The Story of Him and Me

Chapter One

It was the last year of my high school year. I was ecstatic, my heart pumping like crazy, how my senior life would roll. Would it roll in a lightning speed? Or would it roll slowly, agonizingly or torturously slower than I expected it would be? I was already buttoning the last piece of my Girl Scout uniform, as I tied the purple scarf around my neck.

My curly black hair was tied into a ponytail as I gazed myself in the vanity mirror. I sighed, a smile escaping my lips once I exited my house, bidding my mother goodbye. She was cooking breakfast for my younger brothers, and asked if I would eat before I would leave. I shook my head and she nodded, an understanding smile capturing her lips. I stopped eating breakfast as far as I could remember. My mother used to force me to eat on days I wouldn't but she had got used to it.

I was heading to ride a jeep, like a bus counterpart in England, a form of transportation I grew up with. There were days when the vehicle—the aisle in the middle of two long stretches of seats—was cramped up with passengers but today wasn't going to be that day. It was almost empty. I immediately paced my way once it stopped in front of me and paid for my fare.

The four-thirty am breeze hit me in the face until the jeep I was riding stopped in front of my classmate. He was wearing a white shirt that accentuated his lean figure, his black hair trimmed like that of a military kind of haircut with a bag slung on his shoulder. The jeep was almost filled with passengers and the only available seat was right beside me.

"Hey Jasper," I greeted once he sat comfortably, his bare skin pressed against mine. He turned his head, his coal black eyes gazing past me.

"Hey Alice," he answered, giving me a smile. Suddenly, the coldness of the four-thirty am wind turned to warmth with his skin emanating hotness on mine. After the exchange of greetings we had, we were quiet, but it was the comfortable kind. I knew him for quite some time. We became classmates for two years now, with the exception of sophomore year and it would be our third year sharing the same classes.

We arrived in school, we had to ride two jeeps in order to reach our destination, and parted ways as if we were strangers. We weren't close per se and I never associated myself with him or divulged myself in small talks. I only knew he was famous because of his devilish looks and because he was a professional athlete. We were only associated with each other when people would tease us and link us romantically and I, of course, would agree.

Who wouldn't want to be teased with the handsomest guy in school?

He was gone as I reached our homeroom, the sun shining in the clouds. Some of my classmates had arrived and we were shouting at each other happily, like madwomen who were part of some religious cult.

"Alice, you look so good on your Girl Scout uniform!" Mara complimented, her eyes twinkling like diamonds in the sky. She was wearing a Girl Scout uniform—white-buttoned blouse, green pencil skirt, and a scarf tied around our neck—like I did. I only smiled shyly and gave her a thanks as we wrapped our arms around each other. Her small frame weaved through mine and another of my friend joined in, her large stature overpowering us.

Her red dyed hair shone brightly against the fluorescent light of the room, her glasses perched at the bridge of her nose. She was already gibbering about the newest Korean Pop albums, talking to Mara about the comeback of SNSD, a female K-Pop group. I stood there dumbfounded, had no idea of why K-Pop was such a craze in my room, because I wasn't affected truly with it. Mara was already talking to Riya, Riya's large arms flailing in the arm as her sash was almost falling on the ground.

"Alice," Alexander called, "we should prepare for our grand detail. Tell your fellow girl scouts." His gangly frame met in front of me but before we could part away, we gave each other a hug. He was taller than the last time I saw him and he frowned because he hadn't gained weight after I pointed it out to him. I only smiled. If only we could exchange metabolisms.

"Riya, Mara, let's go and prepare for the grand detail," I told them and they nodded. I walked out of the room first, the adrenaline rushing through my veins. We were going to do a marching routine inside the oval, the greeneries still kept beautiful by our janitors while regular students would watch us perform formations and of course, respecting our national flag.

I stood waiting for the cue while my eyes wandered to the green building. A group of students wearing white shirts and were in a snappy position were standing in front of the building and Jasper was there in the frontline, the white cap covering his face entirely while his hands rested at his back.

"Alice, we need to stand in line," Mara said, tugging me from my stare at Jasper. He was a good-looking boy which was the reason why I was staring at him. He had a small face compared to mine, had a thin upper lip and large intimidating eyes that could melt you if he was staring at you. I immediately positioned myself to where I should be, took a deep breath as my chest pounded loudly, sometimes skipping a beat while my hands were in clenched fists.

- - -

Jasper was sitting right next to me once we were in Physics class. It wasn't intended for that way to happen because our teacher arranged us alphabetically—the boys going first on the list. The table served as a barrier between us. He was already on our regular school uniform, the white polo hugging around his torso and the khaki pants covering his lower body.

Our Physics teacher, Sir Castro, was already orienting us with house rules and whatnot. I felt someone poke on my arm and when I turned my head, it was Jasper, a mischievous glint covering his eyes. He was smiling as to god knows why, as he pushed a paper towards me.

His neat yet ugly scrawl was on his paper.

It read: What is a chemist's favourite tree?

I raised my brows at him, giving him a questioning glance. He was smiling that boyish grin of his and he could pull it off without getting a crime for being one.

I wrote back, "What?"

I gave the paper back to him discretely while Mr. Castro was already showing off powerpoint presentations on which topics he would discuss for the school year. Physics wasn't my strong feat but I was interested really, because we were going to talk about vector motion, speed, velocity, and acceleration.

Jasper tapped my arm. His handwriting was underneath with my reply and it read: A chemist-tree!

I gave him a playful glare and he smiled because a smile was uncontrollably forming on my lips. It was such a corny joke but I hadn't really known of it yet until he pulled off one.

"Care to share your secret Miss Martinez and Mister Gomez?" Mr. Castro broke off our writing conversation as the whole class stared at us until a chorus of teases filled the room. I knew I was blushing like a scorching tomato with a strained smile on my lips and when I looked at Jasper he was smiling as well, the crinkle covering his eyes.

His ears were red and the whole echoes of the room made them redder than they were. My gay classmate Ryan was hollering against the oohs and ayees of my classmate, pointing out the obvious that I was blushing.

Mr. Castro wasn't mad when he asked the question out loud because his eyes were filled in a teasing glint and his lips were sinister as if he was in some sort of accomplice to my classmates' crimes. The teasing did not subside but after Mr. Castro diverted back our attention to physics, my cheeks were still hot as hell and I could feel Jasper's eyes burning holes on me.

When I turned my head to look at him, he didn't look away, he completely stared at me intently and I felt like I had to look back to the board, feeling myself melt from his endless and shameless gaze.

And I wasn't able to foresee that there were going to be more of them.