Love, after everything

Chapter 3. Maybe

Chapter 3

Christian smiled at her and said, “You’re Elora, right?”

She looked at him with a surprised expression because she was not expecting him to know her name.

“Yes, you’re right,” she replied, smiling.

“Well, I have seen you around in school.”

“Ohhhh.”

That was the only thing she could reply with.

Celine looked at her and knew she was at a loss for words, so she stepped into their conversation.

“She always talks about you.”

Elora almost screamed.

“Celine!!”

Celine burst out laughing, while Daniel, still unsure about what was going on, looked at all of them confused.

Christian smiled and said, “She has been talking about me?”

Elora’s face had already turned pink, so she used her hands to cover her face.

Christian could not help but laugh.

“I actually want to know what she has been saying about me, though.”

Elora removed her hands from her face and looked up slowly. She thought to herself that maybe coming over to visit him was not a bad idea after all.

They were all seated, and then he asked, “So, what has she been saying about me?”

Celine smiled mischievously and said, “Well, every time you walk past us at school, she happens to stop whatever she’s talking about and focus on you.”

Elora’s face turned pink again, and she wished she could disappear.

“Celine, stop!” she said while covering her face.

Everyone burst out laughing, including Daniel.

“I never knew I was getting noticed,” Christian said, teasing her.

“Don’t mind her, please. I wasn’t staring at you,” Elora quickly said to defend herself while slowly removing her hands from her face.

“Ohh, really?” Christian asked, looking directly at her.

“Yes.”

Celine laughed and said, “Elora, please. You know how you always look lost anytime he walks past us.”

“That’s not true!”

“Okay then, I believe you,” Christian said, smiling.

“You don’t look like you believe me, though,” Elora said, looking at him.

“Well, maybe and maybe not.”

Everyone laughed again, and even Elora could not help but smile.

Now, for the first time since she arrived, she felt more relaxed and much more comfortable around him.

After calming her nerves, they all talked about school and how they had asked Daniel to bring them over after noticing he was not in school that day.

Elora checked the time and realized it was beginning to get late, and they would have to get going. She told Celine they would have to leave, and Celine agreed.

“We have to get going now,” Elora said to Christian.

“Alright then. Thank you guys for coming. It really means a lot,” Christian replied.

“I’ll be leaving as well, but give me a minute. I need to collect something from Christian before we leave,” Daniel also said, standing up.

The two boys went upstairs and came back soon enough. Christian saw them off to the door, and they said their goodbyes.

After parting ways with Daniel on the way, the girls went their own way. Elora kept on blushing and smiling on the way home, while her friend just smiled.

When they got home, Elora called her dad to come and pick her up, and he came to pick her up soon after. He said hi to Celine and asked if they had fun, and they said yes.

The girls then hugged each other and said their goodbyes. They promised to talk on the phone later that night, and Elora left.

When she got home, she went straight to her room after greeting her mom and jumped on her bed with excitement. She buried her face in her pillow, giggling and smiling in disbelief as she recounted what had happened that day.

She still didn’t believe she had finally talked to her crush after such a long time, let alone gone to check up on him at home.

Her mom came to knock on her door and told her to come downstairs for dinner and freshen up before coming.

She went into the bathroom still smiling, took a shower, put on her pyjamas and soft cotton footwear, and went downstairs to join her parents for dinner.

“Mom, what are we having for dinner tonight?” she asked as she approached the dining table.

“I made your favourite dish, pasta and crispy chicken,” her mom replied while turning off the cooker.

Elora sat down on the chair, and her dad noticed she was in a good mood. He asked if something good had happened in school that day, and she told him nothing much had happened but that she had a good day.

Her mom dished out food for all of them, and they all ate. They ate in silence, and when they were done with their food, Elora cleared the plates after thanking her mom for the food and went straight to do the dishes.

She went upstairs after kissing her parents goodnight, entered her room, shut the door behind her, and went straight to her bed.

She proceeded to do her homework, and when she was done, she picked up her phone and called Celine. They reminisced about what happened and had a good laugh.

“So, do you feel better after seeing your Prince Charming today?” Celine asked, laughing at the other end.

“Yesssss, I feel so good. I still don’t believe I was up close to him today,” she replied, blushing.

“I saw how you could barely talk or concentrate when you saw him come downstairs. You were so nervous,” Celine said again.

“No, I wasn’t,” she replied, giggling.

“Did you see how he was smiling when you told him I have been talking about him?” she asked.

“Yes, I did. I actually think he might be interested in you too,” Celine replied.

Elora blushed so hard and tried to dismiss it. Then she said, “We can’t say, and I actually don’t want to get my hopes up for nothing.”

The girls talked more for a while and eventually said their goodnights.

Elora was beginning to feel thirsty, and she had to go downstairs to get some water. She took a glass, poured water into it, and drank it. Then she went back to her room, lay down on her bed, and replayed the day in her head once again.

She smiled softly as she remembered the wave of electricity that had gone through her body when their eyes met, how he teased her, and the sound of his laughter. Then she suddenly thought to herself:

Maybe Celine was actually right. Maybe Christian actually noticed her too.

She waved the thought aside, and with a little smile on her face, she eventually closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep with him still in her thoughts.