I woke up around 3:39 in the morning. Lately, I've been waking up at this hour more often than usual. From the second deck, I peeked down to check on my companions. Thanks to the light spilling in from the streetlamp outside, I could clearly see one of them still fast asleep. Thank goodness. Sometimes, people here act like total addicts, never even sleep.
After that, I grabbed the lighter with a flashlight, the one I had to borrow from one of the guys here. Since the light from outside wasn't enough, I turned on the flashlight and reached for the notebook hidden under my pillow. Then I opened it to continue my confession.
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I was in my third year of high school, and Nanny Tessie asked me to pick up Theo from the grade school building so we could head home together that day. When I got there, I caught Theo playing with his friend Serenity. I already knew Seren because Theo was always talking about her. Every time Nanny Tessie asked me to pick up Theo, Seren was usually the one he was hanging out with. So, that's how I met a girl with Japanese blood, someone I never expected to fall for.
Oh, man, from the moment I first laid eyes on her, she never left my mind. Sometimes, even Nanny Tessie would notice how eager I was to volunteer to pick up Theo. She'd ask me, "Why are you suddenly so keen on doing this?" but I never told her the truth about Misaki Mendez. You see, Misaki is Serenity's cousin, and she's the one who usually picks up Seren so they can head to the car park together. And, of course, that's exactly what I did with Theo. I was totally playing it cool, just so I could catch a glimpse of her. It was like I was haunted by her presence, but in the best way possible.
Back in those days, Misaki barely paid attention to me. She said she wasn't into guys who played DOTA and had that cocky vibe. Too judgmental, I know. But even though that's how she saw me, I kept being annoyingly persistent around her anyway. I didn't care if she rolled her eyes at me. Every time I could tell she was getting irritated by my attempts to get her attention, I just... kept going.
So, turns out Misaki is like, 25% Japanese and a solid 75% Filipino. The last name Mendez? That's from her dad's side. Her mom, on the other hand, is half-Japanese. Oh, and I also found out she's in the taekwondo club. How do I know that? Well, let's just say I did a little... deep research. Okay, fine, I stalked her a bit. I'll admit it! She totally refuses to tell me anything about herself, so what was I supposed to do? I had to find another way to get to know her.
We were both in 3rd year high school, though we were in different sections. I know for a fact she knew who I was, I mean, come on, pretty much every student at GLU knew me. Not just because my mom was one of the professors here, but let's be real, I was also a seriously good-looking guy. Even I had a hard time looking away from a mirror because, damn, the guy staring back was just that handsome. Yikes!
I still remember when Mom made me memorize all the elements on the periodic table for an oral recitation. Mom was their Science teacher too, so I figured I'd study with her. But she kept kicking me out, saying she couldn't concentrate because of my... well, she said it was because I talked too much, but I'm pretty sure it was the distracting handsomeness.
So one day, I finally worked up the nerve to ask her to lunch and headed over to her classroom. When I got there, I found Misaki sitting, dead quiet, while three of her classmates, who had a real reputation for being bullies, had her cornered.
"Just come with us. Stop playing hard to get, since you don't have a choice anyway!" I heard Joseph say. But Misaki didn't make a sound, just stared right through them. From what I knew, that guy was a total jerk with zero respect for women.
"What, you want us to beat you up first so you'll come, huh!" I saw Carl flick Misaki hard on the forehead with his finger. I knew Carl, we'd teamed up in a bunch of battles, and sometimes he was even the one who'd invite me to play DOTA.
So yeah, thanks to all my low-key stalking of Misaki, I found out Carl's in the taekwondo club too.
"Even if you're a black belter, you're still nothing against the three of us!" he boasted.
"Why won't you come with me? What, you don't like me or something?" Bryan snapped, his face twisted with frustration as he yanked Misaki's hair down from behind. That made me even more nervous. Bryan acted like he feared absolutely nothing. From what I've heard, he even goes head-to-head with the principal. What's with these guys and their inflated egos? Is it just because they're rich kids that they're so confident in doing these things?
"Hey dudes! What's going on?" I asked, trying to sound chill. That alone was enough to make them pause. There were three of them, and I was on my own. I knew I didn't stand a chance if things got physical. Misaki might be great at taekwondo, but her co-member Carl? He wasn't someone you'd want to mess with either. So I played it cool, like I just happened to walk in. All that mattered was getting Misaki away from them.
"This girl's playing hard to get!" Bryan snapped, jabbing a finger at Misaki. I glanced at her, she was sitting there, head down, eyes fixed on the floor.
"Just leave her alone. You're wasting your time," I said, trying to sound unfazed. Bryan paused for a second. His brows furrowed as he stared straight at me, and my stomach dropped when he stepped in closer. Still, I forced myself to stay calm.
"Someone told me you used to hang out with that girl, and that you were always the one going up to her. Is that true?" His lips curled into a faint smile, but the mix of sarcasm and threat in his voice was impossible to miss.
Because of that, my knees almost buckled. I couldn't think of anyone else who might have reported us. For the past few months, Misaki and I had often ended up walking toward the car park at the same time, and it wouldn't be surprising if they themselves were the ones noticing it. I didn't even know Bryan had his eyes on her.
"You actually believed that? It was just a coincidence," I said, trying to play it off.
"It better be," he shot back, voice sharp.
"Let me make this clear," he said, smirking.
"Misaki's the girl I want. I want her to be mine. Just mine. You get what I'm saying, don't you?" I shrugged like I didn't care.
"Of course," I said, hoping they'd buy the act, that Misaki and I weren't close.
"You never told me about any of that," I added casually.
"Well, now you know. And if you don't want me to kill you, stay the hell away from her." I swallowed hard. His words hit like ice, but I forced myself not to flinch.
"Or maybe you came here to pick up Misaki 'cause she's your girlfriend now?" Joseph suddenly butted in.
"No," I denied quickly.
"The truth is, I came here to ask you guys to play DOTA. And besides, how could she be my girlfriend when I don't even really know her?" I lied.
"Well, if that's the case, let's go!" Carl suddenly threw an arm around my shoulder and pulled me out of the room. It's not like we were really friends, we just knew each other, and that was only because of Carl. Even though they were known for their nasty attitudes and for shoving past pretty much everyone on campus, we'd never actually had a problem with each other before.
"Don't you worry, Ayan, that girl will get what's coming to her one of these days. But for now, let's just play!" Carl added. I glanced back at Misaki one last time as Carl dragged us out the door, his arm slung over me and Bryan, with Joseph just trailing behind.
"You know what, let's just grab some food first before we play," Joseph suggested just as we finally stepped out. I saw Misaki shaking her head in disappointment. I'm sure she thought I was too much of a coward to stand up for her. And as embarrassing as it is to admit... she was totally right. I chickened out.
Yours truly,
-Anthony