The Story You Can Relate To

2

My school starts so early that I can barely have enough time to take a shower. My driver, Anwar, arrived 15 minutes earlier to heat up the car first and I am definitely late to school because of my leg. It’s hard to walk, especially to shower. I need to be very slow and I don’t even realize that I’m late. s**t. A good day to be a disabled person.

“Please drive faster. I’m so late for my first day and I have to fight for a seat,” I say as I get into the car cautiously because it’s painful to be fast. I text Felice to save my seat and I ask Katy to wait for me at the front gate to help me walk safely. I’m such a nuisance. Still, I seriously can’t miss this first day as my deep-seated FOMO is too much to deal with.

I arrive and I can see Katy waving to me. I walk slowly towards her as I say, “How is it? Do we get the last row seats?”

“Yes! You and Fel sit in the back and I sit in front of you, so we’d still be together even after the rotation each week. s**t I feel sorry for you. It looks so painful, u okay?” Katy asks.

“I’m fine but yes, it does hurt so much. Sorry for being late. Anyways, have you seen our new classmates? Any cool kids?” I ask with a smirky face.

“Uhm you have to see them yourself. I think Felice even already has a crush on one of the boys! But not the girls though, they seek attention too much,” Katy laughs.

“NO WAY. I can’t wait to see our babes.”

We get into our class and I can see many— when I say many, it means everyone; was looking at me weirdly as I walk with a limp. It definitely sucks to look lame on the first day of class.

“You okay? What happened?’ some of my classmates ask.

Shit. I don’t even think about an answer to this. I can’t simply tell them ‘oh my sister and I got into a fight and I kicked my bathroom door and it’s broken into pieces and here I am.’ I definitely need to make something up. Something that does not sound like a psycho.

“Oh, dishes fell, and I step onto the broken glasses. No big deal, I’m fine,” I answer in a friendly manner, which I’m not sure if it’s believable or not. I walk to my seat and I’m so glad to meet my group. I haven’t met them for weeks since our summer holiday. We have a group hug and I’m so excited to listen to their gossips. Literally it’s the best thing of going to school.

“Okay, so do not look at him now. The new guy on the third row, he’s so my type,” Felice says quietly.

I look at the guy. He’s hot but I’m not sure if he’s my type. Probably because Felice said it first and I don’t want to look thirsty on someone else’s crush. But, I’m pretty sure Felice can get his attention easily. She’s the prettiest among us.

“Uhm, yeah he’s pretty cool. Who are those girls around him? Are you sure he’s not taken?” I ask.

“We don’t know yet but there’s no way the girls are his type. He’s too hot for them,” Mary says proudly. I’ve been friends with them for years. I’m pretty sure this is how we talk to each other, we’re just open and honest, even when we know it is mean. Just like the Mean Girls movie, we’re not as mean as The Plastics, we’re just like all the other girl-friend groups, judgy yet supportive.

“So, George is having a birthday party at his place this weekend. Is everyone coming?” Felice asks while avoiding eye contact with me. George is basically Felice’s “on-and-off” boyfriend, who is my classmate as well. I know, the crush Felice mentioned earlier— she’s just flirty. She’s a playgirl, she can easily dump George for other guys. They have been dating for the last 2 years since junior high school— like I said, on and off. Honestly, I had a crush on him 3 years ago and he had no idea, but he was interested in Felice. Who wouldn’t? She’s prettier, richer, and just better in every aspect— except her personality probably. I’m pretty sure she knew that I liked George, but she flirted with him anyways, and she won the battle. It happened years ago, so I don’t really mind it anymore. She never even apologized. So, things get pretty awkward every time Fel mentions her boyfriend’s name to my face. I don’t know if she intentionally pisses me off or she just really doesn’t care about the incident any longer. After all, I’m sure they won’t last long. Their relationship is way too toxic to be maintained. Felice knows that she has full control on him because he’s so blinded by love. She hurts him most of the time, and George will still stay with her for love. That is why they have broken up and gotten back together for God knows how many times. It’s crazy, but I’m impressed with his sincerity and loyalty. That’s one of the reasons I liked him back then.

“With my condition, I don’t think I’ll be able to make it. I can’t even wear shoes or heels,” I hedge.

“No! You should come with us. We’ll help you walk. Please, it wouldn’t be fun if the whole group is not there,” Katy demands.

“Yeah, you can just sit most of the times and people won’t even pay attention to your leg. You’re gonna be fine with us,” Mary agrees.

I take a deep breath. “Okay, promise me you guys will stay by my side. It’s embarrassing to be alone this lame.”

In unison they say, “We promise!”

The subjects are so boring in class that the topics are mostly about teacher-student introduction. It’s finally recess time and we go to the canteen to have our favorite chicken satay. George and his boys join us too. Yes, I call them boys instead of friends, maybe because George is the leader of the group and they mostly follow him anywhere he goes— besides going on a date with Fel.

“So, I talked to the new kids this morning. The girls are pretty lame, but the boys are decent. Anyways, I invited all of them to George’s party this weekend,” Kevin says. Kevin is George’s best friend since junior high school.

I frown. I can see the preview of the party this weekend and I’m not liking what I see. It sucks to look lame to the new kids with this leg.

“Yeah sure. The new kid is pretty cool too. What’s his name again?” George asks.

“Dennis. I bet he’s coming this weekend. I heard that he’s famous at his old school and I don’t think he’ll miss a dope party,” one of the boys scoffs. I’m pretty sure Dennis is the guy Fel told us about this morning. I look at Felice and she’s chewing her satay with a grin. I can’t imagine how she’s going to be all over the new kid. I feel bad for George.

George went to the toilet and Katy asks, “Are we not going to plan a surprise for George?”

“I’ve ordered his favorite cake. We can come earlier and throw the surprise first before the others come to the party,” Fel says.

Everyone nods. I don’t know why but I feel so anxious and nervous every time a party is coming up. Katy puts her arm around Mary and I, “Wanna go shopping later?”

“I can’t, I have plans with my sister to the grocery store,” I politely refuse. I’m still debating though because I don’t think I have any cool outfit for the party. In the meantime, I text Jane:

Hi, my friends want me to join them shopping after school. Are we still going to the grocery store later?

Yes! You promised me. Don’t go with them, I’ll pick you up after school. ?

Okay, I can’t dodge now. She wins.

We go back to class after recess is over. I can see Dennis talking to his new friends and trying to socialize. The more I look at him, the more I realize how cute he actually is. He suddenly looks at me and our eyes meet unexpectedly. s**t I’m caught staring at him red handed. I look away quickly. It’s so awkward I can’t even look at his direction anymore, at all. Am I being dramatic? Maybe he didn’t even notice me. . . I slowly turn my head to his direction, and he’s smiling at me. Literally. He is looking at me— with a smile on his face. I have no choice but to smile back. Now I feel all the butterflies in my stomach. He’s drop-dead gorgeous I can’t even handle it. No, I need to stop now. I can’t fall for a guy I don’t know yet. Looks don’t matter if his personality is trash. At least that’s what my mom taught me.

Jane picks me up from school and we are on our way to our usual grocery store near home.

“Ok, I think it’s time to apologize. I’m sorry for what happened to your feet. But you shoud’ve known better that violence is not the solution to our problems,” Jane advices. I can feel her feeling bad for ruining my first day.

“It’s okay, it doesn’t hurt as much with the antibiotics. Yeah yeah I know, sorry. Anyways, there’s an attractive new boy at my class. We haven’t gotten the chance to talk yet, but I can’t stop staring at him because he’s so freaking cute!,” I pant. We’re sisters, we fight and make up easily, and I always tell her about my days. That way, I can be sure to not make dumb decisions because she’s older than me and she can give me life advices.

“Hmm? Don’t put your hopes up yet. If he’s interested, he will try to talk to you first Lis,” Jane says.

“Maybe he’s shy? I don’t know but who would try to talk to a girl with lots of friends surrounding her most of the time? He would be embarrassed! I should really dress up for the party this weekend. Maybe he’ll realize how pretty I actually am, and he would be interested to get to know me more,” I snicker.

“Wait, daddy’s still mad at you though. How are you so convinced that he’ll let you attend the party?”

Maybe she’s right. I should steal his heart first before thinking about anything else.

“Let’s bake some brownies for daddy later. I hope he’ll eventually give in.”

Jane gives me a look, “I think it’ll be better if we buy him pizza. Or you might need to cut down on sugar in your brownies.”

I messed up on the brownies a few weeks ago during my summer holiday. It’s actually not that bad though, I just put in a little too much sugar. And honestly, it wasn’t my fault. I literally followed the recipe on YouTube. Maybe I should’ve followed Google instead.

I laugh, “Okay, pizza it is!"