“Wake up,” Cameo shook me.“What time is it now?” I yawned.
“It’s already 8 in the morning. You got class at 9 isn’t it?” He asked, sounded so not like him.
“Cameo, Wake up, what?” I looked at him.
“Dumbo!” He cracked a smile and hugged me.
“Have you taken your bath yet? You stink!” I teased and pushed him off me.
“No, its been three days I lived without taking a shower,”
“That explains why you don’t have a girlfriend,”
“Dad made breakfast for us, your favourite, pancake!” He changed the topic. His voice changed back to the way it used to be.
“Oh,” That is the best word I can reply him with now.
I got up and walked to the kitchen, it does smell good. The smell, that had been gone since mom left us, is back. I walked to the table and greeted Demetria,
“Morning!”
“Morning, Harold,” She put down her fork and grabbed a cup of water.
“There’s milk inside the refrigerator, you can have them, pancake tastes nothing with plain water!” I suggested her.
“Never mind,” she replied me.
“I insist,” I walked to the refrigerator, grabbed the milk carton and a cup from the cabinet. I poured some milk into the cup and gave her.
“Thanks!” She sounded so happy.
“Your pancake is ready,” George got to the table and put the pancake down.
“Thank you, George.” I thanked him.
“And I’m sorry about yesterday,” I added.
“Son, you can call me dad,” He looked at me.
“When the time comes, I will, George,” I replied him.
He faked a smile and turned around. He looked disappointed.
“Cameo, I need the car today,” I turned to Cameo in the living room, he was watching the news.
“Sure, you can have that freaking old car the whole day, I’m resting at home today,” He teased me; his eyes were still on the TV.
“Thanks Big bro!”
“You are welcome, Dumbo!”
“Hey, it’s rhymed!” Demetria added and everybody laughed.
...
I was the first one to be in math class. When the bell rang, everyone rushed in. I felt something was missing when I looked at Ryan and Dylan’s tables. Nobody was there. What happened to them, my mind started wondering till Geneva walked in and sat beside me. She was wearing polka dots, a very red one. There’s a big bloody red ribbon on her head. She looked like Snow White plus Cinderella and everything pretty, in her very own way. Polka dots? Who wears them nowadays? But she is so daring to wear them to school today.
Suddenly, someone got into the class and yelled, “Miss Hewitt is absent!” Everyone started cheering. The class is now like the night market. All of the students went out, as we got an hour to rest. WHAT THE HECK! I should stay with Ryan yesterday. I don’t want to waste my time in canteen with Izzy and Roxanne. I should give them some space.
Before Geneva got out from the class, I grabbed her hand I whispered to her, “We need to talk.” She nodded and followed behind me. We headed to the rooftop; I bet no one is there ‘cause they are having their classes right now. As we were rushing there, we saw Aaron. He was leaning on the wall, waiting for somebody (I guess). Geneva quickly hid her face with the books. I turned away and pulled Geneva. We decided to take the longer route to get there, which is through the garden, rather than facing that Godzilla.
There’s so many students from Miss Hewitt’s class hanging out in the garden. Ely was one of them. She was wearing a G.A.P shirt, Levi’s jeans and boots (I got good eyes though). She threw the can she was holding to the bush. I saw that and shouted at her, “E! Pick it up! And where are you going? Shopping mall or something?” “Shut up, you, Granny!” She replied me. She loves to call me that. She loves to call EVERYONE that. Geneva laughed at me. I grabbed her hand and continued our epic journey to the rooftop.
…
As we reached there, I turned to her and pulled her closer to me.
“I’m sorry about your hand,” I apologized, as I pulled her way too sturdy throughout the journey to get here. I grabbed her hand and kissed it.
“There’s nothing to be sorry about,” She seems to be easy with that.
“Now, why did you kiss me last night?” I asked her.
“I’m…” She was gasping for air.
“I’m sorry,” I moved a step backward.
“To tell you the truth, I hate Aaron so much! Everything must be about him; he gave me no space to talk at all.” She explained to me.
“So, what’s with the kiss?”
“Hello? Are you blind or something Mr. Harold Steven Cruz,”
“Miss Geneva Emmanuelle Byron, I can’t simply jump into conclusions, can I?” I asked her back.
“Pick me up tonight,” She suggested.
“At ten, I’ll bring you to somewhere special,”
“But don’t come with your noisy car. My dad will be in the house tonight,” OUCH! That hurts!
“I’ll park my car somewhere far from your house and walk,”
“I’ll be waiting at my backdoor,”
“That sounds like a plan to me!”
“Oh silly!” The girl from last night appeared out of sudden. She was wearing a light blue gown and one and a half inch heels. I ignored her.
We held hands and sat on the bench. We stared at each other for about more than 5 minutes. There’s nothing prettier than those beautiful eyes. Suddenly, my mind was humming my own song, Lullabee.
There’s nothing pretty as you my honey bee,
There’s nothing sweeter than you my honey bee,
The ‘girl’ was dancing and singing with me. Her voice was totally awful yet cute to me.
“No wonder I smelled a skunk on my way, there’s a dead one over here,” I looked around and saw Aaron standing at the door. His toad-like voice cracked the beautiful melody.
Geneva and I moved away from each other.
“So, Baby G, what are you doing here, with this skunk?”
“We were discussing about history, and now, we are done,” Geneva answered him as she walked to his side.
“We are having sex actually, have you heard of sex on the rooftop?” I stood up and raised my voice.
“How dare you to say that?!” He moved closer to me.
“Knock it off!” Geneva stopped both of us.
“Honey, let’s leave this skunk alone!” She put her hand on his cheek and kissed his lips.
“Let’s go,” He put his hands on her waist and walked her to the door.
“I’m sorry!” She turned to me and mouthed.
I thought she was being real. Phew, she’s a good actor. I should learn from her sometime.
“Ahh, you!” I turned to the ‘girl’.
“What!” She replied.
“You’re scaring me!” I rolled my eyes.
“I’m your imagination, why are you so scared?”
“The gown and the heels are too much!”
“Rooftop is the most romantic place in school. Why can’t I dress up nicely?”
“You‘re a ghost...”
“Your imagination!” She interrupted.
“Fine, whatever!” I closed my eyes. When I opened them back, she was not there.
“Boo!” She gave me a shock from my back.
“I hate you, what can I do to get rid of you?”
“Grow up!” She teased me again.
…
That fine evening, I visited Dylan at his house. He caught a high fever. He was sleeping when I visited him. I don’t want to wake him up, so I decided to visit Ryan in the hospital. I drove my car there. On my way, I texted Izzy to accompany me since Dylan could not make it.
…
I walked to the Ryan’s room and called Izzy. “The person you dialed
had just passed away! Please leave him a message after the beep, - BEEP-” “Hope you will be happy in hell, Izzy! Pees on you!” I left the message. I laughed at how silly I was. I knocked the door and Izzy opened it. “I thought you’re dead!” I teased Izzy. “I know what you mean,” He laughed. I looked at Ryan, he was so pale and thin. The last time I saw him in this size was when he was a 3rd grader. He grew so much bigger since then. “It’s genetic,” He always gave that reason to whoever asked him about his size. I smiled when those days flashed back in my mind.
Suddenly I saw Ryan’s eyelid and fingers twitching.
“RYAN!” Izzy and I were shocked.
“You are awake, sleeping beauty!” Izzy and his timeless jokes.
“hmm..” Ryan was still groaning.
“Do you remember me?”
“Haa… Izquierdo Ramirez Hernandez…” he answered
“Izzy is much more easier to pronounce isn’t it?” Izzy replied.
“He remembered the weirdest name ever!” I was so happy.
“Harold Steven Cruz…” He grabbed my hand.
“Yes I am,” I hugged him.
“Dylan Andrew Bradshaw…” He lifted his head and looked for Dylan.
“He’s sick, Christine dumped him!” Izzy told Ryan.
“Is he okay now?”
“He will be okay,” I smiled at him.
I rang Ryan’s mother and told her that Ryan is awake. I could feel joy overwhelmed her on the line, as it had the same effect on me. She couldn’t even say anything at that time. All I could hear was sobbing. “I’ll tell Ryan you’re on your way.” I said as I hung up the phone.
Life is like a ferris wheel. There will be a time where we are on top, and there will be a time for us to come down and reach the bottom. The day before I was crying and about to lose somebody – or should I say, my life. But today, I’m on my knees, heads looking up and thanking God for the life he gave me. And so I believe in karma, what goes around comes around.
“Morning!”
“Morning, Harold,” She put down her fork and grabbed a cup of water.
“There’s milk inside the refrigerator, you can have them, pancake tastes nothing with plain water!” I suggested her.
“Never mind,” she replied me.
“I insist,” I walked to the refrigerator, grabbed the milk carton and a cup from the cabinet. I poured some milk into the cup and gave her.
“Thanks!” She sounded so happy.
“Your pancake is ready,” George got to the table and put the pancake down.
“Thank you, George.” I thanked him.
“And I’m sorry about yesterday,” I added.
“Son, you can call me dad,” He looked at me.
“When the time comes, I will, George,” I replied him.
He faked a smile and turned around. He looked disappointed.
“Cameo, I need the car today,” I turned to Cameo in the living room, he was watching the news.
“Sure, you can have that freaking old car the whole day, I’m resting at home today,” He teased me; his eyes were still on the TV.
“Thanks Big bro!”
“You are welcome, Dumbo!”
“Hey, it’s rhymed!” Demetria added and everybody laughed.
...
I was the first one to be in math class. When the bell rang, everyone rushed in. I felt something was missing when I looked at Ryan and Dylan’s tables. Nobody was there. What happened to them, my mind started wondering till Geneva walked in and sat beside me. She was wearing polka dots, a very red one. There’s a big bloody red ribbon on her head. She looked like Snow White plus Cinderella and everything pretty, in her very own way. Polka dots? Who wears them nowadays? But she is so daring to wear them to school today.
Suddenly, someone got into the class and yelled, “Miss Hewitt is absent!” Everyone started cheering. The class is now like the night market. All of the students went out, as we got an hour to rest. WHAT THE HECK! I should stay with Ryan yesterday. I don’t want to waste my time in canteen with Izzy and Roxanne. I should give them some space.
Before Geneva got out from the class, I grabbed her hand I whispered to her, “We need to talk.” She nodded and followed behind me. We headed to the rooftop; I bet no one is there ‘cause they are having their classes right now. As we were rushing there, we saw Aaron. He was leaning on the wall, waiting for somebody (I guess). Geneva quickly hid her face with the books. I turned away and pulled Geneva. We decided to take the longer route to get there, which is through the garden, rather than facing that Godzilla.
There’s so many students from Miss Hewitt’s class hanging out in the garden. Ely was one of them. She was wearing a G.A.P shirt, Levi’s jeans and boots (I got good eyes though). She threw the can she was holding to the bush. I saw that and shouted at her, “E! Pick it up! And where are you going? Shopping mall or something?” “Shut up, you, Granny!” She replied me. She loves to call me that. She loves to call EVERYONE that. Geneva laughed at me. I grabbed her hand and continued our epic journey to the rooftop.
…
As we reached there, I turned to her and pulled her closer to me.
“I’m sorry about your hand,” I apologized, as I pulled her way too sturdy throughout the journey to get here. I grabbed her hand and kissed it.“There’s nothing to be sorry about,” She seems to be easy with that.
“Now, why did you kiss me last night?” I asked her.
“I’m…” She was gasping for air.
“I’m sorry,” I moved a step backward.
“To tell you the truth, I hate Aaron so much! Everything must be about him; he gave me no space to talk at all.” She explained to me.
“So, what’s with the kiss?”
“Hello? Are you blind or something Mr. Harold Steven Cruz,”
“Miss Geneva Emmanuelle Byron, I can’t simply jump into conclusions, can I?” I asked her back.
“Pick me up tonight,” She suggested.
“At ten, I’ll bring you to somewhere special,”
“But don’t come with your noisy car. My dad will be in the house tonight,” OUCH! That hurts!
“I’ll park my car somewhere far from your house and walk,”
“I’ll be waiting at my backdoor,”
“That sounds like a plan to me!”
“Oh silly!” The girl from last night appeared out of sudden. She was wearing a light blue gown and one and a half inch heels. I ignored her.
We held hands and sat on the bench. We stared at each other for about more than 5 minutes. There’s nothing prettier than those beautiful eyes. Suddenly, my mind was humming my own song, Lullabee.
There’s nothing pretty as you my honey bee,
There’s nothing sweeter than you my honey bee,
The ‘girl’ was dancing and singing with me. Her voice was totally awful yet cute to me.
“No wonder I smelled a skunk on my way, there’s a dead one over here,” I looked around and saw Aaron standing at the door. His toad-like voice cracked the beautiful melody.
Geneva and I moved away from each other.
“So, Baby G, what are you doing here, with this skunk?”
“We were discussing about history, and now, we are done,” Geneva answered him as she walked to his side.
“We are having sex actually, have you heard of sex on the rooftop?” I stood up and raised my voice.
“How dare you to say that?!” He moved closer to me.
“Knock it off!” Geneva stopped both of us.
“Honey, let’s leave this skunk alone!” She put her hand on his cheek and kissed his lips.
“Let’s go,” He put his hands on her waist and walked her to the door.
“I’m sorry!” She turned to me and mouthed.
I thought she was being real. Phew, she’s a good actor. I should learn from her sometime.
“Ahh, you!” I turned to the ‘girl’.
“What!” She replied.
“You’re scaring me!” I rolled my eyes.
“I’m your imagination, why are you so scared?”
“The gown and the heels are too much!”
“Rooftop is the most romantic place in school. Why can’t I dress up nicely?”
“You‘re a ghost...”
“Your imagination!” She interrupted.
“Fine, whatever!” I closed my eyes. When I opened them back, she was not there.
“Boo!” She gave me a shock from my back.
“I hate you, what can I do to get rid of you?”
“Grow up!” She teased me again.
…
That fine evening, I visited Dylan at his house. He caught a high fever. He was sleeping when I visited him. I don’t want to wake him up, so I decided to visit Ryan in the hospital. I drove my car there. On my way, I texted Izzy to accompany me since Dylan could not make it.
…
I walked to the Ryan’s room and called Izzy. “The person you dialed
had just passed away! Please leave him a message after the beep, - BEEP-” “Hope you will be happy in hell, Izzy! Pees on you!” I left the message. I laughed at how silly I was. I knocked the door and Izzy opened it. “I thought you’re dead!” I teased Izzy. “I know what you mean,” He laughed. I looked at Ryan, he was so pale and thin. The last time I saw him in this size was when he was a 3rd grader. He grew so much bigger since then. “It’s genetic,” He always gave that reason to whoever asked him about his size. I smiled when those days flashed back in my mind.Suddenly I saw Ryan’s eyelid and fingers twitching.
“RYAN!” Izzy and I were shocked.
“You are awake, sleeping beauty!” Izzy and his timeless jokes.
“hmm..” Ryan was still groaning.
“Do you remember me?”
“Haa… Izquierdo Ramirez Hernandez…” he answered
“Izzy is much more easier to pronounce isn’t it?” Izzy replied.
“He remembered the weirdest name ever!” I was so happy.
“Harold Steven Cruz…” He grabbed my hand.
“Yes I am,” I hugged him.
“Dylan Andrew Bradshaw…” He lifted his head and looked for Dylan.
“He’s sick, Christine dumped him!” Izzy told Ryan.
“Is he okay now?”
“He will be okay,” I smiled at him.
I rang Ryan’s mother and told her that Ryan is awake. I could feel joy overwhelmed her on the line, as it had the same effect on me. She couldn’t even say anything at that time. All I could hear was sobbing. “I’ll tell Ryan you’re on your way.” I said as I hung up the phone.
Life is like a ferris wheel. There will be a time where we are on top, and there will be a time for us to come down and reach the bottom. The day before I was crying and about to lose somebody – or should I say, my life. But today, I’m on my knees, heads looking up and thanking God for the life he gave me. And so I believe in karma, what goes around comes around. 
