Compositions of Us

09 · The (Not So) Secret Admirer

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09 · The (Not So) Secret Admirer

If I could choose one day of the entire school year to skip without any consequences, I already had an answer. 

Today. 

February 14th. 

Valentine's day. 

After my second class, I dragged my feet along the hallways and tried to ignore all the students who were attacked by the devious Cupid. 

Heart shaped balloons and abnormally sized teddy bears were being carried by young teenage girls with the biggest smiles on their faces. All the boys hung their arms proudly around their girlfriends as they walked side by side on the day where love was celebrated. 

The week didn't exactly start off on the right foot to begin with. After my episode on Sunday, I planned to avoid Joshua Anderson ever since. 

Without making the situation awkward than it already was, Joshua did help me gather my stuff from the café so I could go home without facing Eric and the customers. His kind gesture didn't fool Eric very much though. Although Eric cared, he didn't harass me with questions because he had an idea that it dealt with my dad. I bypassed the topic even though Mikaela and him were my closest friends.  

The good thing was that I didn't actually have to try so hard when it came to evading Joshua. Joshua didn't show up to our lunch table or his locker yesterday and so far, today. 

I thought keeping away from Joshua was good since I was still humiliated that he witnessed me in that state. However, it felt a little out of focus not seeing my overconfident, smiley-face bandaid wearing locker buddy. 

Because of that, I was starting to think that I really lost my mind. 

"Hey Olivia! Do you mind doing me a quick favor?" A feminine voice startled me. 

Snapping out of it, I glanced over my shoulder and found the president of the journalism club, Lauren Watts, trailing after me. The always observant and peppy junior was carrying a burgundy folder, and I already had a hint on what it contained.  

Still, I asked, "Sure, what's up?" 

Lauren tucked a strand of her curly blonde hair behind her ear before she presented the folder in front of me. "Here's the monthly issue of the school paper. It'd mean a lot if you could look over the pictures before we have it published." 

Taking the folder, I scanned through the loose leaf pages of the hard copy. The photos looked fine to me, but I felt guilty since my attention was drifting elsewhere for the most part. My dad who continued to call me. The photography contest. Joshua Anderson. 

"Thanks for helping us out, Olivia. We're really going to miss you once you graduate," Lauren expressed heartily, breaking my train of thought.

Lifting my attention to meet Lauren's friendly blue eyes, I grinned faintly. "Don't thank me. When it comes to photography and helping others, I'm always willing to offer a hand." 

"Olivia," a voice chimed, barging into our conversation. 

Growing stiff at the recognizable voice, Lauren and I turned around only to discover Drew Larkin approaching us.  

The athlete was all smiles while I shot Drew a look that warned him not mortify the both of us in front of everyone. In Drew's case, however, that would be asking too much. Cursing under my breath, I caught a starstruck Lauren once Drew was at a close distance from us.