FACADE

Chapter 12: See

"Hey" Edward greeted from beside me and I shot him a glare.

       "What do you want?" I asked, pretending to be mad. To be honest, his action off excusing himself when I was having a heart-to-heart talk with him yesterday kind of upset me.

 "Did I do something wrong?" He asked, probably feeling wronged, and I couldn't help but palm my face, breathing in fresh air to calm myself down. How could he be so oblivious?

 "You did nothing wrong. Ok? What is up" I flip my textbook, trying to appear occupied as I listened to what he was about to say.

 "So. I checked my old house yesterday and saw the old toys we used to play with, and I thought maybe I should" I didn't let him finish before excitedly holding his hand.

 "What did you just say? Toys. Yes I'd love to check it out. What about today. I mean yeah right now?" Ecstatic, I didn't realize that I was already shouting at this point. I could already picture myself remembering everything. Oh my gosh I am going to remember!!

       My mind did victory laps and I was about to ask him if he was free today when I saw him looking at my hands on his. Oh! that. Embarrassed, I quickly take back my hand and flashed him an apologetic smile.

 I look around to see if anyone saw me and surely they did. They all had their eyes on me and if looks could kill, I would be six feet underground by now.

 Clearing my throat, I try to appear composed. Yeah, am not scared of them, they can't do anything . They were just staring. It's nothing. I mean it's not like it was intentional. It was just a spur of the moment and am sure they understand. Right?

 I got my answer when a girl made the 'Kill you' sign with her hand.

     "Yes today is fine by me." I heard Edward say, but I couldn't care less than all that was on my mind now was how to escape from the school premises without being smothered.

...

 When I got to where my bicycle was parked, what awaited me was the parts and pieces of the disassembled bike.

      Gritting my teeth, I curse at whoever did it for a while before a paper caught my eye. I squatted down to pick up the paper that was lying in the middle of the mess and got more upset when it turned out to be a $10,000 blank cheque. Even though I was angry, I still tucked the refund in my pocket as I debated on whether to sell the pieces. At least the parts of a Mercedes-Benz bike should worth much right? Moreover, I felt sad to leave it behind since it was a birthday gift from my dad.

 Sullenly, I brought out my phone from my pocket and was about to order for UBER when a car pulled up in front of me. The driver wound down the window and I got excited when I saw who it was.

 "Come in" he reached to open the door from the inside and I pretend to hesitate, before finally getting in.

 "Did something happen to your bike?" He asked as he started the engine.

 I considered whether to tell him but later decided on the former because I wouldn't want to explain the reason why they did it. Moreover, I didn't want to engage in a conversation with him.

....

Being in the car alone with him didn't feel bad, in fact the silence wasn't awkward. I look out of the window and took in the beauty of the street.

 The route he took was different from the one I'd usually take, but I had no complaints since it was much quieter and peaceful than the other.

 Staring at Edward's face from my side eye, I couldn't help but marvel at his handsomeness. Even though I have never seen his dad or mom before, I could tell that they had good genes and must be at least good-looking to give birth to someone as perfect as he is.

 I didn't know when I got drunk by his looks, but I was brought back to reality by the sound coming off the radio. He must have changed the channel when I was distracted. My cheeks grew hot as I reprimanded myself for being so stupid. Twice.

 I suddenly thought it wasn't a good idea accepting a ride from him. Ed Sheran's *perfect* kept playing from the speakers and I leaned on the seat, thinking back to the first time I met Edward.

 The song completely matched my mood and I shivered when a thought flashed through my mind.

 Am I falling in love with him? I looked at him one last time and shook my head telling myself that it couldn't be. I kept repeating the mantra in my head as I felt the car stop. Not only that, but I look out the window and realized we were already home.

      "Are you still up for checking the toys today" he asked, and I nodded. I have been expecting that sentence since when I entered the car.

 "Sure. Just let me go up and change. I'll be back in a few" I answered.

.

 Keeping to my promise, I hastily changed out of my uniform and put on blue sweatpants before matching it with a white t shirt.

 I was in the middle of packing my hair when I heard my phone ring. With my rubber and still on one hand, I picked the phone with the other and brought it to my ear before continuing with my hair.

 "Hello" I heard the caller say, and I replied with a hello. By this time, I was already done with my hair and was putting on my slippers now.

 With my cross bag slung across my shoulder, I made my way down the stairs.

"Please who's on the line?" I ask politely even though my mind was already calculating who it might to be and by the time I had made a conclusion, I heard the make voice state his name.

"Marcus" I guess he already knew what I was about to do next as he quickly continued "Wait, don't hang up. I really want to talk to you that's why I collected your number from Shayne. OK I know it's my fault and I know you deserve your own privacy, but I just wanted to ask after you. That's all." He explained, making himself appear innocent in the process.

Even though I didn't want to, I still acted magnanimous and promised to save his number before I hung up. Shayne, that small devil. I'll make sure I teach her a lesson.