The Story Of Us

She walked in the classroom and her eyes immediately spotted him; the very corner seat at the back row with a beautiful window view of the school. His beautiful smile was all she could see and she smiled. He was listening to his dongsaengs and they were joking around; his eyes met hers and the smile faded. Her smile slowly faded as she searched the room for an empty seat. A few months ago, she sat next to him; he was the mysterious, handsome guy while she was the quiet, anti-social girl. She was a klutz and a bookworm; he was a musician who only had four real friends and thousands of fake ones. Her choice of clothing was out-of-date while he had the latest clothes but it didn’t matter since the school uniform made all of them equal. Many still wondered how they became close friends; it was the biggest talk in school. She found an empty seat at the front row and placed her books and bag on the desk. He glanced at her then paid attention to his dongsaeng’s joke. As they both tried to ignore everything around them, they thought of their favorite story; their story.

Their first meeting was by far the worst meeting, ever. She was in the library, trying to reach a thick Physics book while he was listening to his iPod loudly, causing a faint song to break the silence. Neither of them knew of the other’s existence but that all changed when she accidentally knocked over a book. He immediately woke up from his nap and paused the song; he quietly walked towards the source of the noise and found her trying to reach for the book that was located at the very top shelf. She didn’t notice him watching her; her focus was on the book and just the book. He asked her if she needed help and all she did was shook her head. “I’m fine.” She said but he didn’t buy it. As he tried to reach for the book, she also reached for it but the book dropped. The thick book fell on his head and he dropped on his knees. The agonizing pain was too much for him and it worried her. She asked him if he was okay but he wasn’t. “Does it look like I’m okay?” He snapped and she backed away from him. He noticed the fear in her eyes and something inside him softened. “I’m sorry.” was the last thing he said before he disappeared. She blinked a few times and grabbed the book that was lying on the floor. Did the school’s mysterious kingka talk to her?

A few days have passed after that incident and all she ever wanted was to apologize to him but didn’t find the courage to do it. Besides, why would he even talk to her? She’s a nobody at school. No one would even befriend her; she was an outcast and she was fine with that. She walked towards the very back of the classroom but saw someone sleeping on her choice of seat; it was him. She slowly walked towards a different seat but she heard him wake up. She looked back and he motioned her to sit next to her; she wanted to refuse but she’s really not in the position to refuse a kingka. She took one deep breath and sat next to him. Her long bangs covered her tomato-colored face and she glanced at him; he was busy listening to his iPod and she could hear the song that was playing. She opened the Physics book that she borrowed at the library and immediately remembered the little incident. She slowly faced him and tapped him on the shoulder; he took his headphones off and looked at her. “I’m sorry.” She apologized and he just nodded. He continued to listen to the song and she sighed. Did that mean that he forgave her? Why does it even matter to her if he did or not?

The seat next to his was her spot; no one dared to sit next to him and she didn’t know why. They shared the same classes but they didn’t dare to talk to each other, until one day. He asked her why she borrowed the thick Physics book; she told him that she wanted to study ahead and he laughed. She really is the bookworm of the school. His laugh caused her heart to twitch a bit; was he making fun of her or did she amuse him? “We should walk to class together.” He offered. The poor girl wanted to say no but she just couldn’t. They walked together to their next class; the atmosphere between them was so awkward and their arms would constantly hit each other. He would apologize from time to time while she held on to the thick book closer to her body. She never felt so nervous in her entire life. As soon as they reached their classroom, he walked towards his usual seat and she glanced around the room for an empty seat. He patted the seat next to his and she gulped; slowly, she walked towards him and sat on the seat next to his. She wasn’t aware of it but he was staring at her; there was something about her that was so different. He noticed her reach something inside her school bag; it was her glasses. He wanted to ask her about her glasses but decided not to. The mysterious boy fell for the bookworm even harder than he imagined.

A week has passed and everyone noticed the kingka’s unusual actions. He grew colder and more mysterious. Although, he was always with someone; the bookworm. His friends were shocked about the news while others were frustrated; so many people wanted to be his friend but it was too impossible to even talk to him. How did that bookworm do it? As per usual, she spent her free time in the library, indulged in books about different things. She was too busy to realize the boy that sat across from her; “Can I join you?” She heard his deep voice and slowly lowered her book. She nodded at him and tried to concentrate on her book but it was impossible; her one and only distraction was stopping her from finishing a good novel. She pretended to read then heard a familiar tune; “SNSD?” She asked and the boy took his headphones off. “Yeah, they’re pretty cool.” He responded and she nodded; being the curious one that she is, she took a quick glance at his iPod wallpaper and saw the most liked member of SNSD. Jessica. “Jessica?” She asked as she pointed at his screen. A smirk formed on his lips and nodded; “She’s cool.” He responded and she nodded. She was more distracted now.

“Do I look like her?” The curious bookworm asked herself as she stared at the picture of the SNSD member. The young girl stared at her reflection on the mirror and frowned; her physical looks were nowhere close to the popular idol. She sighed again and threw the magazine on the floor; she bought a magazine with the popular girl group on the cover and has been staring at it longer than her Calculus homework. She took one good look at magazine cover again and moved on to her homework. Meanwhile, he stared at his phone’s wallpaper. He was glad that the curious girl didn’t notice his phone or else he would have to explain himself. While she was indulged in her book, he took a picture of her and saved it. People would think he’s crazy but he doesn’t mind; maybe he really was going crazy. He wanted to talk her but he didn’t know what to say; she’s a bookworm, obviously he should talk to her about books. What kind of books is she in to anyway? Does it really matter? Bookworms read just about anything. As long as it’s bounded, it’s a book and she’ll read it.

The next few days were awkward. He would always try and talk to her but she was so distant; so quiet and so far away. She trapped herself in her own little world and refuses to let anyone in. He knew he had to break down a lot of walls just to get to her. They were at their usual spot; back table in the library, next to the millions of shelves filled with books. He looked at her and smiled; she was chewing on her pencil while intensely reading the last book of Harry Potter. Her glasses were slowly slipping down and she would always push them back. He continued to read his book when she looked up and saw him reading. She smiled a bit and continued to read her book. “Having fun?” He asked and she looked up at him; her glasses were slipping down again and she was still chewing on her pencil. He laughed at her and she scrunched her nose; why is he always laughing? She slowly nodded and continued to read. Breaking down the walls was harder than he thought.

Week after week, he would always try and break down the walls but it was still hopeless; she was still trapped in her world until she broke their awkward silence. “Do you want some?” She asked as she offered him some milk Pocky. The young boy stared at the girl and slowly nodded; it was like his dream came true. Was she ready to become friends with him? They both shared the box of Pocky and he looked at her; “We should eat lunch some time. Together.” He suggested and she slowly nodded. Their hearts were beating like crazy as she stared at the box and he was staring at her. It was the first time that he noticed that she looked like a child; she was short with a baby-like face and even her hands were as small as a child’s hand. The cold wind blew and she shivered; how could she forget to bring a jacket? She always watches the news, to check on the weather, and it was specifically said that today was going to be a windy day. He noticed her shiver and took off his jacket; he wrapped it around her shoulders but she shook her head. “I’m fine.” She whispered but he didn’t listen to her. That was the first time he ever lent his jacket to anyone, especially to a girl.

Keeping her promise to him, they walked together to the cafeteria and bought lunch. Everyone watched their every move like they were celebrities or exhibits in a zoo. Their stares made her nervous; she kept her focus on the floor while he held his head up high. It was a mystery to everyone how they became friends and not everyone was pleased about it. They bought their food and left the cafeteria; eyes were still on them. He found an empty table and she sat across from him. They ate their food quietly when a girl walked towards him. The young girl knew who she was; a queenka. Or one of the queenka’s friends. The girl tried to ignore the skinny, beautiful girl that was sitting next to the guy she was infatuated with and focused on her food; to her dismay, she failed. The beautiful girl asked questions that she didn’t want to hear; “How’s your girlfriend, oppa?” the question rang in her head so many times as she held on to the wooden chopsticks tighter. The young boy didn’t say anything and the girl’s voice grew annoying. “Why don’t you just leave?” He asked and the queenka left. He stared at her and thought of one thing; did she build another wall to keep him away?

He watched her read a different book and suddenly thought of something. “Do you want to listen?” He asked her as he offered her the other earphone. She thought about it for a minute and nodded. With a small smile on his lips, he sat next to her and put the earphone in her ear. He played one of his songs and she closed her eyes; she carefully listened to every word in the song and was clueless that he was staring at her. He didn’t even realize that the song was over or that she was staring back at him. He blinked a few times and looked away. “It’s a good song. You wrote it?” She asked him and he nodded. Suddenly, a smile formed on her lips and he looked at her; his heart was going crazy and he could barely breathe. “I love it.” She said and his face turned bright red. That was the first time he ever saw her smile. That was the first time she ever smiled at anyone.

The walls that were keeping her from everyone else slowly crashed; he could finally talk to her and she finally smiled more. “We should text each other.” He suggested and she nodded; although she felt comfortable around him, she still felt nervous and scared. He took out his cellphone, a brand new touch-screen cellphone while she took out her cellphone, an old flip phone filled with scratches and a long crack on the screen. She didn’t mind having an old cellphone, why would she need a new one anyway? Obviously, there was nothing wrong with her current phone. He entered his number in her phone and she entered her number in his phone. Secretly, they both changed each other’s names in their phones.

The walls were gone; they were officially friends. Although, neither one of them acknowledged each other as one. It was something that was not to be discussed. They still hung out at their favorite spot and read books; instead of sitting across from each other, they sat next to each other and listened to his iPod. After school, they would text each other and talk about school and homework; she didn’t mind, really. She wanted to help him. On the other hand, he was running out of things to talk about. Should he read more books? What else should he read? He never knew it would be this hard to talk to a girl; especially to one that was different from others.

Everything was getting better but every fairytale has an ending; this one wasn’t as happy as the others. He distanced himself from her and she wondered why; every night she would stare at his number and debate whether she should text him or not. He never showed up at the library anymore and he hung out with his friends. He would still sit on his usual seat but the seat next to his was occupied; actually, his friends occupied the seats around him. She didn’t understand what was going on and decided to do what he was doing; she surrounded herself with walls and this time, they were unbreakable. They both ignored each other; she sat somewhere else and he ate lunch by himself. She read more books while he listened to more music. She ate milk Pocky by herself and he never gave his jacket to anyone else.

She took out her thick Physics book; the book that fell on his head and took her glasses out. She continued to read and ignored the gossips and glares from other people. He, on the other hand, glanced at her one more time and listened to the corny, overrated jokes. She quickly glanced at him and continued to read. Their reasons for ignoring each other were quite stupid. He thought she wasn’t interested; she thought he wanted someone else. It was a misunderstanding; a misunderstanding that broke a beautiful relationship. Their story of what was supposed to be about love turned into a tragic one.