Unrequited Love : A Boy's View

Chapter 1 : Confession

*Ding-ding-ding-dong* Monday morning break time, being called out by a girl, my classmate, I went to the top. Pulled out my Math book, "Okay" I said "What's the problem that you can't solve in math?". I heard a faint "You..." thinking I didn't hear it properly I asked again.

"You." she said, loud and clear. I was taken aback, surprised, but then again, I wasn't. "You are the problem that I can't solve." she continued "I have been watching you for a long time, eagerly waiting to talk to you since middle school. I didn't have the courage then. But when I found out we were in the same class in high school, I finally had the chance to talk to you. Every time I had a conversation with you, my heart felt full and painstakingly happy. I had to tell you my feelings no matter what." Her voice paused as her tears started flowing down her blushed cheeks.

"I love you, Kent. I love you very much!! Please make me your lover" she gasped for air as if she had run a 1000 miles. Fiddling hands, shaking legs and her head hanging down she stood with the tears still flowing. She said what she wanted to say, yet her tears were rushing out. Now, it was my turn to give a reply and I knew what my reply was.

"I'm sorry" I started "I'm afraid that I can't return your feelings and I'm sorry to say this but I think I don't have the ability to love someone wholeheartedly."

"Please don't say that. Everybody has the ability to fall in love. You just have to look deeper into your heart."

"Even now, when you confessed, I didn't feel anything."

"Please don't belittle yourself. You are far better than you assume yourself to be."

"Even if you try to cheer me up, my answer remains the same. I'm sorry I can't return your feelings."

"I can't accept that." Her tears gushed out even more as she ran down the stairs. She stopped and looked at me in the eyes. "I still love you. I hope that your heart will change." Saying that she went away. The bell rang but I didn't feel like going to class so I stayed behind. I found myself a comfortable spot and settled down. Squeezing my math book I wondered to myself how many times this has happened - 15 times. I turned down every one of them.

"20 days since school started and I've got 15 confessions already. Should I continue coming to school?" *Sigh* "Still I have to attend classes if I have to get good grades and get into college." I thought to myself and as I was thinking I started to get sleepy. I fell asleep and slept for a whole hour. *Ding-ding-dong* With a jerk I woke up. It was lunch time already so I headed down to the canteen and grabbed myself something to eat. Seated under a tree, I had my fill.

Afternoon session started and I sat through the whole afternoon putting my thoughts aside. As the day came to an end our P. E teacher gave us an announcement. "Grade 11-3 students listen up! Tomorrow you will be going on a field trip to an orphanage in a village. Be sure to reach school by 7.30 am tomorrow. You must wear your usual summer uniform. Lunch will be provided at the orphanage and full attendance is mandatory." The last bell rang and I rushed out grabbing my bag.
I saw Ben walking "Benny! Benny!" I called out. Ben turned towards me and waited for me to catch up. "Finally! I caught up to you."

"You free? Shall we hang out before we head home?" I asked.

"Yeah, sure." He said "I heard about a good place yesterday and it's near our school."

"Great! Let's go."

"Wait..." He paused "Doesn't your class have a field trip tomorrow?"

"Yeah we do. We were asked to come to school tomorrow by 7.30."

"7.30 in the morning?! Dude, we can't hang out if you have to get up early tomorrow."

"Then shall we at least get some popsicles ?"

"Okay then, ice cream it is. You know, I have been craving to eat something cold." Our conversation continued.

We enjoyed our convenience store fruit pops as we walked back home and parted ways when the bus stop came. I walked towards my home after waving Ben goodbye. Reaching the entrance of my street, a voice called out to me. "Kent!" For a second I got chills that ran down my spine. I turned around wondering who that was. It was a girl and she was wearing a uniform, white shirt, blue checked skirt and a light blue ribbon on her collar. I was dumbfounded because I didn't know who she was. But it seemed like she knew me. She approached me and asked "You're Kent Richards, a student from the school that's opposite to ours, right?"

"And you are?" I questioned her back.

"I'm from Orchid High school...." She continued "....you're from Hill and Dale High school right?"

Confused, i replied "Yes, I am..." And continued to question her "How do you know me ? Have we met before?"

"Yes we have met. We met at a sports competition. You helped me when I twisted my ankle during the competition. I didn't get the chance to thank you properly that day. Thank you so much for helping me. I hope that one day I can return that favour."

"Well...you're welcome."

Our conversation ended as we parted ways. I reached home, tossed my bag into a corner and went up to my room. I changed out of my uniform and put on my PJs. I wasn't hungry so I turned in for the night. I had a lot in my mind and I couldn't fall asleep. Laying down I thought about that girl I met earlier and I started to remember the incident she mentioned.

It was the month of February, we had our interschool sports competition and she was a contestant in the girls' tag team. She fell down after tripping over a stone and twisted her ankle. I carried her to the infirmary. Her ankle looked so bad that I had to put a cold press on it. I didn't stay long and I left after her friends came to get her.

As I started to close my eyes, the girl's face faded away....I didn't remember her face nor did I get to know her name. The only thing I remembered was her uniform.