Love That Lasts!

Eyes Meet…

After a really long day of looking for misplaced stuff, finally, Selena had the chance of enjoying the warmth of her duvet and the thickness of her mattress, and not to forget the four walls closing in around her, assuring her a sense of privacy. This night was special to her, not because she had spent most of her day with her mom, packing and sorting things out, but because it was her last night at home before opening school to a really long term ahead.

The feelings inside her were bittersweet. She wanted to rasp the feeling of how good it was to be at home but at the same time, she felt an aching sadness when the thought of being in school the following day crossed her mind. Plugging her phone from her charger, she put it on then scrolled through Instagram. She had a total of one hundred and forty nine followers, most of them being high schools, but not most of them being boarders as she was. She moved to the text section and found an unread text from Jenner.

Don’t forget to carry a zillion packets of ringos… good company for school’s first day, especially after a very lively holiday >_<

The text made Selena smile and she replied telling her she was looking forward to seeing her the following day. Her reply came in an instant, consisting of a goodnight emoji. Placing her phone on her lap, her mind wondered back to the past. She was really grateful and fortunate to have Jenner as her friend. Their friendship had started about a year ago, when Selena had transferred to the school she was currently in a year ago, reason being her previous school being a threat to her health, in terms of its environment and weather conditions which only triggered her asthma making it worse. The school had also been a boarding school, like the one she was in at the moment, but it had been an all-girls boarding institution.

Before moving to her new high school, famously known as ‘High Creek’ high school, she had asked her mom, ‘why not move to a day school or do homeschooling?’ But her response, which still did not make much sense to Selena, had been that since most, actually, all girls who had received education in her family lineage had been to boarding schools, it would only be appropriate for her to be in one too. This made no sense to Selena because she had never seen any of her relatives and so she wondered what family lineage her mother talked about. Oh well, he parents had managed to convince her that her new school would be way better than her previous school and she had trusted them, for she knew they loved her deeply as she was the only child.

Now she was joining her senior year and her friendship with Jenner had become stronger. Jenner had been her roommate when she had reported, still was, and during her first few weeks of adjusting to her environment which kind of triggered her asthma attack, Jenner had been there for her. She always made sure that she never walked around without her inhaler and that she was dressed warmly. In short, among the two, Jenner was the more responsible one while Selena was the more forgetful one.

Taking her phone again, she went to WhatsApp and viewed her friends’ posts. One by one, she scrolled through, and only paused when the image of a guy with red curly hair came into view. He was Shawn, her ex-boyfriend, and apparently, it was his birthday as he held a cake knife in his hand, cutting the cake as those around him cheered. Her gaze shifted from him to the blonde girl standing beside him and the pain she thought had dissipated returned.

I should have blocked his number a long time ago, Selena thought to herself.

Then why do you still have it? A voice in her head asked her. Why did she have it? She honestly did not know. Every time she gathered the strength to erase him from her life completely, she would never end up blocking him. A thought crossed her mind of whether she should send him a message wishing him a happy birthday and that made Selena laugh at herself. After breaking her heart into pieces, she still thought of wising him a happy birthday! She would do no such thing for that would only make her seem desperate. Putting her phone aside, she curled herself under her warm duvet and hugged her teddy even tighter. Luckily, she would be takin her teddy, who she had named as Leo, to school. Closing her eyes, it took a while before she drifted to sleep, the sound of swaying trees her lullaby.

*>_<*

Selena stood in front of the hostel gates. One hand was brandished on her purple suitcase while the other waved her parents goodbye as they drove off in their black SUV. Turning, she walked towards where everyone was going, which was away from the hostels and towards the school classrooms. It was a new year and so being a class higher, Selena was sure changes had been made. Each class in each grade was divided into two streams, ‘the Lions’ and ‘the Tigers’. Having been on ‘the Tigers’ stream, Selena only found it appropriate to look for the same stream as she headed towards the senior block.

She walked among the crowd, the dragging of their suitcase announcing their arrival but also a reminder that it was not long ago that they closed school and gone home for a holiday. Selena waved to the familiar faces she was able to recognize as she walked by. Leaving the cemented walkway that was crowded with students who walked leisurely, she cut through the neatly trimmed grass, seeking a shorter and faster route to get to where she was going. Reaching the senior block, she stood below the four staircases and lifted her head to look at the massive brick building that carried an ancient air of old age. Of course some renovations had been made to make it look up to date but that still didn’t make much of a difference.

Lifting her suitcase, Selena carried it up the four steps then dragged it as she entered the building. The hallway was cool and provided shade from the hot scorching sun outside. Selena had not once stepped in this building as she had never had the desire of interacting with the seniors, and so, as she walked by, her eyes could not help but wonder around. The walls, which were painted a clean and gentle shade of brown, had historical framed photos, showing the lineage of the principals of the institution plastered on them. The newest one, which could be easily noticed, was that of Mrs. Lincoln, the current school principal. Selena walked further, passing two doors on either side, imprinted the two steams at the doorframe, and headed towards the wall in front of her. On both sides were arrows showing the direction to other different classrooms up the staircase which was on both sides. The one on her right was printed: physics lab, chemistry lab, biology lab, aviation lab and electronic lab. The one to her left was printed: Art and Design room, Drawing and Design room, home science room and washrooms. But that was not what caught her attention.

Looking at the center of the wall that was occupied with framed photos, she observed each one of them. The photos consisted of a group photo of the seniors who had completed their academic year at the institution. The one at the top was dated 1854, which was probably the oldest, and also, to her surprise, only consisted of boys. As she looked through the photos, she noted that most were missing. She also noticed that around the year 1950, among all the male in the picture stood and outstanding female. Odd! The year after that, she observed that the number of female in the picture only increased until they were almost equal. Dragging her suitcase, she retraced her steps and walked to the class written Tiger, all the while wondering why she had never seen those photos in the school administration block as it was the face of the school.

Slowly, she opened the door and barely had she stepped inside the room when she received a tight hug from Jenner.

“I missed you so much!” Jenner exclaimed, withdrawing from the hug and holding her at arm’s length.

Despite her exhaustion from having to pull her suitcase all the way, Selena still managed a smile. “We literally had a sleepover at your place a week ago, not enough time to miss me.”

Ignoring her reminder, Jenner took Selena’s hand and dragged her to a free seat next to hers, which was close to the window. After they were both seated, Selena turned her seat to face Jenner’s. They had a lot of catching up to do, despite it only being a week apart.

“So, did you text him?” Jenner asked.

“No, I couldn’t. It would kind of send him a bad message…” Selena replied, knowing very well that Jenner was referring to Shawn.

“So, are you going to block him?”

“I can’t really do that…”

“Are you sure you can’t or you just don’t want to?” Jenner asked and Selena only gave her a ‘what are you even saying’ look. “Okay, okay! Then why can’t you?”

“Ummm, because he was my childhood best friend before all this sh**y thin happened.” She replied in a matter- of- fact tone.

“Honey,” Jenner said, holding her hand, “are you sure it is because he was your childhood best friend or because you are still not over him?”

“I’m sure and besides, I’m completely over him.” She replied in a matter- of- fact tone, mostly to assure herself.

“If you say so. But to be honest, I see the way your eyes change and that expression you get when he comes up or when you are thinking of him and to me, it appears that you are still not over him, even if you deny it yourself.”

Selena did not respond to that, nor did she try to deny what Jenner had just said and deep down she knew why. Even though it had been two months since their breakup, she still felt a sense of loss and hurt whenever he came to mind. She hadn’t expected things to end the way they had. When he had asked her to be his girlfriend, she thought it would end up like all those love stories she had read online of friends to lovers, but sooner than expected, about a year later, it had dawned on Selena that she was not living in a novel. He had broken up with her for Rachel- a blonde cheerleader who took pleasure in demeaning those around her. Letting out a sigh, Selena briefly closed her eyes. Deep down, she knew that Shawn was not worth her heart break and so, she would try her best to let it go…

*>_<*

“I need your attention! Listen up!” Miss Cornelia spoke at the top of her voice trying to gain the full attention of a class with students chattering all around. Slowly, they stopped talking and until everyone was paying attention to her did she continue.

“I believe each one of you knows who I am cause I ain’t seeing any new faces here.” She said in her black American accent. “So, I will go straight to the points and you better be listening cause I will not repeat myself.” She added with her index finger pointing up, her high heels the only sound as she moved around the room, her silk frizzy hair bouncing with each step she took. “I’m sure most of you are wondering why you didn’t go directly to your hostels immediately after being searched. Well, you will, shortly, but all of you have been shuffled, so you have different roommates.”

The boys growled in their deep voices while the girls turned to speak to each other. Very few had a smile on their faces and most were not really happy to hear the news. Selena was among those not pleased and just she was about to turn and share with Jenner her disappointment, she heard Miss Cornelia’s voice ask for their attention.

“Now listen up! Due to the changes, after locating your rooms, you will have a whole day tomorrow to settle.” She said causing the class to erupt in cheers. Even though most were going to lose close roommates, having a free day in school that was not a holiday nor a weekend was heaven sent. “Now, because of that,” she continued, her voice above the jubilation until everybody was quiet, “you guys will hand over your phones tomorrow night and not today and you will take them back on the weekend, as custom. Now, sh! Ssshhhh!” she said, holding her finger to her mouth, silencing the celebration that was about to arise.

“Let me first finish and whatever I say next, you will celebrate once I am out of this room. So keep your mouths shut.” She said walking around. Until her heels were the only sound in the room was she satisfied to continue. “So, on the 30th of this month, you will have a seven day trip outside of the school premises. I know your parents had initially been told it would be a three day trip but some changes were made so, I hope each of you carried extra clothes. If not, you can have you parents drop them on one of the weekends.” Selena smiled inwardly. She had carried more than enough outfits to put on.

“Lastly, we are going to have a new student join us today. He is from South Korea and I expect each one of you to welcome him warmly and appropriately.”

“We sure will miss Cornelia!” the most outspoken in the class shouted.

“I’m sure you will Jake. Now, what was I saying… oh, yes, the new student, as I said before should be welcomed warmly and appropriately. He should be here any minute from now.” Just as she finished that statement, a knock was heard from the door and without even waiting for a response, the guy walked in as if he were walking in a runway fashion show in Hollywood. Not that he added any style to his walk, his walk was actually quite normal, with every step taken at just the right pace and measurement. It was just that something about him made him stand out. It wasn’t his outfit cause like every other student; he was adorned in the school uniform. Maybe it was his six feet height? Or his facial features that were just perfectly fitting for his face and his dark eyes that had such an intensity that were sharp and that would make someone look away when he looked at them, not that he did. Maybe it was his hair that seemed to me a mixture of silver and black? Is it genetics or has he just added color to it? Selena wondered to herself for she had never seen anyone with such unique hair. Or maybe he’s just aging fast! Letting her eyes not wonder further, she shifted her attention to those around her and noticed that everyone was taken by the new student. Looking back at him, Selena admitted that he was quite good looking.

“Why don’t you introduce yourself to the class?” Miss Cornelia addressed him.

In a less than eager tone, he said, “Hi.” And not even waiting for a response, continued, “My name is Xavier Won. “He added in perfect English making everyone even more captivated. Does this guy have no flaws?

“You may take the empty seat.” Miss Cornelia told him then turned to the class, not paying attention to the fact that almost everyone’s eyes were on him as he made his way to the empty seat, which was at the front of the class and close to the door, directly opposite from where Selena sat at the window five lockers away. It was an infamous point that was avoided by almost everyone, since not everyone enjoyed being the first one to be laid eyes on once the teacher walked in and that place offered that, but from that day, it would probably be the gathering point of everyone. Selena was among those who tried their best not to gawk at him. “Now that you have finished your senior year, I hope each one of you will do your best to get grades that will take you somewhere.” After her light yet serious remark, Miss Cornelia left the room.

Almost immediately, most people in class turned to speak to him. Jake, who was sitting at the last row of the class shouted, “Hey bro, why don’t you come sit here and we chat a while.” He said more than asked, pointing at a seat that was usually occupied by Leo, a quiet boy who at the moment looked confused, probably wondering where he was supposed to seat. But to Leo’s delight, the new guy only ignored Jake who turned furious which showed in his red face and this made the class erupt in laughter.

“Oh well, I don’t force issues.” Selena could hear him say and when she turned to look behind, found him turning to speak to his friends only to find them speaking about how his sneakers were the newest audition. Dejected, he turned and removed his phone, seeking solace from playing video games. The ones who were bolder and had pulled their seats close to the new guy to try start a conversation only withdrew a few minutes later, after realizing that he did not make an effort to even lift his head from is phone and look at them. But there were still those persistent who remained by his side, clearly not minding being ignored.

Selena scoffed. She already didn’t like this guy. Was he the king or something to treat people like trash? Turning to Jenner who sat behind her, she intended to share tis with her only to find a gawking girl. “Oh he’s so hot Selena!” she heard her friend say dreamily which made her turn to face the front.

“Oh please!” she said under her breath. But at least Jenner had not lost her dignity by pulling her seat close to his. Taking her phone, she put on Spotify then put on her earphones. She then took her novel that she had carried from home and continued from where she left. The noise and murmurs in the room did nothing to disturb her focus. Purely engrossed on her book, she flipped each page, satisfied and disappointed at the unfolding of events at certain points. Somewhere as she read, she had this feeling that someone was looking at her and instinctively, she lifted her head and to her surprise, her eyes met the dark eyes of the new guy who sat five desks away and who looked right back at her. Accompanying his gaze were silent hateful glares from the girls who had tried speaking to him but had not been spared as much as a glance.

Oh geeez! What is he thinking looking at me? Does he want me to be an enemy of half the female populace in this class?

Agitated, she lifted her eyebrow questioningly, only for him to look away and back to his phone, as if his eyes had wondered to a place they were not meant to accidentally. He’s crazy! Returning her attention back to her book, she tried to continue from where she had left but was again disturbed by a hand on her shoulder. One of the things Selena hated most was being disturbed during her novel and music time. Turning annoyed eyes to the person who had touched her shoulder, she was met by a beaming expression.

“He’s into you!” Jenner exclaimed in a whisper. Not wanting to comment, she turned back to the front, intending to continue reading her novel but was again disturbed by her churning thoughts. He possibly can’t be interested in me! Why would he? He probably saw something on my face or hair that annoyed him. Taking out her tiny cute purple mirror to confirm her suspicion, she looked at her face then her hair and on finding nothing that was off, returned it in her bag then continued reading her novel, deciding not to dwell on what Jenner had said.

*>_<*

Selena was still standing in front of her new room, still trying to process if the name she saw written beside her’s on the door belonged to her roommate. This must be a joke! Just then, she heard footsteps approaching and when she turned, she came face to face with the bearer of the name written next to her’s. Think of the devil and she appears. She was being followed behind by three girls who looked like newbies. It was as if freshman was imprinted right on their foreheads. They were the ones carrying her luggage while she, trotting like a peacock in front of them, was busy typing something on her phone. Tis made Selena’s dislike for her increase. To come to think of it, she actually looks like a peacock. Not the good looking one…

As Selena thought of this, her mind went forward and added a beak to her mouth, making Selena giggle slightly. Being a novel reader, she was really good at imagining things. When she came to stand next to her, she lifted her head from her phone then looked Selena over, making a disgusted face that made Selena want to punch her face. “I can’t believe I’m stack with you.” she said under her breath, voicing out Selena’s thoughts. Passing her, she opened the door and motioned for the girls carrying her luggage to enter then waved them away once they were done.

Taking in a deep breath, Selena entered the room then placed her staff on the unoccupied space, which, to her luck, was close to the window. The room was much the same as the previous one. Two sets of wardrobes with a mini-table on either sides of the bed. The only difference was that the walls had a new coat of paint. Ignoring her roommate, Selena moved to unpack her staff. This is going to be a long year!

WRITER’S REPORT...

Hey guys! thank you so much for supporting me through my first chapter. I hope you enjoyed. unfortunately, i won’t be able to update for the next 2 months since i am a high school student and a boarder to add on that and in the school i go to, electrical devices are not allowed- sometimes i wish i was living this book since phones are allowed in their school. Anyway, see you guys in 2 months... Love yall!