100 Ways To Love Her

Unexpected

It was mid-seven in the morning when the students were grouping themselves with their friends while they walk down the school hallway, making the place filled with distinct chatter and mumbles. At the lockers on the campus, Mya and Andie was chatting about schoolwork, suddenly they stopped talking as soon as they saw, Josh going towards them with Bethany.

“I don’t like this”, Mya whispers to her, 

“It’s fine, Josh is there”, she glances at her, 

“Hey Andie”, Josh uttered, “

Andie”, Bethany grins from ear to ear, “I just like to invite you two to sit with us later at the cafeteria”, she told her, 

"Thank you but we are fine”, Andie smiles back, 

Josh abruptly grabs her wrist and dragged him gently few inches away from Bethany and Mya, “She has changed now, Bethany just wants to be friends with you, remove your grudge against her” he murmured, 

“I am not comfortable with her around”,

 “Please do it for me, I just want my friends to be close with each other, besides she is a popular girl, don’t you want to be popular too?”, he asked, 

“What? No!”, she uttered, 

“I promise you nothing will go wrong”, he added, all of a sudden the bell rings, 

“I will think about it”, subsequently Andie walks right away to their first class.

Throughout the class, the thoughts of what Josh said to her earlier keeps entering her mind.

“Ok next slide”, the teacher uttered and so she looks at the board.

 Andie then writes quickly as she can, but still, she didn’t manage to copy all of the information from the slide, “Focus Andie”, she told herself afterwards, she listened to what the teacher is saying.

At lunchtime, Andie was at the lockers, standing there looking at the students passing by, suddenly someone touches her arm “Hey!” the person said. 

Andie steps back a little, and glances at Mya, 

“You startled me!”, she uttered, 

Mya chuckles, “Because you look so serious”, she said. 

Andie twists her lips a little, and sighs deeply, “I don’t want to go into the cafeteria”, 

“It’s fine, let’s just eat there”, Mya points at the bench nearby with tall indoor plants at the side,

“Ok, let’s go then”, Andie and Mya sits there apart from each other as they place their food between them and chattered non-stop until the lunch break is over.

While waiting at the waiting shed at the in front of the campus, Andie and Mya were the only one’s left there sitting, “I wish I maintained my high grades this quarter, I want to be in the recognition ”, Mya moaned as she was holding a piece of paper in her hand, 

“Go on open it!”, Andie told her. 

Mya slowly unfolds the paper, with only one eye open, her heart was beating too fast she can almost hear it. She fell silent as she reads her grades one by one,

 “I almost got all A plus!”, she yelled and drags Andie towards her and embraces her, 

“Congratulations!”, Andie also wraps her arms around her, 

“You too, you definitely will be the top one in class”, Mya giggles, all of a sudden a car honks, 

“Mya!”, her mother waves at her, Mya stands and picks up her bag, wore it to her shoulders, 

“See you tomorrow!”, she told her and she walked towards their car and goes inside, Andie smiles and waves at her until the car drives away. 

Andie then also gets up wearing her bag, so she already hops on her bike. As she was about to pedal, someone calls her name, Andie turns around and saw Bethany, she steps down and approaches her, “What is it?”, she asked,

 “You really don’t like me don't you?”, Bethany smirks,

 “It’s not like that, I am just…”, 

“Save it, I don’t want to hear your explanation, and anyway I never liked you either”, she looked at Andie from her head down to her toes,

 “If it is about earlier, I am sorry, ok, next time I will join you”, Andie said, which makes Bethany laugh hardly, 

“Join us!”, she scoffed, “I would rather be dead than be seen with a nerdy like you!”, she shouted on her face, “I am only being nice to you because of Josh”, Bethany then gets closer and closer to her 

“He doesn’t like you too, and he prefers to be with someone like me, fun, popular and pretty”, she uttered afterward out of nowhere, Bethany pushes herself back into the ground, and groans loudly, Andie dazed at her bewilderedly, but then Josh suddenly shows up, running through them, 

“What happened?”, he helps Bethany by pulling her up gently, 

Josh turned his face to Andie, “What is wrong with you?”, he shouted,

 “She did it herself”, Andie points her finger to Bethany,

 “Are you crazy?”, Josh told her, 

“She's lying, I just want to make friends with her but she pushed me”, tears flow in Bethany’s cheeks and  starts sobbing, she then leans on Josh’s arm,

“You know I wouldn’t do such things, she didn’t even have a bruise!”, Andie shouted at him, 

“So you want her to have one?”, 

“No! What I meant is, if I really pushed her she would at least have a tiny wound”, she uttered, 

“Look at her she is still lying, instead of apologizing”, Bethany continues on sobbing, 

“You know what, I really don’t know what happened to you, you’re not the Andie I used to know the fun, kind and joyful girl, look at you nerdy, miserable, always alone,” Josh said, “I am the one who changed?”, Andie’s eyes begins to  become watery she feels as she was just stabbed by a knife at her back, 

“I am always helping you, being there for you, but have you ever been by my side when I need you?”, 

“Do I need help from you?” Josh told her,

 “Do you think you didn’t change too? You always try to please everyone, who doesn’t have any concern for you, you become self-centered”, she shouted on his face then stared at Bethany, “And you one day, you will pay for what you have done to me”, she uttered, 

“Don’t you dare hurt her!”, Josh’s lips were tightened, as a boiling emotion burning inside him, is raging up, “From now on stay away from us”, he helps Bethany walk while she was in his arms, and the both of them left. 

Andie was standing there, she felt her heart was pricked by huge needles from the words Josh told her, she can’t stop the tears continuously flowing on her cheeks, she felt that her world was shattered, Josh was the only one left to her, but he also left her. Andie can’t feel anything but the pain she was feeling inside, so everything around her seems a delusion. She drags her bike with her and ran to the middle of the street to go to the bike lane, she desperately wants to go home and release all grudges, but little did she know, the traffic light turns green within a second. A red porsche appeared moving towards Andie who shows up suddenly, the driver pressed the brake, but the car didn’t immediately stop, hitting Andie from the side. Andie bounced to the ground, all she can feel now is a thousand knives keep thrusting in her continuously, she can’t utter a single word, as her lips felt heavy, and all she can see is the sky become blurry and blurry as seconds pass by, finally she lost consciousness. The driver is shaking her on the arms, “Miss wake up!”, he said repeatedly, then A woman wearing formal white loose linen pants, a suit, and gold earrings, “It has no use, get her inside the car, and let’s bring her to the hospital”, the driver carried Andie and placed her in the backseat and make her lie there. The woman instead seats at the front beside the driver.

Andie was rushed immediately to the emergency room her face is covered with blood as well as huge reddish bruises and wounds. “You can just wait here ma’am”, one of the nurses told the woman, so the woman sat on the chairs outside the room, along with the driver, 

“I am really sorry ma’am, I should have looked first”, 

The woman was silent and leans her head on the wall with her eyes closed. Sweat is flowing on the driver’s forehead, as he doesn’t know what would happen to him, “Ma’am, please don’t fire me, I need this job”, his hands trembled as he kneels in front of the woman, 

“What are you doing get up?”, she whispered loudly, and the driver stands up, 

“What you should think of now is the girls family, they are the one who can sue us”, the woman uttered. The driver’s hands shake, “I don’t want to be in prison ma’am please”, he held her hand. 

The woman struggles her hand against the driver’s grip, “let me see what I can do”, she told him.

A few minutes from the incident, Eloise shows up outside the room, she walks towards the emergency room, but as she was about to push the door, it won’t open.

 “Are you, her mother?”, the woman stood up and asked her,

 Eloise looks at the woman, “uhh”, she clears her throat, “I am not, but for now I am her guardian”, she told her, 

“I know there are not enough words to express how sorry we are, but I am willing to pay for everything, so you will have nothing to worry about”, 

“Thank you, that would be a big help for us”, Eloise gave her a faint smile then sits on the chair, “You can now go, I will wait for her”, she added, 

“It’s fine, luckily I am free today, besides we are the one who got her in this accident”, the woman sits beside her

“Go back to the house but leave the car”, the woman said to her driver, “Yes ma’am”, he immediately walks away vastly.

“By the way, I am Sophie”, she said, 

“I am Eloise, nice to meet you”, she smirked.

The two of them fell silent for a minute, they both found it hard to create a topic they can talk about, and their minds are preoccupied with what just happened. Eloise suddenly stood up, “I will go to grab some coffee, I’ll be right back”, she said.

A couple of minutes had passed, Eloise returned with two cups of coffee in her hand, “Here”, she handed one of them to Sophie and sat beside her, 

“Thank you”, Sophie said, 

“Are you her aunt or something?”, she asked her then sips at the cup,

 “I am actually just a stranger to her, I am working at the childcare services, she is staying with me until someone adopts her”, 

 “Really? Poor girl”, Sophie uttered,

 “Yeah, I know, she is very kind and sweet, she really doesn’t deserve to undergo what she has been through”, Eloise told her. 

As time goes by they chattered about Andie’s life, when Eloise was telling Andie’s characteristic, Sophie’s eyes dazzled, and an idea pops up in her mind, “Is Andie still available for adoption?”, she asked, 

“Are you planning to adopt her?”,

“I just thought what if we take her home with us, is that ok?”, 

Eloise’s tongue was pulled upon hearing her, she doesn’t know what to say besides this woman is still a stranger who caused Andie harm, but she then realize it was only an accident and once Sophie was verified to be qualified she could take Andie with her, 

“Uhmm, yeah”, she nodded slowly,

 “My husband and I never had a child we will be happy to have her in our life, and we will take care of Andie”, she said, subsequently the doctors go out, 

“Who is the guardian of the girl?”, the doctor asked, 

“It’s me”, Eloise comes towards him, 

“What is her condition now doc?”, 

“She is fine now, the car’s impact on her is not that hard, so her injuries are not that serious, but we still going to conduct an tests on her to see if there are any damage,” the doctor said to her. 

“That’s great news doc, can we see her now”, Eloise asked, 

The doctor nodded, “Yes but she is still unconscious, just let us know if she wakes up” the doctor then leaves.

 “Let’s go!”, Eloise told Sophie and both of them went inside.

When Eloise saw Andie she walks slowly to her and sits beside her, she held Andie's hand afterward, “Andie can you hear me, I hope you wake up soon”, a tear fell into her cheek, “There is someone I want you to meet”, Sophie then goes near to her, “Andie, I am so sorry, I got you into this, but I promise to take care of you”, she uttered. Eloise smiles at her as she heard what she said, she looks back at Andie, “She might be your future mom, finally you will have a family again”, Eloise caresses her hand.