I really like her. I really do. I feel like she’s the one. The one I can truly be with. If only I had the confidence and guts to ask her out. I freeze every time I see her in the halls. When I pass by her, all I could do was stare at the ground. Not daring to meet her eyes. Like her eyes would freeze me on the spot.

That’s the thing I’m most uncertain of. Love. Dates. Girls. Those things. You’ll never know what would happen when you get yourself into those types of things, you know? Love is always so unpredictable. That’s what makes me so uncertain. I didn’t want Ji Ae to get hurt. And I didn’t want to get hurt by her too. I think of love as if it’s like a horror movie. I know it’s a weird comparison to make, but if you think about it more, you’ll see why they’re similar. Love and Horror Movies. They’re the same because you’ll never know what will happen next. Unpredictable.

I was at school right now. Yoo Ji Ae was sitting in front of me. It was the last class of the day. I was barely paying attention to the lesson at hand. But I could tell that she was highly interested in the lesson. Yoo Ji Ae was smart. Really smart. It’s another thing that she tries her best to hide. But apparently she couldn’t hide it for long. Everyone knows how smart she is. Her test scores, which is posted on the wall every testing period, does all the talking for her.

The bell rang for the end of class. I grabbed my backpack and rushed out the door. I went to my locker. I consider myself lucky actually. Yoo Ji Ae’s locker was right across the hall from mine. That way I could observe her by not looking so obvious while doing it. I know what you’re thinking. No, I wasn’t a stalker. I don’t constantly watch her all the time. But I do look at her from time to time. When I know she can’t see me looking at her.

I was putting things inside my locker when someone put their hand on my shoulder. I looked to see who that hand belonged to. It was JB. My best friend. What is he up to this time?

“Yah Mark,” JB said. “Book store today?”

I knew what he wanted to do. He wanted to go to the book store, but not to buy books. Not even to read books. He wanted to observe the girl he liked from a chair near where she worked. He wanted me to come along so it looked like he came there with someone. Instead of it looking like he came there by himself. I didn’t like being used like that, but at least I get time to do homework and stuff. Plus, if I’m lucky, I could see Ji Ae there. She loved books. She loved reading.

“Fine, but you know that you owe me big time right?” I said. I’ve been doing this with him ever since he started liking that girl. I expect something in return. Especially since I’ve stayed there for hours with him.

“Yes, I will buy you all the albums you want. Arrasso?” he said. I nodded my approval. He knew what I wanted. I love music. Listening to it. Dancing to it. Rapping to it. Music is basically my life. That’s one of the similarities Ji Ae and I had. She loved music. She had the most amazing voice. Too bad no one else knows she had an amazing voice.

*Flashback*

I was walking near a rich neighborhood. I just came from JB’s house. We just had an epic dance battle. I won this battle. We’re tied now. We always hold dance battles and we keep track of how many wins we both had. That’s just us.

I was walking near a house, when I heard a beautiful voice. I felt like sitting there on the sidewalk. I felt like staying there and listening until I can’t listen anymore. It was so soft and sweet and gentle. I looked to see who it belonged to. I knew it belonged to a girl, but I didn’t expect the beautiful voice to come from her. Yoo Ji Ae.

She was sitting on the swing of her front porch. She just sat there. Singing. Not doing homework. Not reading a book. Not taking a test. Just singing.

If she looked my way, she would be able to see me. I hid behind a bush, just to be safe. I didn’t want her to see me there. She’d think I was a ert or a stalker or something like that. It was best to stay hidden.

All of a sudden she stopped. I heard someone calling her name from inside the house. She left her porch to go inside her house.

*End of Flashback*

JB and I walked to the book store. It was pretty close by to our school.

“Have you ever considered talking to her?” I asked JB. “You haven’t said a word to her.” This was pathetic. No offense JB. He was gonna have to talk to her someday. This can’t keep going on forever.

“I could say the same thing to you.” JB said. I know what he meant. He’s talking about me and Ji Ae.

“You and I are different when it comes to girls ok. You’re more smooth and cool. While I’m more weird and awkward. It’s easier for you to talk to girls. It’s harder for me.” I said.

“What are you talking about? You can talk to a girl. You just have to build enough courage to talk to one. And to be honest Mark, you are pretty good looking. You could own a girl’s heart just by smiling at her and saying hi.” he said. I rolled my eyes.

“Whatever.” I said. We arrived at the bookstore. JB walked to his usual spot. But before he got to his chair, he grabbed a book from the nearest bookshelf. He would grab any book. He didn’t look at the title or what the book was even about. Just grab, sit, and pretend that you’re reading.

“I’m gonna look for something to read.” I said. He nodded ok.

I usually read books about music. Or sometimes I read mangas. But today it seems like I wanted to try a different book.

I scanned the various bookshelves. I ran my hand along the spines of the books. My hand finally stopped at a small, red, hardcover. I didn’t read the title on the spine. I don’t know why my hand stopped on that book. I took it from the bookshelf. I read the title:

The Answer Book

There was some kind of instructions printed on the back:

1. Ask any yes or no type of question
2. Run your fingers along the pages of the book
3. Stop at the desired page and open the book on that page
4. Read your answer

What kind of book was this? Is it some kind of book for indecisive people? I couldn’t help thinking that this might work for me. I’m not constantly indecisive, but whatever. It’s not like the answers will always be true. I tried asking a question.

Q: Will JB buy me coffee at the café near here?

I followed the directions. I stopped at a page near the front of the book. I opened the book to that page.

A: It’s the right thing to do

What kind of answer was that? Oh please. I felt like ditching the book, but for some reason, I ended up taking it along with me. I went to JB. He had a cookie in one hand and coffee in the other. See? He only got one for him. Psh, I better ditch this book now. I was about to return the book back to its shelf, when JB saw me.

“Yah Mark, here’s your coffee.” JB said, handing the cup of coffee to me. I eyed him weirdly.

“How about you? Don’t you usually drink coffee? You know, to stay awake?” I said.

“Nope, don’t need it. I’m wide awake.” he said. “What’s that?” He motioned towards the book in my hand.

“Just a book I was looking at.” I said. He nodded and continued observing the girl he liked.

I thought about how The Answer Book was right about JB with the coffee. It was probably just a coincidence. But I held onto the book for a while. I wanted to ask some more questions. And see if they were all true.