The Third Word

Chapter 60

I found an empty stall in the washroom and went inside. I lowered the lid and sat down, tapping my fingers vigorously on my thighs and my feet wouldn't stop tapping the floor. I felt like shit. I felt assaulted. I felt used. A little thing, my first kiss, my very first kiss that I wanted to give away to someone I loved, was taken forcefully by a guy I resented and, it meant nothing to him. 

"Hello? Could you please hurry?" A familiar voice came from outside the washroom stall that I was in. I fixed my hair, trying to look as normal as possible and opened the door, only to come face to face with my desk-mate, Emma.

She looked at me with surprise and smiled," Tyler asked for you and uh...could you please..." She said and I moved out of her way and let her into the stall. She closed the door behind me and I sighed," Where is he?" I asked from outside the stall.

"Auditorium, near the stage with some hot guy." She answered and I left immediately, not caring about the last part of her sentence. I, anyway, needed some distraction from the emotions I was feeling then, so I headed back to the Auditorium, where Tyler was standing, with Edwin's arm over his shoulder. They looked at my direction at the same time and I sighed for the fifteenth time that day.

I walked over to them and completely ignoring Edwin's presence, asked Tyler what he wanted me to do next. To my surprise, he wanted to give me the task of taping the balloons on the back-wall of the stage.

"You'll see some tape marks on the wall. Just stick them over those marks alternately. And take off your shoes because the stage is supposed to be left clean." Tyler explained and I kept nodding.

I didn't spare a single glance at Edwin and climbed over the main stage. As the cold wood touched my feet, protected by just the thin layer of socks, I felt a tingling pain in my feet. I dragged a carton which was kept aside in one corner, filled with red and white balloons. I thought the marks would be somewhere in my reach, but when I couldn't see them, I looked higher and saw the tape marks just inches below the ceiling. 

I looked back to find Tyler but when I noticed Edwin leaning at the stage's front and looking at me with a lovey-dovey smile, I immediately looked away. My palms felt sweaty as I nervously approached the Aluminium ladder that was standing nearby and dragged it all the way to one corner, from where I was going to start sticking.

Knowing that Edwin was looking at me made me irritated and cautious. I nervously grabbed the tape dispenser and a red balloon and then climbed up the ladder. I was still 6 inches away from the marks. I had to stretch my arm high in order to reach. What a great day it was to wear a small T-shirt.

Even though no one might've been looking at me, I felt as if everyone  was looking only and only at me. What was more, that I had to climb all the way down, grab one balloon and then climb up again. Surely, no task was easy. 

"Need help?" I heard someone and immediately looked down from the height that I was at.