“You can’t hide it from me, Marubi! You’re in love, and you know it!”
“No I’m not!” I kept my eyes on the tv. I was in the middle of trying to be stealthy in a gun-game, and my older sister was distracting me with my cru- I mean, some boy at school.
“Marubi, you may be about as noisy as a goldfish, but your face tells me everything your mouth won’t! Look at how you smile when I say Malcom.” My sister swayed her voice and shook her head slowly.
“Stop really!” I felt my lips curling into a smile, but I couldn’t let them! Not now! Not when she was so close to finding out!
Yesterday, a boy named Malcolm transferred to our school from some other high-school across town. His eyelids hung over his warm black eyes like half-drawn shades, but every time he looked at me my chest grew cold and my heartbeat was more defined. I smiled whenever I thought about him, and furthermore, he was vegan and liked gun-games as much as I did! It was like heaven had sent that boy out for me.
Even Victoria liked him, and Victoria was my closest friend. She was the one who always dragged me into situations that I would end up thanking her for later.
I didn’t pay my sister any mind when she tried to tease me that whole afternoon.
At school, Malcom was talking to his friends about this up-coming trio-team tournament in the battle-royale game me and Victoria always played. I badly wanted to just rush over there and say, I’ll play in the tournament you! But I just couldn’t, I trembled just thinking about it.
That’s when Victoria walked over to him. “Me and Marubi are aces at that game! We'll carry you, do trick shots and win all before the afternoon is over. Ain’t that right Marubi?”
I nodded, trying hard not to stare at Malcom.
Later at lunch while I was eating my plantain and spinach sandwich, Victoria came and shook me by the shoulders.
“Tonight we’re playing a trio match with Malcom! Are you hyped!?”
I nodded. “Thanks again Victoria. I really wanted to play with him.”
“You did!? Me too! He’s so cute. I want him as a boyfriend STAT,” Victoria gushed. I didn’t tell her that at that moment, I wanted to whimper. She liked him too? Well, oh well. Life would decide who gets Malcom in the end.
In the trio match at home, I was ready to win. To show Malcom how good I was and for him to finally crush on me like I crush on him. I got on the game and joined his party. Once I heard his voice through the mic, my heart beat fast again. I smiled. I couldn’t talk to him back. I didn’t have a mic, since I had always been skittish about talking to gamers online. Victoria had a mic through. Once she joined, the two of them talked it up. Their conversation went from gaming to school, to their favorite things. I felt like I wasn’t even there, really. The next day at school, I waited for Victoria to sit with me, but she never came. As I left the cafeteria, I saw she had been sitting with Malcom the whole time.
Then one day, I saw her holding hands with Malcom in the halway. Heard the rumors of them becoming a couple. And suddenly, my best friend was someone I never wanted to see in my entire life again.
I had waited. Thinking that one day Malcom would come up to me, ask me out, and we’d go from there. But all I ended up with was a broken heart.
Eventually Victoria asked me why I had started avoiding her.
“I like Malcom, but now you and him are a thing and so… you kind of foiled my love story.” That was all I could say. My throat began to hurt.
Victoria shrugged. “Well, you didn’t go get him so I did. What’s the big deal?”
I cried at home that night.
“I thought I heard sniffling. Marubi, what’s wrong?” my older sister came into my room.
After she hammered at my emotional wall for a while, she said that if I wouldn’t tell her, she was leaving, and so I mentally collapsed and told her everything.
“Aw Marubi, it’ll be okay. But you should know you can’t just wait and wish on things. If you want someone or something, go get it!”
I just turned away from her. How could she criticize me when I felt so bad? But maybe…just maybe she was right.
That summer, my parents made me go to summer camp so my chocolate brown skin could be illuminated by sunlight and not the HD TV screen.
Next thing I knew I was off the camp bus and slapping the air, trying to survive a scourge of mosquitoes.
I ended up accidentally slapping some random boy by accident.
I gasped. “Oh my gosh I’m sorry!” I covered my mouth.
“It’s fine, it's fine. The mosquitoes out here are crazy.”
I laughed and agreed. I soon found out this boy’s name was Karuu, a boy with an cinamon skin and a love for memes. Karuu was nothing like me. First off, he ate meat, and lot’s of it. He was also a book nerd! He had brought four books to camp with him! If only my parents had let me bring my portable console and four games!
We hung out throughout the summer though, as we found it funny to ‘fight’ with each other about who swam faster during the race or who won what board game.
I liked Karuu a lot, and so I made choices to hang out with him. At lunch, I’d gather enough courage to sit by him. I even asked him what his books were about… and then I could tell him about the video game remakes of them!
One time, we were all rounded up for a paintball match in the woods. I was picked as one of the team leaders, and the camp staff was allowing me to pick teammates. I saw one girl talking to Karuu while we waited. As soon as it was my turn, I picked Karuu. I felt bad I had broken into his conversation, but hey, Karuu was cute, and I didn’t want that girl getting any ideas!
Eventually, summer came to an end.
“My family’s new to the area, I have no idea how my neighborhood is, or what school I’m gonna go to.” Karuu told me.
I told him I was returning to the highschool I went to last year. I dreaded it, because I didn’t want to see Victoria. But later I thought about it. Why didn’t I want to see Victoria? Because she was dating my old crush? Please. I should be old enough to get over that by now!
Next year, I saw Victoria in homeroom. I took one deep breath and walked over to her.
We began to laugh and chat, and she said she had broken up with Malcom during the summer, as Malcom ended up saying they weren’t really a good pair.
I felt a poke on my shoulder. I looked up and gasped. “Karuu!” I stood up. “What are you doing here?”
“I enrolled here. When you told me what school you were going to, I just told my Mom the name of the school.” He smiled. “I was also wondering if you wanted to go on a date with me this weekend?”
I beamed. “Sure!”
He smiled bigger than I'd ever seen him smile and pulled his fist down while whispering “yes!” as he passed me.
I could barely turn to Victoria as she smiled at me. “Looks like Marubi’s got herself a date! You go girl!”
Later on at lunch, Malcolm put his tray down beside me and said, “Hey, Marubi, wanna go on a date?”
I turned to him. “Nope. Sorry. I’ve got a boyfriend.”
He looked down. “Oh. I just thought you kind of had something to tell me. Last year. You always had a look on your face like you wanted to talk to me about something.”
“Nah, not anymore. But I have something to tell you this year. That seat is for Karuu, so you’d better move. Bye Malcolm!”
My name is Shila Williams. I am 16 years old and I have been passionate about writing and drawing since I knew how to spell. I grew up in North Carolina, as well as living and traveling abroad. I write to inspire children's minds to imagine and take them on a fun and adventurous journey.
I'm now a published author! Please support my debut children's book! Check it out here on Amazon! Imagination By Shila Willams
Check out my NFT's!
Meet the girls of Algo Green! Love for the planet and all its inhabitants, big or small. There will only be 50 green girls: https://t.co/yrwWL9ZJZI
my Wattpad: https://www.wattpad.com/user/restcity
my read.cash: https://read.cash/@restcity