Invitation

Van woke up with a headache, killing him as he sluggishly walks down the stairs. He took a glass of water. Rubbing his eyes while walking, he nearly trips but Tim holds him as he guided Van to sit down.

“You look like crap.”

“Thank you, apparently I look at the mirror this morning.” He tiredly replied.

“Are you taking meth? I’m going to kick your ass if you ever do that.” Tim asked as he minces the fried meat through his gritted teeth.

“Uh, ew, no. I wouldn’t do that kind of thing.” He defended.

“Have you ever consider joining any kind of sports? If you want, I can pull you in the basketball team.”

“Nah, we both know that I’m not a team player.”

“Right, I nearly forgot how you got onto fight because of you being an asshat.”

“Oh, shut up.”

Walking in the middle of the crowd, Van scan the surroundings, finding his locker, he forcefully pushed himself at the side to reach his locker. When he’s about to finish getting his books, Kate pops out.

“Hello there,” Kate said with sweet smile wear on her face.

“Hey.” Van simply said.

“What’s up with ‘Hey’? Do you have any words on your vocabulary besides hey?” She said as Van turns around to see her.

“What do you expect me to say?

“I don’t know… maybe you should start complementing the way I dress or… we should get to know each other and go out after the class?” Her voice insistently said. Her white dress flew over the wind, her seducing smile engrossed his eyes, but inside his head tells not to be tempted as he shrugged himself.

“I’m not interested. There’s like five assignments I needed to take care of.” he tiredly said as he snapped out.

“Ouch,” She said pretending to be hurt. “Never thought you’re such a hardworking person, considering that you pull some delinquent stunt last night.”

“What?”

Kate pauses with a nervous expression. “N-Nothing,”

“How can you be so calm with a lot of assignments tank onto us on the second day of school?”

“Well, in the previous years in high school, I learned not to give a crap because it’ll stress me out.”

“Wow, you have confidence, eh?” Van sighed, “If there’s nothing you want from me, is it fine that I should head to my class now?” He said, turning his back and walks away from her. He could still feel that she’s following him.

Van grunts as he sits down at the corner near the window. He turns his attention and he saw Kate sitting beside him. The minute's hand finally reached 7:30, which the strict looking teacher enters the room. Even beneath her glass, her poker face and her seemingly unfazed eyes strike the attention of the entire class. She begins to write her name on the whiteboard.

“My name is Suzy Megan. I know some of you already know me, could be personal or based on the gossips, and I hope you already know what I don’t like the most… I don’t want any of you slack off in my class.”

All of them nods and fell in silence as she starts to be discussed about the cells. The class ended with no commotion, only a terrifying impression about the strict teacher.

“Mister Koelson?” Miss Suzy calls out to Van.

He nervously looks at her.

“Uhm, Y-yes?”

“Mister Spotsman wants to see you. Go to the faculty.”

“Alright.” He said and hurriedly walk, heading to the faculty.

Unknown to Van, Kate is staring at his back with a smile on her face written and he vanishes amidst the crowd.

He knocks at the door of the faculty and greeted the other professors. He straightly walks at Mister Waldon who is currently reading a newspaper with his feet resting onto another one and seemingly his full attention is onto it, not until Van intercepted.

“Mister Spotsman? You want to see me?”

“Ah yes. Come sit.” He said as he put his paper down. “Uhm, how do I start? Have you considered joining in any club or sports?”

“No, I don’t think I will.”

“Why is that?”

“I’m not kinda interested.”

“You know what I see in you Van?”

“Uhm, what?”

“I see myself in you during my younger days. I’m shy and kind of dumb,” Van raised his brow. “No offense, but when I step forward in basketball, my talent rocks the entire stadium. Even now, I can still hear the ladies on the bench shouting my name.”

“What does it have to do with me?”

“If you’re going to join, I’m sure ladies will come after you, don’t you want fame?”

Van shrugged.

“I hope you changed your thoughts because we kinda need of people with talents for the next regional contest.”

“I’ll think about it.” Van simply said.

“Good.”

It’s 4 p.m., the orange light makes stripling rays at the surface, the sun is set to settle down at the east, as soon his eyes met the light, it burns his sight and turns away from it. Van is walking together with Lester and Boston. Lester was talking about him not proceeding to enter the triathlon, but he was accepted to play in the basketball team.

“Good for you Lester, continue to walk heads up and you might be able to help your team to the finals,” Tim said as he steals the ball that Lester spinning around his fingers and shot it to the near basketball ring. “I’m looking forward to watching you epically fail.”

“Thank you, for discouraging me.”

“No probs, that’s what friends are for.”

“Is that the woman hitting on you?” Tim questioned as his eyes darted at the woman walking outside the hallway, there, he saw Brandon staring at her then his attention coincided to meet Van’s eyes, stabbing him with his looks in which Van’s quickly look away from him.

“Yep, that’s her.” Van shyly said, looking away.

“Whoa, you should ask her out dude,” Boston said, appearing out of nowhere.

“No way… where the hell did you come from?”

“A pearl-like her should never leave alone in this place full of fucktards, like Brandon.”

“Hey, no to profanity, we already talk about it,” Lester said.

“Hey, does my face does look like give a crap about turning into a new leaf? No.”

“Hey!” A woman’s voice calls out to them, more likely she headed directly to Van’s side. “I was wondering if I could invite you guys to my house, six evenings tomorrow.”

With that moment, all of them were captivated by her beauty, her sleek black hair complemented her milky skin, her round eyes are engrossing, and red lips painted by her lipstick red as a rose.

Lester hesitantly replied to her while looking to them, confirming as the other nods, except me, but what the hell, who am I to pass on a free drink, “Uhm, sure.”

“Great!” She turned her attention to Van, “What’s your name again?”

“Van.” He slightly shifted his weight, with his arms crossing. “Jane,” She replied, she pleaded to handshake.

The other guys' cough, “Uhm, this is Boston, Lester, and my brother Tim.”

“Big brother.” He corrected as he reached to her hands, but she takes it back before he could kiss it. “Germophobe. Well, See ya at the party, bye.”

“Bye.” The three said in-sync except Van.

“Whoa, what just happened?” Lester asked.

“She just invited us to the party.”

The three of them continued to walk forward, leaving Van wandering to the woman as she greeted Kate.

“What the hell are you doing?” Kate greeted Jane with, pinching her cheek and stabbing her with her eyes.

“Nothing.” Jane averted her gaze.

“I don’t believe in that crap. So, you better spill it to me, because the last time you tried to help it ended up wiping the memory of the previous guy I date."

“Ugh, fine. I saw you this morning trying to…. y’ know, flirt…”

“Oh god.” She sighs heavily, realizing that this would end up with her being involved.

“As your best friend, I would frankly say you kinda suck at it. It is not your style and here I thought that maybe if y’ know to pull an event for you to uhm, mingle.”

“Under the influence of alcohol?”

“No.” She pauses but breaks, to tell the truth as Kate's eyes narrowing, her face is wrinkling. “Yes.”

“You don’t have to do it. I got it covered.”

“Yeah? How?”

“Well, he did something kinda, uhm, wrong peeping at my, so I uhm…”

“You blackmailed him?”

“I wouldn’t call it blackmailing, rather I would call it uhm… yeah, I blackmail him.”

Jane shrugs, her face indicates that she’s disappointed.

“You don’t know how the flow goes, do you?”

“You’re right, I suck at this.”

“Yeah well, it’s not like I’m doing this entirely for you. You know that I’m a party girl right.”

Before Kate could react Jane quickly turn around and walk away from the awkward position.

***

It was six in the evening when I decided to go outside because it’s so loud inside the apartment with my brother's friends crashing in. Seriously, they don’t have a house to settle into. Why the hell they keep staying at our rig by the way? Doesn’t matter, there’s nothing I could do. I wish I could ask aunt Dolly to have my room but that would shameful, knowing the fact that she let us stay for free since she is the landlord, but again, wishful-thinking.

After a few minutes of walking, I found the convenient store I was looking for. There’re only a few people inside of it, I could vaguely see their face with the light of the car flashing on my face. My palm instinctively covered my face. Hearing the engine start to roar, I quickly step aside as it hurriedly came passed Infront of me. What a total douche. My sight catches the store not too far from here, just across the road of the convenience store, where the café shop logo shines.

I decided to peek inside with no reason, well not entirely, I’m simply curious about her, I plead guilty for the crime of stalking, so what? It’s not like she didn’t know me, though I find myself as embarrassing to do something like this, it is so unmanly and creepy at the same time.

I tried my best not to be I hid in the shadows; the glass window makes it easier for me to look inside while I swiftly move at the supporting bricks. There, I saw the familiar faces of waitresses except that I didn’t see her outside. I decided to take a closer look but still couldn’t see her. I wonder, where is she?

“I wonder, where is she?” A soft voice whispers on me, her warm breath touches my ears. I startled as I slowly turned my attention to her. Instead of that, I supposed to be the one who should be surprised, she does the same reaction, also acting surprise.

“Don’t surprise me like that.” She spoke. Her arms crossing with her head tilting along with her innocent voice. I breathe heavily when she snapped “What the hell are you doing?”

I put a distance from her. If I tell her that I was stalking her, she will make fun of me, highly likely, she will use this as a reverse Uno card for her convenience. “Just, passing by.”

This awkward situation, I wanted to bolt away, but then again, that would raise any kind of confirmation.

“Uh-huh.”

She’s not convinced.

“Am I supposed to believe that you've just happened to stop here and decide to sneak around looking for me?”

“Yes,” I respond quickly, but she’s still not believing me. Her face gets closer to mine for a few seconds and then she smiles.

“Okay, I believe you.” Hearing those words, I sigh in relief. “You wanna grab something to eat?” Asked Kate.

“Uh no-no, but thanks. I was on my way to the convenience store… buying stuff.”

“You see, I can’t hang with you right now. I still have a job to do.”

“No-no. You don’t have to. I just happened to pass by. For real.”

“Alright. I guess, see you tomorrow, then.”

She then walks towards the café, for the last time I glance at her wearing an alluring maiden skirt, walking like a sassy girl, for a moment she turns around tilting her head and smiles.

“Don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone that you’re stalking me.”

Before she entered the café, she throws a wink on me.

“She knows,” I muttered, and for the final act, I wave and leaves without looking back.