“I’ll catch you!” he says.
We chase each other in circles. We even almost ruin the other props. Finally, he brings out a white handkerchief and says “I surrender!”
“Good. I’m tired.” I tell him while panting heavily.
We sit somewhere and try to regain our composure.
“That was fun.” He starts saying. “Too bad I lost.” He continues and then we laugh.
Then Ms. Suzanne approaches us because she is disturbed by our game. We apologize but chuckle silently afterwards.
“We should practice our lines.” I tell him.
Our characters would be appearing next but we won’t be an instant love team. As Anthony pushes Elisa away, Mark would be her lover. Danica, my character, would just be Elisa’s best friend. As the story progresses, they’d discover that they really love each other. If only reality would be just as kind.
We run through our lines for an hour. It is evident in our voices that we are bored and sleepy.
“Want to play hide and seek?” Mikee says.
“That’s not you’re next line. You’re line is –“ I say before I am cut off. Mikee laughs.
“I know. I mean do you want to play hide and seek for real?” he says.
“I want to but Ms. Suzanne would get mad.” I sheepishly admit. He sighs.
“I’m hungry.” He says, suddenly changing the topic.
“Well, I guess we could ask for lunch.” I say.
We ask Ms. Suzanne permission to eat in the cafeteria.
“Have you practiced?” she asks.
“We’ve run through our lines.” I reply.
“Very well then. You may only stay there for an hour.” She tells us.
After that, Mikee pulls me to the cafeteria. The place is vacant since most of the students already had their lunch. He buys a hamburger while I order rice and beef steak. Then we sit down.
This is just like a date. I blush because of that and immediately feel self-conscious.
But after I witness Mikee devour his burger, I instantly feel comfortable. It is as if he is participating in an eating contest. I chuckle.
“I’m sorry.” He says, extremely embarrassed.
“Nah, it’s alright to enjoy your food.” I tell him.
With that, he swallows some more. Then I begin to eat my meal. This is so fun!
Deeply engrossed in my food I barely notice Mikee staring at me.
“What?” I ask.
“Umm…” he mumbles. He points at my cheek.
“Huh?” I ask.
“Let me get it for you.” He says as he wipes something off my face with his handkerchief. I know that I have extreme crush for Mikee but I never imagined that I could actually be electrified by his touch. I feel awkward but happy with his sudden closeness. I freeze there, just letting him take care of me.
“Thank you.” I say and Mikee laughs.
“Don’t mention it.” He starts saying.
“Just eat slowly.” He adds. Then he chuckles.
“You know, for a small person like you, you sure eat a lot.” He comments.
“What do you mean by ‘small person’?” I ask while placing my hands on my waist. He laughs loudly.
“Haha, very funny.” I tell him.
After that we eat in silence for a little while. I don't really mind because I'm really hungry. Suddenly, Mikee speaks up.
“You know, you’re kind of pretty.” He says. I try to hide my currently reddish cheeks from his view.
“No, I take that back.” He says and I frown.
“You’re definitely cute.” He tells me. My cheeks heat up more.
“Uh—um” I mumble, unable to form a single coherent sentence. Mikee laughs.
“Can I get your picture?” he asks.
“I don’t think that’s I good idea.” I tell him.
Too late. He is already bringing out his phone. I try to stop him but a scrawny girl like me couldn't do anything with a guy like him.
“Gadgets are forbidden in this campus. You could get caught!” I tell him.
“Just one picture!” he says.
“No.” I say while covering up my face.
“Aww. Please! What about a picture of the two of us?” he tells me.
“Fine but just make it quick so no one sees us.” I say. Oh my gosh! I’m going to have a picture with my crush! A real picture! With Mikee!
He sits beside me and wraps his arms around my shoulder. I smile my best smile. He clicks the picture button on his phone and snaps us a photo.
“This is nice.” He says. I nod in agreement as I stare at the photo. The lunch date is pretty much silent afterwards.
When we are done eating, we walk back to the auditorium.
“Can we play hide and seek now?” Mikee asks.
“No. We have to go back.” I reply.
“Please.” He pleads.
"Aww, he’s so cute but we’re going to be late. We’re going to get in trouble if we play." a logical angel that I'll name "Smarty" in my head says.
"But he’s just so cute! Oh come on." a love struck which I will now call "Lovely" voice replys.
"I want to play with him. It’ll be a wonderful chance for the two of us… but we can’t stay here any longer." Smarty just tells Lovely.
"There’s no trouble in bending the rules once in a while is there?" Lovely argues.
"I just not… but—" Smarty stutters, almost bowing down to defeat.
"You like him right?" Lovely tries to reason out.
"Yes." Smarty admits, her logical side fading.
"He’s your crush." Lovely says with conviction.
"Uh-huh." Smarty says.
"Well, then have fun. I know you like it." Lovely declares.
"Fine. But what if we get detention for this?" Smarty likes the idea though she is still in doubt.
"One detention won’t hurt. Besides, this is a once in a lifetime opportunity!" Lovely says.
"You’re right." Smarty agrees.
"We’re right." Lovely tells Smarty proudly.
"Oh yeah. You’re me." Smarty just states the obvious.
"Go get him." Lovely encourages.
And that ends my mental conversation with myself.
“Um, Jaime?” Mikee says while waving his hand in front of my face.
“You’ve been staring at that wall for three minutes.” He tells me.
“I have?” I ask.
“Yes.” He answers.
“Now can we play?” he asks.
“Sure.” I answer with a smile.
“Here’s how we’ll play. I’d cover your eyes with my hands and you’d go look for me.” He says, confidently. I laugh at his childishness.
“That would be silly since you’d just be behind me.” I argue.
“Oh, right.” He says.
“Well, so much for hide and seek.” He tells me.
“Oh no. we’ve been here for an hour and ten minutes!” I tell him after looking at my watch.
“Want to miss ten more?” he asks.
“Why? We have nothing else to do out here.” I tell him.
“You’re good at running.” He says.
“I don’t think I’d like where this is going.” I tell him.
“We’ll see.” He says.
“Run.” He tells me.
“Aren’t you tired of chasing me?” I say as I step with my left foot to run. Since I use the wrong foot, I lose my balance. Then I start falling.
When you fall, you feel the worst feelings ever existing.
First, you feel alone with nothing to hold on to your sides or to pull you up. You're just there... having less than a second to be suspended in space. But that less than a second moment is all that it takes to feel lonely.
Second, you feel scared. Scared because you know what lies below. Scared because you know that you're going to get hurt.
Lastly, you'll feel hopeful. And that's the worst among the three. Hoping heightens the chance of hurting you. After all, if no one catches you... you're just going to end up being disappointed.
I hold my breath for a bit, anticipating my bad landing. Those three emotions overwhelm me.
And then suddenly my mind drifts off to that day with the man I used to call my father. I remember how he called me to jump, how I took a step forward, how his head turned around, how I saw his secretary suddenly appeared at our house, how they kissed passionately and how I ended up bloody on the ground with a broken heart. I thought I was over of this fear but apparently, I'm not.
I'm still afraid of falling.
To my surprise, somebody catches me. I suddenly want to curl up in the arms of my savior. Still shaking and breathless, I realize how a warm colorless liquid flows down my face. I don't realize it quickly that I've been crying. I try to suppress my sobs. A strong girl like me doesn't cry very often. It's been ten long years and I've been very strong. I can't break down because of a simple incident like this.
As I calm myself down, Mikee is just silent as he pats my head.
“You can open your eyes now.” He says after my crying has ended.
I open my eyes and I look at the face of my savior. Mikee smiles and he helps me stand up.
"Want to talk about it?" Mikee asks as we settle in a nearby seat.
"If you don't mind..." I respond. Mikee smiles to assure me.
"I have bathophobia... sort of." I admit. Mikee just stares at me before nodding.
"What's that?" He asks seriously.
"It's the fear of falling from a high place. But in my case, I'm just afraid of falling generally." His eyes widen as he continues to nod. Still, he remains silent and waits for me to continue.
"My dad or ex-dad... whatever... it's just that he and I used to have this tradition. My bedroom has a balcony and that's where I would wait for him when he comes home. At five in the afternoon, he will ring the door bell to call my attention since I always fell asleep out there. He would open his arms and ask me to jump to him. It's a little dangerous but I always didn't mind since dad always caught. But then..." I explain but stop before it gets too painful.
"He didn't catch you, didn't he?" Mikee asks.
I nod, avoiding his gaze this time. After that, he doesn't ask anymore and keep quiet for a minute or so.
"Don't worry. I can be around to catch you." Mikee smiles at me. I blush.
“Now, we’re really awfully late. We better go back.” He says as he walks towards the auditorium and I follow him.
When we reached the auditorium, we see Ms. Suzanne practicing Vince and Princess. I guess she didn’t notice our absence.
Mikee and I immediately find a spot and then practice. We run through our lines again but this time the atmosphere is serious. I am serious and so is Mikee.
Still, I can't avoid spacing out sometimes. My mind keeps wondering off about what Mikee said. I know that he like Bianca and that she likes him back. If so, why do I still feel that Mikee and I just fit perfectly?
Soon, the practice ends. Ms. Suzanne tells us to ascend to stage for some announcements. Then we leave the auditorium.
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Optional: Real life tidbit
The real Jaime suggested those scenes!!!! :))))))