You are my Wild Rose

Thank God

"Someone’s front door is not the place for meditation." The taunt came from behind me, followed by snickering and inaudible laughter.

I am glaring at Michael, warning him not to play with my temper. But he is busy controlling his laughter with a fist over his mouth and his whole face blooming red.

Michael found my predicament funny. I would have the same reaction if I myself was not in the centre of this embarrassing moment.

Here, I was standing on the doorstep of my best friend with a hand on the doorbell. Silently counting the seconds to prepare me on how to break the news to her.

Before I could convince myself to punch Michael's funny face, for once in this lifetime. For interrupting my stolen moments of solace, a glass shattered behind the door.

And came the muffled shouts of a female teenager.

Cherry might be short and thin on the outside but she is no submissive person. At home or school.

Both me and Michael pressed our ears to the door. I am standing straight and he is bending down to my height while being equally confused but more excited.

"She isn’t so innocent as she", he whispered his thoughts out aloud. Teasing me with his outstruck tongue less than a few inches away from my face pressed to the hardwood.

Having someone over is not a crime for a girl. "Shut up, you don't even know her." Well, I like a good friend defending my best friend. I’m up to it anytime, anywhere.

"And keep your face away from me." When do these boys become like a slab of heavy stone? It is taking my whole energy to push him away, even an inch.

"I don’t know her?" With the ease of a lion playing with the rabbit, he pulled me to his torso, away from the door and in the centre of the hallway. "If you haven’t forgotten, you were the one who joined late in elementary school. We have shared lunches in kindergarten, Miss-know-it-all."

His arms were holding me, prisoner, to him. Like a predator, hungry for soft flesh. His eyes were feasting on my helplessness with a cheeky face down at me who had her chin pressed up to his chest.

"What do you think? Drop your plans of crying in your best friends' lap, eating ice cream from a bucket and being a bother to everyone." His voice dropped a few notches and turned all seductive like gooey chocolate. Is that how other girls feel about him? Is this the Side he shows everyone else? Instead of me. "Or, we can go somewhere nice and get ourselves a cosy-"

"Are you two coming inside?" The calm question from the door. Before I could turn around to acknowledge the question, I was pushed away like a curse. By two strong arms.

I barely kept myself from stumbling and falling, making a fool out of myself.

Zee was standing in front of us. "Geronimo" in bold letters on her Doctor Who black tee shirt reaching down to her mid-thighs. Nothing but bare legs after that. Not even socks. With the mess of a hair bun and glasses pulled up to the hairline.

She was busy studying. Even after the final exam today.

I was not even over my surprise at finding Zee here. But three more faces appeared behind her with dripping curiosity. And wide eyes.

"You guys were throwing a party." Cherry, the owner of the house. Zee, her future roommate. And these two idiots, Kevin and Mark. All are here, without me.

Why didn’t anyone tell me about this? Am I the only one excluded? From the exclusive club.

The tiny figure wearing blue with pink highlights came forward. Her tiptoe motion around Zee and the question asked.

"Ryn weren't, you supposed to be with Leon right now?" Cherry was smiling nervously, not once meeting my eyes.

Before I could answer and choose whether, to tell the truth, or not. A dramatic cough came from my companion from Fraternity House to here. I should have never given him a ride here.

All heads turned towards the sound to find him playing an innocent act of knowing nothing.

I should have just ditched him from my car.

Why did I even agree with him? Bad plan.

"Mark is near Cherry's place. Give me a lift and I’ll buy you dinner next time. I will leave giving you privacy to bawl your eyes out at Cherry’s shoulders."

He hadn’t even waited for me to think about his offer, instead just jumped shotgun.

Idiot, I am an i***t.

"I believe Ryn has something to confess to you all." In the voice of a breaking news headline reporter, he left me with no choice.

"You are failing today's paper too?" Kevin perked up from behind Zee. "Welcome to the club, bro."

Mark followed up immediately. "No way she’s too smart to fail her test. And anyways today it was language. No one fails in that except you."

He turned towards me now.

"I think she’s pregnant. Isn’t that what girls say when they say they have to confess something?"

"Dude, you playing the adult field? What happened to you?" Kevin is already distracted from the matter at hand.

"She was a trap. Michael knows about her fake drama last year." Michael and Mark high fived, over the head of Zee, between them. Mark on the inside and Michael now leaning on the entrance.

"Shut up, you guys. This is not important", Zee said. Her second sentence after opening the door and spilling out all this here.

"Yeah, this isn’t." Kevin agreed with her nodding his head. "Seriously, what’s important is who is the father, Ryn?"

All three of those idiots shouted. And started laughing with hands on their bellies.

"What? No." Zee backhanded Kevin and put stop to their stupid banter.

Meanwhile, Cherry was quietly looking at me.

"Ryn, did you and Leon break up?" Her quiet question ended even the inaudible funny gestures. The source was Kevin and Mark's play towards Michael, an eager participant.

How does she always say the correct thing? There was no use of lying and I didn’t even want it to. Looking at all their expressions which have now transformed into genuine concern. Even Michaels face.

From the moment Leon packed his bags and left the room straight into a hired cab which was already waiting for him.

Way before I even reached him.

When I was parking in the boys' dormitory parking lot. A driver was wearing a white uniform with the logo of cab service on his breast pocket leaning on the SUV bonnet. Looking at his wristwatch with the phone pressed to his ear. Burning cigarette dangling from the other hand dropping ashes near his black shoes.

"With the city traffic, it will take three hours at most to reach the airport." He reported in a gruff voice.

"Yes, Sir, I am waiting." He ended the call.

That’s all I heard from him while getting out of my ride. I walked past him as he must have gone back to smoking.

He was always leaving. There is no way I could have convinced him because he didn’t need convincing. He had made his decision.

It was already over. The moment I opened the door to let myself inside. He welcomed me with no hugs and words.

The realisation should make me feel sad and eager to cry my heart out.

It doesn’t.

I come back to the moment as soft dainty fingers slip between mine and Zee coming closer to both of us in the hallway.

"He dumped me because of his training overseas," I say out loud in a crisp, clear voice. I release the truth that was sitting painfully in my throat.

Now it's out in the open.

I expect them to hug me, say words of comfort and curse him for his future and all the girls he will ever meet. But they do not.

None of that, not even a single one of them, not even girls, standing closer to me.

"Shukran Allah" - "Thank God."

Zee and Michael respond together.

That was the first time they ever said anything at the same time and something mutual they agreed upon.

They looked at each other in surprise.

"Finally, man!" Kevin and Mark said in unison to me while grinning like monkeys.

"This was too late". Cherry said while tightly wrapping me in a hug.

Shocked doesn’t even cover what I’m feeling right now.