Home - Night, 7:42 PM
I lay on my back on the sofa, letting the noisy TV become background noise for my daydreaming. My hand moved automatically, popping biscuits into my mouth one by one while staring at the ceiling. A truly peaceful night...
Suddenly, a shadow blocked the ceiling light. "Still thinking about your Prince Charming, Kirana?"
"Cough! Khekk!"
I choked on biscuit crumbs that immediately lodged in my throat. I shot a sharp look at Gerry. "Huh? Who? And please don't appear out of nowhere like that!"
"Nico," he said, emphasizing each syllable, observing the changing expression on my face.
"What about him?" I tried to sound as flat as possible, even though my heart was starting to... Thump. Thump. Thump.
"I met him at school this afternoon," Gerry said while plopping himself onto the sofa.
"And?" I immediately sat up.
"The twelfth graders were bored, so we passed the time playing volleyball on the court. Then Nico came, and we asked him to join. He ended up on the opposing team. His moves were clean, my team got slaughtered in straight sets. And after the game, we chatted a bit... he's cool."
Chatted? I smelled trouble. "It couldn't have just been casual chatting, right?" I narrowed my eyes, suspicious.
"Just chatting, seriously," he said lightly. Then the corner of his lips curled up. "And..." He paused for a few seconds. "WE EXCHANGED PHONE NUMBERS."
Ex-exchanged phone numbers?! Cold sweat instantly dripped down my forehead.
"See! I knew it!" I exclaimed. I stared at him intimidatingly. "Gerry... what evil plan are you cooking up?"
"What evil plan? I'm trying to help, you know. Who knows, maybe my little sister here is missing someone terribly. I could call him, then put it on speaker so you can hear his voice. Want me to call him now?" He grinned mischievously, making me want to smack his head.
"Th-that's exactly what I mean by evil!"
Gerry pulled out his phone from his jacket pocket and pretended to make a call. "Nico, look! Your fan here is melting while staring at the ceiling, imagining your hair gel!"
"Gerry! That's not funny, you know!" I growled, jumping up and trying to grab his phone. But I failed completely. His body was too tall and his hand nimbly kept the device away from me.
"Look at your cheeks! So red! Like a tomato! Ke ke ke!"
"Give me the phone!" I shouted while jumping up and down.
"No!"
"MOM! GERRY IS BOTHERING ME!" I screamed, calling for help as my last defense.
Gerry's laughter slowly stopped and he put his phone back in his pocket.
"But seriously, Kiran... he's the type of guy who won't make things difficult for you. Down-to-earth for a guy being chased by girls from the whole school. No wonder you like him so much."
I was silent for a few seconds. Gerry's last sentence somehow sounded much more sincere than his earlier teasing. There was a strange sense of relief sneaking into my chest. Like... receiving approval from the most unexpected person.
But I still had to maintain my dignity in front of Gerry. "Don't act like you know everything! Go away!" I pushed his shoulder hard to get him off the sofa.
"Yeah, yeah, I get it. You want to go back to thinking about him, don't you?" he teased again while walking away, waving his hand.
"Thinking about what?! I was just eating snacks!"
Swoosh...
I threw the sofa cushion at him, which he unfortunately caught easily, and then... thump! He threw it right back at my face.
"GERRY!" I shouted in frustration.
"You two! It's late! Stop making noise!" Mom shouted from the next room, stopping us.
Gerry just laughed and then disappeared behind his bedroom door.
I let out a long sigh, collapsing back onto the sofa.
Oh no. What is he planning with Nico's number? He wouldn't send an embarrassing photo of me as a snotty kindergartener, would he?
I shuddered at the thought. Argh! I'll avoid Nico as much as possible tomorrow.