It was Monday morning, and I felt strong—ready to go back to college. I felt better than ever. I got out of bed full of energy, went straight to the bathroom, and did my morning routine. When I came out, I noticed my phone lighting up. I saw missed calls from Mom, so I called her back.
"Hey Mom, I miss you so much. I want to see you. When are you coming?" I asked.
"Oh honey, I miss you too. I can't wait to see you! That's why I've decided to visit you this weekend. I'm coming on Friday," Mom said.
"OMG!" I shouted.
"Oh wow! I love you, and I can't wait to see you. I miss you so much," I said.
"Missing you too, darling. I'll see you Friday," Mom replied.
"Alright, Mom. I've got to go. Love you!" I said excitedly.
"Love you too, honey. Bye," Mom said before hanging up.
Words couldn't describe how happy I was knowing Mom was coming. I had to prepare for the weekend. I'd take her around England—it would be the perfect opportunity to explore and get to know the place better.
"It's settled—when Mom comes, we'll go on a tour, and I'll bring Penelope and Chris along," I said to myself. I quickly got ready and headed to college. This was my second day being late.
When I arrived, everyone was already in class. I slipped in and found a seat—thankfully, the lecturer hadn't arrived yet.
"Why are you late today?" Chris asked.
"Seriously? You're asking me that? I'm still recovering—remember? That's why I didn't wake up early. But guess what? Mom is coming this weekend!" I said.
"Wow, that's nice. Mommy's girl," Chris teased.
"I know, right? And please—don't call me that. Do you hear me? So, you'll come visit too, right?" I asked.
"Well, um—I'm not…" Chris began, but Penelope interrupted.
"Hey, guys," Penelope said.
"Oh hi, Penelope!" Chris and I said in unison.
"Jinx! You owe me a bowl of ice cream," I demanded.
"What? A whole bowl?" Chris protested.
"Yes, of course! You have to. No ifs or buts," I insisted.
"Okay, focus. I came here for a reason, not to watch you two bicker," Penelope said. "Felicity, I'm sorry I couldn't help you yesterday. My parents don't allow me to go anywhere except college and piano lessons. I know you were home alone and probably needed help. I'm honestly sorry."
"It's alright. I had the best doctor I could ask for, so no worries. Chris here would've made a great doctor—I wonder why he chose English Lit," I said.
"Who knows? Maybe I'll switch to med school next year," Chris chimed in.
"Please do. It suits you," I said.
"In your dreams," Chris replied.
"It doesn't matter what you study, Chris," Penelope said, rolling her eyes. Then she turned to me. "I'm so sorry. Can I sit with you today, Felicity?"
"Of course! Why would you even ask that? Move, Doctor—Princess is here," I teased.
"What? I'm not a princess," Penelope laughed.
"You are—in my eyes," I winked at her, and she giggled.
"Now I'm not moving. First, you girls don't let me talk, and now you want to steal my seat? Not happening," Chris said.
"Disappear, small person," I replied.
"Leave, boy," Penelope added.
"Okay, fine, I'm going. No need to eat me alive. But make sure to tell me the gist later, Fel. And please—don't call me 'small person' or 'small boy'. I'm a man. My name is Chris," he said, shortening my name and winking.
I rolled my eyes. "Unbelievable," I muttered under my breath.
Just then, Mr. Bradford Morgan, our phonetics lecturer, entered the room.
"Good morning, students," he greeted.
"Good morning, sir," we chorused.
"Today, I'm not going to preach much. I want you all to do a project—compose a spoken word poem. It can be about nature, life, love, flowers—anything you like. I'll pair you in twos."
"Noooo," we all groaned.
"It doesn't matter how much you grumble—you're not escaping this. I'll pair you according to your seatmates."
"Yay! We're a pair," I said excitedly.
"Yes, we are," Penelope replied faintly.
"What's wrong?" I asked, but Mr. Morgan continued.
"The project is due Saturday, so you have the weekdays to work on it. You may use the school premises to collaborate. Good day, and have a nice weekend."
"No, no, no. This can't happen," Penelope said, shaking her head.
"Why? Is it because of your parents?" I asked.
"Yes. They're very strict. They won't let me out on weekends, and I have piano lessons on Sundays," she explained.
"Oh, come on, Penelope. It's a college project—they'll let you go."
"You don't understand. They don't even let anyone see me. I will go to college and come right back."
"Well, that's going to change. We're going to your house tomorrow for the project. No questions or comments," I insisted.
"But—"
"I said no questions or comments!" I repeated.
Chris came over with the same grumpy look from the first day we met.
"What's wrong now, Chris?" I asked.
"It's nothing," he replied.
"Okay," I said, turning back to Penelope. "So, we'll go tomorrow, right?"
"Yes, but focus on Chris. He's trying to say something," Penelope replied.
"You didn't care about me," Chris said, pretending to sob.
"Drama king! You said—and I quote—'It's nothing.' So I backed off," I replied.
"You should've asked again!" he said.
"Okay, okay—what's wrong?" I asked.
"It's both your fault. They paired me with Joshua," he said.
"It's a good thing you did. Penelope's parents wouldn't let her do a project with a group. I still need to convince them to let her work with me on weekeends. So, thanks, Christopher," I smiled.
"Is that true?" Chris asked.
"Yeah, but nothing to worry about," Penelope replied.
"If that's the case—fine. Still don't like my partner though," Chris pouted.
"It's okay. Josh isn't that bad. If you get to know him, you'll like him. He's cool," Penelope said.
"Speak for yourself, girl," Chris replied.
"Thanks, Chris," Penelope and I said together.
That afternoon, we went to the cafeteria for lunch. Penelope and I began working on our project as we ate. Chris joined us with his best friend, Jake.
"Hi! So nice to finally meet you. Chris never told me about you," I said.
"Why didn't you tell Felicity about me? He talks about you all the time. You're beautiful and breathtaking," Jake said, shaking my hand and kissing it.
"This is Penelope, my best friend," I introduced.
"Yes, we've met before," Jake said.
"Oh? How did you two meet?" I asked.
"Okay, time to go. Nice meeting my best friend, right?" Chris interrupted.
"Yeah, it is," I replied.
"Same here," Jake added.
"Okay, bye!" They left to meet Josh.
"You're quiet. What's wrong?" I asked Penelope.
"Nothing. No need to worry," she said.
"You sure?" I asked.
"Yes," she assured me.
After lunch, while I was still sketching ideas for our project, someone sat across from me. I looked up—it was Alex.
"Oh my gosh! You scared me. I thought it was Penelope," I said.
"Hello, love. I didn't mean to scare you. I came to fulfill my promise of buying you lunch," Alex said with a smirk.
"I already…" I trailed off, interrupted again.
"You already had lunch? That's okay—another rain check," Alex said, smiling. Before I could respond, Penelope returned and sat beside me.
"Hello, beautiful young lady. I don't know your name yet," he said, offering a handshake.
"Hi, I'm Penelope. And you are?"
"Charming! I'm Alex. Why don't you teach your friend here to be as charming as you?" he joked, winking at me. I rolled my eyes while Penelope chuckled.
"So, what are you girls up to? Maybe I can help," Alex offered.
"There's no need for that. We can handle it ourselves, thanks," I replied sharply.
"Oh come on, Felicity, don't be rude. The gentleman just offered to help," Penelope said, nudging me.
"I'm not being rude—it's just that it's our project, and we want to do it ourselves. That's all," I replied calmly.
"Alright, alright. Since you don't want help with the project, I'll help by getting you girls something to drink. What would you like, Miss Penelope?" Alex asked.
"Soda will be fine," Penelope replied.
What is she doing? I wondered. It almost looked like she was flirting.
"And you, my noble lady, what can I get for you?" he turned to me.
Eww. Gross. I think I just puked in my mouth. Noble lady? Who even says that?
"I'll have the same, thank you," I answered curtly.
He winked again and walked away. I turned immediately to Penelope.
"Oh my gosh! What was that all about?" I whispered angrily.
"What? He's cute. You should give him a chance," Penelope teased.
"What chance? What are you talking about? He hasn't even properly spoken to me, and you're already talking about chances. Gosh, Penelope, who even are you right now? He just offered me lunch—that's it. And even if he did ask me out, I wouldn't agree. I want to focus on my studies, don't you get it?" I said firmly.
"See? That's exactly what I'm talking about, girl. You need to give him a chance," she insisted.
"No, no, no. I won't—" I was cut off again.
"Quiet! He's coming," Penelope warned.
"Okay girls, here are your drinks," Alex said with a smile, placing the sodas in front of us.
"Thank you," we both replied.
"Hey, princess, can I talk to you alone for just one minute, please?" he asked me.
"Whatever you have to say, you can say it here. I don't think there's anything private between us," I said, looking him straight in the eye.
"Alright. I want to tell you something," he said, then stood up and—unbelievably— mounted the lunch table.
I stood up too, already feeling the wave of embarrassment roll in. No… he's not going to…
"What are you doing? Please come down!" I begged.
"Hello everyone, please quiet down! Just a moment!" he shouted.
The cafeteria gradually fell silent. I stared at him, horrified.
"Felicity," Alex began, "from the very first day I saw you, I liked you. I haven't stopped thinking about you since. Sure, I'm in a higher level and I've met many girls, but none like you. You're innocent, pretty, intelligent—a real gem. I fell in love with you. What I'm trying to say is, I want you to be my girlfriend."
He smiled at me, grinning from ear to ear. Everyone stared at me, waiting for my reaction.
I didn't know what to say. My heart pounded. I looked at Alex, then the crowd, then back at him. I couldn't take it. I ran out into the hallway.
How could he do that? After just a few days of school? He didn't even know me. I was storming off to class, completely lost in thought, when someone grabbed my arm. It was Alex.
"Hey, hey, what's wrong? Why did you run off like that?" he asked gently.
"Is that a real question? What do you want from me? Tell me—what do you really want?" I snapped.
"Hey, don't be mad. I like you, Felicity. And now I regret asking you out in front of everyone. I'm sorry," he said, looking regretful.
"Ha! You've got to be kidding me. After just a few days, you 'like' me? Seriously?" I turned away.
"Please, Felicity, give me a chance," he pleaded.
"Just leave me alone, okay? Please, just let me be," I said, running away—not to class this time, but to the stairs that led to the roof of the Radcliffe Camera.
I sat on the railing, consumed by thoughts. What just happened? What is going on? How could he—
Oh my goodness. What am I going to say? I can't say yes. No way…
**********
Christopher's POV
I went to school, but Felicity hadn't arrived yet. Penelope approached me.
"Hey, Chris," she said.
"Hi, Penny. How are you doing?" I asked.
"I'm not okay. I couldn't come on Saturday because of our parents. They're so strict. Because you left, they've become overprotective with us," she said.
"Oh no. I'm sorry. If there's anything I can do to help, I would. But my father and I aren't on good terms," I said.
"It's okay. But please—come home for Mom. Will you?" she asked.
"When things settle with my father," I said.
"You're impossible," she muttered, then walked away.
A few seconds later, Fel arrived. We had a deep conversation, then Mr. Bradford Morgan came for the phonetics class. He told us we'd all have to compose a spoken word poem.
That afternoon, Jake and I had lunch at the dining hall.
"What's up with you and that girl lately?" Jake asked.
"Surprisingly, it's going great. We're getting closer," I said.
"Wow. But what about the bet?" he asked.
"I don't know, man," I said, avoiding the question.
"Okayyyy. Please introduce me to her. I want to meet the beautiful lady again," he said.
"Eww—gross. Like Felicity would say. Let's go," I said.
I introduced Jake to Felicity, then we left to join Josh and the others.
Later, while we were chatting, Alex suddenly climbed up on a table and started saying some nonsense to Felicity. I was furious. It was supposed to be me asking her to be my girlfriend—not him.
But to my surprise, Felicity rejected him and ran off. I was so happy.
And I knew exactly where she had gone.