The Second Wish

Chapter 4 

A week later, several students huddled closer as they surrounded the handsome boy who recently transferred to Evergreen High School. When morning classes ended, he walked towards Mae's classroom, which was located in another building across his... As he arrived, the girls inside kept chattering and whispering wondering who he was and how attractive this guy was. All they know is that this transferee student is one of their upperclassmen.

He peaked through the door first, searching for someone. When he found that person, he called out to them. "Mikaela."

Mikaela turned her head to the source of the voice, her eyes widened in surprise knowing who it was. "Felix!" She ran towards him and hugged him tight. "I missed you so much, cous!"

"Me too… Oh, Mae…" Felix noticed Mae from behind, extending his other arm to pull her for a hug alongside Mikaela in his large arms. "I missed you both so much." He added.

The transferee student is none other than Felix Luxwell, Mikaela's cousin. Mae, Mikaela, and Felix grew up together. When they were in 5th Grade, Felix had to move overseas to pursue a better education for his junior high years. He's the prodigy of the Luxwell Family after all. Mae couldn't help but notice that Felix drastically changed over the years of not seeing each other. 

He is tall, handsome, and more masculine than they were in elementary. He had dirt-blonde hair and maroon eyes. He is as cool as a cucumber and has the personality of a scholar who lives in a mountain stream. His manner would have been that of a responsible senior, a mature adolescent.

Mikaela pulled away from the hug and blurted out. "It's been a long time since we last saw each other!" 

"Oh right, we wanted to introduce you to our friend. This is Diana. Diana, this is Felix." Mae introduced the both of them to each other.

"Nice to meet you, Diana," Felix raised his hand in front of her, which Diana also held and shook their hands.

"I've been wondering, why did you come back? Isn't London a very nice environment for studying? You would have the best education for geniuses like you." Mae asked.

Flattered by the words, Felix answered her. "My father decided to let me study here with my cousin. How could I say no when I get to spend time with the two of you? Besides, I also have something to do in this school"

"You see, Uncle gave Felix a secret task that must be done at the end of the school year! Then, he can go back to London." Mikaela added.

Diana and Mae looked at each other, curious about the task. "A.. secret task..?"

"Don't worry, once this work is completed, I'll reveal what it was." Felix smiled at the two. Before he could say anything else, he caught something to his attention. "Who sits there?" Felix walked towards the armchair he was pointing at.

"Oh. I'm the one sitting there…" Mae said.

Felix remained silent for a moment. "Mae.. Heh, what a lovely chair." His lips curved upward as he looked at Mae with meaningful eyes.

Her cheeks were painted red when she saw him smile. Her eyes darted at her chair, her supernatural friends (Haruto's subordinates, rather) playing beside it. If he could see them as well as she could, would he still say it's 'lovely'?... Who was she kidding? Of course, he wouldn't. How could these creatures be described as 'lovely'?

Her thoughts were interrupted as the bell rang.

"I'll be going now. My class is about to start. If we can, let's eat lunch together. I'm still not familiar with this school. We should catch up." Felix said while slowly walking towards the exit.

"Sure! See you later!" Mikaela said her goodbyes as Mr. Watapampers entered the classroom.

"Class, take a seat!" Mr. Watapampers blurted.

After School

Mae entered the old classroom where Haruto was. She kept smiling and smiling until her face almost turned as Momo.

"What could have happened…" Haruto whispered to himself. "Eyy, Mae~ Don't just stare at nothing like an idiot too much!" Haruto waved his hand in front of Mae.

She noticed him waving and got back to her senses. "Oh, Haruto! I didn't see you there, hehe! Come, let's get started in our tutoring session^^" She sat on her usual seat excitedly.

"What's up with you? You usually complain and whine every time we get to studying… Did something horrible happen???"

"Do I look horrible to you?" Mae rolled her eyes and sighed. "My childhood friend is currently studying here in my alma mater! Although his looks and speech have changed, he remains the same charming, trustworthy, and compassionate person from my childhood." Mae described Felix passionately.

"He? You've been seeing boys other than me??" Haruto feigned an exaggerated gasp.

"Hey! It's not like that! And we're not like that. Stop joking, Haru."

"Hmph! I'll let this slide since you voluntarily want to start our tutoring session. First! We're going to do an advanced study about History. Come now Mae, please focus and stop being like that. There's plenty of time to fantasize about your crush after this!" He said, getting annoyed.

After a few minutes of daydreaming, they finally started discussing the history of old architectural buildings and their origins. As time passed, Haruto noticed that Mae barely listened to his discussions. He let out a sigh. "Are you still thinking about 'him'??" 

"Hey, Haru."

"What?" he replied, deadpanned.

"Can I wish you something again?" 

Haruto paused in shock. "You want me to grant your second wish?"

Mae nodded.

He sighed once more, lazily playing with the pen he created with his spiritual powers. "We haven't finished our tutoring session yet… Alright, fine… Let's end early since you're so 'bUsY' thinking about that boy… Tell me what's your wish?"

"I wish the guy I like would like me back," Mae said.

"That guy… Is your childhood friend you're talking about?"

"Mhm!" 

"There's no surprise to that... Like always, let's take it a normal way to grant your wish. No objections?"

"It's okay.." She paused. "I just want him to like me back anyway..." Mae smiled with a blush on her cheeks.

Seeing her, a memory suddenly flashed through Haruto's mind. This is the first time he saw Mae like this. It's unusual… yet familiar. There's a certain air around her that's ominous. He couldn't describe it clearly, but one thing's for sure. This kind of ambience… scared him a little.

 —————————

OPERATION "LIKE ME BACK" IS NOW COMMENCING!

1. Dress to Impress

Mae tried to put makeup on to enhance her beauty. When it was time for their break, Mae kept fantasizing about Felix's reaction to her makeup telling how beautiful her face was. But when their break time came, her friends laughed at her, saying how bad her makeup was. Turns out, Mae didn't know how to put makeup on. Felix just let out a chuckle, enjoying the moment.

AHHHHH HE JUST LAUGHED! (He's cute when he laughs though!) -Mae

2. Make eye contact 

The students all gathered inside the gym to sing their school anthem and Felix was the one assigned to be the conductor. He's on the stage while moving his hands to the beat. Mae on the other hand, looked at him intensely, trying to make eye contact and feel the tingles between them. Felix felt someone was looking at him, his eyes finally gazed directly at Mae.

YESSSS, he looked at me! (Why does he feel uncomfortable now..?) -Mae

Felix's perspective: Do I look bad? Did I make a mistake? WHY'SSHELOOKINGATMELIKETHAT??

3. 'Forgot' lunchbox so you can share it with him

It's now lunchtime and the girls have taken out their lunchboxes, except for Mae. She's waiting for Felix to join their table as usual. 

Diana noticed her not taking out her food, so she asked. "Where's your lunchbox?"

"Oh... I 'forgot' my lunchbox… My mother might scold me again later, haha…"

"Do you want to-" 

Before Diana could say anything, Mikaela interrupted. "Oh, guys. I received a text from Felix. He said he couldn't join us for today's lunch. He still has another class to attend. We should eat without him."

"Aww, what a bummer. We should eat our lunches now... Mae, you said you forgot your lunch, right? How about we share?" Diana offered.

"...Thank you…" Mae said, literally forgot her lunch.

I ended up sharing food with my best friend..! (The meal was delicious though…) -Mae

4. When he's thirsty, prepare a water for him

Felix walked with Mae around the halls while the girls stared at them. Mae could feel the intimidating aura around the halls. 

"Hey, we should go to the nearby vending machine. I'm thirsty." Felix said as he looked over at Mae.

"Oh, don't worry I ha-" Before Mae could say anything, someone interrupted her.

"Felix! I have juice here, want some?" 

"Hey dude! Have some water." 

"Here Felix! Drink my water!" 

"Take my water, Felix!" 

"No, mine!" 

"Don't take theirs! My water is fresh compared to them!"

A great commotion filled the halls.

I didn't know Felix was this popular… (He's undeniably handsome, after all) -Mae

—————————

In the old classroom 

"None of your ideas are working, Haruto! The last one is dumb compared to the other ones!" Mae complained.

"That's strange, these ideas worked when I grant wishes like these," Haruto said as he flipped through his notes. "I guess your guy is simply dense."

Mae sighed as she sat down on the dusty chair feeling hopeless. "I guess I'm not attractive enough…"

Haruto went quiet for a moment before he spoke. "What about me? I'll treat you better than that guy will. I would even tell you.." Haruto leaned closer to Mae's ears, trying to whisper something. "..that you're more attractive than I am~" 

Surprised by his abrupt closeness, she stumbled away from him. "Wha..! Stop joking, Haru!"

"You want a guy that will like you back, right? This way, your wish will be granted in no time!" Haruto said.

"But, that's not how it works… Felix is the guy that I like, and I want him to like me back.."

"Mae… I've run out of ideas." 

Mae sighed. "…I'll just go outside to get some fresh air.."

She walked out of the old classroom feeling helpless. She knew she had walked far from the old building after wandering for some minutes without stopping. 

Why can't you see that I like you..? 

"Mae? What are you still doing in school?" She turned around to the familiar sound of someone's voice.

"Felix? Ah, sorry... I have something to do after school. How about you?" Mae answered.

"I have to complete the task my father gave me," He replied.

"Oh, the secret task you're talking about? Good Luck with that.." Mae said while sullenly leaning down on the floor, avoiding his gaze.

"You seem down... What's the matter?" His voice filled with concern.

"My mind's a little buggy lately, but I'm okay! You don't have to worry." She said that, however, what Mae said was the opposite of what she was feeling. Felix could feel she wasn't okay, so he pulled her into his arms to comfort her.

"Felix…" She froze dumbfoundedly, but Felix continued to hug her in silence. Moments later, she eventually hugged him back.

He broke the hug to face her, his hands on either side of her shoulders. "Let's go home together." Felix offered earnestly. "Whenever I'm with you, I feel at ease. Maybe if you're with me, you might feel better." 

Mae stared at Felix for a while, the red blush creeping over her cheeks. Dried leaves fall over them and the wind blows gently through their hair. Their eyes gape at each other, not breaking the moment.

"Okay!" Mae finally agreed. Before they knew it, Autumn had arrived.

Extra

Diana and Mikaela stopped by a small arcade store to play games before going home. They're usually a trio, but the other person is constantly missing from their hang-out. They played for a while until one of them spoke.

"Mae has been missing out on a lot of fun…"

Diana looked over at Mikaela who had spoken before asking "Why did she even stay behind at school? What is she going to do there alone?"

Mikaela sighed. "I don't know…"

When they were about to exit the store, they saw two familiar figures walking side by side on the street.

"Isn't that… Mae and Felix!?"

"...She stayed behind to wait for him? Why didn't she tell us?"

"Diana, I know I already told you that girl has a crush on my cousin, but she's actually THAT smitten. We should leave her be."

Diana gawked at the two walking figures, slowly disappearing from their sight. "...Do you think the feeling's mutual?"

Mikaela simply grinned at the question. "I don't know~"