chapter 11 : A Secret Bond

Claire gathered her science assignment and headed to Mr. Rick's office. She had been given extra tasks since she'd quickly completed the questions he had assigned earlier. She knocked gently on the door. Mr. Rick looked up from where he was tidying his desk.

"Yes, Claire. Come in," he said.

"Here's my assignment, sir. Please check it when you have time," Claire replied, holding out the notebook.

"Oh, yes. Good job, Claire. I'll take a look at it later," he said with a nod.

"Thank you, sir," Claire smiled.

As she handed over the book, her eyes accidentally caught sight of a photo on Mr. Rick's desk — a young boy who looked oddly familiar.

"Sir, who's that? Your son? He looks kind of familiar," Claire asked, squinting at the picture.

"You've forgotten? He's quite active on the basketball team," Mr. Rick said with a chuckle.

"Wait… is that Miko?" Claire guessed.

"Exactly right."

"You're… you're related to Miko?"

"I'm his uncle," Mr. Rick confirmed.

"Oh—oh, I didn't know. Sorry about that," Claire stammered.

"It's okay. No big deal," he smiled.

Was I the only one who didn't know Mr. Rick was Miko's uncle? He never acted like it before... Claire thought, still a bit surprised.

"Hey, Claire!" a voice suddenly called out behind her.

Startled, Claire turned. "Oh—hi, Vienna!" She hadn't noticed her friend approach.

"Why are you spacing out? Thinking about something?" Vienna teased.

"Oh, no, not really," Claire replied quickly, trying to brush it off. She had half a mind to drop the conversation, but then remembered there was something she needed to ask. She and Vienna began walking back toward their classroom.

"Hey, Vienna, do you… remember anything about when I fell down the stairs?" Claire asked cautiously. Vienna suddenly stopped mid-step, her eyes narrowing slightly.

"Why do you want to know, Claire?"

"Well, I just think it's kind of strange. I mean, the fall was really bad, right? Mom told me I was even hospitalized afterward."

"You mean… you don't remember being in the hospital for a week?" Vienna's voice was tight with confusion.

"Oh, no—I mean, I didn't forget exactly. I just… try not to think about stuff that put me in so much pain for days," Claire said quickly, covering up her slip. Ugh. That was close. I almost gave away that I actually lost part of my memory. Probably because of… whatever weird thing happened when I woke up again. I hope Vienna doesn't suspect anything.

"Oh… okay," Vienna said, though her eyes still held a hint of suspicion. "Honestly, Claire, I don't know much about what happened at that time. Everything happened so fast — one minute, people were saying you fell and lost consciousness. Your leg was even in a cast back then."

"So… you don't really know anything more," Claire muttered, feeling deflated.

Vienna shook her head. They entered the classroom together, though Claire subtly signalled to Vienna to keep a little distance. She didn't want people to start gossiping about how close they'd gotten lately — especially since Tasya, watching from across the room, already seemed annoyed by their growing friendship.

Vienna got the hint and turned back to her own desk. The class fell into silence after history period; everyone was still hunched over their test papers, frowning in concentration.

Thirty minutes later, Claire finally dropped her pen with a small sigh of victory. "Done," she murmured to herself, proud of her effort. She packed up her things and handed her paper to Mrs. Amy before heading out of class.

She made her way to the canteen, bought her favourite fries, and munched on them while waiting for her ride home. No music club today, which meant she could leave early. As she glanced toward the school gate, a little boy suddenly ran up to her.

"Sis! Someone asked me to give this to you!" the boy chirped, handing over a small package.

Claire blinked in surprise. Inside was a chocolate bar, with a folded note tucked beneath the wrapper. She unfolded it.

Hi Claire, this chocolate is for you. Hope you like it!

Claire looked around. No one was in sight. Shrugging, she popped the note back in the bag just as her driver arrived. She slid into the car, still chewing on her fries, but her mind was racing.

Who even gave me this? If it was someone from school, why be all secretive about it?

When she got home, her little brother Bryan's eyes lit up the moment he spotted the chocolate.

"Big sis, is that chocolate for me?" he asked eagerly.

Claire chuckled, realizing he'd been eyeing it the whole time. "You want this?" she smiled, handing it over. "Here. It's all yours."

"You sure you don't want it?" Bryan asked, holding the bar carefully.

"Nah, it's fine. I don't even know who sent it," Claire said, ruffling his hair.

"Thanks, sis!"

Claire headed upstairs and flopped onto her bed. She picked up her phone — she'd left it on her pillow — and saw a message notification.

It was from Randy.

Hi Claire, that chocolate you got earlier was from me. Sorry I had to make it a secret…

Claire sat up, blinking. Oh my gosh… It was from Randy? And I already gave it to Bryan…

She quickly typed back:

Thanks, Randy! Really appreciate the chocolate.

Sorry though… I gave it to my little brother. Thought it was from some prankster, haha.

The clock hit six. Her mom arrived home from work, calling out as she stepped through the door.

"Claire, how was school today?"

"Good, Mom," Claire replied, stretching.

"By the way, are you free this weekend? Got any plans?"

"Nope, nothing yet. Why?"

"Oh, just asking," her mom said casually.

Claire didn't think much of it and flopped back on the couch to watch a comedy show on TV. By 9 PM, she turned off the screen and headed upstairs. She realized she'd left her phone in her room and grabbed it, seeing multiple missed calls and texts.

Randy again?

Five missed calls. One message:

Claire, are you free this Saturday?

She frowned slightly. Is he asking me out?

She replied:

I'm free, Randy. Why?

His response came quickly.

Can we meet up? Maybe at your favourite café or wherever you like.

Claire bit her lip, then typed back:

Sure, sounds good. I'll let you know the café later.

Thanks, Claire.

She set the phone down, but her thoughts spun. Weird… Mom just asked if I was free this weekend, and now Randy's asking too. Did Randy talk to Mom first or something? This feels… too coincidental.

The next morning, Claire was up early in the kitchen, preparing cheese sandwiches — her mom's favourite.

Her mom appeared, smiling. "Wow, this for me, Claire?"

"Yeah, Mom. Sorry if it doesn't taste great," Claire said shyly.

"It's lovely, sweetheart. Oh, have you eaten yet?"

"Already did," Claire nodded.

"Why don't you come with me today? I'll drive you to school," her mom suggested.

"Really? You're not going to the office early?"

"Not today. I can go in a little later."

From the living room, Bryan cheered. "Yay! Mom's taking us to school today!"

Before they left, Claire's mom handed her a neatly folded set of clothes — a blouse and a pair of jeans in Claire's favourite colours.

"Mom, why did you buy me new clothes? I still have plenty," Claire protested.

"It's fine. Didn't you say you're meeting Randy this Saturday?"

Claire froze. "Wait… how do you know about that?"

"Oh… um, Randy's dad mentioned it," her mom said quickly.

"Oh. I thought Randy told you directly," Claire murmured, feeling a little unsettled.

"No, no, he didn't message me," her mom insisted.

Claire stood there, staring at her. Why does it feel like Mom and Randy's dad are way too close? What's going on between them?. Claire thought to herself.