Her Memories

Chapter Four

Chapter Four

Kira's POV

"Kira, Ace wants to get your number. Can he?" Glen's voice interrupted the quiet moment as I was packing my books into my bag.

I froze for a second, unsure if I heard him right. "Ace?" I repeated, just to make sure I wasn't misunderstanding.

One of our classmates, who was sitting nearby, leaned forward, clearly curious. "Wait, is Ace asking for your number?" she asked, her tone laced with surprise.

Glen shot her a quick look, narrowing his eyes. "Oh, why? What's the problem?" she asked, raising an eyebrow as if challenging her.

The girl looked back at her, her expression a little defensive. "Isn’t Ace courting Beve?" she asked, her voice tinged with disbelief.

I blinked and turned to look at her. Beve? The name rang a bell, but I couldn't wrap my head around it. Why would Ace be interested in Beve?

Glen immediately scoffed and waved her off. "Impossible. It's probably Beve who's the one after Ace," she said sarcastically, a smirk playing on his lips. "Ace isn’t the type to chase after someone like that."

I glanced around at the others in our group, feeling the buzz of gossip that had started to form around the idea. Beve was one of the more popular girls at school.

She was beautiful, well-off, and had a reputation for being a little too perfect. It wasn’t that our school was particularly wealthy, but there were certain students who stood out—students who had that certain kind of prestige, like Beve, that set them apart from the rest of us.

"That’s just the rumor," the classmate added, still eager to contribute her bit of gossip.

Glen rolled her eyes, clearly unimpressed. "Your sources are wrong. Beve and Ace? Please. I know Ace, and I know his type. I can tell you, Beve is definitely not it."

The classmate didn’t respond, but I could feel her hesitation as the topic fizzled out. Glen turned her attention back to me, a mischievous grin creeping onto her face. "So, what’s the deal? Are you going to give him your number or what?"

I sighed, exasperated by the sudden pressure. "Come on, Glen. Ace already has someone he's interested in," I said, rolling my eyes. "Why would he want mine?"

He didn’t back down, though. "Hey, he’s just asking for your number, not to get married. And who knows? Maybe he’s just trying to be friends," he said, his tone a bit more teasing now. "Plus, don’t act like you’re not interested. He’s not exactly going to chase after someone like Beve, you know."

"Whatever," I muttered, clearly over the whole conversation, but feeling a slight flush creeping up on my cheeks. Why was this such a big deal? Why did it feel so weird for me? It wasn’t like I had any reason to say no. It was just... Ace. And that felt odd for some reason I couldn’t put my finger on.

Glen leaned in, persistent as ever. "Come on, just give him your number. What’s the worst that could happen? You don’t have to make things complicated."

I gave him a pointed look. "You just like messing with me, don’t you?" I said, my tone half-joking, half-serious.

"Hey, I’m just looking out for you," she said, shrugging. "Ace is a nice guy. You might actually enjoy talking to him."

I sighed again, my thoughts swirling. Was it really that simple? Did it even matter? "Fine," I said finally, shaking my head. "But don’t say I didn’t warn you. This isn’t some grand love story or anything."

Glen chuckled, clearly amused by my reluctance. "Yeah, yeah. You’re just playing hard to get, right? Anyway, do what you want. I’m not the one getting caught up in all this drama."

As he walked away, still smiling to herself, I couldn’t help but feel a little bit... uncertain. Maybe I was just overthinking things. Maybe it wasn’t such a big deal. But somehow, the idea of giving Ace my number—of opening that door, even just a crack—felt like a step into something I wasn’t sure I was ready for.

And yet, maybe it was worth seeing where it went. After all, what was the harm in a little friendship, right? Or was it just going to make things even more complicated?

/////

I was lying in bed, working on my Social Science assignment. It was getting late, but I had to finish this. Suddenly, my phone buzzed, interrupting the quiet of the room.

I paused for a second and wondered who it could be. Could it be him?

I shook my head, trying to shake off the thought, and went back to writing. But then, the phone buzzed again. This time, it was a call.

I quickly checked the caller ID.

I felt a wave of relief when I saw it was Glen calling. Who else would it be, right?

"Kira! What's up?" Glen's cheerful voice came through the line.

I sighed and leaned back on the bed. "Nothing much, just doing my assignment."

Glen's voice shifted to a teasing tone. "Come on, don’t tell me you’re too busy. Ace texted you, didn’t you reply to him, my dear friend?"

I froze. My eyes widened, and for a second, I thought I might have misheard him. Did he just say Ace?

I quickly looked down on my phone,and checked my messages. Sure enough, there it was. An unfamiliar number had sent me a text that simply said, “Hi.”

I stared at it for a moment, trying to make sense of it.

"I didn't notice it," I muttered to myself, feeling a little guilty.

Before I could process it any further, Glen spoke again. “Kira, you didn’t reply? Come on, I’m at a birthday party right now, and I didn’t even bother inviting you because I knew you wouldn’t come."

Before I could respond, he hung up, leaving me staring at the phone.

I looked back at the text from Ace, and something made me pause. What should I say?

I hesitated for a moment, then typed back a simple, “Hello.” After that, I went back to my assignment, trying to focus, but my mind kept drifting back to the message.

Minutes later, my phone buzzed again, and this time it was another message from Ace: I hope I'm not disturbing you.

I stared at the screen for a moment. I had no idea why, but something about that text made me pause. I didn’t think Ace was bothering me, not at all. But I still wasn’t sure what to make of it.

I quickly typed a response: No, you're not disturbing me. Just doing homework. Then I went back to writing, but my thoughts kept wandering.

The hours seemed to fly by. Before I knew it, it was already past 10 PM. I hadn’t even realized how late it had gotten until Ace texted again: You need to sleep, it's already late.

I put my hand to my face, feeling embarrassed at how long I’d been texting. Oh my gosh, I thought, What have I been doing?

But even as I thought that, I couldn’t help but smile.

Glen was right. Talking to Ace wasn’t so bad. In fact, he was surprisingly fun to talk to. Sure, sometimes I didn’t understand what he meant by his texts or his emotions seemed a little unclear, but he wasn’t as bad as I had thought at first.

I was getting to know him a little better, bit by bit, through these short conversations. He wasn't at all what I had expected. He was kind, genuine, and there was something nice about the way he reached out.

I thought about it for a moment. Maybe this wasn’t such a bad thing. Maybe I was just being too cautious, too quick to judge. And the more I texted him, the more I realized… I actually enjoyed these little conversations. It felt nice to have someone to talk to, someone who didn’t mind chatting at the end of a long day, even if the topics were simple.

Maybe this is just the start of something interesting, I thought to myself.

I closed my eyes for a second, still smiling, and then got back to my assignment, my mind a little lighter than before.