The Boyfriend Checklist

15

"Stop. . ." He weakly begged, his short breath made it hard for him to speak. "Ge—"

Gemma's ear-splitting scream gave him the chance to pause and grasp for more air. When she still wouldn't stop, he took his phone out from his pocket and pressed the flashlight button to illuminate his face.

That got her stopping from calling the security's attention.

"Aaron—you porcupine!" Gemma hissed after placing a hand on her chest. "You scared me! You freakin' did!"

Aaron's breathing had normalized after assuring himself that he entered the right room. He wanted to laugh at her reaction, but the weird smell circling around caused him to cough instead.

The small light coming from his phone helped her assess his look. His hair did resemble a porcupine's hair; it was everywhere and her scream had probably surprised each strand. Sweat glistened on his forehead making her think he ran for minutes.

"What. . . are you. . . doing here?" He inquired, after pausing from coughing.

Gemma stood, placing the strap of her bag on her shoulder. "Hiding? I can ask you the same question too."

He lowered the light. His face was no longer visible giving no access for her to read his face.

"It's because you're here." He answered, matter-of-factly.

Her eyebrows furrowed. "How'd you know I was here?"

Aaron walked further inside, letting his flashlight roam around the room. His eyes examined the old and broken chairs. "You used to hide here when we were little." He faced his phone down on the table so that there was enough light inside the room.

This abandoned storage was Gemma's favorite hideout. Playing hide and seek with her would usually take one game for it would last for more than a minute before they could find her. She was always the last one they couldn't find and that made her the winner. Little did these kids know, Mr. Morton was helping her.

Mr. Morton was an old janitor of their school. He was friendly and was nice to everyone—especially to her. He couldn't help but see her granddaughter in her. It made him wonder if she'd grow up like Gemma if only she wasn't taken from him at a young age.

Gemma would always greet him and he would do the same. She admired people who worked hard and still had that smile on their faces. She liked recognizing these people who were hardly noticed by the crowd.

When Mr. Morton was absent for a couple of days, no one noticed this. His absence somehow affected little Gemma in a way that she couldn't choose a better place to hide in when she played hide and seek with her friends.

As soon as Mr. Morton got back, she told him everything. She kind of felt sad for her unbeaten record was already ruined. She didn't take the record seriously. All she wanted to do was to brag this to her parents. He laughed at this and asked her what her favorite number was. It confused her but gave him an answer instead.

The day after that, she dropped by the storeroom and saw him shoving a block back to the wall. He told her this was his gift to her, as a friend. A key was hidden inside the tenth block—the number she said was her favorite. He left a key inside it, a secret only the two of them were allowed to know.

She was excited that she couldn't wait for tomorrow to use it. But Mr. Morton was not in sight the next morning. Then for days, the hallways were only filled with students and some random janitors mopping the floor. She'd ask them about Mr. Morton, but they'd tell her they have no details about him. Days turned into weeks, into months, and up to one year—she was no longer able to see him.