Chapter Twenty-One: Moments

When I stepped inside the school for the first time since winter break, I almost dropped my book in shock at the amount of girls who greeted me and Kyla, looping themselves to our side as they giddily asked about anything under the sun.


“You two should go shopping with us later,” one of them grinned with her brown eyes shining with excitement.


It took us a few moments to realize who they are. From the long years of observation, they were Jasper’s lackeys, ranging from the cheerleaders to the girls volleyball team.


Now, since I’ve became a lot tamer since Jasper and I regained our friendship, I didn’t catch too much attention when walking around the school, but now since I have a huge group of popular ladies latching on me and my best friend, we were kind of hard to miss as we tried to maneuver through the halls.


Kyla and I shared a look, a mix of curiosity and shock. When the bell rang, they momentarily stopped from their babbling, and I grabbed my best friend’s hand as I pulled her away from the huge crowd.


“What the hell?” she practically yelled when we were in the safe confines of the classroom that was slowly being filled with students.


I would like to know what the hell happened out there.


“See, they’re in our class,” came in two cheerleaders who was elated when they saw the both of us seated on our desks. They practically shooed away the people who claimed the chairs next to us and sat down, turning to us for another chat.


Somebody please explain what’s happening.


You could only guess that they followed us everywhere. Even during the classes Kyla and I didn’t have together, they were still there to stalk each of us. It’s like they suddenly became interested in our lives, squeezing any personal information they can.


When we exited our last class before lunch, I was relieved to finally see Jasper leaning against the locker, possibly waiting.


“Finally,” he grinned, taking my bag from me, “I haven’t seen you all day.”


Just like every single moment we spent together, I started blushing madly at the simple yet sweet gesture.


Of course, my best friend squeezed herself in-between us, “Now aren’t you two adorable together?”


“Kyla!” I complained and she gave me a sheepish smile as she whispered, “Don’t leave me behind with them.”


I subtly looked behind us, and I slightly jumped to see they were like a brigade marching behind their captain. Turning to Jasper, I nudged my head towards their direction, “Explain that.”


He turned to them and gave them a slight smile, gaining a few giggles, “I kind of told them about us.”


“What?” I gasped, “Haven’t you read any romance novels out there? When slightly average girl gets together with popular boy, she’s going to get tortured by the popular ones.”


He scrunched up his eyebrows in confusion, before laughing loudly at what I said, “Alright, lay off on those books for a while.”


“It’s slightly true,” Kyla agreed as she was still wedged in between us, “It’s a cliché.”


“Well, they might be as perky as cliché describes them to be,” Jasper pointed out, “But they’re nice ones, almost all of them are in their own relationship, they’re just plain interested in you two.”


“Because you and Tristan,” I concluded in which he nodded in confirmation.


“Speaking of Tristan,” Kyla jumped in, trying not to sound too eager, “Where is he?”


Jasper opened the cafeteria door, which made the girls behind us coo and Kyla stand mortified on the spot at the scene in front of us.


You know those corny and cheesy proposal? Well, this was like one of them.


Tristan stood on one of the tables, holding a huge bouquet of flowers in his hand and a few of the basketball team held a huge speaker playing some romantic song of some sort. A whole line of varsity were even holding up their shirts, spelling the word ‘GIRLFRIEND?


Like a dutiful best friend, Jasper lead Kyla to the center of everything, right in front of Tristan.


When he called me up a week ago, asking what’s was the perfect way to ask Kyla to be his girlfriend, I jokingly told him about this book that did this exact same scene. I never expected that he would actually do it.


Kyla’s cheeks heated up at the attention and the sweet gesture. I, on the other hand, created a diversion by cackling out loudly at what was happening, clutching my stomach as I doubled in laughter.


This is cliché it almost hurts.


Jasper blinked at me, before smiling amusedly at his best friend, finding situation as hilarious as I was thinking. Boy, he’s definitely whipped.


“Ignoring Savannah in the background,” Kyla coughed out as I saw her give me a glare from my peripheral vision, “I’ll answer yes.”


Pushing away the people who started to congratulate the new couple, I reached Kyla and gave her a smile, “Thought it would never happen.”


“That’s what I felt when you were being so stubborn with Jasper,” she retorted, until she finally realized the amount of attention she was getting. Tristan finally stepped down from the table and endured the painful friendly slaps from his teammates until he reached where we were standing. He handed her the bouquet and she grinned, pressing a kiss onto his cheek.


At first, I thought it was torture to have Jasper and Tristan be our bodyguards earlier in the school year, but I’ve learned it was partially more horrible to have these sparkly eyes chicks follow you everywhere. I mean, I think I’ve learned every single shade of MAC lipstick from them, and it had only been a day.


When they were briefly distracted by a story that one of them was telling, we sprinted out of the place. We had to get to work some way or another.


Jasper and Tristan warned us that they would be busy, considering the championships were approaching. Just like that, their first day of school after break, they were dragged away by their coach for practice.


What we didn’t knew was that they were preparing us to have a long time without them.


We both started relationships, and yet we’ve been seeing less and less of them, the cheerleaders were a bunch of girls that are trying to make up for the time without them.


Last time I checked, I signed up for a boyfriend, not a group of babbling girls. But hey, they’re not all that bad, at least I got tips on how to make a homemade moisturizing facial scrub.


“Two weeks,” Kyla sighed as she plopped down on the stool in front of me as I munched on the bagel I managed to sneak out, “Two weeks since Tristan asked me to be his girlfriend, and the maximum time I get to spend time with him is twenty minutes, not counting our lunch hour.”


“They’re busy,” I chewed, though my tone wasn’t as understanding as I wanted it to be. In my defense, I thoroughly miss Jasper, it was like walk to class, eat together, then say a goodbye before we part ways. That was it.


And up until now, he hasn’t given me that date he promised.


She looked at the history book I whipped out so I could get some studying done while I was on my break. Kyla blinked at the textbook, before turning to me, “Have you told Jasper about the potential freshman program yet?”


Shaking my head, I ducked my head down and continued to write on my notebook, “It’s not a big deal right now.”


“Not a big deal?” she slammed her palms onto the counter, “That program isn’t simply given to any ordinary student, and the fact you’re being considered as a candidate is an incredible big deal.”


“I just don’t think it’s not worth troubling about if it isn’t official yet,” I muttered in defense.


“And if he finds out during the last minute?”


My mouth pressed into a thin line as I closed my eyes and rubbed my temples. She was right, but we both knew it wasn’t the time to say it. I was just a candidate, I have received no letter to confirm that I may part of the university freshman program. It will give me a big advantage, but still, I’m not willing to juggle everything if the time comes.


A part of me was screaming that I should grab the opportunity, but another was telling me that I only get to experience my high school senior year once in my life.


Kyla took my silence as a bad sign and she opened her mouth to speak, “I think I’ve grown attached those girls,” she laughed, trying to make the conversation more lighthearted, “But please slap me when I start reciting the whole Chanel line.”


“By the time that happen, I would already have handed you a gun,” I joked.


The backdoor of the kitchen opened and everybody turned to its direction. We all stood up, looking at the figure that just stepped inside the workplace. Her pink lips curved into a smile as she dropped her sunglasses from covering her eyes, “Nice to see you all again.”


Rebecca Williams, an old friend of Drew and Celeste’s, she’s currently the manager of all restaurants, café and any other catering service their company owns.


You could say she barely drops by, coming only a few times a year to check personally if everything is still in tip top shape, “Savannah, you’re looking extremely well.”


“Hey,” I greeted her with a smile as she gave me a small hug, giving Kyla a nod of acknowledgement as she settled her purse on the counter, removing her jacket and sitting on one of the stools, “Have you visited the two yet?”


“Of course,” she grinned, lacing her fingers together, “Though I could see why Drew looks so stressed, he’s dealing with two of his angels.”


I have never heard of an elaboration how they all became friends, Drew refused to talk about it, Celeste laughs it off, while Rebecca always shift the topic whenever I ask.


She examines my face for a brief moment, before she slightly frowned, “Is there anything wrong?”


I lifted a hand to check if I had anything stuck on my face, but nope, I was still good. I gave her a quizzical look, and she was still expecting for an answer. When I remained silent, she released a sigh before continuing, “That face only means you have boy trouble.”


Well, she saw right through me, “What advice do you have to give for a girl who can barely talk to her boyfriend because they’re both so busy?”


I’m a guilty party too when it comes to why Jasper and I conversations are turning less frequent. I did get a huge congratulations from the principal on a job well done with the formal, but my job doesn’t stop there. As my vice-president, Kyla also has to tag around on whatever work I have to do. Plus, we still have a job to do. Tristan, on the other hand, requested through a formal letter that he would not be able to take the shifts his position required, cutting down his hours so he could balance with practice.


“Let’s see,” she tapped her chin thoughtfully, “Why don’t you just simply talk to him?”


“If it was that easy, I wouldn’t be hanging here with a half-eaten bagel,” I snorted, and Rebecca cracked a smile at my attitude.


“Just go and approach him. Corner him up if you have to, you just got to clear things up.”


“But will that just make me look desperate?” Kyla suddenly joined in, leaning against the table, “Cornering a guy up?”


“It’s not always the guy who should be doing all the chasing,” she replied, letting Kyla’s words die down, “A girl also got to work when she truly likes a person.”


One look in her eyes and I knew what she saying, “You’re telling this from experience.”


She turned to me and gave me a small wink, “Correct, though I must say the results are not always as what you expect.”


Since the moment I broke my friendship, Jasper had been the one who was always looking for me, but Rebecca was right, it was time that I do the work and let Jasper rest on this one. He’s far too stressed to be the one planning everything.


“Now, it’s a Friday night, what are you two doing here on the job?” she questioned, gesturing to the café that was almost approaching its peak hour, “You should be enjoying your youth.”


“You speak like you’re so old,” I teasingly cringed and she laughed, shaking her head.


“Go ahead and have fun,” she said, standing up, “Just see it as a day off.”


“We actually have nothing better to do,” Kyla admitted, taking the bagel that I was no longer interested in. It was quite true, instead of going out and about, we’re here because we had no plans. You could say this café has become our comfort.


Other than that, the boys said they had this team meeting, which I presume is just them and the other boys hanging around with boxes of pizza and a few beers. We didn’t bother in whining to them, we knew that they deserve the break so we allowed them to go.


Speaking of which, the swinging doors opened to reveal Tristan, and from the way Kyla instantly perked up, she was feeling sudden surge of emotion.


“I told you they’ll be here,” he yelled over his shoulder, and my eyes softened when I saw Jasper slowly come into view.


And just like that, it was as if all our mopping around minute earlier didn’t happen. The worries we were feeling just suddenly disappeared, and as I stared at Jasper, a small smile was making my lips twitch upwards.


Rebecca whistled lowly, “Whipped.”


I ignored her statement and jumped off of my stool, instantly lunging for Jasper as if I haven’t seen him in days.


“Now you girls go have fun,” we heard the woman say from behind us, “I’m sure these two gentlemen didn’t go through the trouble of searching for you just for the hell of it.”


Tristan recognized who she was and gave her a respectable nod, he whispered something into Kyla’s ear, and the girl instantly nodded, rushing to the locker room.


Giving Jasper a look, asking him to be patient, I followed Kyla to the room where the girl was already dressed up and ready to go, “He’s talking me out for a dinner date,” she squealed.


Taking off my work clothes and changing into my jeans and blouse, I pulled on my jacket before releasing my hair from the ponytail it was in. Placing everything inside my locker, I took out my bag and slammed the metal door shut.


“What’s your plan with Jasper?” she asked curiously, “If it isn’t too personal.”


Giving her a light shrug, I went back out to the kitchen. Honestly, I didn’t care where he’s taking me, at least I get to spend more than twenty minutes with him then it’s absolutely perfect.


The four of us divided into two, while Tristan drove away with Kyla, Jasper offered me a hand for me to take and gave me those boyish smiles, “Shall we take a walk, milady?”


“Last time we took a walk, I ended up deserting you,” I reminded him, yet I still took his hand, lacing my fingers through his.


“True,” he replied, “But what happened later that day was one of the best things in my life.”


My mouth clamped shut and I blushed at the memory. It kept replaying in my mind, and every time it did, it became more and more unbelievable. I’m so scared that I would just suddenly wake up and realize that this was all a dream.


Hugging my jacket tighter to my body, I tried to stir up a conversation, “So is the team shaping up good for the championships?”


“I hope so,” he sighed wistfully, “Last year was the first time our school took home the trophy after five years, it’s going to be horrible if we lose now.”


And the pressure as team captain was now resting on his shoulders. No wonder he’s always gone, I could imagine him barking up pep talks left and right.


He suddenly jolted up as if he remembered something. He turned to me, his eyes shining with excitement, “I have yet to take you out on a real date.”


Tightening my hold of him, I stopped him from any potential rambling that may happen, “I think this is already the perfect kind of date.”


“You’re right,” he agreed, pulling me along with him, “Once we’re in college, we wouldn’t be able to have moments like these as often as we do now.”


And just like that, the thought of the freshman program entered my mind once again, and my steps slowly became heavier which each one I took. Jasper noticed this and he paused for a moment, looking down at me with concern, “Anything wrong?”


My mouth opened, before it closed again as my brain tried to process what to say. Then, Rebecca’s words echoed inside my head.


Why don’t I just simply tell him?


“Nothing,” I shook my head as I continued on walking.



Because moments like these are too precious to break.


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Well then, I haven't been much of a happy camper lately, and so that meant that I needed to write to get my mind off of something. Help me out by commenting something positive, absoloutely anything actually.


I usually have a lot to say, but right now I have nothing so I'm sorry. 


Dedicated to @navigirl for the cover on the side.


Question: How will Jasper react when Savannah tells him about the program?


Don't forget to vote,c omment, and follow. You guys never fail to make me smile, love you all.


P.S. Happy Birthday to the woman that carried me in her for nine months. Wow, that could have been phrased a little better.

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