Just Another High School Story!

If only Leah hadn't used that sentence that night, maybe there was a chance for reconciliation, he had gotten beyond his own limits to apologise for middle school, had she not let it go at all, was this all some sort of a comedy to her, is that why he seemed to be only one excited about dating her, she seemed to have lost all interest after a couple of months together, while his initial enthusiasm deepened, he had fallen so deep into her pit that he felt cold now that he was in it alone, she had moved on but not so fast, he would make sure they were both at rock bottom, together, what scared him most was that even he didn't know what lines he was ready to cross, just to pull her down.

The next game began, and soon after, the first serve had begun too, everything was going at a slow speed, their first rally promise was now being kept because, suddenly, Mindy was in the mood to play seriously, what a joke! While watching a Korean drama called, "Cheese In The Trap", Leah had wondered whether women could be as vicious and noisy as Baek In Ha, the main female antagonist of the show, she had her answer, Mindy was worse because In Ha had a shitty personality, sure, and she showed it off; Mindy, meanwhile, was super good at hiding who she really was.

Leah sighed and played, Ethan, as opposed to what she had expected, did not coordinate with her at all, the game was just a boring show, he was taking most shots, but the fool was seriously losing face, he was missing shots which were clearly hers, getting in the way, and acting all mighty, finally when she did have a chance to play, she dove for it, again, and at the same time, Ethan reached for the ball, and something that she had never expected to happen, happened to her, happened, but it was fast, too fast, he got up too quickly, he fell on her, literally, 'Korean drama style' falling, it was a hug for her, and she dared not breathe to ruin the moment, he had fallen on top of her, and was forced to stare into her eyes, the eyes he'd tried to avoid, for God knows how long, all she knew was that she saw her E in him, his soul was still there, the guy that she loved. In that blessed moment, Leah decided that she'd get him back, she was afraid to apologise because she was not sure she'd be forgiven, but the deep look which she saw in his eyes, the one that said, "If you say sorry first, I'll forgive you!" She couldn't miss it for all the money in the world, her being stuck in his embrace was the best thing that had happened in a long while, and she did not want to let go, she didn't care about the people that were gawking, Ethan, too, enjoyed being there but soon coughed to snap into his senses, he couldn't fall for her, she was beautiful, obviously, but he had to stray clear of that look in her eyes, he wanted to see how long she could hold her fort before she truly hated him, and told him the truth, the one thing he was dying to ask her, "Had she ever, ever, for even a moment, maybe, just maybe, truly loved him!?" He wanted to know, or had he wasted his time, staying up watching girls talk abut their bulimia stories to understand what she felt, he had watched a hundred plus videos to understand her, how could she have been faking it? He did not want to even consider the possibility.

Leah got up, and awkwardly shrugged at Mia, and then the game ended after a while of boring passes. Anyway, the coach announced that the volleyball team was going on a bonding camp, just the team members, both boys and girls, they needed to really know each other, inside-out, to be more amazing on the field, Leah liked the thought of that, she could write a little when everyone was asleep, also, she needed to snap a couple of pictures of herself in a dress that her mother had designed, she was helping her mother promote her brand.

After all the drama they had been through, Leah had finally one day understood her mother, her mother had come into her room, and wanted to 'talk' to her, originally, she had thought that it was a bad idea, obviously not bad because of what her mother wanted to say but bad because her mother finally knew, she had tried to kill herself, and was a bulimic, all the secrets that she had, had been revealed, the story that she'd published was real, her life was written on an online website, the way she had coped, her mother had read it, despite saying that she didn't have the time, the result was amazing, in a world where no one says anything anymore, Leah's mom said a lot to her, the misunderstanding which had made Leah grow weary of her mom, broken their relationship had been cleared just by being real, Leah had felt so silly, this whole time, she had blamed her mother for being clueless about her situation, but the reality was different, her mother began her side of the story, in the story she had subconsciously not written much about the mother, therefore, her mother could understand that Leah might resent her, she wanted to clear away misunderstandings, if there were any, after reading the words that her daughter had written, her mother finally realised that Leah was in pain, she felt like she was a misfit, her mother could relate too, she did not want to seem as though she did not love Leah, but if it came across like that she had failed as a parent, as a mother, which made it even more worse. She caressed her daughter's hair and tucked her into bed, something that she had not done in who knows how many years, as kids grow up they start to distance themselves from their parents if they have some, as a teenager, Leah felt independent, she felt like she had dealt with one of the biggest problems of her life alone, now she did not need anyone but after her mother caressed her that day, she realised that no matter how far Leah had to go, she needed the caress, the caress that signified her mom knew how hard she worked, was aware of the pain her daughter was in and was telling her that she had done a good job. Those things did not need to be put into words, those things were automatically communicated by the soft caress and the soft kiss on her cheek.