Fragile

Inches Close, Miles Apart.

Wednesday, 8:30 p.m. Jack Ernest's Apartment

Jack was seated on his desk, staring at an empty page from his notebook as the wind disturbed the white curtains that covered the windows of his apartment room. He was trying to avoid the comfort of his bed, for fear that he would fall asleep and not be able to eat his dinner again. He wondered why he was even worried abut such a trivial matter; after all, it was already eight-thirty in the evening, and he had not even begun to cook anyway.

He pulled out a bar of chocolate from his bag, which sat comfortably under his desk. Like a dog inside a doghouse, Jack thought to himself. Frustration was beginning to set in as he continued to stare at the white, empty page on his notebook. He wanted to write a letter that he would use to confess his feelings to Miss Kate Summers, and as embarrassing as this was for him, he felt that he needed some sort of practice.

For many hours Jack did not bother to open his mouth, but somehow, a random thought went to him. It was a memory that was far too deep into the past, that he had no clue as to why it suddenly came to him. It was a memory coming way back from the many, many yesterdays of his youth. The memory was an image of the landlord's daughter, a fine girl the same age as him.

"Oh, of course. How could I forget her? Raven-black hair always in a messy state, red lips, white skin, and eyes that looked as if she was ready to murder me, anytime, anywhere. Cute, but dangerous", Jack said out loud.

It was a memory from when Jack was new to the apartment, when he was still a junior high student, when he was a seventh grader. It was a summer break, before he was supposed to go to high school. He was just lazing around on his couch reading crime-thriller novels when he heard three knocks on his door. He walked towards it, although unwillingly, and upon arriving, he took a deep breath, and placed his left hand upon the doorknob.

The door, which was now opened, revealed a short girl his age, eyes that were full of...hatred? Contempt? Jack did not know, and he felt that it was better if he did not.

"Uh, what do you need from me, um, miss...", Jack said to the girl. The girl did not even bother greeting him a good afternoon, as it was around three or four p.m. at that time. She simply held out a hand, and uttered two words.

"Payment. Rent."

Jack was thinking that someone his age would definitely not qualify to be someone who collects the payment for the rent, so he shut the door on the girl as he said "Sorry, I think you got the wrong room". The next thing he knew, the three gentle knocks that he had heard earlier turned into three loud bangs upon his door. Like the barks of Cerberus, Jack thought to himself at that time.

"Hey! I'm the daughter of the landlord. Open up, i***t!", a sharp voice screamed at Jack.

Jack immediately went back to his door and quickly opened it. Taking out his wallet, he brought out a few bills, and placed them carefully on the hand of the girl. He was going to ask her for her name so that he could address her properly, but decided against it as he saw that she was carefully counting the money with a frown on her face. His gaze was now fixated on her, and he was admiring the fierce type of beauty that she has, if ever such thing as "fierce-beauty" existed. He stared at her for too long, and the girl caught his eyes.

"What're you staring at, hmm?", she had asked him. He was really going to ask her for her name, but without waiting for an answer, the girl quickly bolted out the door. That was the first time Jack saw her.

Jack finished reminiscing about his early days. He smiled as he thought of how they ignored each other-him and the girl whose name he did not know-after that. However, one glance at the empty page of his notebook and he remembered his feelings towards Miss Kate Summers. And so, he began to write. He did not think as he wrote, his hand simply flowed along the pages of his notebook, like a boat travelling the black-ink rivers of his pen.

I do not know what this emotion is. A memory of another girl from sometime else just randomly came to me, but I guess that is just me trying to forget. Is it because I feel as if the Miss that I like right now is too far away from me, even if I was able to become closer to her? In fact, she was even able to share painful things about her personal life to me. It's as if she trusts me to keep her secrets, and of course I will keep her secrets.

Is it because she is a teacher, and I am just a student? Is there something wrong with that? She has her own life, her own friends, her own things that I know she could not talk about with me. I know, and of course I respect that. But even so, is there a chance that I would be on the same level as her? I want to prove myself. I want to be able to stand on the same platform as her. Is it wrong to wish for that?

Jack finished writing, and he slumped on his bed. He was about to close his eyes and forget about dinner again, but he was interrupted by the sound of knocking on his door. He wondered who it could be this late at night. Is that girl going to be here to ask for rent this late at night?, Jack wondered silently to himself. He got up and opened the door.

It was not the landlord's daughter, it was Miss Kate Summers.