《The Boy I Admire From Afar》Chapter Five
Advertisement
"You okay?" I asked Izzy. He's been so quiet since the incident in the hallway.
"Yeah, of course. Why wouldn't I?" He answered. I could feel the sarcasm in his voice. I knew he felt bad that he bumped into Claire, and I was the one who caught her.
I had mixed emotions. I was glad that I saved Claire from getting into a terrible head injury but the thought of being her hero gave me a sudden guilty feeling. I knew Izzy dreamt to be in my shoes at that moment.
I remembered catching her in my arms before she hit the floor. I was surprised that she was so light and how she fitted perfectly in my arms. She clung onto me for seconds, and I just stared at her until she opened her eyes. The fear was visible in her eyes, and it immediately turned to relief. I released her the moment she was steady on the floor and said thank you. Touching her was wrong. I felt like I was tresspassing into someone's property—Izzy's.
"Don't mind him. He'll get over it." Harry tapped my shoulder. "He has to accept that he's not her knight in shining armour. He has to move on. Claire probably likes another guy."
"Who?" I asked curiously.
"I don't know. Maybe Matt Barnes. They suit each other." Harry laughed. Matt Barnes was a nerd in school. One of the smartest. He hung out with Claire most of the time. The thought made me frown with disapproval. Izzy was the opposite of Matt Barnes in some ways. In terms of popularity and looks.
Late afternoon, I was glad that Izzy was finally back to his normal mood.
"You can't memorize your lines?" Miss Robinson said irritably. She asked me to meet her in the Theatre Rose Room after class to practice my lines.
"Sorry, miss." I scratched my head. Big beads of sweat ran down from my forehead. "I got tied up with my football practice. We're preparing for our big game against the..."
Advertisement
"That's not an excuse." Miss Robinson snapped at me. "You should have memorized your lines at home. You have enough time. I can see that you're not taking this seriously. You can't graduate high school if you fail your English subject."
"I know, Miss Robinson. Please. I'll do my best to memorize my lines this weekend." I pleaded, giving her my best pitiful look. It worked on Mom, I was hoping that it would work on her, too.
She heaved a sigh then scanned the pages of the script she was holding. "Okay." She agreed and that made me feel so relieved.
After a minute, I realized it was just temporary bliss. She asked me to read my lines as Romeo, and she was so disappointed.
"That's the lousiest Romeo I've ever heard. Romeo is handsome, romantic, smart, gentle and compassionate. You should deliver your lines with passion... feelings... like you are in love."
"I told you I don't know how to act. I can do minor roles. Please."
"Stop doing that puppy eyes of yours, Zion. It won't work on me. Come on, go to the next scene."
I was reading my lines when I heard the door behind me open slowly.
Miss Robinson looked at the person behind me and said. "Finally, there is our Juliet."
I stopped reading and turned around. It was Claire.
***
I never thought Claire would be Juliet. She was not the type who would play the part. She was too shy, fragile, and soft spoken to act on stage. Although she hung out in the English drama class every year, assisting Miss Robinson at the backstage.
"Sorry, Miss Robinson. We were dismissed late in my last subject." Claire sat on a chair opposite to mine. She was avoiding looking at me.
"I guess the class is so noisy again, huh?"
She nodded then finally looked at me. She dropped her eyes before my steady gaze. I just couldn't hold her eyes.
Advertisement
"Claire, Zion will play Romeo. He can't memorize his lines yet, and we're running out of time. I need you to help him with his lines. Teach him how to deliver them with feelings." Miss Robinson said, like I was not there listening to them. Then she shifted her eyes from me to Claire. "You two should practice together after class. Every day until it's perfect. Clear?"
"Yes, miss." Claire and I said simultaneously.
"Both of you do scene 2. Capulet's Garden." Miss Robinson said.
I coughed then cleared my throat. It was very awkward reading the romantic corny lines with Claire who was making shy glances at me. I just wished Izzy was in my shoes. He would be thrilled playing Romeo.
I said my line first. "He jests at scars that never felt a wound. But soft, what light through yonder window breaks? It is the east and Juliet is the sun..."
"With feelings!" Miss Robinson almost yelled.
After we did a few scenes, Miss Robinson read her text message and stood up. "My husband is here. You continue the rest of the scenes. I'll go ahead."
"No worries." I assured her.
The moment Miss Robinson left us, an awkward silence filled the room. I stood up and took my backpack on the floor.
"Where are you going?" Claire asked, giving me a surprised look.
"I have to go home. It's my sister's birthday. We have a party at home." I lied.
"Oh. Okay. But we have to practice every day. That's what Miss Robinson said."
"Yeah, sure. We'll meet here every after class." I was so eager to go. This play really sucks, and I had enough of it already.
Ten minutes more and I'll go.
That was what I said ten minutes ago and the past ten minutes. I was waiting for Zion here in the Theatre Rose Room. We agreed yesterday that we would meet here every day after class to practice for the play.
Where is he? What is taking him so long? I wonder if he's coming or not. Maybe he forgot.
I made up several reasons for him. Trying to make an excuse on his behalf. What is wrong with me?
I get so excited at the thought of meeting Zion every day. I kept on looking at my wristwatch, couldn't wait for my last class to end. I made an effort to look pretty today and sprayed some cologne. I ironed my uniform well and shined my shoes spotless.
And now... there was no sign of Zion.
The following morning, I saw Zion at his locker. I got the courage to talk to him. He was busy pulling out books and not even making a single glance at me.
"I was waiting for you at the Rose Room yesterday. You never showed up."
"Sorry. It's my grandma's birthday. I was supposed to call you, but I don't have your number." Zion said.
"Oh, okay. Do you want my number?" The thought of exchanging phone numbers with Zion really excites me.
"Yeah" He grabbed a pen and opened the last page of his science book. He wrote the number I dictated to him.
"I'll see you later?" I asked before I turned away from him.
"Of course. I'll be there."
***
Ten minutes more and I'll go.
Just like yesterday. I said that ten minutes ago and the past ten minutes. Still, there was no sign of Zion in the Theatre Rose Room. I was waiting for his call. Never leaving my phone out of my sight. I jumped at a beep of a text message or a call. But it wasn't Zion. He ditched me again.
The following day, I waited for him again. Still, he didn't show up. Maybe it's his mom's birthday. I sighed. Another of his lame excuses.
Advertisement
Loving Lyra
Lyra Mitchell is the owner and operator of 'The Sweet Spot', a local bakery in New York. One day, when a little girl walks in, Lyra's life changes forever. Brandon Cole is the CEO of Cole Enterprises. Rich and young, he is any girl's perfect man. And while Brandon had a wide selection of girls to choose from, he wasn't interested. The only girls who had a place in his heart were his mother and his daughter. But one little phone call changes it all.
8 222FAMILY
Every year on Charlotte's birthday, her mother takes a picture of her to send to her father that she's never met before. He was a man with dangerous connections so they had to live apart for Charlotte to be safe. But on Charlotte's fifteenth birthday things change. She moves all the way from London to Manhattan with her mom. Charlotte gets to make new friends but also new enemies. The Cassano's are very powerful and Charlotte will soon find out how powerful they truly are. /////// Snippet: "Your sister touched my boobs and slammed me into a locker. Your brothers pushed me up against a locker and choked me. I really don't care for any of the apologies you give me, because let's be honest, they're not genuine."The blond man's jaw dropped but there was no change in Hector's face. He only seemed slightly annoyed that I interrupted him. "Yeah, bestie, you tell him!" Cecelia purred. Eunha gasped and softly slapped Cecelia, but who could really stop her. That girl had no fears. "Let's go." Daniel softly nudged me. I nodded and turned away without saying goodbye. This damn family was getting on my nerves. In this moment I didn't care that I pissed them off. It's what they deserved. But what I would later learn is that this was what kickstarted the whole mess I'd get dragged in. It all started with Hector Cassano getting interested in me.-------#1 in 'littlesister' on 26 January 2022
8 427The Book of Zyca
He's an author. She's a slave. They are both at the lowest of the low for different reasons. **********************DANIEL IS FALLING DOWN A PIT HARD...He has no hope after he signs a contract of his dismissal from his publishing company and he blames his fictional character for his demise. He has hope...THE DAY HE MEETS HER...When the enslaved green genie, Zyca Abram hears she is to be taken to Laddendebt for the escape of her treacherous father, she escapes with the help of her best friend Colt, who with the rest of his family helps her prove her innocence by sending her into the human world to find her father and the Bayer crystal when her sisters life is at risk...NOW THEY HAVE TO WORK TOGETHER...It was bad enough he pretended not to know her, now he had feelings for the said girl. Amidst all these, something sinister lurks in the shadows, something none of them expected. Who attacks her? And who calls out her name?Book started - September 2020Book Finished - Status {ongoing}Upload days- Mondays and Thurdays
8 101Male Lead's Villainess Stepmother
FOR OFFLINE PURPOSE NOT MY STORY Yan Shuyu, a big fan of all sorts of cliche CEO novels, had transmigrated into a book -In the novel, the wealthy CEO male lead has a villainous stepmother. She put up a front of being nice and tender to him, when in fact she was bullying the male lead with her son. After she had successfully driven the male lead and his father apart, her ambition continued to grow as she attempted to take away the inheritance from the male lead. In the second half of the book, the truth came out - that the father had no feelings for her whatsoever but was merely using the two of them to hone his son's character. In the end, both the stepmom and her son were sent to jail by the male lead after he took over the family business.Yan Shuyu transmigrated and became the well-hated villainous stepmother, but she had transmigrated to the time before everything happened, and the male lead was still a foolish child. Only a fool would want to become the stepmother of a foolish child. Yan Shuyu took a longing look at her "assigned husband", who was pretty much like the Sleeping Beauty, before she quickly packed up and made a run for it.After that, Yan Shuyu checked out her $250 remaining on her card. She turned to look at her son, who was clinging onto her leg and asking for milk. She wanted to look up at the sky and howl. Is it too late to go back to become the male lead's wheatstone?
8 111The Steward of Blackwood Hall
Despite living thirty miles from London, Anabelle Latimer knows her chances of finding a husband in their sleepy village are as thin as cook's white soup. Then she discovers a kindred spirit in Mr. Fielding, the intelligent and handsome new steward from Blackwood Hall. It was a great shame that his position in life was so below her own, for he was exactly the sort of man she would have wished to marry.Anthony Fielding, tired of being the target of the ton's marriage-minded mothers, hopes to spend a relaxing week shooting and fishing in the country. Yet upon his arrival at Blackwood Hall he discovers an estate in chaos, and a friend in desperate need of help. He is quick to offer his knowledge and expertise, unaware that his generosity will have unexpected repercussions.The Steward of Blackwell Hall is a traditional Regency romance of approximately 66,000 words.
8 121The Devil's Love
The Devil's Love SeriesBook 1: Tempt the Devil;Book 2: Playing with Fire;Book 3: Queen of Hell;Book 4: Shadow of Death.(All stories contained in this one book)What does the devil do when he is invited to a wedding and the invitation says, plus guest?Lost in his thoughts about the possible choices, he takes a walk in the human world and happens upon one young woman that is the answer to his question. His offer is one of simplicity, save her failing business and in return be his date for the wedding. He never expected for the deal to last anything more than the few weeks that were ahead of them. Then again, he never expected to fall in love with her.Unloved, unwanted. Two words that Sarah thought summed up her life. Unloved by her parents who favored her sister over her, unwanted even after their death. Her business is failing despite being a brief walk from one of New York's best tourist attractions. Being a failure was never in Sarah's future, she was desperate to prove her nasty sister wrong. Committing to the deal of a lifetime could cost Sarah so little if she accepts.One little walk through the bustling city of New York will alter their lives forever, entwining them in ways they never thought possible. As the days progress and their love for each other deepen, they believe that they are beyond the reach of reality and soon realize that there are some people that would do anything to bring them down.All of their plans for the future are now unstable, resting upon the edge of a knife. With the threat of being revealed to the world, Anton and Sarah must choose a life among humans on the surface or hide in the underworld.**This story is a part of the DEADLY BEASTS world** © These stories and works are copyrighted. No part may be reproduced by any process, nor may any other exclusive right be exercised, without the permission of T.M. Watkins (xMishx) 2015
8 350