As if time had stopped, all that existed was unimportant, there was only Renata and Lyle. "Why don't we leave now? I'll take you somewhere fun, little Qing doll."
"But....." Renata didn't get to finish her sentence, Lyle had already dragged her out of the building. Her sports jacket and squash bag were left behind.
The sports building was surrounded by thick forest, everywhere she gazed was covered in the orange fallen leaves, it was the fall season. Lyle's hand was holding hers until he moved his arm around her shoulder. Through the pumpkin-colored forest, Lyle took her to a meadow. In contrast with the picturesque woods, the meadows were full of tall cattails around it, she got a feeling that a snake could jump at her any second.
Suddenly, Lyle pinned her to the only weeping willow near the meadow, his face was a few inches shy of hers. Both her mind and her heart were racing millions of miles per hour, wondered which would win if they competed. Renata nervously stared at his pretty face.
"You know... you smell so nice today...." He breathed in her scent, and suddenly her legs felt like jelly. "A bit fruity.... a bit floral... I can smell a hint of mint too...." Was he too close or was it just her? Her brain was a mushed glob now for sure.
'Is he going to kiss me? Holy hand, gosh his hand.... I definitely score second base today.... But..... aren't we a little bit too fast? Oh gosh, did my mouth still smell onion? I was sweating earlier, did I wear my deodorant today? Holy mother gumdrops, why do I feel.....scared(?).... Am I scared?..... maybe I'm just nervous~... Holy beanie, I think I'm not ready for second base.... But.... I couldn't say no..... could I?... Should I?..... Was it always this chilly... oh no..... no.....'
Ahhhtttchiuuu
Before she could hold her nose, Renata sneezed the biggest snot of all. How horrified she was when she saw some of her mucus splattered across his left eyelid.
"Oh god... I-I'm so sorry, Lyle..... I... Ahttcchhhiiuuuu." This time, Lyle jumped farther back, wiped his face excessively.
'Holy crab..... w-what do I do..... can the ground swallow me now?....'
As everyone has calmed down, saying the situation was just a tinge of awkwardness, was an understatement. She was about to get a kiss, or something more, from her crush, no less, and instead of her lips or saliva, she splurted goey boogie. How mortifying was it?
"Why don't we go back to the dorm?" Lyle tried to break the ice first.
"Euhmm... I need to take my jacket and bag at the squash Pavillion. O-of course, I could go there alone, I don't need you..... I mean you don't have to accompany me....."
"Ok Ok, I get you. Let's go, I will take you there. At least until the pavillion."
"Ok.... great..... Thanks...." Lyle nodded and walked in front of her. That was disappointing, she thought they would walk hand in hand again, hoping for it. But what could she do? He was nice enough not leaving her alone.
The deafening silence got into her nerves, she was cold but she could feel her back was sweaty. The sun hadn't set yet, it was 4.30 PM. If anything was normal, she would appreciate the beautiful sunlight through the dense yellow leaves, accompanied by an adonis.
"Here we are. I guess I'll see you around, little Qing doll?" Lyle turned his back to face her and smiled.
"Yes... once again"
This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.
"Hey, Lyle!! Where the hell are you?" James yelled at Lyle, cutting her off. He was approaching with a bunch of boys and girls. James and the boys were wearing this football (people should call it Rugby so as not confused with soccer) uniform, they must have just finished their practice.
"Oh, hey, James. What's up?" Lyle grinned at James innocently.
"You asshole.... Oh? Hi, Ren." James toned down a bit after he saw Renata. "Why are you with her, jackass? Don't tell me you missed today's practice to chase her skirt!!! We only have a week before the match....."
"OK Ok I hear you, James. Let's go, you scare the little lamb. Bye, Little rabbit...." And just like that, Lyle was leaving with the crowd.
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Her legs turned into zombies, dispirited, Renata reached her dorm building with a heavy heart, and head. Perhaps it was a stressful day, an embarrassing day indeed. She opened her room, in urgent need of her comfortable bed, couldn't wait to sleep away the day. However, a sudden incoming hug welcomed her.
"Renata...." Millie hugged her so tight. "Thank you very much. Please convey my gratitude to your parents too."
Renata looked at her bewildered, she didn't understand. If anything, Millie should be sulking right now because of her PC last night. "Why are you hugging me?"
"I have just received a MacBook from your parents, we have the same model," Millie said with twinkles in her eyes, before she realized Renata was a little bit different today.
"Are you alright? You don't seem well." She put her palm on Renata's forehead. "You are a bit hot. I told you, didn't I? Now you have caught a cold. Have you eaten?"
Well, that explains her dizziness. "I don't want to. I just want to get a shower and lay down." No matter how much Millie coaxed, Renata refused and left the room to shower. There was nothing Millie could do, so she went to the dining hall alone.
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Renata laid on her bed, trying to sleep her worsening headache away.
(Buzz Buzz)
'?? Who added me?' A new request from an unknown ID , she view the profile and saw it was Lyle. She added him to her contact in a heartbeat.
Lyle : Hi
Renata : Hi
Lyle : Can you meet me now?
Renata looked at the time displayed on the screen, it was 7.30 PM.
Renata : Our dorm will be closed in 15 minutes. Can't we talk tomorrow?
Lyle : I only need a moment.
Renata :
Lyle : I promise I won't be long.
Renata hesitated but eventually decided to meet him. He asked her to go to an abandoned stable, near the forest they had earlier visited. She was wearing her white jacket when Millie was back from her dinner. "Renata, I brought some medicine and food. You are lucky, the canteen lady was willing to pack something warm for you. Are you going somewhere?"
"I...." Renata might be a mischievous girl, but she was so bad at lying. "I need to....um..." Her fingers pointed in many directions at the same time.
Millie kept guessing at her, "Toilet.....Dining hall....Library....Health Center...Student Cafeteria..." Renata nodded and said she was about to go to the health center.
"OK then, let's go." Millie put everything she had brought to her ex-PC table, which had become a regular study desk for her since the fiasco last night.
"N-No, you don't have to. I can go by myself... actually, I want to go there by myself..." Millie stared at her with confusion which made Renata uneasy. "Are you sure, Ren? I can accompany you there."
"Yes, I'm sure. Besides, don't you need to transfer the data from that thingy you got from Kim yesterday?" Millie contemplated what to do, she had received a flash disk filled with her data from Wilson yesterday through Kim. And she only had two days to finish all the reports.
"Then, contact me if the doctor tells you to stay there, so I can lock the door." Renata nodded and left right away.
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Renata didn't lie entirely, she did pass the health center in order to reach the abandoned stable next to the woods. The path after the health center was dark, she used her blackberry's minuscule flashlight to illuminate the way. She wondered why on earth Lyle asked to meet in such a pitch black and far place, also how stupid she was at that moment.
Though she wore a jacket, the chilly air still caressed her shivering body, making her teeth keep knocking against each other. The time she stepped out of her dorm, she already regretted it and wished she had refused Lyle's request. Despite her conflicting thoughts, she finally arrived in front of the stable.
The desolate stable was worse than what she had imagined, she would be lucky if the roof was not collapsing on her head. Lyle said he would be waiting inside the stable. Renata took several deep breaths before she entered the stable.
"Lyle? I'm here.... Where are" Before she finished, someone had shoved her so hard that she fell forward on her knees. There were three girls behind her and one of them grabbed her phone as she shoved Renata earlier.
Renata stood up as quickly as she could but they were way faster, soon they closed the stable's door, locking her inside. "Who are you? Why are you doing this to me?" Renata pounded the door as loud as she could, the girls were only giggling.
"Throw her phone as far as you can." One of the girls said to the one holding Renata's blackberry.
"Hey!!! Don't break my phone.... Hey!!!!"
"Shut up, you slut!!!" The "leader" yelled at Renata, leaving her speechless. Never in her life had she heard someone speak profanely at her. "Do you think you are someone important just because Lyle talked to you several times? Do you think you are special? You need to learn your place, and that's nowhere near Lyle. Let's go girls."
"Hey!! Let me go.... please...." No one answered her whimpering plea. Renata eventually stopped banging on the door with her painful hand. Instead, she wanted to bang her head against the nearest wall because of her idiocy, or her intensified splitting headache, or maybe both.
She leaned her back against the door and looked around her through her tears. The rusty stable's ceiling-high dividers were made out of iron, the hallway was not as wide as the stable they used at the time. Each stall had a small iron-barred window almost near the ceiling. Thanks to the moonlight peeking through the window, the darkness was illuminated a little. She could reach it by stepping on the divider, if it was strong enough to hold her weight. Like a popping firework, an idea formed in her head. A dumb idea that hopefully could make people find her faster before her cold got worse, and not the other way around.