Manifestation

"Can I hold your hand?" I hear the soothing voice of a male. "Y-yeah," I replied as I interlock my fingers into his. "I wish we could be together like this every day, Margaret. If only you know that I liked you since I first saw you." He runs his fingers on my hair tucking it behind my left ear. "How did you know my name?" I asked. "Who are you?" "You may not know me yet, but you will... soon." The man replied as he slowly moves closer to me as he looks at my lips. "Have you ever kissed a guy before?" He whispered. "No." I gulped. "Can I be your first?" He smiled. I stare at his soft lips as he is getting closer... and closer... "Wake up sleepy head, it's already 7'oclock." A familiar annoying voice rings in my ears as I try to squint my eyes from the sunshine beaming through my window. Shit. Not now. Please. I turn to my side and reach out for a pillow. "What time is it?" My voice cracked a bit. "You only have thirty minutes to prepare." My sister exclaimed. "Come on Marg, wake up. I don't wanna be late!". Her loud voice continued to echo in my room. "Yeah, I'm up." My head and back hurt a bit. It must be from having a lucid dream. My name is Margaret Rogers. Everyone who knows me well calls me Marg. I'm 18. A normal teenager with a normal life. Even though it's normal doesn't mean it's perfect. I have my own stuff—my own room, video games, laptop, and a desktop for research at school. I know girls my age should be in house parties, putting on makeup, and just out there celebrating her youth but here I am, choosing to stay at home with my Xbox controller. Yes, I do play video games even I'm a grown-up now and I don't think there's nothing wrong with it. There are actually a lot of girls like me out there, I cannot be the only one. I only have a few friends and acquaintances. Most of them are online friends and some of them are neighbors and my current classmates. It's not easy to have friends because we moved here to this town when I turned 12. It's not that I'm a loner, but I'd rather spend my free time being productive at home, do my homework, and graduate to become a Game Developer someday which is every gamer's ultimate dream. I still live with my family and it sucks because I had to hear my sister's annoying voice every day. We're close, but I hate that she sometimes invades my room and borrow my stuff without asking for my permission. There was a time when she took my shirt and wears it. I only noticed it when I secretly scout her room during summer break. Of course, I got mad at her for wearing my shirt, but what I hate the most was she really dug my stuff out of my closet. I wasn't hiding anything but I wanted my things to be in their respective order which was my pet peeve since I was a kid. I actually want my stuff to be neat and orderly. Although we both agreed to set certain rules like knocking on the door first, asking for permission when borrowing things, texting where she will go and what time she will go home, and the list goes on. When mom and dad knew she breaks any rules, she would cry like a baby and they will forgive her just like that. I find it quite unfair but I also think I'm growing up already and it's time to be matured. I don't have time to fight with my sister with small things that don't make sense. I have the best parents though, my mom is an accountant and my dad is a lawyer. The downside is that they're always busy at work. Yeah, some kids would hate that since they want to be with their family and all that drama, but I actually like my privacy. Since I'm the eldest, my parents entrusted me to stay in this house to take care of my younger sister, Alex, to be her baby sitter since she's only 15. It makes me very lucky because I don't have to move out and search for my own apartment. Our house, which has five bedrooms, two offices, three bathrooms, a seemingly huge front porch is quite big for a family of four. Sometimes I get a little lonely when my sister goes out shopping or hanging out with her friends. I wish my parents would at least let us get a puppy or even a cat (I don't really have a bias when it comes to animals.) Last night, I have dreamt about a man again that he was trying to kiss me. This was not the first time that I dreamt about this guy and the place we were on—the beach. This could be the best morning but my stupid sister woke me up. I'm not sure who it really was because his face was blurred out, but I wish it was really him in real life. We were walking on the beach with our fingers interlocked while he stares his bright eyes into mine. I couldn't remember what he was saying because I was busy looking at his pink soft lips. How I wish it was true. It makes me wonder who could this man be? Do I really know him in real life? Maybe I have seen him at the train station? I really have no idea but he looks familiar to me and the best part was he was always trying to kiss me but the worst part is I always wake up right before this happens. The reason why this is much more of a fantasy to me because I have never been kissed in real life before. I've never been in a relationship before, never been kissed, and never have been dated, anyone before. No one really asked me out. It doesn't surprise me since I'm always at home, locked inside my room, playing Minecraft. I guess everyone thinks I'm too weird but I actually am not. As thoughts rumble through my head, I brush my teeth, take a shower, and get dress. I do my morning routine as fast as I can and finally hop in the car. I'm very thankful that my dad bought me a car—I'm supposed to share it with Alex, but she will not be able to drive since she's still a minor which I'm really glad she is. It's a rainy Wednesday morning and I hate that I have to go to school in this bad weather. I'd rather stay at home and do whatever. "The weather sucks. I wanna go home already." Alex wipes the fog that formed on the car window. "It's alright, it's Wednesday already. Two more days 'til the weekend." I replied, keeping an eye on the road. "I hope it's Saturday already." She whined. "Why? What will you do on Saturday?" I raised an eyebrow. "Nothing. I'm just looking forward to laying on my bed all day." She pouted. I laughed. "Yeah, it will come. Don't worry." I turn the wheel as slow as I could. I can barely see the road from all the fog and the heavy rain pouring down. This could be dangerous for people who drive too fast. "Oh no, we're gonna be late!" Alex looks at her red watch. "Not on my watch." I firmly answered. We finally arrive at school. The school bell rings as I park our car in the parking lot. "Just in time." I look at my sister with a smirk on our faces. "Cool. See you after class." My sister opens the car door and leaves immediately. The whole campus looks a bit abandoned. Most of the students refused to go to school today due to the bad weather. I immediately head straight to the classroom, open the doorknob and thank God our professor still wasn't there. "Good morning Marg." A male voice whispered. "So, how did you sleep?" He pushed his eyewear up his nose. "I slept okay, just had a crazy dream." I giggled. "Want to talk about it?" He looks concerned. This guy is Thomas Ward, my best friend for as long as I can remember. He is in the same age as me, has bright green eyes, brunette hair, skin as white as a paper, 6 foot 1, and loves to wear a dark-colored hoodie. I swear that he almost has all the dark colors since I saw his closet once. I advised him to change his outfit once in a while, to choose bright colors, but he said he doesn't like to wear them. He's very quiet and reserved that he has the capability to not speak at all except when he's with me. I always try my best to make him express himself but I think it will take much time before he opens up to people our age. It was actually a funny story about how we became close friends. I met him at a local comic book store in our town when I was 12 years old. I didn't know much about this stuff, I was forced to get there since my dad was a fan of superheroes—well, he still is until now and he has a collection of every series and action figures in his office room. Out of curiosity, I picked one book from the tallest shelf and suddenly, a boy approached me. "Are you going to get that one?" A boy asked, pointing a finger on the book that I was holding. "No. I was just looking at it." I replied. "I collect superhero books." He said. "That's the only edition that I didn't have. " "You can have it then. I'm really not a fan" I smiled and handed him the book. "I'm Thomas." He smiled. I'm surprised that he suddenly introduced his name. But as a kid, I didn't think this was odd. "I don't see you around here. Are you new?" He asked. "Yeah, my parents recently have a job offer and we are forced to move," I replied. "I see. What's your name?" He added. "I'm Margaret. Nice to meet you." I smiled back. It was an awkward way to meet but since then, we hang out almost every day after school. He introduced me to the world of video games and I liked it for some weird reasons. I guess it's not really that weird nowadays after all with all the action, storyline, and the cool graphics. I just realized that he hasn't changed until now, he still wears a pair of thick eyeglasses, he's still pretty much thin for his height, a pale skin that makes him look like a vampire, and a bashful but quirky smile which will make you smile back. Thomas is a real friend to me, to be honest. In fact, we're more like brothers now since we knew each other very well. I sometimes feel like I'm starting to be an introvert like him. There's something strange about his gestures and his smile whenever we talk or hang out. It's like he's hiding something from me but I can't really tell for sure because he's not acting like this in front of other people especially when he's talking to his parents. Maybe he's just so strange that sometimes I haven't known him for a long time now. I shrug off my thoughts. I suddenly woke up in the reality that I was being questioned. "Nah, it was too crazy to tell. How 'bout you Tommy? Did your new Mario Kart game let you sleep?" I giggled, knowing that I can see on his face that he did not sleep. He laughed, totally ignoring my question. "I hope we could play it on Saturday. It's really fun. Have any plans for the weekend?" He replied. "I'm pretty sure I'm free on Saturday. It depends on Alex if she wanted to do anything." I replied, thinking about what my sister said to me in the car this morning. "Alright, I can't wait." He smiled as he pushes back his eyeglass up his nose. I don't really pay much attention to our teacher throughout the class period when he's discussing the lesson because I can't forget the dream I had last night. A part of me is telling that I should forget about the dream, but it felt so real—I felt the wind as it passed through my skin, the sound of the waves crashing down the shore, and especially the touch of the man I was with. I also can't forget his words, you may not know me yet, but you will soon. Now I'm curious who could this guy be? The class period has passed and it's finally lunch break. As I walk towards the cafeteria, my heart skipped a beat when I see the boy who has been my greatest inspiration throughout my existence, Brandon Adams, who happens to be laughing with his friends. I secretly have a huge crush on him. I mean, how could you not like this 6-foot-2 tall guy who always flashes a big smile, stares at you with his ocean blue eyes, and runs his fingers through his soft curly hair? He's all over the TV commercials—shoes, bags, shampoo, and even car commercials. Everyone in the campus admires him a lot and that includes me. They say he is not boastful at all even that he gets all of the attention. He wears the coolest outfit out of all the boys in school. His style is laid back, but he looks very dignified as well. I never had the chance to talk to him because he's always surrounded by girls. I don't think he's in a relationship at all because he's either alone practicing his lines or hanging out with his friends who seem to be all guys. I wonder why is he single? Or he may really be in a relationship and he's just keeping it to himself? My thoughts got cut off by my best friend who is rushing to approach me. "Hey Marg, can Sarah sit with us?" He asked. Who's Sarah? I thought. I turn my head to see the girl he's been talking about. She's Sarah Walters, the girl who he's been crushing on for a while now who is one of the 'bitches' kind of girl since junior high school. We don't belong in the same class but I'm pretty sure she's around our age and from another block. A girl like her is adored by a lot of people since she's the blonde bombshell package—long blonde hair, sparkling eyes, wears cute outfits, has an angelic voice. She plainly has a pleasing kind of vibe but I see it as fake because there's no such thing as a perfect person. Why does she want to sit next to us? Does she know that we are considered the weird kind of people in this place? My mind can't help but wonder in those thoughts. "Um," I got tongue-tied. I don't know exactly what to say. "Hi Marg!" She sounds enthusiastic. "I just wanted to tell you that Thomas and I are in a relationship now." She giggled while wrapping her arm around my best friend's arm. "Since when?" I couldn't control the words that came out of my mouth. "Why? Are you jealous?" She smirked. I'm not jealous. In fact, I don't have the reason to be jealous because I see Tommy as a brother. I can't believe that a smart guy like him would choose to date a girl like Sarah. Plus, I'm his best friend, he could have at least mentioned me about her before. "Yes Tommy, she can sit with us. No worries." I smiled and totally ignored her question. They don't look great together. I'm grossed out when she even sit next to him. I feel like she's just using him for her own benefit. Tommy is the smartest guy I know. He is actually good at Math which makes him an easy target if there's homework to be done. It's really obvious why she wanted to be with him. I just know he could do better than being in this awkward situation. I just want him to be with the right person for him. Finally, the break time is over and it's time to attend the rest of the class. Tommy and I didn't say any word even though we sit next to each other. When the class is finally over, Tommy approaches me with his cheeks flushed. "So, Marg," He clears his throat. "What do you think of me and Sarah?" He seems very excited. I don't want to hurt his feelings. "You look great together. You could have consulted me first though." I replied while packing my things inside my backpack. "When did this happen?" I added. "I'm sorry, it happened so fast. She just approached me this Monday while I'm putting my things inside my locker. She even wanted to arrange a study group next week." He replied. When he says that Sarah is planning to arrange a study group just between the two of them, I immediately figure out what she wants. I bet she will make him do her homework and other projects. I don't see Tommy as a weak person, but I think he's stupid enough to fell for Sarah's trap. "That's nice. I hope it goes well for you two. I'm glad you finally found the one." I know deep inside that I lied. "I gotta go now, Alex is waiting for me." I finally say, totally closing the conversation. "Oh, um, okay. I'll see you tomorrow then." He smiled and waved goodbye. "See you tomorrow." I grab my backpack and heads towards the classroom door. I look for my car key inside my bag and I see my sister who is already waiting in the parking lot with an angry look painted on her face and her arms crossed. We get in the car and literally throw our stuff on the back seat. "So, how's your day?" Alex says looking at me. "You will not believe how tiring my day was." I wrap the seatbelt across my body and start the car. "What happened? Tell me about everything." She turns her head towards me, looking very interested.