Chapter 2: Meaningful Impacts

(Past: 15 years old)

After a night of crying because of our family's letters, it was now time for us to sleep. Jain and I stayed in the same room with two of our girl classmates on the second floor, while the boys were on the third floor. Our eyes were red, puffy and tired so it wasn't difficult for us to sleep.

We woke up around 5:30 A.M., but we're only allowed to roam around the retreat facility at 6:00 A.M. The retreat facility is closest to nature - its front view is an ocean and its surroundings are covered with trees. It gives a serene ambiance which I love the most.

I was going down to meet Jain when I saw Russel sitting on a bench and lost in his thoughts. Our gazes met when he suddenly shifted to his left. He stood up and quickly walked away. I know I did nothing wrong to him, but it just bothered me when he did that.

I was about to wander around when I saw Charles and Franco sitting along the seawall. Franco's also my close friend who'd been crushing a lot on Jain. I approached them and decided to tell them about Russel and his weirdness.

"Good morning. Did you have a good sleep?" Charles asked when he saw me approaching.

"Morning. Yeah, my eyes were tired so I slept fast." I answered and gave Franco a smile as my greeting.

I sat between them and took a deep and heavy sigh.

"Something wrong?" Franco asked. I don't understand why I was really upset with how Russel reacted when he saw me.

"I saw Russel sitting over there (I pointed to the bench) and lost in his thoughts. I was about to approach him but he walked away when he saw me." I narrated. Both boys remained silent; that's when I concluded that maybe they know something I don't.

I was about to ask them what's really happening when Hendrix, our class mayor, called us for breakfast. I guess my question can wait.

-----

"Okay so for our last activity before we all go home, you'll speak to your classmates through these colored papers" Sir Liam, our guidance counselor instructed.

There were four paper strips in different colors placed on our chairs. They were white, yellow, blue and orange.

"Each color denotes something. For white, you're saying an apology to a classmate for something you've done. For yellow, you're telling your classmate that he/she left meaningful impacts in your. For blue, you're thankful for the friendship your classmate has unwrapped for you. And for orange, you still want to know your classmate a little more." Sir Liam added.

"Now's your time, Russ!" One of our classmates said.

"Give the orange paper to Luna, Russ!" Franco added, which was followed by whistling from Russel's group. And just like a snap, the teasing started again. It made me a bit uncomfortable.

"I'm going to give the orange paper to Franco." I heard Jain whisper.

"Wow. You move fast." I tried to mimic what she said when she asked me about Russel. She laughed before walking away.

I'm still thinking about who will give out these papers, when I saw a blue strip wiggling beside me. When I lifted my eyes, it was Charles with his widest grin. It made me happy when he gave me the blue paper.

After much thinking, I gave Charles the yellow strip, blue was to Jain, orange was to our class secretary because she's my seatmate and the white strip was for Hendrix because sometimes, I disagree with his opinions.

"Are you all finished?" Sir Liam asked. The activity took almost thirty minutes, most of us were already seated. Russel suddenly raised his hand which earned heavy teasing again.

"I still haven't given my yellow strip to this person, Sir." This is what he said while locking his eyes on me. Truth be told, I was definitely nervous that time. I would only get uneasy during recitations, reporting, etc. Never did I imagine that I would get tensed over a piece of paper.

The whole room was quiet when Russel was approaching which doubled the unsettling atmosphere for me. His eyes never left mine as he was nearing me. So I averted my gaze to avoid his.

He knelt down trying to find my eyes and gave me the gentlest smile when I looked at him before handing me the yellow strip. "Thank you, Luna" was what he said before he went back to his seat.

-----

"Do you like him?" Jain asked when she noticed that I was staring at the yellow paper Russel gave me.

"No. I'm just curious how I impacted him, we're not even close." I answered.

"Why don't you ask him?" Jain added. Her suggestion was enticing but I just shrugged.

I'm thankful that I did leave meaningful impacts in someone's life. But with Russel, it made me uncomfortable. It's like something's jumping inside my stomach everytime I remember how he said my name.

It was time to for us to go home. I was about to get my things when I saw Russel. I was having an internal war whether to approach him or not; subconsciously, I was already walking towards him.

"Hi, Russ. I just want to say thank you for giving me the yellow paper." I said. I would be lying if I say that I'm not nervous at all. I'm trying my best to tame my emotions while I'm talking to him.

"You're welcome, Luna." He replied with a small smile.

"But why?" I gently ask, trying not to sound mad. I'm not mad, I was just afraid that maybe he'll think that I am.

"You left impacts not only to me Luna but also to our classmates. Everytime you offer your help to us either in our studies or other errands, it's already big for us. Your simple smile, even if it's not for me, brightens my day and helps me forget that my mom's in the hospital." He narrated and ruffled my hair.

I didn't know that his mom was in the hospital. Maybe this is why I always found him thinking deeply like he has a lot on his plate.

"I didn't know about your mom. But everything will be fine. I'll listen if you want to talk about it." I said with a small smile.

"It's fine, Luna. Just keep on smiling everyday for me." Russel said then ruffled my hair again before walking away.