Little by little, 

I've learned to be on my own, not depending on you anymore.

As new people come in to my life, 

I know healing my broken heart is within my reach...

--

Ella is at the study hall, reviewing the notes that Callvin gave her the other day. So far, she was able to understand the explanation on the notes. "This is nice... I never thought I could do math on my own." she said proudly to herself. 

"Hey, Ella." she heard someone said. It was Calvin, who took the seat beside her. "Hi, senior."

"So, how was the notes? Were you able to understand it?"

Ella nodded her head. "The explanation is very simple, so I think I could do it on my own. Thanks for lending me the notes."

"No problem. Just tell me if there's something you don't understand, all right?"

Ella nodded her head.

"By the way, I forgot to tell you..." Calvin began. "You will be doing a project in Architecture Design I by this year. You have to create a structure from thin sheets of paper. I suggest you do your reasearch for a design now." 

Ella was surprised at what he said. "Really? That soon?" she asked. Calvin nodded his head. "But don't worry, I know you can work in pairs for that. The best design gets the highest grade and a chanced to be featured on School Design Expo." he answered. "So, were you able to get a high grade during your time?" she asked. Calvin smiled sheepishly and shook his head. "The day I was supposed to present my design, it was a rainy day. And since I just commute from home to here, my project got ruined. It was so wet, that you could squish the paper and pour the rain water in a tall glass. I was that unlucky that day. Fortunately, my prof gave me another chance to redo the work, but I didn't get the full grade." he said. 

Ella couldn't help but laugh at his story, and so did Calvin. "I know, I was unlucky. I'm telling you this so you can plan ahead of time." he said. "But if my presentation day falls on a rainy day..."

"Just pray to God that you won't be as unlucky as me."

"I'll take note of that."

Ella turned her attention to her notes again. "Hey, have you joined any clubs yet?" Calvin asked. Ella looked at him, and shook her head. "I'm not sure what club or organization to join. I know eventually I'll join Junior Architect's org, but aside from that, I haven't really tried to join." she admitted. "Well, you can only join that organization after this first semester. If you're interested, why don't you join the Music Club?" he suggested. Ella shrugged her shoulder. "Well... I'm not sure what club Chun would like to join..." she stopped midway.

Then, she realized that she promised herself not to depend on him anymore. She have to be more independent, and not base her decisions on what Chun's likes. "I mean, is it hard to get in to the Music Club?" she queried him. Calvin shook his head. "No, it's not. Although the guys can be quite playful. If you show them you have the talent, they'll let you in without a doubt." Calvin assured her. 

She scratched her chin as she decides if she should go for it. She had always been a member of the Glee Club back in High School, and she thought she could do something new in college. However, music will always be her passion. She may not want to admit it, but she do want to join the Music Club. "What do you think? Do you want to join?" Calvin asked. "If senior would be easy on me, I'll consider it." Ella said. Calvin smiled triumphantly. "Great! So, I'll see you later this afternoon? Our room is just right next to the music room at the Goettenberg building at the second floor. I'll expect you there, all right?" Calvin said. Ella smiled and nodded her. "I'll see you then." she said. 

--

The bell rang that afternoon, ending their last class that day. As Ella put her things inside her bag, Chun approached him. "Hey, have you thought what club we could join?" he asked. Ella looked up to him. "Actually, I'm planning to join the Music Club. I'm supposed to meet senior there right now." she answered. Chun wrinkled his forehead upon hearing what she said. "You already decided on a club without telling me?" he accused her. Somehow, Ella felt guilty about not telling him her decision. "Well, I was just invited, Chun. I'm not even sure if they'll accept me."

He let out a sigh. "Great... I'm not even sure what club to join." he said disappointedly. "There's a lot of cool clubs to join here. You just have to pick what you really like."

"But I thought we'll both decided on that."

"I know, Chun. I'm sorry..."

"Well, what can I do?"

She could tell from his voice that he was hurt by her decision of joining a club without telling him. "If you want, you can join me." she consoled him. "Who invited you anyway?" 

"Senior invited me."

"That Calvin guy?"

Ella nodded her head.

Chun wanted to get mad at the guy. It seems like he was trying to get Ella's attention, tyring to be close to him. He let out another sigh of dismay. "Go ahead and join that club without me.. You know I couldn't sing well." he said in a frustrated tone. "You don't need to have a good singing voice. You can play the guitar, right?" Ella suggested. Chun shook her head. "I know I can, but joining that club isn't my thing. I'll think I'll just join the school newspaper instead. I'll see you around."

Chun turned her back at her. Ella took her bag and stood up from her seat. "Chun..." she called. Chun paused and looked at her. "I'm really sorry... but didn't we talk about this... we'll give each other space..." she reminded him. Chun slowly nodded his head. "I'm sorry I forgot about it. I just thought that, maybe know that we're at the same school, we can spend more time together." he said. Ella stared at him for a while. "But... you spend much more time with Tiffany than with me..." she wanted to say. Chun forced himself to smile at her. "Anyway, good luck. I hope you'll get in." he said. "Thank you." 

He turned his back on her again, and walked out of the classroom, leaving Ella alone. Somehow, Ella felt guilty for not including Chun with her plans. She only hopes that he would understand, that he's doing this for the both of them.

--

Ella clutched on to her back pack as she stared at the door of the room.  As she took a deep, she gathered all her courage to open the door in front of her. Her hand shakes as she reached for the knob. As she was about to turn the knob, she heard someone calling her name. 

"Ella! You're here!"

She turned around and saw Calvin walking up to here. "How long have you been standing there?" He asked in an amused tone. "I... I just arrived." She lied. Calvin folded his arms, still amused at her. "Just arrived?"

"Just a few minutes before you came."

"Are you sure?"

Ella could not answer him anymore. Seems like she could no longer lie to him. "You've been standing there forever. I've been watching you since you arrived." He confessed. Ella felt her cheeks turned crimson. 

She bit her lips and scratched her head. "I guess I'm too shy to even come in. I don't know anyone there except for you. I'm not even sure if you're inside. But you're here, and I'm here, so..." she said nervously. 

Calvin simply smiled at her. He took her hand and then reached for the door. "Let's go inside. I'm sure they'll be happy to see a new member." He said. Ella was surprised when he held her hand. She stared athis hand for a while. She felt a different warmth with the way that he held her. She then looked at his back. Calvin was a warm and caring person, that she know. From that time they met, until this day, it seems that he never took his eyes at her, and had always looked after him. It was like he was taking her into his wings. Somehow, she liked the attention that Calvin is giving her at the moment. 

The door opened before her. A while ago, she could here people singing and laughing. When Calvin opened the door, revealing them, everyone stopped. All eyes were at them. 

"Hey, hey hey... who do we have here?" a guy holding the guitar said with a grin. "Someone who said he might not be able to visit as he's helping the freshmen." the guy holding the drumsticks said. "And that someone brought a new blood!" the guy in a cap said. She could recognize the guy with a cap. It was the same guy that Calvin and his friends were chasing during the first day of classes. "Aren't you guys even happy to see me? Didn't you miss me at all?" Calvin asked. Everyone just laughed at him. 

Calvin was still holding her hand. He looked at her, then looked back at the club members. "Guys, I want you to meet Ella. She's a freshman." Calvin introduced her. He looked back at her. "Ella, meet the rest of the gang. That guy..." he said pointing at the guy holding the guitar. "He's Shu. He's one of the juniors and the guitarist of the club. That guy over there..." he said pointing at the guy holding the drumsticks. "That's Wes. He's just a year older than you, and a sophomore. That guy beside him with a cap is Matt. He's the mischievous member of the club. Then we have Selina, our golden voice, Pets, our rocker girl, George, our rich friend, Wayne, our shy sophomore, Evan our resident composer, and Osamu the exchange student from Japan and our bassist. The other members are still in class, I think." Calvin introduced them. "It's nice to meet you all." Ella said, smiling at them. 

"Is she going to be our new member?" Selina asked excitedly. "It's about time we get new girl members. After senior Rainie, senior Jolin and senior Ariel graduate this year, it's just going to be me and Selina." Pets complained. "Don't worry, Pet's.I'll try to recruit as much members as I can." Calvin assured her. "So, is she going to audition today?" Wes asked. 

Ella suddenly felt nervous upon hearing that. She wasn't even ready for an audition. "If she's ready, she would. I'm pretty sure Ella can pass your strict standards, right, Ella?" Calvin looked at her and winked. "I... I'm not ready..." she whispered to him. "You can do it." he whispered back. Calvin took the guitar from Shu, and then handed it to her. 

Everyone took their seats. Ella stood in front of them all, with Calvin standing just right beside her. "Well, here goes..." she said. She then began to strum the guitar, and sang. 

"And I'd give up forever to touch you
'Cause I know that you feel me somehow
You're the closest to heaven that I'll ever be
And I don't want to go home right now

And all I can taste is this moment
And all I can breathe is your life
And sooner or later it's over
I just don't wanna miss you tonight

And I don't want the world to see me
'Cause I don't think that they'd understand
When everything's meant to be broken
I just want you to know who I am

And you can't fight the tears that ain't coming
Or the moment of truth in your lies
When everything feels like the movies
Yeah you bleed just to know you're alive

And I don't want the world to see me
'Cause I don't think that they'd understand
When everything's meant to be broken
I just want you to know who I am"

After Ella ended her song, everyone applaused her. "That was great!" Shu commented. "She does have a great voice, senior. You really know who to recruit to the club." Wes said. "So, what do you guys think? Should we let Ella in?" Calvin asked them. Selina gave him a thumbs up. "She would be a great addition to the Music Club. Plus, aren't you guys looking for a new vocalist to replace senior Jolin? I think Ella would be a great replacement for the band." Pets said. 

Calvin looked at Ella and smiled. Ella smiled back at him. "Well, welcome to our club, Ella." Calvin said. Ella bowed to everyone. "Thank you everyone for accepting me." she said. "Well, there's a work need to be done. First, the school program two months from now. Calvin, do you think the band could join that?" Selina asked. Calvin nodded her head. "We have to start practicing. And if everyone agress to have Ella as our vocalist..." he asked. Everyone raised their hands, much to Ella's surprised. "That question is, will Ella be willing?" Wayne asked. Calvin looked at Ella to wait for her answer. "Well, this is very overwhelming, but if everyone agrees to it, then I'll do it." Ella said. 

Everyone cheered on her. As everyone started to make a plan for the program, Ella looked at Calvin and smiled. "Thank you." she said to him. "No, Ella, " he replied. "Thank you."