The Search
99 Paper Cranes (Completed)-----------------------------------------------------------
At the soccer field...
Zen me ban wo yue lai yue ai
Kuai gei wo de sheng gong gai bai
Ai jiu ai ma shang yao jing cai
Bu yao san kai
Wei ni ku, wei ni xiao, wei ni down, wei ni high
Wu di kang, bu shua lai, bu hui gai
Kuai tao tai qing hong huo zao bai
Zhi yao dui ni chong bai
Danson and Kit were singing on top of their lungs when Calvin came. “Hey!” he shouted at the two. The two wasn't able to hear them as their mp3 player was turned to loudest volume. “Hey!” Calvin shouted again. This time, the two stopped dancing and noticed Calvin. “Oh! You're already here?” Kit said. Calvin frowned at them. “Can you turn down that mp3 player, I need to talk to you guys...” he said. Danson and Kit looked at each other, then looked at Calvin. “We can't. It's our favorite song that's playing now!” Kit said. Calvin gave her dagger looks. “OK, OK.” she said. Then Danson turned the mp3 player off.
“What's with the long face, Mr. Chen?” Danson asked. Calvin sighed before he answered Danson's question. “I'm nervous...” he said. “What's there to be nervous about? It's just the first day of the campaign period. You can charm the whole school, believe me.” Kit said. Danson nodded his head in agreement. “Its not that... well partly yes... I don't know why I'm feeling this way.” he said. “Or is it because the paper crane girl have not left a message for you today?” Kit asked. Danson looked at at her, confused about what she was saying. “Paper crane girl?” he asked. Kit looked at him and began to explain everything to him. “It's Calvin's secret admirer. The one who leaves paper cranes and love notes to him.” she said. Danson nodded his head. Kit put her arm around Calvin and looked at him. “Don't tell me you miss the paper crane girl already?”
“Well... yes. It's like this. She's the one who would always encourage me. Whenever I read her notes, it's like all my fears and worries would subside.”
“You don't need that girl. You have me and Danson. We support you 100%.”
“But it's still not the same without her... besides, it's been three days already since I last received a paper crane and note from her.”
Danson and Kit looked at each other again. “Well, I heard Chun's been out for 3 days. Maybe that's the reason why you haven't received anything.” he joked Calvin turned to him and punched him on his arm. “Aww...” he said while rubbing his arm. “Very funny.” he said. Danson just smiled at his friend. “I'm just joking!” he said. Then, Calvin looked at Kit. “Kit, you told me you'll help me find her, right?” Kit nodded her head. “Can you start looking for her?” he asked. Kit nodded her head again. “Sure. Danson will help me. Right, Danson?” she said, looking at her. Danson nodded his head. “Sure, no problem.” he said. Calvin smiled at his two friends. “Thanks a lot, guys!” he said as he put his arms around them.
--
Calvin entered their headquarters and found several students inside. These are his fellow candidates and co-party. “Hey, Cal. Good that you're here.” Nicholas, his senior, said to him. Nicholas is running for the presidency post of the student council. “We need to have a meeting before we start the campaign.” he said. Calvin just nodded his head. He watched as Nicholas walked over to another student to check on the banners. He turned around, and at one of the desks, he saw Joy preparing their campaign materials. He smiled, then walked over her. “Hey...” he said. Joy looked up at him and smiled. “Hi, Mr. Class Rep.” she said. Calvin gave out a small laugh and shook his head. “I'm not yet a Class Rep.” he said. “But you will be! You're the strongest candidate as Class Representative. I know you'll win.” she said. “Thanks, Joy. By the way, what are you doing here?” he asked. “I'm your party's campaign manager. I'll be helping you out guys throughout the campaign period.” she said.
Then, Joy took all of the campaign materials. “Anyway, I'll leave you for a while I need the admins to sign on our materials...” she said. She tried to hold all of the banners, but some of them fell on the floor. Calvin helped her pick it up. “You know what, I think I'll help you carry these.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yep. I'll just tell Nic I'll help you with these banners.”
“Thanks a lot, Calvin.”
Then, the two headed out of the door.
--
“Where should we start?” Danson asked Kit as they were walking through the hall. Kit just shrugged her shoulder. “Honestly, I have no idea.” she said. Danson put his hand on his pocket, and scratched his chin. “So, this girl would always leave the paper crane on Calvin's locker right?”
“Right.”
“And usually, what time does Calvin get this paper cranes?”
“Hmmm... beats me. I think, it's usually right before our Algebra class. But he would get it at any time.”
Danson paused in front of Calvin's locker. He checked if there is a paper crane anywhere, but it seems that his secret admirer have not left him anything at all. “So, we have watch his locker from time to time. Maybe we could find out who this girl is. Anyway, the time is perfect since we both don't have classes that time, right?” he said. Kit smiled at him and nodded his head. “You're right. And maybe we could hide from....” she looked around the place, then he saw a corner not far from Calvin's locker. She then pointed at that corner to Calvin. “There! We could hide from that corner.” she said. Danson looked at him, then turned to Kit and nodded his head. “Great. We have the great plan to find out who this girl is. Calvin will know who she is in no time.” he said. Kit nodded his head in agreement.
Danson leaned on the locker and sighed. “Do you think Calvin's already in love with this girl?” he asked her. “Well, maybe he is. He's already showing signs that he is...” she answered. “You're not jealous if he is already?” he asked. Kit shook her head. “I know that she have a good intention with what she's doing. If Cal would chose her to be his girlfriend, then I would accept that. As long as she won't hurt him...” she said. Danson smiled at her. “I know that she won't. I just hope that we could find this girl... for our friend...”
“Maybe we can start this tomorrow. Besides, I doubt if the paper crane girl will show up now.” she said. “Yeah, I think so. Would you like to go to the cafeteria?” he asked. “Good thing you asked. I'm already hungry.” she said. Then the two headed to a different direction to go to the cafeteria.
What they didn't know is that someone have been eavesdropping on them – It was Trixie. She came out from the corner where she was hiding a while ago. “Paper crane girl, huh?” she said as she crossed her arm. Then, an idea hit her head. “What Trixie wants, Trixie gets. One day, I'll be able to have you by myself, Calvin Chen.” she said to herself.
--
Jiro was walking through the crowded school hall. He looked around him, as if he was looking for something, for someone. At one corner of his eye, he saw a girl. He could only see her back, but for him, she seemed familiar. “Tin?” he called. Before he knew it, the girl is already out of her sight. He tried to run, but the crowd was stopping him. “Tin!” he shouted. He fought his way out of the crowd to get to her. He found himself at the end of the hall. Suddenly, the crowd has vanished, and he was all alone. “Where is she?” he thought. He have found her, but now, he have lost her. “Jay?” she heard someone call. He looked back and saw her smiling at her. “Tin?” he called again. He walked towards her, and reached for her.
“Jiro? Jiro...” he felt someone nudging him. He slowly opened his eyes, and saw Kit waking him up. Jiro sat up from his seat, and then rubbed his eyes. He realized that he fell asleep at the study hall while waiting for his girlfriend. “Sorry if I had to wake you up. You were , and I thought you were having nightmares...” she said as she took the seat beside him. Jiro looked at her and smiled. “No, it's OK...” he said. Kit then smiled back at her.
Upon seeing her smile, he felt his heart began to beat fast. “What is this?” he thought. He wondered why all of a sudden, his heart was beating faster whenever he is with Kit, especially when she smile at him. Kit stared at him. “Is there something wrong?” she asked. Jiro immediately shook his head. “I'm just tired, I guess. I've been waiting for Joy for two hours now...”
“I think they're still doing something at their headquarters right now. I just went there a while ago.”
“So, are you waiting for Calvin?”
“Yeah. He'll drive me home tonight.”
Jiro looked at his watch and sighed. “Guess it won't hurt for me to wait for Joy for a little while...” he said. He reached for his pocket and took out his mobile phone. Joy just sent him a text message, and so he read it. “Hunny, I'm sorry, I think I'll be here longer than expected. You can go home now. Sorry again, I love you.” it read. Jiro slumped on his seat after reading that. “She wanted me to go home without her....” he said to Kit. Just then, Kit's phone rang. It was Calvin. “Hello? Yes, Cal.... Uh-huh... OK I understand.... I'll see you tomorrow then... bye...” he heard her say on the phone. “Is that Cal?” he asked. Kit nodded her head. “He said he have to stay until their finished. He asked me not to wait up for him...” she said. Then, the put her chin on the table. “Aiyo... and Danson have already left... guess I have to commute tonight...” she said. Jiro turned to her and smiled. “If you want, I can drive you home...” he suggested. Kit looked up at him. “are you sure?” she asked. He smiled and nodded his head. “Well, I can't refuse your offer. It's already late, and I don't think it's safe to commute at this time.” she said. “OK then,” Jiro said. He stood up from his seat and took his bag. “Let's go now. The traffic is terrible.”
--
Calvin slouched on his chair. He looked at the campaign materials and banners right in front of him, and then he sighed. He never thought that running as Class Rep would be a lot of work. “I wonder if this would pile up when I got the post...” he thought. He then looked at his watch. It was already 9 PM. “I wonder if Kit's already home...” he thought. He reached for his phone and dialed Kit's number. It took 5 rings before she picked up the phone. “Hello?” he heard the sleepy Kit on the other hand. He laughed upon hearing her groggy voice. “Did I woke you up?” he asked. “Calvin... I'm already sleeping... what do you want?”
“I just want to check if my best friend is already home?”
“Yeah, I am and I'm already sleeping... where are you?”
“Still at school...”
“Aren't you going home yet?”
“I just need to finish something for tomorrow's campaign.”
“Can you finish that tomorrow? You'll be late tomorrow if you stay there...”
“I will in a while...”
“By the way... just to let you know... we found a perfect plan to find out who your paper crane girl is. I'll let you know tomorrow...”
“Great! OK. I'll go home now. I'll see tomorrow, OK?”
“Yeah, and don't be late in picking me up. I don't want to late at my first period...”
“OK, OK. I'll go home now.”
“OK, good night. Drive safely...”
He ended the call. As he turned to his side, he saw Joy who was still busy preparing their campaign materials. He stood up, and walked over to her seat. “Aren't you going home yet?” he asked her. Joy looked up at him, and nodded her head. “I'll just finish this banner, then I'm ready to go.” she said. “Jiro must be waiting for you...” he said. Joy looked up to him again and smiled. “I asked Jiro to go home already...” she said. “So... no one will drive you home?” he asked again. She needed her head. Calvin smiled at her. “Want me to give you a lift?”
“Would love to.”
“OK. I think we should head home now or else we'll be late for tomorrow.”
Joy just nodded his head. The took their bags and then headed outside the room.
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