LS: The Beginning (11 page)

“Hey! Wake up. You have lectures today,” I pleaded, but with
deep intensity this time around.

She totally ignored my plea and changed her sleeping posture, using her back to face me. I walked to the other side of her bed in less than a second, and I leaned
toward her cheek and softly brushed it with my cold lips hoping she
would open her brown eyes.

Luckily, she opened her eyes
with a grin on her face and said,
“Your lips are so cold, but thanks for keeping your promise.”

“No problem, dear. Just get ready for school.” I stood up from the bed and asked, “What will you like for breakfast?”

She gave a catching smile.

“Toast would be lovely. You’re a
darling," she said.

“Right back at ya.”

It was a beautiful day. The sun had gotten up early and melted the
layers of snow that resided on the lawn.
Snow at this time of the year?
One would think, but yes, Sloutenville was a strange city. The foggy windows were now
transparent and the fresh air that hovered was strangely warm. I took
a rapid bath in order to make Stacey her breakfast request.

Stacey ate breakfast and we left the house. T
he car's engine started and in less than ten minutes we were at school. My driving had changed due to the alteration in
my reflexes, but I still limited my speed due to my cousin’s demands.

I stepped out of the car and opened her door. Stacey strode out wearing a grin on her face.

“I need to talk to you today about something important.”

“Okay, but it’ll have to wait until evening, when I’ll be all ears,” I
said, already knowing the topic of discussion: Julie. What seemed to amaze
me was the look Stacey gave after I agreed to the discussion; she knew I'd
read her mind.

I'd planned the entire day
to be with Lisa, so I gave Stacey the car keys again, saying
, “Please, drive safely. And remember, no boys in my car.”

She chuckled. “I’ll try my best.”

We parted ways but not before I gave her a hug. I loved her so much at that moment; she was unintentionally fighting hard to
replace my mother as the number one lady in my life.

I had only one lecture that day:
Machines203.
Fortunately, Lisa also had the same course and so I went earlier than usual to reserve a seat for her. I'd applied extra amount of gel to my long hair so it would have
that glistening look it once had. Strangely, it was a bit sunny, and I had to do away with my jacket. I'd do my best possible to look good in Lisa’s eyes and hoped she
would acknowledge it.

As Lisa entered the class, she smiled locking her eyes with mine as she approached the seat beside me. I smiled back, trying my best to control my desire to give her a hug, my
being shy assisted my resistance.

“Hey,” I said in a low voice.

“Hey,” she replied.

I still couldn’t imagine how a guy would break up
with her just because she’d nearly burnt his tongue. That was a small price to
pay. However, I was so glad David had broken up with her. In every disappointment, there seems to be an outcome of blessing.

“Have you managed to get any sleep?”

She glanced at me. “No. What about you?” she asked.

“No, I haven’t. One good thing, though: I don't think we really need it.”

“Are you sure about that?”

“Yup,” I replied.

“All right, if you say so,” she said. Lisa took a deep breath. “I’m still bothered about the fact my parents
are ignorant of all these. I feel they will see me differently as David did.”

“You know, you can't keep it away from them. I think
you should let them know about us as soon as possible,” I suggested, but the
word
us
made it sound as if we were in a relationship. Lisa didn’t take much
meaning to it. Although, how would I have known? I couldn’t read
her mind.

“Yeah, I should,” she agreed.

I glanced at the wall clock beside the projected screen.

“What are you doing after class?”

Lisa grinned, answering back with a question, “What do you want
me to do?”

The teacher noticed the discussion between us but completely ignored it.
It was then the college life dawned on me; if we were in high school, either Lisa or I would have
been called to answer a question.

“I was thinking about going to the school’s gym, because I just got my membership
card today.” I was so engrossed in our discussion I completely ignored Julie, who was staring at me from across the classroom. “So would you accompany me to the gym? You won’t have to do
anything, I promise.” I gave her a puppy dog look, signifying I really wanted
her company.

“Hmm, I already have my membership card. I guess I’ll join you. I just have to go
home and get some gym clothes.”

I’d forgotten she had a black belt in karate, and as such, she may see
the need to visit the gym once in a while.

“That’s cool. I have mine in my car,” I admitted.

I was reluctant to ask about the color of body and why it had a
reddish look. Was it due to the power she possessed, or was she intentionally
hurting herself? My thinking ended inconclusively.

“I’ve been meaning to ask you something,” I told her.

She smiled. “Go ahead.”

Just then my left thigh interrupted the conversation with a vibration. It
was my phone. I wasn’t expecting any call; hence I wondered who would want
to call me. Instead, it was a message from Julie saying:

Hey, was thinking we should play basketball
after the lecture. Let's see if you
can
outplay
a lady.

Cheers

Julie.

I placed the phone back in my pants' pocket. “Sorry, it was a message.”

“It’s obvious the blonde girl really likes you.”

I ignored her comment.

“Okay, back to my question. What's wrong with your skin? Have you been crying or something?”

“Oh.” She pointed a finger to her left arm. “It started when we shook hands, so
it’s probably due to my abilities. Also, my temperature is currently above 120°F. Can you believe that?”

“Considering recent events, I can believe pretty much anything these days.”

Lisa chuckled. “That’s true," she said.

The class was coming to an end when I reluctantly replied to Julie, telling
her I had plans for the day and maybe we could hang out the following week. Afterward, Lisa and I left the class, planning
to meet up at the sports hall in a few hours.

I hung out with Sharon for an hour during the time interval. We sat
in the cafeteria and whiled away time. She kept on asking for
the reason I never ate there after my first day of school. I was impressed she’d studied me but perplexed as to why.

Later, I went to look for Derrick, the guy who'd invited me to
the college’s basketball team. I heard he was majoring in Electrical/Electronic
Engineering. That was the course my mother had advised me to take, but my
parents raised me up to make my own decisions and live with the consequences. Luckily, Lisa was the consequence.

Derrick wasn’t hard to locate; he was in the school’s gym, lifting
various amounts of weight. I'd discovered earlier, he was the best
basketball player in the school’s team, which explained why girls were always
hanging around him. He'd received proposals from two different teams in the NBA, but had surprisingly declined them.

“Hey, Derrick,” I greeted him as I entered the weight section of the gym.

He turned back in surprise, trying to recognize my voice
. He wore a black basketball short, which I noticed had Tracy
Mcgrady’s brand on it. His sleeveless orange T-shirt had his name printed
across the back.

“Stephen,” he said, giving me a cool handshake accompanied with a
half-styled hug. “Where have you been, bro?”

“I’ve been around. Listen, I came to ask you about the …” I said, pausing for some
seconds to create a suspenseful atmosphere, “tryouts for the basketball
team.”

He smiled. “It’s about time. Well, I'll hook you up for a private session with
the coach. You need to be really good because we need a point guard,
and I can’t keep playing that since I love playing side.”

“Oh, cool. Thanks,” I accepted.

“It’s nothing; just helping a
brother
out.”

I already
knew the reason why he stressed the word brother. This was because I had the ability to sense the girl who made my heart surge, especially when she was close by.

As I turned back to formally know his reason for his
action, my body grew rigid. I could hardly move an inch as I stared at Lisa. She wore a red singlet and yellow
skinned pants that stopped above her knees. Her hair was pulled back with a
yellow band and her skin glittered as always. I had no reason to judge Derrick; I would have done the same if I were in his shoes.

“My train’s here. Got to go,” I told Derrick with a grin.

“Go get her, bro,” he muttered.

At that instance, I disliked Derrick due to
the repulsive thoughts that went through his head. However, I hardly
got angry; one could say I had a cold temper.

I strode to meet Lisa, who
was starting to warm up before using any of the equipment.

“Hey,” I said.

She stopped and looked up. “Hey.”

“I was having the feeling you wouldn’t show up.”

“Same here,” she said, smiling. “So, have you been able sign up for the tryout?”

I was about to reply, but paused. I'd only told her I was coming to
use the gym, but then I couldn’t dwell on it because it was the least strange
thing I'd encountered during the last few weeks.