4

Monday, September 2011.

A large yawn dawned out of my mouth as I stretched out my arms, loosening my cramped muscles.

Even before school began, my eyes have been so droopy from last night's studies. Now they refuse to open up more than they should have. My brain was already fried halfway through the school, so lunch break was basically a blessing where I could finally gobble up Mom's pasta.

"How's the biology exam?" asked Naomi as she plopped her lunch tray beside me.

She hovered over Aly, who was gobbling multiple french fries at the same time. Her wavy hair running through her shoulders had been more tousled than usual, and her star-shaped hair clip was a little out of place. Even after swallowing all her previous food, Aly simply responded by taking a huge chomp of her burger. Well, I guess that's her answer.

"Not as h-hard as I thought." I decided to take part. "All the questions are in the sl-"

"You call that not hard?!" Aly interrupted—she literally finished her burger in seconds—me, gawking at me as if I had grown some demon horns. "That teacher literally asked us to name and explain all the stupid DNA shit..." she groaned. "Argh, he's fucked up in the head!"

"Jesus Christ, calm your ass down," Samantha laughed as she playfully nudged her. Her other hand held the romance novel she had borrowed for the umpteenth time. "You act like he killed your family or something."

"He killed my mind, Sam." She shot a glare at her friend. "And I considered that as murder."

Although I decided to give no further comments, I couldn't help but to chuckle. Regardless of who taught biology, this always happened after every exam, and I would always massage her back while her soul died inside. Honestly, watching Aly freaking out over the teacher never failed to amuse everyone, even me. I can somehow understand her, though.

"So... where's Mark?" Aly murmured under her hefty breath. "I thought he's gonna be here."

"Ah, he told me his track team needed him," said Naomi as she waved her fork. "Well, he's gonna be competing with-"

"Ayo, guess what?! Our basketball team beat Woodlands' ass last game!!"

Someone sitting a couple tables away roared throughout the cafeteria. Nearly everyone spun their heads towards the group of boys who had begun emerging from the doors. Some of the guys wooed and clapped as hard as they could, rushed over and gave them shoulder pats as well as high fives. The others screamed their congratulations from across the vicinity and Aly cringed, shutting her ears with her hands.

"God, they're so damn loud..." she complained.

And when Edward appeared from behind the group, I immediately stopped chewing. Even with his gaze fixed to the floor, I could still see his frown etched in his expression; the complete opposite of his other teammates.

While they were all cheering their victory, he never seemed to acknowledge all the compliments thrown in his way. He retained his perpetual stoicism while on the other hand, Sebastian—who had been staying with him—received all kinds of fist bumps. His golden blond hair had grown much longer; his bangs had completely protected his damaged eye instead of a patch. As much as he tried keeping his poker face, I could tell he didn't want anyone to talk to him.

Nevertheless, my gaze drifted to him as his team settled down at a large table adjacent to us. A thin smile crept into my lips as I watched him slump down to his seat. He still looks so cool... if I can, I can look up to him all day long.

And quite unfortunately, he looked up and his gaze quickly locked upon me. With my stomach bursting with tons of butterflies, I immediately turned away, focusing more on twirling my fork and devouring my pasta. Yikes...

To be fair, this was a normal routine. I would stare at him, he would notice me, then I would turn away and act like I didn't know him. It was an endless cycle that I never broke, but I could have by just conversing with him again after all these years, but now that he and I lived in an entirely different world... I just could not reach him. In fact, his teammates would chase me away if I dared to approach them.

I guess... I looked at my pasta. It's better this way. No one's gonna be bothered.

"Whoa, we got someone lovestruck here!" Naomi snapped me out of my thoughts, her fingers forming a rectangle to frame my face. "Whatcha say, Sam?"

"Hmm..." She glanced at me up and down, causing me to shuffle my hands under the table. She then poked me all over my shoulders. "Gosh, she's being so adorable as always!"

"You both seriously love teasing Rena, huh?" Aly snorted and shook her head. "Well, that's what happens when you don't understand how she feels."

Samantha adjusted her glasses. "You see Ma'am, as someone with tons of crushes, I actually do understand how Rena feels."

"Sadly, all of your crushes are fictional, Sammy." Aly passed her an askew grin, but her eyes shot daggers at her.

"Hey, a woman can dream! Also, don't call me that!" She whined, resulting in Naomi's laughter.

While the three of them were lost in their conversations, I sat rigidly with no words, marveling at the sight of my unfinished food instead. Well, Edward was much more admirable than this, but he would be most likely guarded enough to notice me again.

At this point, I would not be surprised if he labeled me as that weird, stuttering girl he knew from his childhood, who would not just stop staring at him even when caught.

Hopefully one day, we can finally be together again. Not this time, though.

***

After our last class ended, Aly and I shut off our lockers and strolled into the hallway, finally calling it a day. Meanwhile, Naomi had to run off for practices with her volleyball team, and Samantha was called for her student council duties.

"Hey Rena..." Aly suddenly slowed down in front of a class. "What do you think..." She whirled on her heels. "...of Chri... Edward?"

That particular name had me stop in my tracks and had my entire mind jumbled up. It was not even helping that her question came out of the blue. I was already reluctant to approach such a topic, but the way she scanned my face for answers... led me to squeak out my response.

"Well, he's okay..." I fidgeted. "B-But I kinda wanna talk to him, though. He just looks... really lonely."

What the hell am I saying?

"...I knew," Aly breathed, her hands clenched on her backpack straps. "I've always wanted to say this. Ever since the day when I and Edward last talked, I regret it... so much." She curled her lips. "Not only did I end my friendship with him, but I... I also cut you off from him when you got nothing to do with that stupid fight. I'm sorry."

What? I blinked.

There was no reason I should make her apologize. She was not in the wrong; in fact, no one was to blame. Everyone had totally shut themselves out after the accident, and our minds were clouded with nothing but dread to process all the details. Not to mention, Aly... was the one who witnessed everything; even from 3 years ago, her haunting cries and Sebastian's horrifying report were still clear as day.

"Aly, I-"

"Awesome, Edward's there," she whispered as she peered through the small window of the class doors. What is she doing?

She grabbed my shoulders, pulling me right towards her. "Say Rena... you said you've always been wanting to talk to him right? Not that you need to tell me though, I know you so well. But..." she pumped her fist. "This is a good chance for you to befriend him again."

"What? B-befriend him?!" I almost shrieked, gaping at her. My accelerating heart pounded against my chest, and heat promptly rose up to my cheeks.

"Well yeah," Aly nodded, raising her eyebrow. I mean, she's not wrong on her part... but what's this?! Where did this come from? What drove her to do this?!

"Aly..." I stumbled as I could already feel myself crumbling down, "You know I'm not good at initiating first contact! Besides, his friends would be there!"

"Look over here!" She pointed at the window, stepping aside.

My guts were scolding me to yield and run far away, but nevertheless curiosity took—no, it snatched the cake like a starving predator. With little steps, I slowly peeked into the class, where I watched Edward tidying up his books and stuffing them into his bag. His teammates—even Sebastian—were nowhere to be seen; it was solely him. Unfortunately, his back was on me, so I couldn't take a good look at his expression.

I guess this is a good opportunity and I can't let it slide... but... how am I supposed to prepare myself at the last minute?!

"Don't worry. If he does anything bad, I'll be sure to dropkick his ass," Aly grinned impishly, thumping her hand to her chest. "And I ain't gonna regret this one!"

"W-Wait!" I stopped. "I don't think we should randomly barge in-"

"Let's go and talk to him before he leaves!" Alyssa whispered loudly at me, swinging the door of the classroom. And in one second, she pushed me before I could protest.

"ALYSSA I SAID-"

Edward was already taking note of my sudden presence, so I shut myself up. Everything went to a full stop as I froze at the sight of him this close to me after years. My ears and face were practically heaters set to maximum power, but cold sweat decorated my palms. The ticking clock in front of the class was the only sound I could pick up.

Honestly, befriending Edward might not be the last thing—almost close to the first—on my plan list, but here I was... an airhead with zero preparations. We didn't move from our places, hosting a staring contest of what felt like hours. The more time passed, the more awkwardness loomed over us. Come on Rena, speak up! Don't just do nothing!!

"...What do you want?" He uttered out, breaking the silence as he resumed zipping up his bag, and slinging it over his shoulders, before heading towards me. The way he surveyed me with his only eye, caused chills to surge through my spine. I never paid attention to how his height dominated over me, but... I was clearly the miserable ant looking up at a giant insect.

"U-Um... I..." My words ended up being puzzle pieces that could never be connected to form a proper sentence. With the suspense growing larger than ever, I could not bear with this heavy atmosphere anymore. I forced myself to look at him while taking a deep breath, balling my hands. And without thinking about it, I shouted...

"I love to cook!"