The Story of Him and Me

Chapter Three

            The school bell rang signifying that the class for the day was almost over. I adjusted my green pencil skirt which fell just an inch above the knees and marched my way to the Girl Scout formation. I was a leader of the Girl Scout, and my presence would be of much help by the chairman of the said organisation—except I was torn between attending the Girl Scout formation and the PTA—Parent-Teacher Association—classroom meeting.

I was elected as the class auditor and my presence would be of much importance. The orange afternoon of Friday was giving me too much dilemma. I was about to go to the freshmen Girl Scouts when a hand landed on my shoulder, my whole body freezing. It was a familiar touch I felt before.

"Alice," Jasper's deep baritone voice called. I spun my heel around, raising a brow at him inquisitively. He also had other plans for the afternoon which made me wonder why he was still here in school. He was a busy athlete practising for upcoming competitions after all. "Miss Chavez called for our presence."

Miss Chavez was our class adviser who stood of the same height as me. She had a small figure though, her teacher uniform hanging loosely on her frame. She had straight black hair which she braided everyday, and brown skin that flawlessly covered the muscles of her body. I nodded and replied, "I'll be right there." I headed down on the oval (jumping through the white gutter) and fell on the fresh patch of green grass. I was asking permission if I could skip a day of formation and they permitted.

I walked and climbed up to the gutter. Jasper was still standing to where I left him, and my chest palpitated unconsciously, making my fingers tremble as I tried to lift myself from the gutter. His eyes were wandering aimlessly, his white school polo flying against the wind.

"I thought you went ahead?" I asked once I reached to where he stood. He raised his brows at me, a smirk appearing on his lips. His hands were on his pants' pockets, shaking his head slowly.

"I'm the only class officer besides you who is going to attend the meeting," he answered nonchalantly as we started walking side-by-side to our homeroom. I still couldn't forget that Cassidy and him texted even though it was none of my business. Jasper had every right to text her, because they had been together for quite some time since the end of sophomore year. They were quite a good-looking pair since a lot of guys fawned over Cassidy and a lot of girls were crushing on Jasper. Cassidy had straight jet black hair with bangs that fell just above her eyebrows, a pair of chink black eyes and thin pink lips. She was the epitome of beauty for Jasper perhaps which made me enlarge the distance between me and him.

When we reached our homeroom, my classmates' parents were there—except for my parents for they were busy—chatting while Miss Chavez stood in front, greeting a welcome to everyone. Jasper and I sat at the most cornered area of the room, the wooden armchairs used to support our bodies.

We were quiet for the whole duration of the meeting except the voice of Miss Chavez droning over homeroom concerns and budgets for the upcoming Family Day this December. Everyone was waiting for the date to come for it was where high school students compete against each other through the best cheer dance, best muse and escort, and best design for the base of each year level where they would be assigned in an area.

"Can I borrow your phone?" he asked, his voice so low I almost thought I was just hearing things. I nodded and handed him my android phone. Android smartphones weren't much a hit yet, so I was privileged to be the first one to experience the magic of it. He was browsing through my three-inch phone, his eyes crinkling when he looked through the pictures I took. I did not mind him, my ears trying my best to listen to Miss Chavez.

He poked my arm and in a flash, he pulled my phone in front of me and a loud clicking sound emanated through it. He just took a picture of me.

I grabbed my phone forcefully while he smirked, stealing it away from me. I tried my best to do it quietly and to no avail, I wasn't successful from retrieving my phone. I huffed in silence while he snickered in victory.

He nudged me again and I did not turn, pretending to be angry at him but in reality, all I could feel was the butterflies attacking my stomach. It felt good to have them and what was even better was the cause of it was Jasper. His black hair gelled on his head looked so well on him, his deep piercing eyes slightly intimidating me.

"Can you take a picture of me?" he asked, handing my phone back to me sheepishly, his eyes filled with remorse. My head turned abruptly I thought I almost cracked my neck but a warm smile curled up to my lips. I nodded and snapped the photo button. His lips were curved up, touching his black eyes.

"Done," I announced. He did not ask anything, even just an inkling of how he looked like on my phone. We remained quiet. My eyes wandered to the parents and I could see his mom and his dad giving knowing looks to where Jasper and I sat. They were smiling, giving thumbs ups and I looked at Jasper. His ears were red as he fought a smile conquering his lips.

My lips were unconsciously smiling, too, whilst my heart beat fast enough for me to have a heart attack. Jasper was giving me too much feelings I couldn't comprehend, and my mind was making me frightened of what he was doing to me. Everything he did was confusing without words to confirm.

Or maybe it was impulse that told him to do these unusual things to me. We never were close during the first three years I knew him, so what difference did it make? Why was I sitting beside him, snapping photos of each other as if nothing of this meant anything?

I shook the unanswered questions and pushed it at the back of my head. I should be focusing more on my career rather than detour myself in a road where Jasper belonged. When the meeting finally ended, my classmates went to their respective parents while I stood alone outside, wishing my parents had time to attend their daughter's meeting. But it was highly impossible, since we were six siblings and my mother couldn't split her body in half.

Patricia strode her way towards me and we talked momentarily, until her mother called her for them to go home. They only lived a few blocks away from school whilst I had to travel seven kilometres just to reach home.

"Alice!" Jasper called me for the second time around since class ended, his breaths uneven as he caught his pace with me. "Do you want a ride home?"

Jasper's parents owned a decade old Avanza where his whole family could fit. I wanted to say yes, but I didn't know his parents that much and his parents had no idea who I was. His parents, his father who towered over me with greying hair and his mother who was a few inches shorter than I was, headed to where Jasper and I were, with smiles on their lips.

"She lives on the same route I go," Jasper explained to his parents who did not say a word. They were only giving him meaningful glances while I remained quiet, retracting myself away from them.

"It's fine. I can find myself a jeep," I insisted but his parents were already shaking their heads in disagreement.

"It's already eight in the evening. The night is a dangerous to be going home alone," his mother said, her tone sweet and old. "Come, we won't mind having you over."

"Okay," I said in defeat. My eyes gazed at Jasper. He had a neutral look on his face and I wondered what he was feeling at the moment. "I think it's best as well."

His mom rode shotgun while his dad was behind the wheel. Jasper and I sat at the backseat, my body distanced a few inches away from him. He still empowered warmth no matter how cold the air-conditioner of the car was while my heart was bursting. If it was part of the spectrum, my heart would be filled with vibrancy and a whole multitude of colours.