100 Ways To Love Her

The Game

“Here we are”, the car stops at the front of a medium-sized colonial house. Andie gazes at the place as there are quite a few carvings at the little pillars outside, “It’s just a few minutes drive from your school”, the woman told her, Andie was still silent walking slowly towards inside the house, while her eyes wander around the place, “Do you like the place?”, the woman added, this time she looks at her, “Yes very much, it’s beautiful”, her eyes sparkled, but her expression changed within a second later, “What is your name, by the way? I will be living with you, without knowing it”, she giggles, the woman smirks, “I am Eloise...Eloise Johnson”, 

“That’s a pretty name”, Andie said,

Eloise laughs a little, “Really? I thought it was quite weird, but anyway thank you”, she smiles at her, 

A moment of silence comes between them. It is breezy outside as the winds make some of their hair swing into their face, “Come on, let me show you around the house”, she told her, 

“Let me get my bags first”, Andie said

She goes to the car trunk, and picks up her bags. Eloise opened the door for her, so Andie manages to go straight inside without any help. “Wow it’s much bigger inside!”, the place left Andie open her mouth a little. It was her first time seeing a grandeur house in front of her.

“Yeah, it’s pretty nice”, Eloise quite nods her head, “Let me show you your room”, she goes upstairs and Andie follows her on the way. 

The room Eloise showed her was big but very plain, compared to the intricate design downstairs and outside the house, the painting was beige and has no designs on the wall, the only thing inside is a cabinet, a mini table with a lamp on the top, a curtain, and a huge bed. For Andie it was a nice looking room and way better than her room when she was still living with her aunt, she becomes speechless as soon as she saw the room, she enters slowly inside, 

“Is this ok with you, there are other rooms, if you like?” Eloise asked, 

“This is perfect, thank you very much”, she was captivated,

“Ok I will leave you, for now, if you need anything I will be in the kitchen”, 

“Ok”

The moment Eloise went down she begins to unzip the bags, and puts her clothes on the cabinet.

It was already eight in the evening, Andie and Eloise just finished eating dinner. To pay her kindness to Eloise, she volunteers to help around the house, so she washes the dishes before going back to her room. She opens her school bag and gets some notebooks, afterwards she sat on her bed and starts writing, suddenly she heard her phone chirped. When she opened it, she saw Mya sent her a picture of Bethany’s post with her and Josh. Andie doesn’t know what to feel, anger is rising up on her chest as well as her heart feels as if being pricked by a hundred needles, she couldn’t help but cry. 

Andie gets up and opens the window in the room, there you can see the view of city lights glittering at night, the breeze is quite cold making it a little chilly, she cries and sniffs non-stop. Different thoughts are entering her mind, especially the answer to why Josh is doing it to her, she felt betrayed for befriending Bethany. Andie looks up to the sky and saw the big yellowish moon, its light is a little bright, shining in the dark sky, Andie gazed at it, and smirked, “It’s very beautiful”, the moon served as a distraction on her for a minute, but then she remembered again, what just happened.

She goes downstairs to grab some milk and comfort herself, but Eloise was on the couch watching television. You need to go to the living room before you can enter the kitchen so she needs to pass through her. She wipes her tears first and starts walking slowly and quietly, 

“Hi”, she stopped by in front of Eloise for a second and rushes to the kitchen,

 “Wait!”, Eloise suddenly told her, Andie stopped but she didn’t turn around,

“Are you ok?”, she asked her,

 “Yeah I am”, she uttered, 

Eloise sighs, “I have seen your eyes”, Andie slowly turns her face to her and tears start to flow on her cheeks, when Eloise saw her, she immediately comes near and wraps her arms around her, “It’s ok”, she caresses her hair, 

“Am I a bad person? Why does it seem that everyone dislikes me”, she cried, Eloise wipes Andie’s tears “What happened dear?”, she asked, 

“My..best friend...he doesn’t want talk to me..and he is befriending the one who always bullies me”, she sobbed, 

“Why did he do that?”, 

Andie shakes her head, “I have no idea,",

“Maybe you can talk to him” Eloise held her cheek, and Andie nodded, once more she embraces her.

At that night also, Josh was on his bed smiling as he remembers Bethany and him at the restaurant earlier, he didn’t realize Bethany was not that bad, but then thoughts about Andie entered his mind, causing his expression to change instantly, to emotionless, “Andie forgive me for my actions, but I am doing this for you to show Fred you are the friend I needed, still, Bethany and he are also my good friends I also want to be with them”, he told himself into his mind. Josh then sighs, “I want to be friends with all of them”, he strokes both of his hands on his face from his chin, up to the forehead. He then keeps his thoughts away and makes himself comfortable in bed, and after a few minutes, he fell asleep.

“Josh wake up!”, his mother Daniella was shaking his arm, 

“What!”, he immediately gets up, 

“Uggh, mom don't do that again!”, he uttered, 

“Well, you will be late if you don’t wake up, today is your game, you lazy head!”, Daniella throws his pillow at him. Josh immediately stands up and gets his towel to take a shower. After preparing for the day, he goes outside and was about to grab his bike, 

“Hey!”, Kam shouted at him, 

“I am driving you to school, I don’t want you to get tired, it’s your game today”, he told him, and afterwards he goes to the garage, Josh rushed to get inside, “Thanks Dad”, he said, 

“It’s fine, let’s go now”, his father and he puts their seatbelts on, before Kam starts driving the car.

As they reach the school, he straight away went to the basketball court, bypassing the lockers where Andie was there waiting for him, “Josh!”, she shouted and runs toward him, but Josh didn’t hear her so she proceeds on walking vastly, that’s why Andie didn’t manage to catch him up, she was panting a little as she stops, and out of nowhere someone touches her shoulder, she suddenly jolts and looks at it, 

“Hey”, Mya grins from ear to ear, 

“you took so long, I even thought, you are going to be absent”, she told her, 

“Nah, I woke up late”, she uttered.

 Mya’s eyes narrowed as she looks at Andie’s pale and expressionless face, “Why do you look sad?”, she asked, Andie touches her cheeks, “huh?”, 

“Don’t tell me it is about Josh!”, she told her, 

Andie didn’t utter a single word, instead she bends her head down a little, 

“Andie! Do you still remember the picture I sent you yesterday?”, she asked,

“I know, but Josh won’t act that way without a reason, and that’s what I need to find out”, Andie said, “Fine, you can do that later but first let’s go to class now” Mya drags her arm gently towards the classroom. 

On their way to their class, someone abruptly walks towards them, “Here comes trouble”, Mya whispered to her, “Hi, Andie”, Bethany smiles at her, “Can we talk for a second?”, she asked, Andie looks at Mya shaking her head slowly, then back to Bethany. She clears her throat, “Just a second”, she told her, “I want to say sorry for everything that I did to you”, Bethany gets nearer to her and holds her hand, “Since I have been sent to the Principal's office, I’ve learned my lesson, what I did to you is wrong”, she told her, Andie sighs deeply and nods, “Don’t repeat them again”, she said, “I promise I won’t, thank you very much”, she suddenly hugs her, Andie froze until Bethany let her go. 

The bell rings now, “Let’s go to class”, Bethany told them, but Andie and Mya were still standing there watching her go to the room, “I don’t believe her”, Mya spoke silently, “I know she is up to something, but for now let’ go to our class”, Andie told her.

Luckily the venue of the basketball competition is at their school. The school’s team is not yet playing as other schools proceeded first. The first day and the second day of the game will be elimination rounds and whoever remains, will fight for the championship on the third day. Josh, Fred, and their other teammates are watching, some of them are even laughing including Mike, “They are so dumb!”, he then laughs loudly pointing at a player in the court, “Don’t underestimate them”, Josh told him while observing the players, “Relax dude, see, whoever wins this round I am sure we can eliminate them easily”, he chuckles, Josh didn’t reply, he just looks at him and gets up to go to the cafeteria.

As hours passed by, today’s round is coming to an end, only two schools remained and will continue playing tomorrow. This time, it is the school’s team competing, quarter after quarter, the enemy’s team finds it hard to score against them, all the time their coach is always smiling and energetic. Josh managed to shoot the ball into the ring a lot of times, most of them scored three points. It was already the fourth quarter, a few minutes from now, they can claim a sweet victory, Josh was now holding the ball, as he dribbles it, he finds it hard to pass the ball, as the player blocking him is so tall and have long arms, so he decided to raise his arms. He was about to shoot the ball and jump when the player suddenly pushed him, making Josh fall to the ground. The referee whistles and some of Josh’s teammate helped him get up including Fred who is pushing his shoulders gently to help him get up, Josh groans and hold his head, “Are you ok?” Fred asked him 

“My head!”, Josh shouted, subsequently they sat them down.

 The coach approached him, “I already called the medic, they will be here any sec”,

After a couple of minutes, he felt the ice was put on his head while he lies and uses his bag as a pillow,. The pain lessens as his head felt the cold, he can feel the relief traveling from his head down to his body, “Thank you very much”, he steps his body back a little after knowing who is the person beside him, “Andie?”, 

“How do you feel?, she asked, “

In agony”, he giggles, “Why are you here?”, he told her, 

“I am watching your game since it started, when I saw you fell down and being carried, I immediately went to the cafeteria and get an ice pack”, she uttered, Josh smiles and leans his head to her shoulder, 

“You have always been there for me, but I treated you coldly the past week, I am sorry”, Josh said, 

“It’s fine, by the way when I was about to go the bathroom I saw Mike talking to the man who pushed you, they fell silent when they saw me”, she told him, Josh clenches his fist and his lips tightened, “They will pay someday”, he uttered.