at - trac - tion

\noun\

: personal charm

: the action or power of drawing forth a response

(source: Merriam-Webster)

 

 

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June 2004

 

The school year passed quickly like a breeze. I had my own group of friends, and AJ did too. As I walked into our new classroom, I waved at the old friends who smiled at me. AJ came in after I had sat down. I noticed that he went straight to his newest pals - The Band. He was actually recruited by Ocean, the leader of this elite group. Oh well, good for him. I mean, it's always better to have a talking human seatmate than a cold cement wall and a half-meter aisle, right?

Among the members, he got pretty close with Eli (probably because they have the same last names). Eli is one of those who practically have been my classmates for 'forever'. Yes, we know each other but that does not necessarily mean that we should be close friends.

As for AJ and I's relationship, it only improved a little with the help of small talks and some group works the previous school year but it stayed like that - casual. At least the indifferent part was taken out. Despite the help of fate to cross our paths together (we had the same class number so most often than not, we'd end up in the same workgroup; and we also became co-editors in our school paper), there'd always be a glitch that would keep us from getting closer. Either he would be absent or he would be summoned by one of the teachers.

He is such a nice guy, very comforting and protective. Well, according to my observation, that is. It's not that hard to not like him at all. Apparently, I didn’t really have guy friends (there are a few but they’re more feminine at heart) nor brothers and I wanted to have even one, at least. Since elementary, the boys in our class were either bullies or just plain unfriendly, but that changed in high school though. I guess I just couldn’t handle guys that well, so I had always been distant to them.

 

Our homeroom teacher cleared . "Now let's rearrange the seats." She declared, and so the students whined their protests. "Get your butts moving kids. Quick!" Scared, all of us hurried to the front.

"I hope I won't get to seat at the back rows." My friend Angel mumbled.

"Yea right, shorty." I teased, making both of us laugh. 

Our homeroom teacher then picked up the class attendance sheet and started calling names. By last name basis, we eventually noticed that she's rearranging seats by class numbers.

"Kim, AJ." The teacher called him next so he started his way to his new seat.

"Lee, Angel." Being the bright sunshine that she is, no one has ever felt awkward around her. AJ smiled at her, already comfortable with his new seatmate.

"Kim, Eli. Park, Billie." Both Angel and AJ looked at us, obviously happy to be sitting near each other's friends.

Unlike those two infront of us, Eli and I were totally their opposite. "Uhm, hi Billie." Eli made a small wave after he was done fixing his bag under the desk.

I replied with a rather forced smile. "Hello Eli." I said softly then returned to pretending-to-fix-my-things.

 

For some reason, my eyes were feeling magneted. When I looked up, I caught AJ's stare for just a split second before he returned his attention to the front. Why would he be staring at me anyway? So I decided to just shrug it off. 

 

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August 2004

 

We have a subject called Home Economics. And guess what? Our project for this grading period is woodwork. Geez, I hate to admit but my hands are more talented with a hammer than a needle. So much for being a girl. We were to make a circular plant pot, in collaboration with our Science project which is planting vegetables. We are doing our project in pairs, obviously I'm with my bestfriend Angel. As of now, we are halfway done with our wooden pots. 

 

"Dude, can you hold the nail for me please?" Angel asked for help.

I tried to hold the bent nail straight between two fingers as Angel started to hit with the hammer. I don't think she has gotten the hang of it yet, because the more she hits, the more the nail gets bent.

"Stop. I'll do it." I offered.

"No, I can do it. You've almost finished it yourself anyway. I better do as much." Stubborn Angel as ever. Biting her lip, she hit the nail with more force than she should.

"OWH!" I shouted, a little louder and thus, causing the others to snap their heads at our direction. My classmates aren't really used to hearing my voice as I'm soft-spoken and shy. They were probably startled to know that the voice was actually mine.

"Careful, students!" The teacher reminded.

"Sorry." Angel muttered guiltily. She then took my hand and inspected my bruised fingers.

Eli, who was sitting behind us, nudged my side and peeked over to see. "Are you alright?" He asked. 

 

Since the rearranging of seats, we've gotten close. He's a very helpful seatmate actually, especially with Math which I'm having trouble with. Other than that, he's pretty funny too. Every so often at lectures, he would whisper remarks at random stuff and crack jokes about it. Trouble is, I laugh at every single funny thing, even the corniest of the corniest, that we sometimes get queer looks from Angel and AJ and of course glares from our teachers.

 

My fingers hurt a lot and even if I didn't say anything, the expression on my face couldn't hide the obvious. His partner AJ stood up wordlessly and returned to where his seat was. "Dude, I'm really sorry." Angel apologized again as I clutched my injured fingers in my other hand.

Eli then grabbed our project. "Guess you guys need a little help." He said.

"Yes please." Angel smiled desperately.

All of a sudden, there was an ice-cold water bottle before me. "Here. You can put it on your bruised fingers." AJ handed the bottle to me. "Better than no first aid at all, right?"

"T-thanks." I said with a sniff as I received his offer of help. "I'll buy you a new one at break."

He smiled, showing his killer dimples. "No need to bother. It's just water anyway."

I nodded. "Okay. Thanks again."

"No problem." With that, he returned to working on their project.

 

Now that's an improvement. Told you he's a nice guy. I guess it would be really nice to have him as a friend. Not on the casual terms I mean.

 

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January 2004

 

Our school kicked off an annual charity project. Since they will be raising funds from the students, the board decided to hold a concert that will be featuring popular rock bands. The tickets are sold at an affordable rate of course, or else the parents would not allow it. If ever, it will be the first-ever concert that I'll be going to. And I'm feeling all giddy about it for days now.

 

"Are you going?" Angel shifted from her seat and asked me excitedly as soon as we received our tickets. Her eyes have gotten smaller and curved into happy crescents.

"Either way I'd still have to pay for it, right? Might as well pick the better choice." I told her, trying my best to keep my calm.

My friend clapped her hands together. "Yey! What should we wear? Wah~ I'm eggzoiteeeed!"

I chuckled at her giddiness. "Better read more properly, dude. The rule says 'Wear PE uniform'."

The news melted Angel's bright mood in an instant. "Ew, that's so corny."

I shrugged. "Oh well, what do you expect from a catholic school?"

 

On the day of the charity concert, I met with Angel at school. It was still a bit early but the open grounds was already crowded with students of different levels, especially near the stage. We had a difficult time looking for our classmates among the herds of kids.

 

I guess Eli spotted us first since we saw him already waving at us. He was with the rest of his crew. Angel waved back enthusiastically and pulled me along to where they are. "Thanks for calling us over." She said, smiling.

"You two looked so lost." Ocean remarked.

I looked around to search for our other classmates. "Where are the others?" I asked no one in particular.

"It'll be hard to search for them now. I mean, just look at all these people." It was AJ who responded.

Eli agreed with him. "It will be really difficult to move around."

 

And so just like what they had advised, Angel and I stayed with them. Unfortunately, we were situated at the far back so we couldn't really see the performers. I was already starting to regret staying with them, because our spot wasn't exactly a good choice. As much as I wanted to preserve the integrity of my hearing sense, I'm afraid I'd be deaf soon enough due to the booming speakers directly behind our heads. Add all the screaming and my head would already split into two. Other than that, the banging and the jumping of the students are going to break my bones any second. I'm dizzy, I'm suffocated, I'm dying. This is not the concert I had envisioned to experience. This is chaos.

I wasn't even aware that I've been massaging my temples instead of banging my head along with the rest of the crowd. Until someone tapped on my shoulder. I glanced back to see who it was. Believe it or not, it was none other than AJ. He said something but I wasn't able to get it.

 

"What was that? Sorry, but I can't hear you!" I shouted over the general noise.

He repeated, though I still didn't catch it. I shook my head, in an effort to tell him that conversation is useless. He just blinked at me then grabbed my arm and pulled me to a different spot - to a less crowded area behind the speakers. I instinctively pulled Angel with me of course.

With a confused expression, I looked up at him. "What was it you're saying?" I asked again. "Sorry, I really couldn't-"

I wasn't really done talking yet when he cut me off. "I kind of saw you were having a hard time so.." His words drifted off as he scratched the back of his neck. "Anyway, is this better?" He asked, smiling shyly.

The frown that has been marring my forehead relaxed. "Yeah." I just nodded.

He sighed a long breath. "Good."

I chuckled softly, feeling slightly flustered. "Well I guess I should thank you."

"You're welcome." He replied. The music was much clearer here than from our previous spot that he started to nod along the rock music. From the side, I could see that deep dimple marking his cheek. 

"Hey, that's my favorite song!" Angel shouted, swaying to the music.

A few moments later, Eli had joined us. "Phew! That was a struggle!" He exclaimed as he stood on the other side of AJ.

 

For the first time on this night, I can say that I'm finally enjoying the concert properly. Not to mention, comfortably. All thanks to AJ Kim.

 

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