THE THIRD WHEEL (PART 11)
Sophie took a glance at her golden watch. It was six-thirty in the morning. She studied her surroundings. The school yard was very big for such a normal high school like Scarlet High. She was leaning against a tree that has been there since the school was built, and its leaves were shading her, even though it was too early for her to be hit by sunlight. She listened to the sounds of the leaves as it was blown by the cool morning air, as if it was whispering to her. The sweet scent of flowers filled up her nostrils. The chirping of birds could be heard in the air. She closed her eyes, letting out a breath of calm as she drink up everything that she was feeling right now. How she wished that she could sink into the sounds right now. Suddenly, she felt a vibration at her side pocket. She let out a sigh, disappointed by the mood destroyer which was her phone. She took her phone out of her pocket, and studied the caller's name. John. She sighed again. What does he want, now? she thought. Wasn't it enough for him to pester her with questions when he picked her up? Sure, she may have come to school earlier than she would have, but why was it necessary to ask petty questions like has she slept well or not? she thought again. As she walked towards the school building, she became calmer again. She could understand why John was worried of her well-being. She tried to look normal, but maybe she did not hid it well enough. She could not sleep the whole night after getting a surprise visit from that 'someone'. Based on their conversation, it seems that John did not know about the surprise visit from the 'someone'. She relayed back to the visit last night.
Last night...
Both sat there on the sofa at the living room of Sophie's condo, silent. Even though there were two teacups filled with hot tea, it remained untouched. It was as if they were making a game. Whoever took a sip first, they lose for showing nervousness over the tense atmosphere. Yet, when the person took a sip before Sophie, he sipped it like an old man enjoying his tea. A long and blissful sip. Sophie remained there, her face blank as she studied the person in front of her. Phillip Bradford put down his cup, and looked Sophie. "You're not going to drink your tea, Sophie?" he asked her with a light tone. Sophie didn't say anything, but she picked up her tea to take a sip. When she did put down her cup, she met eyes with her eldest brother. She knew her brother liked to intimidate people in his line of work. But this isn't work. This is a 'bonding' time with his dear little sister. Yet, his blue-green eyes were piercing through her sapphire blue eyes. Sophie remained calm, and tried to break the tension between them. "What are you doing here, Phillip? I don't think you are not here for just a 'bonding' time with me" she said.
Phillip let out a dry laugh. "Why? Is it too much for you to believe that your brother is here to visit you in your humble condo?" he replied, his tone a touch sarcastic. Sophie flinched at his tone but said nothing. Phillip realised this, and his expression turned softer, and his tone too. "You're right, I'm here to discuss something with you. Considering it's late, I'll keep it brief" he said as Sophie stayed silent. "Grandfather, correction, Director wants you to know that he has added another condition for you to live by yourself" Phillip continued on. Sophie made an irritated face as he said this. "What more does he want now? I've already became a top student in a normal high school for not going to private, I attend a 'family' weekly dinner with him, training myself to become a 'somebody' in the corporation and being in the same country as him, all for the exchange of me living alone in this condominium" she said, her tone getting higher as she went on. Phillip remained undeterred by her outburst, instead he tried to continue on, as if she didn't interrupt him before. "He wants you to refrain yourself from making a relationship with a male" he said. Sophie became speechless. Now he wants to involve himself in her personal life? she thought. But she remained calm. "What do you mean?" she said testily. "Considering that you are in an appropriate age to have someone special in your life, he discourages you to act by yourself. He wants to train you to become a proper lady for your future partner" Phillip replied her obligingly. "So you mean to say that my life partner will be chosen by him, and in order for me to be considered a proper partner, I must not have any special relationship with any man?" she said weakly.
Phillip nodded at her statement. Sophie sighed, and it seemed to deflate everything in her. "I know where this is going. Political marriage, huh? Something that he wants to continue when he failed to do so with his own son?" she said bitterly. Phillip kept quiet at this, but Sophie swore that she saw Phillip's eyes flashed with agreement of her statement. They sat there, the atmosphere tense yet again. "Is that why you sent Scott to stop me from having some time with my friend, earlier?" Sophie suddenly spoke up. Phillip didn't answer, instead he stood up. "It's time for me to leave" he said, his expression unreadable. Sophie didn't say anything, her brother's notorious for ignoring remarks. As she see him open her condo door, he paused. He turned his head towards her. "I wasn't lying when I said that I wanted to see you" he said with a gentle tone, a tone that she hasn't heard since she was young. As he closed the door, Sophie sank to the floor, and felt hot tears building up in her eyes and travelled down her face.
Present...
Sophie shook her head as she relayed the event last night. She had to admit, she cares and loves her eldest brother, even though he already turned into someone else after what happened twelve years ago. Sophie felt sad that her relationship with him became distant among those years. As she walked nearer to the school entrance, she saw two figures. She could make out one of the two figures were John's, but she could not recognise the other one. As she walked nearer to them, she found out that it was Scott Kennedy. What is he doing here? she thought with a frown. It seems that they heard her because both looked up and watch her walk towards them. John was smiling, while Scott had a guilty look on his face.
"Sophie!" John said, waving at her as if he had too much sugar even though it was in the morning. "I was really worried of your safety considering that you were alone, but Scott here" he indicated to Scott, "will be accompanying you while I finish up my work in the staff room. Until the other students come to school, all right?" John said, giving her a puppy face. Sophie could not object, however, due to John's innocent expression. She forced a tight smile as she nodded at John's plea. John then left the two of them without even sensing that the atmosphere between Sophie and Scott were getting tense as seconds go by. Right, another tense atmosphere that I had to face, Sophie thought grimly.
She walked away from Scott and as she expected, he followed her. They remained that way until she stopped in front of the biology lab. "Will you stop following me? I'm not in the mood to entertain you right now" Sophie said with an irritated tone, and walked on before Scott could reply. She was halfway down the hall until Scott grabbed her arm. She paused, and gave him a cool look before trying release his grip. He tightened his grip, and pushed her to the lockers. Sophie, baffled, stood there, leaning on one of the lockers while Scott was in front of her, his arms surrounding her face to keep her from running away. "Sophie...Will you at least give me a chance?" Scott begged, his eyes tearful. Sophie remained unmoved, and she formed a single word, "No". Scott bit his lip, and looked at her with his grey eyes. "What if I try to make you mine?" he said, this time his tone firm.
Sophie chuckled at this. "I already gave you the chance to do that, but you blew it. It's not my fault, Scott" she replied with a sarcastic tone. She saw a flash of anger in Scott's eyes and before she could react, he forced a kiss on her mouth. Sophie tried to fight back, but Scott's large build made her unable to do so. She was about to scream out when suddenly Scott was being pulled back by someone from behind. "Hey, chill, captain. You can't go on doing this" Samuel said while clutching onto Scott's shirt. Scott, his face red, glared at Samuel. Samuel put his hands up in surrender. "I wouldn't bother you if the lady did not look like she wants you to do that to her" Samuel said with a light tone. Scott's face fell, and he looked at Sophie. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have" Scott walked away from the both of them and paused midway. Without looking back, he said, "I'll try opening your heart to me, slowly this time. I will start doing so after I caught you in the Golden Event". As Scott left, Samuel let out a whistle. "Confident man, isn't he? Well, if he isn't how is he really going to get you again, President?" Samuel said, studying Sophie. Sophie's face was pale, and Samuel stepped nearer to her. She could smell the cologne and aftershave he was wearing. "You want me to help you to not get caught by him...?" he asked her. Before she could answer, though, they were interrupted by a voice.
"That won't be necessary"
THE THIRD WHEEL (PART 12)
Jordan had on a hard face as he stared into Samuel's eyes. His dark green eyes meeting with the soft brown of Samuel's eyes. Peter, the vice-president of the student council, also the one who stopped Sophie and Samuel's conversation. "What did you mean that you were going to help her? Don't you already have a girlfriend?" asked Peter suspiciously, squinting at him. Samuel said nothing, instead he rewarded Peter a mysterious smile. While this was going on, Jordan had his attention fully towards Sophie. He cautiously stepped nearer to her and noticed that she was shaking. Jordan felt a flash of anger in his chest, and felt that he should chase after the captain of the football team if only Sophie wasn't looking up at him. Her expression remained calm, but he could see the student council president's beautiful eyes begging for help. She may not say it, but he knew he had to calm her.
When he's an arm's distance from Sophie, he gently took her hand. He was expecting Sophie to push him away, but she let him touch her. "Hey, you alright?" Jordan asked, oblivious to the presence of Peter and Samuel, who was trying to avoid Peter's question by raising his eyebrows and pointing at Sophie. "Shouldn't you worry about our main character here?" Samuel asked with an amused tone. Before Peter could react, Jordan already pulled Sophie towards the direction of the infirmary, which was along the corridor. "Wait! Where are you bringing the president?" asked Peter, panicking. "I'll bring her to the infirmary to calm her. You go along, vice-president, Samuel! Oh, and Samuel, I'm going to talk to you personally during lunchtime" Jordan replied back, making Peter confused and Samuel shrugged his shoulders as Peter, with his jaw slightly dropping, took a look at Samuel, as if asking for an explanation.
As they entered the infirmary, Jordan stopped in his tracks, Sophie behind him. He counted to three and turned back. He got a surprise when he did so. Sophie was sitting on the floor, her face blank. Jordan quickly pulled her up, and made her sit on a chair. They remained that way, Jordan standing in front of her, while Sophie sat on the chair. After what seemed an eternity of silence, Sophie looked up at Jordan. He studied her as she moved her red lips, "How...?". Even though she only said one word, Jordan understood her. "Sometimes I seek refuge here. Sometimes I skip class and hang out here, so Miss Suzy gave me the spare key, in case she hasn't arrived" Jordan replied, without considering that the person in front of him was the third powerful person in school, aside from the chairman and the members of PTA. Sophie smiled at this. "I bet you used your charm to do that" she said. Jordan blushed at this. There was a bit of truth in her statement. Sure, he did charm the single infirmary teacher who's famous for her beauty and sense of fashion, even though she had to wear the white coat. He pouted. It wasn't his fault that the teacher listened to his bidding. Sophie picked this up, and held up her hand. "Don't worry. I know her reputation. She's the most lenient teacher in this school, and I can't do anything with it. I won't report you, as long as you don't bring any of your friends into this" Sophie said in her serious tone, showing authority. She giggled by herself when Jordan made a serious face and gave a nod to her statement.
Jordan relaxed a bit as he could see a smile in Sophie's eyes. He wanted her to forget about what just happened before with Scott, even though he was curious of the relationship between Sophie and his captain, Scott. Ever since the time where he vowed to get Sophie's heart, he was apparently troubled by the look that Scott gave to Sophie. He wasn't proved wrong when he caught a glimpse of Scott stealing from Sophie. His head was boiling with anger, and was about to step out when Peter, the vie-president put his hand on his shoulder. Before he could react, he understood why. He was frustrated, though. The fact that Samuel became Sophie's shining knight in armour at that time made him upset. Samuel already has a girlfriend. But the look that the vice-president gave him explained all: They didn't want to scare Scott. Jordan did not realise that as he thought of this, his expression became darker, alarming Sophie.
Jordan noticed Sophie's puzzled expression, and took a glance at this face at the mirror that Miss Suzy placed on her table. He softened his expression as soon as he saw his scary expression. He then took a chair and sat in front of Sophie. He didn't want to talk about it, but they can't run away from the issue. He will listen to her explanation, even if it the truth is too shocking. "I know you might be uncomfortable, but about Captain..." Jordan trailed off, referring to Scott. Sophie remained expressionless as she said, "He's my childhood friend". THAT made him surprised. Sophie gave him a tight smile as she saw his surprised face. They remained silent, as Jordan fiddle with his fingers. He then looked at Sophie. She saw her lips quivering as she said, "I'm scared of him, Jordan".
Jordan felt like he could protect her and wanted to hug her then and there. If Samantha was there, he bet that she would throw her shoe at his head and told him that he was sexist. But that feeling was there, he couldn't deny it. He hold himself back, he didn't want to startle Sophie after going through that. He decided to change the subject. "What's with Samuel's offer?" he tried his luck this time, as she looked at his face. Sophie's expression was unreadable. She kept quiet, indicating to Jordan to not pry any deeper.
Jordan let out a sigh. He was tired of this. He had a limit to his patience, too. "Let's make a deal. If I catch you in the Golden Event, I want you to tell me everything about your relationship with Scott and Samuel" he said, his tone serious. Sophie gave him a cold expression. "Is it because of Kimberley that you're doing this?" her tone sarcastic, taunting him. Jordan stared back at her. "I would be lying if I said no. But, Kimberley is with Samuel, and that's that. I want to know you more, Sophie, but all you do is push me away. I won't ask you why, but how am I going to protect you from Scott? From other guys who has such intentions like Scott?" he asked her, his tone getting higher as he went on. Sophie suddenly stood up and Jordan followed suit. "What's my bargain, then?" she asked him. He gave her a tiny smile. "Anything, other than the key to the infirmary" he said in a teasing tone. Sophie kept quiet after he said that, making him squirm. "I'll think about it. I'll give you my answer after school" she then went out, and Jordan sat back on his seat, his heart beating. She just left but he was already nervous by her answer later.
Lunchtime...
Samuel remained at his seat as his classmates bustle around him to get out of the classroom after the school bell rang for lunchtime. He saw Jordan's figure at the entrance and took his things as he walked towards his best friend. Jordan brought him behind the school, where they could get some privacy. As they sat on the pavement, Samuel said cheerfully, "So, how did you convince Kimmy to not pursue us?". Jordan let out a mysterious smile. "I made her do some errands for me. I bet I'll get an earful from her after this" he said with a smirk. They then became silent for a while. "About you and Sophie..." Jordan suddenly spoke up, unable to contain his curiosity. "We kissed once" Samuel answered nonchalantly. "And I was already having a relationship with Kimmy at that time" he continued on, ignoring Jordan's shocked expression. Jordan then grabbed Samuel's shirt. "What do you mean? Are you trying to tell me you cheated on Kimmy with Sophie?" he said, his tone low. Samuel looked into Jordan's dark green eyes which was filled with anger. "If you want more details, I suggest you go ask the lady herself. It was a favour that she asked for" he replied back. Jordan let go of Samuel's shirt, glaring at Samuel. Samuel stared back at him, and let out a smirk. "Now it's my turn. Where does your heart lie, Jordan? Is it Sophie? Or is it still Kimberley?" Samuel asked Jordan. Jordan felt like his legs turn to goo. "How did you know?" he asked stupidly. "We go way back, Jordan. You know that. This means I know everything about you" Samuel said, his expression softening.
"I don't mind about your feelings about Kimberley, Jordan. It was inevitable; she's always been there for you when you were in a slump. For Sophie, I can't explain any further, she had her reasons" Samuel continued on. Jordan remained quiet. "Now, back to my question. Where does your heart lie, Jordan?" Samuel asked Jordan. "I- I don't know" Jordan admitted. Samuel shook his head as Jordan said this. "What I said to Sophie wasn't a joke, Jordan. Think what you may, but Sophie's an important person to me, Jordan. I'll do anything for her, even if she didn't mean to make it that way" Samuel picked up his things and left. Jordan sat there, in lost of words. He was too confused by everything that he had to take in in their conversation. He stood up when he was suddenly greeted by someone.
"Jordan"
THE THIRD WHEEL (PART 13)
It was the end of school. Sophie did her work as usual. What she did not realise, however, was the fact that she's being watched by three pair of eyes. Peter Summers, his younger sister Jennifer who acts as the treasurer and the 'Sleeping Prince' secretary Ken Powell were watching her with such interest. It was a normal thing for Sophie to be engrossed with her work. What bothered them was the fact that they just witnessed a very peculiar scene. For Ken and Jennifer, though for Peter, he was worried sick of his close friend. Sophie still had on her cool face, which was dubbed the 'Iron Mask' by Jennifer, but they've known her for a while, so they could tell that Sophie wasn't her usual self. She may be doing her work perfectly, but her eyes were blank. Her movements were like as if they were being controlled by a puppeteer. Her tone when she talks seems to be monotonous. When she woke Ken up, she only gently pat him on the back, unlike the usual, where she would put an alarm clock in front of him and ring it to make him wake up. When Peter told her his report, she would check it thoroughly all over again before approving it with her official president stamp, not because she has no confidence in his skills, but she is a true perfectionist. But when Peter gave her his report, she just approved it without taking a look at it. When Jennifer calculates the school budget or anything money-related, Sophie will re-check it for her, but instead she just encourage her to make a good job.
While Sophie's still engrossed with her own work, all three of them had the same thought. Very worrisome. Sophie's attitude is very worrisome that they felt like shivering in fear. They looked at each other, as if they had the same thought, did rock-paper-scissors right then and there. When Peter grumbled silently as he lost, he squared his shoulders and walked towards Sophie. He cleared his throat loudly, making Sophie who was rifling through some papers to look up, her eyes blank. When Peter was about to open his mouth, suddenly they heard a ringtone. It wasn't any ringtone; it was the beginning part of the song 'Strong Baby' by Seungri. Sophie blushed, and immediately answered the phone. Peter, including Ken and Jennifer just stood there, speechless by the song and Sophie's behaviour.
"Hello?" they heard Sophie said. In the line, Sophie heard, "Hey! Did you change my song? You didn't, right? I could tell from your timid tone! Anyway, I'm here"."What?! You're here?! Okay, okay, I'll come to you. DON'T move from your spot!" Sophie said with a panicked tone, something that she rarely do, considering she was usually ice cool. Sophie just held up her hand as she left, leaving her other student council members look on, their jaw dropping.As Sophie walked fast; she did not want to tarnish her student council president image, she cursed silently. What does that person want, anyway? she thought darkly. She let out a whimper as she saw the figure that she was looking for as she walked to the parking lot. The figure was standing behind a large tree, and as she drew close, she could her the person singing with their own sweet voice. She did not know what song it was, but it was sorrowful.
"Lynn Mayura" Sophie said breathlessly as she caught up to the figure. "Yo" said Lynn, giving Sophie a charming smile. Sophie let out a tight smile, and study her visitor. Lynn Mayura is the famous figure in the business world. Heck, the Mayura name's famous in every single world; media, business and even among normal people. It wasn't only because the Mayuras were ruthless people in getting success, but they were all beautiful. Like the person in front of her. Lynn Mayura is the epitome of a beautiful human. She had black hair so dark that it looked inky when Lynn brushed her hair with her creamy white hand. Her hair was a pixie haircut, so when someone take a look at her, they would have thought that she was a handsome man. It wasn't to blame, considering she inherited her black hair and enigmatic grey eyes from her handsome father. Her smirk was also like of her father's, which could make any maiden melt when they see it. Even so, she had rosy red lips and a beautiful complexion, a well-developed body and her feminine smile could make guys fall to their knees just to get her. As far as Sophie knows her, Lynn has many personalities. When she is in a business conference, she could be serious and ruthless, causing fear in her partners, even her older brother Phillip respects her. However, when she's in the presence of a beautiful girl, she would flirt with them endlessly and tease her close friends. Like what she is doing to Sophie right now; "It seems that you've grown since I last saw you. Fallen in love lately?" Lynn said with a light tone, her grey eyes shining with mischief.
Sophie jumped slightly at Lynn's last words. As if it weren't enough, it seems that Lynn caught her behaviour, which was normal considering Lynn's remarkably sharp. Lynn twirled a lock of Sophie's hair with her finger and gently pulled Sophie close. "Hit a nail on the spot, huh?" Lynn said with a whisper, which earned her a slap in the face, though Sophie missed. Lynn let out a laugh, and stole Sophie's blue ribbon that was used to tie her long hair. "Hey!" Sophie yelled out. Before she could grab her ribbon, Lynn ran away from her and taunted her, "Catch it if you want, baby cakes!". Sophie, who was angered by the word 'baby cakes' chased after Lynn. She kept chasing after her and did not realised that they have reached the school yard. Sophie stopped as she started to become concious of people watching the two of them. Even Lynn stopped and looked around.
Before Sophie could do anything, a ball suddenly touched gently against Lynn's foot. Lynn seemed to see somebody as she let out a sadistic grin and kicked the ball with her might. Sophie watched the ball sail in the air and hit somebody in the head. Sophie let out a gasp and rushed towards that person. If she wasn't mistaken, she saw a blonde head that she recognized so well. As she drew nearer, she saw Jordan beside the person who was on the grass, clutching his head. She sighed in relief, but her relief was short-lived. The person on the grass was Robert, her cousin. "Robert!" she screamed out, sitting on his side. Robert was moaning in pain and looked up at Sophie with a puzzled expression. Soon after that though, Robert's expression changed from puzzled to horror. Sophie seemed to see Robert shivering in fear as he looked behind her. She did not need to guess who was making Robert like this.
"Sorry, Bobbles, that wasn't deliberate. I didn't mean to hurt you, though I was planning to greet you" Lynn said with an apologetic tone. Robert suddenly stood up, surprising everyone around them, and grabbed Sophie's arm. "What is she doing here?!" Robert whispered frantically into Sophie's ear as he glanced nervously at Lynn. Sophie then took a long glance at Lynn. She was greeting to a few girls, some of them flirting with her and Lynn talking to them with her charming smile on her face. "She wanted to see me and you apparently. I guess she's bored since she was excused from doing any work in the company and is school searching for now" Sophie replied. Robert let out a shocked expression and shook Sophie's shoulders. "Please, PLEASE not at this school! She will make my life hell, I tell you! And also Mr. Harper's!" Robert said, his face pale.
"What about me?" said a voice in front of them, making the both of them jump in unison. Mr. John Harper was standing in front of them, his expression innocent. "Mr. Harper!" Sophie said in a high-pitched tone, earning a panicked glance from Robert. "Mr. Harper? Is that a teacher?" Lynn's voice was heard behind them. Sophie seemed to hear a sharp intake of breath from Robert, though it sounded like a sound when you step on a small puppy. John's face starts to become pale as he realised the presence of Lynn. Everybody was silent for a while as Lynn drink in the situation that she was in. Sophie took a glance at Lynn's serious face; a face that she used when she was thinking hard. Suddenly, Lynn looked at Sophie with a smile. "Well, see you later, Sophie. Just here to visit you. Also, I've decided to enrol in this school. The girls are so cute and the guys seem adorable!" Lynn said with a mischievous glint in her eyes. "Well, see you!" Lynn said as she walked away from them, putting her hand in the air.
Sophie waved at Lynn as Robert and John screamed out, "ARGH!" behind her. Sophie watched the confident figure walking, her back facing her. They may be the same age, but Lynn was her role model. If it weren't for her, she wouldn't have learned to be strong in facing difficult situations. She even learned her cool expression from Lynn, though she couldn't beat Lynn's pokerface. Lynn may be annoying to her close friends, but deep down, Sophie knew that Lynn was keeping a lonely person deep inside her. She can't be like Lynn, but Sophie can act cool and rational at times. Sophie then saw Lynn strolling with a petite girl with honey-blonde hair, and Sophie blushed as Lynn grabbed the girl at her waist. They were friendly, Sophie thought. Even though Lynn loves to be surrounded by beautiful women, she mostly have a lot of guy friends which consists of her male cousins and childhood friends. Sophie guessed that due to her all-male household and her father's flirtatious personality running inside her blood, this made Lynn that way. She's not into women; she just loves beautiful people.
Sophie turned around and froze. For the first time since their conversation, she was locking eyes with him. Jordan's dark green eyes stared deeply into hers, making Sophie nervous. How she wished that she had Lynn's nonchalant attitude right now!, she thought in panic. What would Lynn do? she thought frantically. Before she could do anything, Samantha grabbed her in the arm. "Let's go home! Today I will be sending you home without fail!" Samantha said, pulling Sophie away from Jordan's gaze. As she walked with Samantha, she hung her head down. She guessed that she couldn't be like Lynn after all. She had to depend an outsider to run away from her problem. Thing is: For how long? Sophie let out a silent groan and put her face in her hands when she was inside Robert's Jeep. She watched Samantha and Robert sitting at the front, considering to pour her heart out to them. She changed her mind, and clutched to her phone in her pocket. No, she would call Lynn at night. Sophie suddenly remembered that her close friend already has a special someone in her heart, but is keeping it silent from him. Perfect. She wanted to ask her opinion of what was making her mind out of sorts that day. Yes, she would tell Lynn about her feelings towards Jordan, and she won't miss anything out.
THE THIRD WHEEL (PART 14)
Jordan was at loss of what to do. He was at the edge of his bed, topless. Despite the chilly wind outside, Jordan felt warm. It always happens whenever Jordan feels emotional; no matter if he was angry, confused or even scared. Maybe it was due to the shock of his parents' divorce, he doesn't know. He hugged his knees, his eyes glazed over. He was still confused of his feelings. Who does he actually have feelings for? He remembered his encounter during lunch that day.
Flashback....
Jordan looked up, and saw Robert's figure getting nearer to him, his face cool. "Bobbles?" Jordan said, biting his lip. As far as Jordan know him, Robert has never been emotional. He's always been either sleepy, blur or thinking about mango pudding. So when Jordan called him the nickname that Samantha gave him, he was expecting another expression. He almost laughed when he saw Robert's face instantly going red. "Don't. Ever. Call. Me. That" Robert said, biting off his every word filled with acid. Jordan looked away, stifling his laugh. After a few minutes, Jordan already calmed himself down. When he looked at Robert, he saw that even Robert has calmed down. They sat there, the two of them on the ground. This was their friendship. When Jordan's with Samuel, they would taunt at each other, blackmailing each other and challenging each other with bizarre dares. But when Jordan's with Robert, he could feel at ease; they could sit there for an hour or so and whenever Jordan wanted to pour his feelings out, Robert will be his listener. Robert never talk back, nor does he ever try to embarrass him.
In fact, Robert was the only one who could understand his inner feelings. Even though Samuel knew about it, Jordan wasn't sure whether his childhood friend understood it. There were reasons he was called the 'kind playboy'. Back in freshman year and even now, Jordan had always been popular. His handsome looks and cheerful personality not only attracts the female population, even his male peers favour him. He was always surrounded by women, and during that time, Jordan didn't mind the attention considering he was trying to heal his wounded heart; from Kimberley's rejection and his mother's absence. He thought that by going out with lots of girls, he could make Kimberley realise that she was losing something, even if it was only a little. Even so, Jordan cared for all the girls that he go out with. Due to his kindness, most of the girls would ask him a favour; to make their boyfriends jealous or to heal their broken heart after being dumped. Jordan willingly went out with them, and thus being a couple with those girls. Maybe it was because Jordan didn't have his heart in the relationship or maybe his ex-girlfriends sensed that he wasn't in love with them, they all broke up with him. They didn't hate him, they just didn't want to take advantage of his kindness and they wanted to at least have a man to love them for who they were, not for pity. Jordan realised this, so he stopped going out with multiple girls. Even though he tried to have a solid relationship, he wasn't able to keep it for long. Reason: he didn't have his heart in the relationship. He was not surrounded by girls like before, but he still has his admirers. Even so, he wanted to have a special someone in his heart, someone other than Kimberley.
That was why, when he was attracted by Sophie, he pursued her. But when he saw Samuel making a move on Sophie, his feelings were jumbled up. He was angry, but who was he angry for? Was it for him, for not saving Sophie? Or was it for Sophie, who was being taken advantaged of by two men, which was Scott and Samuel? Or, as he feared, was he angry for Kimberley, when he saw her boyfriend talking to someone other than her? Jordan put his hand on his head, almost ignoring that Robert was right beside him, watching his every move. Robert did what he always do whenever he sees Jordan like this: he patted his head. Robert and even Jordan did not know why, but whenever Robert did that, Jordan always calmed down. Robert thought that maybe Jordan just didn't receive a lot of affection from his father, though he knew Jordan wouldn't admit that.
"What's bothering you again, Jo?" Robert said, his voice even. Jordan leaned back, his face looking at the sky. "Hey, Rob, you remembered last night I called you? The plan?" Jordan asked Robert instead. Robert looked at Jordan, but replied anyway, "Yeah. Why?". Jordan let out a sad smile. "Thing is, I planned it since I wanted to know, where does my heart lie?" Jordan said, his tone low. Robert did not need to ask him what he was talking about. "Kimberley or Sophie, huh?" Robert said, his voice calm. Jordan then let out a chuckle. "You're not angry? That I seem to not be serious with Sophie?" Jordan asked, his tone light. Robert shook his head slightly. "Idiot. If you weren't serious with her, you wouldn't be worried about your feelings for her" he replied. Jordan let out an absent-minded smile when he heard the word 'idiot'. "Yeah, maybe I am an idiot. I've gone out with beautiful girls, yet I hurt them. My mind's still with her, Robert" Jordan said, his tone sad. Robert did not say anything, letting Jordan continue. "I was scared, when I realised that my heart always skips a beat faster whenever I see Sophie. I always thought: Is she the one? Will she really heal my heart? Or is she just like the others, ending up hurt by my own selfishness? I just can't make a step, Robert". Robert kept quiet, thinking deep. "Let me ask you a questionnaire then" Robert said suddenly, and if Jordan wasn't mistaken, he seemed to see a gleam in his eyes. "Eh? Uh, sure...?" Jordan replied.
"Does your heart skip a beat when you see Sophie?" Robert asked.
"Yes?"
"Do you want to take her heart?"
"Yes"
"Do you think it's a waste of time to get it?"
"What?! NO!" Jordan replied, his tone angry.
Robert then smiled. "Do you want to protect her, not only for the Golden Event, but for eternity?" Robert asked. Jordan calmed down, and blushed, "Y-yeah...". "There you have it. I think, Jordan, Sophie may be the one for you. I don't like saying this: But maybe you have experienced similar situations like you just mentioned, so Sophie, who's the total opposite to your type of girl, will be the one who will make you go crazy. Your heart seems to know, that all this time, a girl like Kimberley won't make you happy, so you started to like a girl like Sophie. I will ask you this again, though, are you ready to face the challenges that you will be facing once you try to become closer to Sophie?" Robert said. Jordan sat there, speechless. "I will".
Present...
Jordan lay down on his floor, then rolled his body to his white Persian carpet. He felt his body being tickled by the carpet, but he ignored it; it kept him awake, anyway. Even when Robert told him all those words, he was a bit unconvinced. Though, Robert may be quite right. He was too worried to not hurt Sophie, even though he only knew her as the student council president, Samantha's good friend, Robert's cousin and Samuel's classmate. By the way, what was with Samuel, anyway? Why did he say that she was an important person? Jordan groaned as he realised this. So far, there were already three people who seem to warn him not to hurt Sophie; Robert, Samantha(though secretly) and Samuel. He chuckled. Seems that he couldn't look down on Sophie. No, he shouldn't. He then grabbed his phone. He fiddled with it until he found it. A photo of someone. He stared at it.
The picture was of a jet-blacked hair girl, her long hair being teased by the wind. She had on a beautiful smile, her face bright. Her cheeks were slightly red, maybe due to the cold weather. She looked so happy in that picture, Jordan couldn't help but smile. He scrolled another picture. This time, it was a picture of a sleeping strawberry-blonde girl. Her face looked so innocent in this picture, her mouth half-pouting. Jordan remembered that when he took this exact picture, the girl whispered her boyfriend's name softly in her dreams. He remembered how sad he felt after he took it, regretting to be there. He tried to secretly kiss her, but stopped mid-way. Instead, he sent the picture to Samuel, and they both got a good laugh after she woke up. Suddenly, he gasped. When he looked at the sleeping Kimberley in his phone, he felt a touch of sadness, unlike the usual, where he felt his chest tightened with sadness. He scrolled back to Sophie's picture. THAT picture made his chest tighten, not in sadness, but it hurts. He knew that feeling. He fell in love with her. He deleted Kimberley's picture, and stared back at Sophie's picture. He tried to remember how did he get this picture of Sophie. He suddenly remembered when he saw Sophie's smiling face. He got this picture earlier today, where Sophie was chasing a beautiful-looking girl in the school yard. He couldn't help but feel jealous when he saw Sophie smiling. No, he was actually jealous of the other person. What was her name? Lynn? Well, he was jealous of this Lynn person, melting away Sophie's cool exterior. In fact, he wanted to be the person to make Sophie that way. He decided that he should do something for him to be able to freely take Sophie's picture. He was embarrassed of himself for secretly taking a picture of Sophie. He's going to get her. He smiled to himself. As he put back his phone, he knew where his feelings are now. He was going to launch his plan tomorrow, for the Golden Event.
THE THIRD WHEEL (PART 15)
Sophie was in a total bad mood. Not only she had a headache, she's actually angry at the day that she will be facing. It was the memorial day of Scarlet High, and each and every one of her school mates were excited and enjoying themselves. As far as Sophie knows, the Golden Event will start at one in the afternoon. Now it was only eight in the morning, yet everyone had on bright faces, chattering away. Sophie could see unfamiliar faces, presumably visitors from outside. On such rare cases for events like the memorial day, students are allowed to bring visitors of their own, to increase the social network between the school and its students. Due to this, Sophie's spirits lighten up a little. She saw a few kids running about while their parents and older siblings yell out to calm them down. She felt a touch of sadness in her, when suddenly someone hugged her from behind. Sophie stiffened at first, but eased herself when she heard a weird giggle behind her. "Samantha, don't do that" Sophie warned her, letting herself go from Samantha's grip.
"Well it ain't my fault for you to stare into space" Samantha quipped back, giving Sophie a goofy grin. Sophie looked around her. "Where's Robert?" she asked, curious of her cousin's whereabouts. Samantha gave Sophie a shrug then said, "We came to the school together when suddenly he said that he was tired, so I guess he's taking a nap at the large tree in the school yard". Sophie shook her head, in lost for words. "Typical of Robert. If I'm not mistaken, I think Ken's his ally in that place. He told me he wanted to take a nap for the Golden Event. I don't know why I'm surrounded by sleepy people" Sophie said, her tone even. Samantha gave out a loud laugh, making the people around them to turn their heads towards the two of them. Sophie noticed this, then elbowed Samantha at the side. "Samantha! Mind your manners" Sophie said sternly. Samantha stopped laughing, and looked at Sophie with an apologetic look. "Sorry. I was just thinking of the same thing and was planning to tell a joke about it, but instead you made that statement, so the laughter in me just let out" Samantha said, giving Sophie a puppy-dog face.
Sophie shook her head at Samantha's goofy behaviour. "So you're going to accompany me in my patrol or something?" Sophie asked Samantha. She saw Samantha pondering for a moment when suddenly a junior called out to Samantha. Sophie studied the junior as she explained her dilemma to Samantha. She was wearing a softball uniform, a bit of dirt on her clothes. "You want me to show my play in front of the school visitors?" Sophie heard Samantha said. The girl nodded, "Please, Samantha. We really need you to show our potential school mates for next semester. You're the only female all-rounder of sports in this school". Samantha then rubbed her nose, which Sophie knew too well that Samantha was proud of her reputation. Before Samantha get all cocky, Sophie spoke up, "You should go, Sammy. I can handle the patrol. It's my duty as the student council president". Samantha did not have the time to reply when the junior brightened up at Sophie's statement. "Really? Thank you so much, President Sophie! Let's go, Samantha! We should change your outfit into the softball uniform!" said the junior, grabbing Samantha's arm, ignoring her protests. "Wha-? Hey! Sophie! You sure?" Samantha yelled out as she was dragged towards the softball pitch. Sophie just waved at her, and gave her a thumbs up for good luck.
Sophie continued on walking when she bumped into a huge senior. "Oh, forgive me, President" said the gruff voice. He was holding on so much food in his arms, a bread seemed to fall out of his arms, as if trying to have a life on its own. Sophie caught it, making his friend, a lanky guy, to say, "Nice catch". Sophie took a tray from a stand, gave the stand owner a 'may I?' look and in reply the stand owner gave her a nod. She held out the tray to the huge senior. "Here, put your food in this tray. This way it will be easier for you to walk around with that amount of food" Sophie said, giving the senior a nice smile. "Gee, thanks President! You can take the bread that you just caught, as thanks" the senior quickly put his food on the tray and took it from her, not wanting to burden her for holding on to it for too long. Sophie stood there, dumbfounded. "I can't-" she said when suddenly they heard a grumble, which came from her stomach. The two seniors laughed as Sophie's face turned immediately red. "Take it, President. If you weren't troubled by my offer just now, I would have given you more food. Have a good work in patrolling, President" the huge senior said, walking away with his best friend. As she took a bite of the bread(chocolate bread, much to her pleasure) she heard a voice behind her. "Such a nice President, aren't you?". Sophie looked behind her but instead she only saw people bustling around her, as if there were no indication that there were anybody there. She shrugged and walked on. What she did not realise, however, she was being watched by a a few pair of eyes.
An hour before the Golden Event....
Sophie lay down on the sofa in the student council room, her arm on her eyes. "Tired, President?" said Peter, who was drinking from a orange juice can. Peter heard Sophie mumbled to him, an indication that she agreed his statement. Peter chuckled, and shook his head. "Well, you better get ready. It's an hour till the Golden Event" he said, making Sophie sat up. "Do you know, Peter, I've felt a many moments of strange vibes during patrol. I don't know how to react to that. What do you think?" Sophie said, her tone a touch worried. "Maybe the strange vibe came from your admirers? I guess they are trying to be hyped up for the Golden Event" Jennifer said, suddenly entering the student council room with a candy apple in hand, wearing a rabbit scarf and bag of treats. "You seem to enjoy yourself" Sophie said, after studying her. "A bit too much, after making us going through all this trouble" said Peter darkly. Sophie ignored his remark. "So what do you mean hyped up?" Sophie asked. "I heard from a few guys that they were all either teaming up or making plans to capture you and make you 'theirs'" Jennifer replied nonchalantly. "You seriously don't feel guilty about this, don't you?" Peter asked his sister, eyeing her. "Nope. I mean, President herself said that we should increase the morale of the students, especially the seniors that are in preparation for the exams" Jennifer replied a matter-of-factly.
Sophie turned towards Peter. "That is true, Peter, so stop getting her off her back" she said, her tone soft. "If you're not going to argue, then let's at least plan to help each other, especially you from getting caught by our 'seekers'" Peter said. Jennifer heard this, then said, "We can't do that unless you just protect her. That's what the rules are stated. If we do that, the students will cause an uproar". "Then let's plan on protecting each other then" Sophie said. As Peter and Sophie discussed seriously, Ken already arrived into the student council room, munching on a marshmallow. "Let me join" Jennifer said. As she said this, though, Ken noticed her candy apple. "Cool, a candy apple. Gimme" Ken grabbed the candy apple from Jennifer's clutches. Before she could protest, he already took a big bite out of it. "HEY!" Jennifer yelled out. "Karma does exist, huh?" Peter teased his sister, making her pout. "Alright guys, let's all kill time by planning for the Golden Event" said Sophie, receiving a nod from all three of her members.
One in the afternoon....
"Alright, everybody! Are you ready for the Golden Event?" said Jennifer on her microphone with a loud voice on the stage. The crowd were in frenzy, cheering at her. Witnessing this scene, Sophie who was a few steps behind Jennifer, whispered to Peter, making him bend slightly due to their difference in height. "She sure has talent in being a host for a game show" Sophie said, her tone light. Peter chuckled and replied, "Don't be surprised if you found her on TV hosting one". They then straighten their posture, trying to act serious in front of their student population. Jennifer was explaining the rules of the Golden Event, the crowd listening quietly to every word she said. Sophie heard one of the excerpts:
"Participants are the students of this school and 20 selected visitors. Even though there are prizes that benefits the students, the selected won't need to worry; you will get a souvenir for participating! Participants must bring the member that they caught to the stage" Jennifer said. She continued on, "As I said before in my announcement, teachers will help these members so that participants will have to go through challenges to catch them! Members of the student council may ask their 'seeker' to make a task or a 'challenge' before catching them. Participants must not use violence when trying to catch them or the button that they are holding" Jennifer held up a small box with a big red button on it. "Be warned, when pushed, it will cause a loud alarm that will not only stop the game, but the participant will be attacked by a selected few of the members of the judo and karate club. For the ones who are not participating, they can continue on their activities on the school grounds, the stands will be kept open. Be reminded, do not alarm the participants if you found a member of the student council. You are to keep in control and continue on with your activity. You also have the option to help any member of the student council. If you are tired, you can sit here in the hall and watch a video footage of the video cameras that have been set for this event. Due to this, participants are out of bounds here when the game starts. Time limit, the game will end until ALL members are caught, but if it takes too long to catch one, we will set a time limit until 5 in the evening. Has everybody understood all the rules?". Everybody in the hall nodded, understanding her every word. "Alright, participants will have to give a half an hour for the members to catch them. So, let's begin!" Jennifer then left with the other three members, each going their own separate ways.
As the participants watch the big clock that was put in the middle of the hall for everyone to see, they waited with anxiety in their hearts. Scott was fiddling with his hands. Samuel with Kimberley by his side, her exclaiming: "Let's catch Jennifer and Ken! The prize is great! Oh, and Peter too!". Samantha was outside, now at the takoyaki stand, giving out pamphlets. As much as she wanted to participate, she can't, so all she had to do was hope that Sophie won't be caught by an oily face teenager who has raging hormones. Robert was lying on the grass, finishing the last of the mango juice in the can before crushing it with one hand. "Now, to help Sophie. And to launch our plan, Jordan" he said as he threw the now crushed can. John was walking in the hallway, holding on to the walkie-talkie that was given to each teachers in the school, to report each other of the situation every now and then. Lastly, Jordan was sitting at the end of the hall, his face serious. He may look cool, but he was biting his lip, his body temperature warm, making him sweat on the forehead, despite the cool hall. Sophie was walking fast, trying to find a place to hide. Everyone was psyched up in their own way. Each of them have their own plan of their own.
THE THIRD WHEEL (PART 16)
Jordan was running along the hallway, his brow furrowed. What happened to the people that were around him a few minutes ago? he thought. As far as he know, he was surrounded by a large group of students when the game started. Where did they go? Toilet break? he thought again, his pace not affected whatsoever. He was about to make a turn when suddenly he saw two average looking male students, his juniors possibly, being dragged by two muscled seniors wearing a white uniform, obviously karate uniforms, with black belts and all, and was put into a room. Jordan, too shocked with what he just witnessed, felt his waist being grabbed by a thick arm. Jordan snapped out of his shocked state and elbowed the person behind him. When the person was clutching his abdomen, Jordan instinctively kicked him at the shins, making his attacker yelp in pain while crouching to the floor. Jordan grabbed his attacker's neck of his uniform and pushed him into the wall. Jordan's intention was to ask for an explanation for the attack, when a voice came from the PA system was heard.
"Jordan Watson, please refrain from scaring our 'spice' in the game" said the voice which Jordan recognise as Mr. Sanders, the chemistry teacher and also the advisor of the student council. Even though the student council can manage on its own, but considering Mr. Sanders was not responsible for any existing clubs, he was 'forced' to be the advisor. As if the student body didn't know about the fact that he was involved in a scandal that involves the beautiful infirmary doctor, Miss Suzy and a student's older sister. Robert once pointed out that Mr. Sanders was nothing but a lecherous bastard. Jordan remembered laughing out loud about it, getting him a glare from the chemistry teacher.
Back to the reality, Jordan tried searching for the camera. Once he found it, he pointed to himself. "Yes, you. I guess Jennifer, our adorable treasurer, forgot to tell you that since there are big amount of participants, we will 'eliminate' them by asking the judo and karate members to catch them and make them drop out willingly. Isn't that fun?" said Mr. Sanders. Psycho, thought Jordan. He loosened his grip on the judo member's shirt, his attacker, and glared at him to leave him alone. Before he could step any further, he suddenly crashed into somebody. It was Jennifer, her face red from running. "Wha-?" Jordan managed to say when she suddenly ran away from him. He heard her yell out, "Sorry!" when he saw a group of students, female and male, running towards him. He dodged, and they continued running to the direction where Jennifer disappeared into. He heard them yelling: "JEEEEENNNNIIIIIFEEEERRRR!!!!". Jordan could only look on, his jaw dropping. He guessed those were the victims of the karate and judo members.
He shrugged off what he just saw, considering he saw a few karate and judo members running to Jennifer's direction, presumably to rescue her. He took a few steps when suddenly he heard a sleepy voice coming from the PA system. "Hello, my fellow schoolmates. Uhhh, this is Ken Powell, the student council secretary. I've just got caught by a female senior and the game just started like...What's that? Oh, that's the timer? Oh, right, uhm, an hour ago. Considering Mr. Sanders is too lazy, I mean I was too lame" Jordan heard Ken said and laughed at the 'lazy' part and heard a voice, presumably Mr. Sanders' said "HEY!" in the background. "Since I've been caught, I will be doing some commentaries while I wait for the other members to get caught. I will announce the amount of participants which as what Mr. Sanders said, 'annihilated' and I'll be doing the time-check. Honestly, this is too much work so" Ken continued on, his voice getting bored as he went on. "Oh, Jenny. Well, it seems that Jennifer Summers, student council treasurer has been caught after 1 hour and 10 minutes. Now, you do the work". Jordan heard the microphone being moved. "Ken, both of us are going to do the work. NOW SIT. Ok, everybody, it seems that Ken has informed of my elimination. Now, it seems that my brother, Peter and our President Sophie has not yet been caught. The amount of participants are decreased in a very large amount. From 1,000 something to 50 people! Seems that our karate and judo members have been busy! I'll be reporting in after an hour".
Jordan almost slipped when he heard the announcement end. 50 people? he thought. Hopefully, Robert has not been caught yet. He felt his pocket vibrate. He took out his phone and saw that a message has come in. It was from Robert. The message told him that Robert hasn't found their primary target yet, and asked him back whether he did. Jordan messaged him back to inform him a negative on his side when suddenly he was bumped into by someone. It was another girl this time, and he inwardly groaned. It was his latest ex-girlfriend, Jessica Fields. Unlike his other ex-girlfriends, he broke up with this exact one due to her constant whining and always asking him to shower her with gifts since he was rich. Once Jessica realised she was in his arms, she just stood there and looked up at him with her aquamarine eyes. How did she even survive from the judo and karate members? he thought. "Jordan" she purred, clutching his biceps. "Can you help me from the judo and karate members? My so-called 'bodyguards' were all caught by those barbaric men. I wonder you can be my protector, for old times' sake?" she purred on, batting her eyelashes at him. Before he could answer, he saw his team mate from the football club running towards them. "Carl!" he called to him. Carl saw them and slowed his pace with a questioning look. Before anybody could react, Jordan suddenly pushed Jessica towards the confused Carl, intentionally making their lips meet. When it did happen, Jessica kissed Carl deeply, making Carl confused as ever, though he did not push her away. "Thanks!" exclaimed Jordan as he walked away, Carl giving him a thumbs-up sign.
After an hour of running and avoiding the 'barbaric men', he heard Ken's announcement, "There are 20 participants left. President and Vice-president are still at large, people. MOVE IT!". Jordan was too surprised by the announcement that he almost slipped again, this time making him barge into a room. Once he was inside, he recognised it as the old staff room, smaller than the new one. Due to its distance that was too far from the classrooms and its small size for a large number of teachers, they moved it to another room, making this exact room to be left abandoned. Students also do not come to this place often, considering it has nothing to be seen. Suddenly, he heard movement behind a stack of desks. Jordan tried to move, but was stopped by another stack of desks behind him. He cursed himself. He had left himself stuck into a confined space, making anybody attack him without him fighting back. Thinking that the movement was one of the karate or judo members, he took a grab of a broken piece of wood.
The person hiding behind the desks slipped out, falling on the floor. Jordan gasped, but not too loudly, fearing that he might alarm the people outside. Sophie sat there, her face pointing downwards. Jordan called Robert, "Found her. Go into position". Sophie looked up, and lunged at him. Jordan grabbed her wrist, and pulled her body towards his. "Calm down. It's just me" he said, looking at her in the eye. He felt her soften, yet her eyes still showed panic. "Come with me. Robert's waiting for us" he continued on, when they heard an announcement from the PA system. "This is Vice-President, Peter Summers. There are 6 participants left after my capture. Karate and judo members will not annihilate this small amount of people. I will announce who are the survivors: Samuel Andre, Robert Parker, Scott Kennedy, Jordan Watson, Martin Temple and Leonard Johnson. That is all".
Jordan grabbed Sophie's hand and took her out of the staff room. After seeing that the coast was clear, Jordan walked on, Sophie behind him, their hands still bound together like glue. Jordan and Sophie did not hear it, or maybe their sense of hearing was drowned by the sound of their heartbeats, but Scott appeared right in front of them, his face serious. Before Jordan could react, Scott lunged at him, making Sophie gasp in surprise. The only thing that Jordan remembered was him being pulled from the back, making him enter a dark room. He did not realise that he was holding onto Sophie's so tightly, that he heard Sophie whimper in pain, though it wasn't audible enough for him to hear. Even so, he loosened his grip, refusing to let go of her. The light was switched on, and Jordan step in front of Sophie, his face hard.
THE THIRD WHEEL (PART 17)
Sophie's heart skipped a beat as she studied Jordan's back. It was wide and it looked so strong from her point of view. She bet that the person in front of them weren't able to see her figure at all due to Jordan's large frame. She unconsciously pulled Jordan's edge of his shirt slightly, as he stood there. "Who are you? I'm not giving Sophie over" said Jordan, his tone dark. Sophie kept on being like that, biting her lip. What are you doing, Sophie? You should step out and show your President authority! she thought to herself. But she knew she can't. Being like that with Jordan seemed to be the right thing in the world at that time.
She heard a voice, somehow familiar saying, "Whoa, there Tiger. Relax. We're actually helping Prez there". Sophie instinctively stepped away from Jordan and studied the person in front of Jordan and her. It was not just a person, it was two people. And she knew who they were. They were not only one of the remaining participants, but they were the seniors that she bumped into in the beginning of the day. "Martin Temple and Leonard Johnson?" she said, cocking her head to one side. Leonard, the huge senior, looked at his lanky friend, his face bright. "Gee, the student council president knows our name, Marty! Maybe it's cause of the announcement, but I feel so freaking honoured right now! And she once saved my food too!" said Leonard excitedly, though keeping his tone low. Martin, who was surveying outside, raised his eyebrows at his friend, then looked at Jordan and Sophie. Sophie gave Leonard a warm smile, making the senior grin stupidly. "Of course I know you guys. Leonard's a linebacker in the rugby team right? And Martin here is the school photographer of the Newspaper Club. Anyway, as President, I should know at least ALL of the student's names, yes?" Sophie said in her 'President' tone, still keeping a smile on her face.
Martin shook his head as he saw Leonard going to the corner and bang his head at the wall. Sophie and Jordan were startled at this, making Martin speak up, "Sorry about this. He may be the scariest linebacker in the state, but he turns into a total fanboy when it comes to Prez. Don't worry, he admires her, so he won't do anything stalker-ish. So any plans to save Prez?". Sophie walked towards Leonard when Leonard was crouching on the floor, clutching his head. Jordan still stood there and eyed Martin suspiciously. "Why are you trying to cooperate with me when you obviously could get rid of me and get the Prez?" Jordan said, still eyeing Martin. Martin took a glance at Leonard who was now being comforted by Sophie and pointed at them. "You see that? That's why. Prez's different from the former one, and she won't judge you no matter what. Sure, it might be suspicious for the both of us to help you guys considering the circumstances of the Golden Event, but think about it: You either protect Prez by yourself with a guy who wants her more than you could think or you use us as decoy to distract him. Knowing you, I know you won't agree with such 'low' tricks, but as I said, consider the circumstances. So you in, or not?" said Martin, raising his eyebrows at Jordan. Jordan stepped back, baffled. "How did you, Scott, me, decoy?" Jordan sputtered, unable to make a proper sentence, but Martin understood him. "What do you think I'm in the Newspaper Club for? Personally, I'm a fan of you and Sophie. I'm one of the members of the Sophie and Jordan Club. Scott's too straight-laced, so you're the guy that could make Prez's life colourful" Martin replied, his tone amused. Jordan was too shocked at this statement and Sophie was already beside him at that time.
"What do you mean, making my life colourful? Doing this type of activity often?" Sophie asked, oblivious with Jordan's state and Martin's smirk. "So should we go with the plan?" said the now calmed down Leonard. "Jordan? I'm alright with anything, they don't have evil intentions, I could tell" Sophie said, while smiling at Leonard. Leonard gave Sophie a small nod, and put his hand at his heart. "I don't have evil intentions" Leonard said solemnly. Sophie covered her smile with her hand, making Jordan calm himself down. Before they could do anything, they heard footsteps outside. "Is there anybody inside?" said the voice that Sophie knew as Scott's. Sophie heard Martin swore under his breath then locked the door. They heard Scott trying to open the door, but to no avail. Martin turned to Jordan. "You know a bit of the plan right? Leo and me will be the decoy and you do what is best" said Martin, taking a dark cloak from a table and shoved it to Leonard's body. "Prez, give me your jacket" Martin said, Sophie obediently listening to his orders. "I'm not happy to say this, but I could wear a woman's cloth if I wanted to" he said grimly while wearing Sophie's jacket which fit him, though the jacket was a bit too small for him. "Prez, you sure are small" he said, making Sophie look down, her face red. Martin walked towards the locked door with Leonard, now wearing the dark cloak, covering his body and his face. "On the count to three, me and Leonard will run out, and while Scott chases after us, you guys run the opposite way. Understand?" Martin whispered to the three of them, then covered his face with a black scarf and wrapped it around his head so that nobody could tell who he was. "I don't look convincingly like a girl, so I bet Scottie out there would figure it out sooner than we plan, so run as fast as you can, alright?" Martin continued on.
Before Martin could do anything, Sophie pulled him close and kissed him at the cheek. She hugged the covered Leonard, making her disappear in the black cloak. "You be careful out there and thank you" she said, her tone sad. She saw Leonard shaking to the left and right. "Maybe we should do this more often, eh Marty? We got Prez's affections, even if it were only a little" Leonard said to the now stiff Martin. "W-we should go" stammered Martin, putting his hand on the doorknob. Leonard then put his large hand on Jordan's shoulder. "Sophie and Jordan For The World" he said solemnly. Sophie saw Jordan reddening before the two of them ran out. Jordan somehow managed to quickly grab Sophie's arm and they both ran the opposite direction. They kept on running the hallway until Sophie saw a figure leaning on the wall, as if waiting for them.
Robert held up his hand as they approached him. "Quick, I think Scott's on our trail" Jordan breathlessly said still holding onto Sophie. As Jordan let go of Sophie, Robert then carried her, much to her surprise. "Plan A could not work under these circumstances, so we will be going with Plan B" said Jordan, looking behind him. "What's Plan B?" said Robert and Sophie in unison, though Sophie's more frantic. "I will try to distract Scott while Robert will run to the hall" Jordan simply said. "I could bear with that" Robert shrugged, but Sophie didn't quite agree. "With me in his arms?" she said incredulously. "You're not heavy like Sammy. I bet I could even carry you over my head if we had more time right now" Robert said blankly, making Sophie giving him a glare to keep him quiet.
Before Jordan could calm the two cousins, Jordan felt someone grabbing his shirt. What Sophie was seeing was like a scene from a drama. As Jordan looked behind him, Scott tried to punch him in the face, but Jordan managed to dodge it. Jordan then pushed Scott to a nearby locker and punched Scott instead. "Are you out of your mind?!" yelled Jordan angrily. Scott, now massaging his face looked at Jordan defiantly. "I'm not hurting Sophie, so you don't need to use violence" Jordan continued on, his tone now normal. "You hit me" Scott said, like a child accusing Jordan of taking his favourite toy. "Yeah, if it weren't for the fact that you wanted to hit me. If you wanted Sophie, you could just use words, not your fist" replied Jordan. They then glared at each other, making Sophie fidget, despite being in Robert's arms.
"Let me down, Robert. Aren't you suppose to intervene? Jordan's your friend, you know" said Sophie. Robert then put her down, then answered with a solemn voice, "When a man's in battle, it's not about winning, it's about protecting his pride and the one important to him". Sophie shook her head at this statement, then walked towards Scott and Jordan. She then looked at the camera. "Jennifer, you said that the 'hiders' could make a challenge to their 'seekers', am I right?" she said. "Yes, President. You are allowed to do that" said Jennifer on the PA system. They then heard a voice, possibly Mr. Sanders, saying, "Add spice to the game, Sophie! Make one of them strip in front of you! Then all of the girls will go crazy!", making Peter reply in return, "Don't listen to him, Sophie! Mr. Sanders! Control yourself!".
Sophie remained undeterred, though Jordan and Scott were already frowning due to Mr. Sander's bizarre comments. Sophie cleared her throat loudly, making the two of them focus their attention on her. "Since the two of you wanted to send me to the hall but individually, I will make a preposition for you" she said formally. Sophie heard Robert behind her, walking back and forth, waiting for her to finish. "Whoever catches this ribbon on my hair, will be the one to send me to the hall" she said, indicating the ribbon that was tied loosely on her hair. Sophie heard Robert gasp, though Scott and Jordan had on puzzled expressions. Suddenly, they heard Mr. Sanders from the PA system, "BOO! What do you mean, get the ribbon from you? That's the easiest challenge I've ever heard! BAH! I quit as your advisor!". Sophie shook her head as he said this, then glared at the camera. As if on cue, Robert stepped in front of Sophie, and looked at the two men in front of him, then raised his eyebrows at the camera. "If you people think that getting a mere ribbon from Sophie is easy, then I suggest you to not underestimate her. Peter, would you continue?" Robert said with a matter-of-fact tone. "Yes, I would continue. It's not really a secret, everyone, it's just that nobody ever asked. Sophie has been trained Chinese martial arts, so she knows your nerve points and could make you paralysed, though I don't think she won't use it against the students, teachers and school staff. She is swift in her movements, and due to her small stature, she is able to dodge any attack on her with ease. That is all. And good luck" Peter said through the PA system.
By this time, Scott and Jordan had the same expression again: their jaws dropping and looking at Sophie with pure awe and shock. Suddenly, Scott then groaned. "Of course, how could I forget?" Scott mumbled, though Jordan caught that. They heard a small cheer at the end of the hall, and they all looked at the direction of the sound. It was Martin and Leonard, now already in their true outfit, though Martin had Sophie's jacket hanging on his shoulders. "You rock, President! Don't go easy on them!" yelled Leonard, ignoring Mr. Sander's cheer, "Do it, Sophie! I take back what I said! Use your awesome girl power to beat those two to shame!", in the background Sophie could hear Jennifer, Peter and Ken shouting at Mr. Sanders, "SHUT UP!". Sophie could guess from Martin's frown that he wished that he had his camera right at that moment to record the event that was unfolding right in front of his eyes. "Shall we start? You guys make a move first, then I will" she said, already starting the challenge.
Without further ado, Scott lunged at Sophie. Sophie side-stepped and kicked him at the shins. Scott was now crouching on the floor, groaning in pain. Jordan tried moving behind Sophie, but Sophie sensed him and pulled his arm and then turned him around, making his arm to be pulled at the back. Sophie then pushed him to the lockers, making him feel dizzy. Scott was now back to normal, then tried to grab Sophie's arm, but Sophie intercepted him by hitting his arm. Jordan just stood there, his expression sick. "I don't like attacking you, Sophie" he said, sounding guilty. "Didn't Peter told you not to underestimate me?" she said, raising her eyebrows at him. "Yeah, but my male instincts wouldn't let it be. I mean, one girl versus two men? Seriously?" he said. "Fine. Robert could help me. If one of you can't take away the ribbon from me, Robert will bring me to the hall, alright?" Sophie reassured Jordan. Jordan then shrugged and gave her an apologetic look. "Don't hate me for this?" he said, biting his lip. Before Sophie could reply, Jordan already stretched his long arms and took a grab of her ribbon. "And I win" he said. "That was...easy?" Sophie said, baffled. "I know it's low, but taking the opportunity when you're distracted was the best way. You're mad?" he said, his face guilty. "No, I'm actually relieved" she mumbled, just for Jordan to hear.
Sophie then took the ribbon from Jordan's hand and tied it around his arm. "Now you're the winner" she said, smiling up at him. Sophie turned around to look at Scott, who was now stone-faced. She gave him a brief nod, then turned back to Jordan. Jordan held up his arm, for Sophie to slip her arm in his. "Shall we, President? or can I say, Princess?" Jordan said giddily, making Sophie smile. They were walking side to side when they heard Robert's warning, "Watch out, you guys!". Sophie saw a box falling from a locker. "Uh-oh, i forgot about our Plan A" said Jordan before he stepped in front of Sophie and the box hit him at his head. "Jordan!" Sophie said, alarmed. "I'm okay, just a bit dizzy..." he replied before fainting. Robert managed to catch Jordan from falling, then looked up at Sophie. "The plane was to make anybody who were pursuing us dizzy when it hit him or try to at least stop him from going any further, just as a distraction. Guess I shouldn't have put a bag with think Biology, Chemistry and Physics workbooks?" Robert said weakly. "Robert! You shouldn't do that! That will hurt people and it's a disrespect to knowledge!" she exclaimed. "But he said use something semi-heavy" he muttered in return. Sophie shook her head at this, then looked at Jordan.
"Enough. We should bring Jordan to the infirmary, to get at least a treatment and consultation from Miss Suzy" she said, putting her President responsibility into use. Before Robert could do anything, Leonard put his heavy hand on Robert's shoulder and carried Jordan in his arms and walked towards the infirmary. "Hope nobody's seeing this" Robert said with a worried tone. Sophie looked on, wishing for the same thing. "So who is going to escort you now?" said Martin, looking on. They then heard a voice from the PA system. "Since this thing is dragging on, I will decide who will take Sophie" said Mr. Sanders. "The person to escort Sophie will be...."
THE THIRD WHEEL (PART 18)
Jordan was lying on the infirmary bed, again. He groaned loudly, frustrated. He almost had his chance to at least escort Sophie but he had to faint just by being hit at the head by a heavy box. And to be carried in the arms of the famous linebacker, too! Jordan felt like hitting himself at the head again. But he had to lie there, as what Miss Suzy told him, so that he could at least rest. It was already 6 p.m. and as far as he knew, the night festival will start in an hour. The night festival will start with a feast and will be ended with a bonfire and fireworks display. Scarlet High was like a less fancier version of Westmoreland Private, SH's sister school. The only difference between the two was the fact that SH was a public school while WP was a private school. The students are different, too. SH is open for everybody; rich, normal and poor. Meanwhile, WP's only for the rich. Occasionally, a student or two from SH will be given a scholarship to WP, due to their excellent grades. In WP, a student will be pushed to do their best, and once you graduate, you will be guaranteed to enroll yourself to an elite university. In SH, it was not different, but for the ones who can't cope academically, will be polished in other areas. Like Samantha, who was an all-rounder athlete, was offered a program made for athletes like her, on one condition: she must at least take 5 core subjects, like Chemistry, Physics and such. He remembered that he was offered to enroll in WP, but he refused, in rebellion to his father, who was preoccupied with his work and new wife at that time.
It might sound corny and naive, but he didn't regret doing that. Due to that exact rebellion, he was able to be together with Samuel and Kimberley, who followed his decision even though they were also offered to enroll in WP. In SH, he got to meet with Robert and Samantha, Robert with his my-pace and mature attitude, Samantha with her energetic and bizarre behaviour. What was more important, he could meet with her. Yes, he wouldn't have met with Sophie Manuel. And he was thinking about her right now. Making him realise and imagine the face of the person taking Sophie's lips. He imagined Scott's. He groaned. He then imagined Martin's, the senior that helped them. He shuddered at that thought. It was not impossible; Sophie did kiss him at the cheek once, in gratitude. He then imagined Robert's face. That made him laugh. Robert and Sophie were like siblings, though due to them being cousins, it wasn't a crime to end up together. Wait, did I just thought they might end up together? he thought frantically.
He was about to bang his head when the sliding infirmary door opened. Jordan almost jumped out of the bed when he saw Robert's figure. Robert must have seen his expression; he was raising his eyebrows at Jordan. He walked towards his bed, and sat on the chair beside his bed. "You alright?" Robert asked, stretching his body. "Yeah, I'm good" said Jordan, trying to hold his laughter. "What's wrong? Is there mango pudding on my face or something?" Robert asked confusedly, wiping his face. This made Jordan laugh. "No, I will tell you later. And seriously, what's with you and mango pudding?" Jordan said, wiping his tears. Robert then stared into space, his eyes glazed over: something that he unconsciously do when he was talking about mango pudding. "The mango pudding served by the Home Economics Club was delicious. Soft, sweet and bouncy. But Mama's mango pudding will always be in my number one" Robert said, his tone soft. Before Robert starts to compare other mango puddings that he have tried during the 16 years of his life, Jordan changed the topic. "So who took Sophie's lips?" Jordan tried to say in a nonchalant way, but he found himself to be choking on his words.
Robert came back to reality, then smiled at Jordan's question. "Why not ask the lady herself?" Robert replied to Jordan who was spitting the water he was drinking at that time. Sophie then entered with a sheepish expression. "You heard?" Jordan said weakly. Sophie nodded, her face apologetic. Robert then stood up, his expression frightened. Jordan was confused by this, and looked at the door. There stood someone familiar. It was the person that he was jealous of before, the Lynn person.
Unlike last time, where she wore skinny black jeans and a jacket, she was wearing a dark red mini-dress which was a bit tight-fitting, highlighting her beautiful figure and long legs. She was wearing a cute red flower pin to keep her hair in place. Jordan noticed when she walked in, she walked gracefully, somehow like a model's. If he wasn't pursuing for Sophie, or didn't meet Sophie at all, he would have asked her out. She then stood beside the frightened Robert, and grabbed his arm. "I really like this school, Sophie. Since Robert here is free, he can be my tour guide. Shall we, Bobbles?" Lynn said, saying his nickname with a dark tone, making even Jordan shiver with fright. She dragged him out, then turned around to close the door. "You kids have fun. Don't you do naughty stuff now" she said, making Sophie and Jordan blush at the same time. Lynn then let out a sadistic laugh, then closed the door.
"I hope Robert will be alright" Sophie said with a soft tone, her face worried. Jordan patted the chair beside his bed. "Since you're here, you should sit" he said, giving her a friendly smile. Sophie obediently sat on the chair. They remained like that for a few seconds, then Jordan spoke up. "So, what time would the fireworks display start?" he asked her. "It will start at 11 p.m. I think you could see the fireworks from the window behind you" she replied, standing up. She then walked behind his bed, then drew the curtain. She then nodded and smiled. "Yes, this is a perfect view. So you won't miss anything" she said. Jordan smiled back, "That won't be much of a problem. I think I'm alright now, so I might enjoy the night festival and such". Sophie sat back on the chair again. The awkward moment came back until Sophie spoke up. "It wasn't Scott" she said. Jordan almost jumped, startled by her statement. "W-what do you mean?" he stammered, folding the blanket. Sophie then looked at him in the eye. "I said, it wasn't Scott who took my lips" she said, hiding a tiny smile.
"Who said, I mean, why would I, uh, you shouldn't, that's not right. Who did, then?" he blurted out, after much difficulty to make a sentence. Sophie laughed at this, clearly amused. "No wonder Martin said you would make my life colourful" she teased, making Jordan widened his eyes with shock. "You heard?" he said. Sophie nodded, making him pout. "In exchange of making you laugh, tell me who kissed you?" he said. This time, it was Sophie's turn to widened her eyes with shock. "Forward, aren't you?" she said, making Jordan give her a sheepish smile. "It was Lynn" she said. Jordan burst out laughing, making Sophie confused. "She suddenly appeared right in front of us! I guessed she was lost, so she just walked into the scene without any doubt" Sophie explained, making Jordan laugh even harder. "Fine. Let me tell you how it happened".
Flashback....
"The person to bring Sophie back is...the beautiful girl over there! What's your name?" Mr. Sanders said to Lynn, who suddenly walked in front of Robert, Martin, Sophie and Scott. Robert leaned towards the lockers, trying to hide away from Lynn. Martin was studying Lynn, clearly enamoured by Lynn's beauty. Lynn looked at the camera then said, "I'm Lynn Mayura. I'll be a student here starting Monday. I was here to enjoy the Memorial Day, but instead, I got lost". She kept a cool face when saying this. "So, I should escort Sophie? Sure thing, she will be my guide then" Lynn said, taking a hold of Sophie. Mr. Sanders then frantically said, "No, that's not it! Damn! I got curious of who that girl was, I forgot what I was saying! If she was only a few years older, I would have asked her number!", while in the background, a voice, possibly Peter's said, "Mr. Sanders!". Lynn then let out a cold smile. "Whoever tries to stop me, will be spending a night at the hospotal. I heard that Peter made a statement that Sophie was trained in Chinese martial arts? Who do you think taught her? Anyway, I'm not in a good mood right now, so I don't give a damn" she said, Sophie walking in front of her.
Now...
"So, did you kiss her?" Jordan said, already calmed down. "No. I mean, I did, but on the cheek. Why were you laughing so hard anyway? Was it because you thought we kissed at the lips?" Sophie said, cocking her head to one side. Jordan shook his head, "No, I was laughing at myself for something else" he said, referring to the imagination he had before Robert came, but Sophie did not know this, thus making her confused as ever. "Nah, it's okay. So who got the other prize?" he tried to change the topic. "You're changing the topic, but I will answer anyway. A female senior, who turned out to be a fan girl of Ken's caught him, Jennifer was caught by a freshman who was about to be caught by one of the karate members, while Peter was caught by Kimberley" she said. Jordan whistled. "Kimberley? Peter? Whoa, I bet she did some traps to get him. What happened to Samuel, anyway?" he asked. Sophie shook her head. "I heard he was the remaining participant, but I didn't see him anywhere. Though I saw him with Kimberley before kissing Lynn's cheek at the hall" she replied back. "Maybe he fell asleep without the realisation of the Karate and Judo members. By the way, whose idea was it, to use them?" he asked. Sophie shrugged. "I guess it was Mr. Sanders' idea only. You heard him, he wanted to add some 'spice' into the game. The man's a psycho" she replied back, smiling. The both of them laughed, then Jordan looked at Sophie seriously.
"I never thought you were a bit laid-back than the usual stiff and serious image that you set in front of all of us" he said. Sophie stopped laughing, then fiddled with the hem of the bed sheet. "Would you be surprised if I tell you that it was just a facade?" she said timidly. Jordan shook his head. "No, I've always felt that you were forcing yourself to be cold. The way you treated Leonard and Martin, even me. If it was true that you were a cold person, you would have just ordered me to just send you home, not treat you to dinner" he said, smiling warmly at her. "What would you say if I say that was fake?" she asked. He put his hands on his ears. "Lalalala, not listening!" he said. He then looked at her. "You appear cold, but you are a warm person inside. You're the type to be cold towards people that you want to protect. Like me, who you try to act coldly towards to, since you wanted to discourage me from pursuing you. Let me tell you this, you're making me want you more" he said cockily, making Sophie shook her head. He then stood up. "Shall we enjoy the night festival?" he said, holding his out for Sophie to grasp. She took hold of his hand, then smiled up at him. "There's just no way for me to hide anything from you, huh?" she said, as they walked out of the infirmary, hand in hand. Jordan wasn't sure whether it was his heart or her's that was beating very fast, but he knew he loved that moment. And they were going to enjoy the night festival together.
THE THIRD WHEEL (PART 19)
Sophie slid the balcony sliding door. She was already back from the night festival. She traced the red dahlia which was in her hand. She leaned on the balcony, watching the night lights of the town. It was already past midnight, so it was quiet and since the night was windy, it was quite chilly. During the night festival, she spent most of her time with Jordan, Robert and Samantha. Even Lynn joined them, even though she claimed to be in a bad mood. Sophie smiled as she relayed the night festival a few hours before.
Night Festival....
Sophie, Samantha and Lynn walked side by side at the front while Robert and Jordan behind them. Kimberley and Samuel weren't anywhere to be seen. With the girls walking together, everyone; mostly males, turned their heads to watch them. Samantha, now wearing a yellow sleeveless blouse with a light blue mini-skirt, highlighting her long legs, Sophie with her white mini-dress while wearing black tights underneath and Lynn with her outfit that Sophie had seen earlier. Samantha at the left, Sophie in the middle while Lynn was at the right. If Sophie was taller, all three of them would look like models. Even so, her beauty was eye-catching for the males. What amused Sophie was the fact that Lynn and Samantha became fast friends, despite the fact that Robert was scared of Lynn.
"Sammy, will you stop eating that meat bun? You will grow fat" Sophie said sternly when she saw Samantha eating more than two meat buns. "But I love them!" Samantha pouted, though she stopped eating. Lynn chuckled, then looked at Samantha. "So Sophie's a mother figure to ya, Sammy?" she asked, pulling Sophie closer to her. When Samantha nodded, Lynn let out a small laugh. "Well, if you wanted to know, this kid here always asked my for my help whenever she can't do something. She's grown up, this little cutie!" Lynn said, pinching slightly at Sophie's cheek. Sophie brushed off her remark, then walked faster, making her in front of them suddenly. Sophie heard Lynn saying behind her, "Sammy, Bobbles, look, a taco stand! Let's go!". Sophie turned around, bewildered by the sudden turn of events. She saw Lynn patting Jordan at the back. "I'm counting on you to take care of her" Lynn said, then walked over to Sophie. "Don't worry about the three of us. Use the night to get closer to Romeo, Juliet" Lynn whispered, making Sophie blush.
When three of her friends left, she saw Jordan looking at her with a smile. "So...want to buy food? Something light for you to digest?" he asked her. Sophie nodded, then studied a table that was serving crepes. Jordan noticed her gaze. He then walked over to the table, then turned to look at her. "What topping do you want, is chocolate caramel alright? I'm buying banana chocolate" he said, then told the chef what he said to Sophie. When it was ready, Jordan took both crepe in each of his hand. He passed Sophie's to her. He then pointed to a place under a tree. "Let's sit there, there's not too many people, so we can get some privacy" he said. Sophie obliged and sat on the grass, Jordan sitting beside her. They ate quietly, Sophie taking each bite little by little. "You like it?" Jordan asked suddenly, making Sophie nod, smiling. "I'm quite a sweet tooth, so the taste suits me" she said. She then studied Jordan eating his. Jordan noticed this, then raised his eyebrows. "Want to taste mine?" he asked, his tone amused. Sophie, embarrassed, looked down. "N-no, I just..." she stammered, then bit her lip. Jordan chuckled. "How about this? You take a bite of mine, then I take a bite of yours. That would be fair, right?" he said, already exchanging their food without Sophie's consent.
Sophie looked at his banana chocolate crepe, then looked at Jordan. Jordan took a bite of hers. "So sweet!" he exclaimed, making her giggle. She took a bite of the food, then nodded. "This is delicious. Both are delicious" she said, then exchanged the food back. "But it was not as sweet as mine. So I guess this topping suits us just fine" she said, smiling sweetly at him. After finishing their food, they chatted for a while. "I was curious. What's with Robert about Lynn?" he asked, his brow furrowing. Sophie let out a laugh. "Lynn was a childhood friend of ours. She would always come to our house to play house and all those type of things. Lynn was how she is now; playful and cheeky. But she was great at cooking. She used to love making pastries with her female cousins, so she sometimes brought over some pastries during her occasional visits. One day, she brought mango pudding" Sophie told him. "Uh-oh. I can see where this is going" Jordan said. Sophie nodded grimly. "It was good, but Robert said that it tasted normal compared to his Mama's. Lynn was a grudging person. As long as she does not have her revenge, she will keep on doing it until she did. She fed Robert all the food that he hates: bitter gourd, peas, tofu, carrots and such. Robert used to be traumatized, but now he's okay. He gets scared of Lynn, though, especially when she 'teases' him. The end" Sophie finished her story. "Poor Bobbles" Jordan said grimly, then met eyes with Sophie, making the both of them laugh.
They then continued walking when Sophie stopped almost in front of a flower stall. "When I got the paperwork to approve the flower stall, it didn't cross my mind at all. Why was it needed anyway?" she asked, her brow furrowing. "Ah, you don't know, President? Festivals and events such like these are an opportunity to make a couple even closer or can be used as a time for confessions. Flowers were given as gifts to these lucky girls" Jordan answered her with a wise tone. "I didn't know that the male students are romantics" she said, her tone amused. "They may not be in a normal basis, but the atmosphere pushed them to be that way" he said. "Like that guy over there..." Jordan trailed on, surprised. Sophie followed his gaze, and knew why. Leonard Johnson, the huge senior that helped them, was at the flower stand, presumably picking some flowers.
Jordan walked towards Leonard, then patted him at the back. "Who's the lucky girl, Leo?" Jordan said, when Leonard turned to look at them. Leonard gave them a sheepish look, then looked at the flowers. "I wanted to give a flower for my childhood friend. I've always liked her, and I think it's mutual, considering we are almost like a couple. I wanted to make it official by giving her a flower. She's a sweet and lovely girl, so a flower suits her best" he said. "Why now?" Sophie asked him. "That's cause I always chicken out whenever I thought it was the right moment. I even considered giving it up until I see the both of you. So here I am, buying a flower for her. Thing is, she doesn't have a favourite flower, so I don't which one's perfect for my confession" Leonard admitted shyly. Jordan smiled, then picked a white carnation. He place it in Leonard's hand.
"Do you know the language of flowers? It's a term where they use flowers to depict a message, famous during the Victorian-era. White carnation has four meanings: sweet and lovely, innocence, pure love and faithfulness. As you mentioned earlier, she's sweet and lovely. Both of you are your own first love, symbolising innocence and pure love. Considering this is your first relationship and knowing you, you will show faithfulness in your relationship" Jordan explained, Leonard listening to him carefully. Leonard gave him a grin, then bought the said flower. He looked at Jordan. "Thanks, man. I hope that you will continue catching Sophie's heart, unlike me who waits for his senior year to get the girl" Leonard said, winking at him. He left, waving at them, Jordan and Sophie waving at him back.
"I didn't know that you were fluent in the language of flowers" Sophie said lightly. She noticed Jordan's eyes turning sad, so she decided to change the subject. "What did Leonard mean about you and me?" she asked, a subject that has been bothering her for awhile. Jordan explained to her about the 'Jordan and Sophie Watching Club' and their support about their relationship. "I have no idea how it happened in the first place" he said, blushing. Sophie shook her head at this, though she smiled. She then took a look at the time with her golden wrist-watch. It was already 10.30 pm, so they decided to find a spot for the fireworks display. Jordan showed her a special spot he found last year during freshman year. It was a bit higher than the ground they have been walking on and there aren't anybody anywhere, though the sound of people behind them is close behind. Jordan excused himself once she took sat on the grass.
After a few minutes, Jordan came back, his hands at the back. What is he holding behind him? she thought. He held out a red dahlia, then slipped it into her hair. He chuckled as he did this. "As I thought, dahlia suits you best. Do you know what it means?" he asked her. "It means...elegance and beauty" she replied. He nodded, then looked into her eyes. "About your question earlier, the reason why I was fluent in the language of flowers, was because of my mother" he said. He opened his story about his family. His mother, her maiden name Heather Collins, was a botanist. Before she could further her career, she met Jordan's father, Jeffrey Watson, a businessman who was sponsoring her research. They fell in love, and after she finished her research, she married Jeffrey and became a full-time housewife. Even so, her love towards flowers was still there. Jeffrey arranged a greenhouse just for his wife's pastime. After Jordan was born, he was taught the beauty of flowers since he was a baby. His mother taught him the language of flowers, also called floriography, making him love flowers even more. Sophie noticed that he talked about her with such a cold voice. But when he talked about flowers, his eyes turned sad, as if it was such a nice memory. She was too curious, so she asked him. "They are not together any more?" she asked. She noticed him tightening his jaw, making her keep quiet. So she stuck to safe topics, trying to ease the atmosphere. The night ended with the fireworks display. When they were ready to get back, Jordan kissed her temple, much to her surprise. "You look beautiful tonight. And the flower suits you very much" he told her with a husky voice, staring into her eyes. She brushed off his statement by looking away, though she was blushing. She then looked back at him, smiling. "I had a great time tonight. Thanks" she told him, making him smile. Before she left, he stopped her. "I'm sorry. One day, I will tell you about my family more. Right now, I'm not quite sure if you would accept it" he told her.
Now...
Sophie was too confused with herself and her feelings towards Jordan. Like him, she felt like she wanted to tell him about her, but she felt like time just wouldn't let them. She then remembered Leonard's words. "Act before you regret it, huh?" Sophie said to herself. She placed the red dahlia in a glass vase, then filled it with water. She made a resolve to herself. Before the red dahlia wilts, she will tell Jordan everything about her and try to make sure of her feelings; whether it is real or not. She got ready to sleep, the resolve in her head.
THE THIRD WHEEL (PART 20)
Jordan tried to loosen the collar of his button-down shirt that seemed to make him choke. He then fidgeted in his suit. His driver drove on as he stared out of the window of the silver BMW. He sighed as he looked at his silver Tag Heuer watch. It was close to 7 pm. If it were for him, he would be at Samuel or Kimberley's house, just to run away from his fake step-mother and his father. But at least he had a bit of compassion. Whenever his father and step-mother attend a function, its always just the two. But after he turned 14, he made his debut as the heir of his father's company. Due to that, he must attend all the functions, either it was a company function or a client's function. Usually, his father would tell him the name of the company he was attending, but his father forgot to tell him about this client's function. His father told him this company is an important client, and that was all. He leaned back. He couldn't care less, as long as he could make the company rise higher than it is now. It was the company created by his beloved grandfather after all. He didn't mind coming to functions, considering he was able to meet with Kimberley, Samuel, Robert or Samantha, since they were children of rich, prominent parents.
His driver stopped the car in front of the entrance of a grand hotel. The doorman opened the door for him, and he stepped out. He found the hotel to be familiar, then looked at the golden letters in the information board. It said: 'Mayura Hotel'. He raised his eyebrows. The Mayura company? Seems that the important client was the Mayuras. He then walked over to his father and step-mother, Serena, then greeted them in front of the guests. That was what he usually do: act like the good son in front of business partners and socialise to make a good impression for future business clients or partners. This was his other mask that he created for the sake of the company. As he entered the ballroom, he spotted Kimberley and Samantha. He greeted a few business partners before he reached them.
Kimberley was wearing a dark green cocktail dress while Samantha was wearing a soft pink dress. Both dresses stopped right above their knees, making them not look too formal due to their age. He smiled as he saw Samuel coming towards the two, and Jordan tried to stifle a laugh as he saw Samantha pout upon seeing Samuel's arrival. Jordan shook Samuel's hand, making it look nice for the guests to see. "Where's Robert?" he asked Samantha, who was drinking orange juice. She shrugged, making Jordan confused. Robert's usually with Samantha no matter what. He then heard Samantha gasp. She was looking at something behind him, so he turned to look at the cause of Samantha's shock.
He himself was shocked. Behind them was Lynn, her hair hair prim and proper. What shocked him was the fact that was her appearance. She was wearing a black party dress, which fits her body very well. By her side was a handsome man who has inky black hair like hers. Though the resemblance stopped there. He was taller, tanned, fit and while Lynn has grey eyes, he has piercing dark blue eyes. Unlike Lynn, he had on a very cold face and seemed to be unsmiling. Lynn seemed to have heard Samantha's gasp, since she turned towards them. She gave them a smile, though Jordan felt something was amiss. Usually she gave them a cheeky smile, but the smile she was showing was very charismatic. He then remembered something. Her name was Lynn Mayura, the youngest sibling of the famous Mayura Siblings. Lynn was famous for her enigmatic looks and charismatic leadership. She was also known to be a ruthless businesswoman, making partners and clients shiver at her ways.
"Good evening, Jordan, Samantha, Samuel and Kimberley" she said with a formal tone. "This is my older brother, James Mayura. He's one of the people behind the success of Mayura Corporation and also one of the youngest" she introduced the handsome man. Jordan noticed Samantha and Kimberley were drawn to James' aura. They heard someone calling for Lynn and James, making Lynn excuse themselves. "Who was she, Samuel?" Kimberley asked Samuel, cuddling him. Jordan saw Samantha rolling her eyes, then met eyes with her as if apologising for his friends' behaviour. Samantha was asked to dance with someone, so she left them to "ease her boredom" as she said.
Jordan took a sip of the orange juice he had in hand, then observed Lynn and the people she was talking to. It was the first time he saw Lynn in functions. He recognised James in a few functions he attended, so it made him think that the night was somehow different than it usually was. The fact that his father had forgotten to tell him about the function made him thought that way. His father was usually efficient, and if he wasn't the one informing him of any business function, it would be Serena or Jeffrey's personal secretary. He noticed the ballroom became quiet as he saw someone he recognised as Phillip Bradford step into the front of the ballroom. Now THAT was weird. Why would the Mayuras act like guests while the Bradfords act like the host of the party? Was it a function arranged by the Bradfords, and the Mayuras just handed their ballroom for this function? He wasn't able to think any further when Phillip started his speech.
"Good evening, my fellow guests. I wanted to thank Mayura Corporation for letting one of their splendid hotels for the Bradford Corporation to use for our special night. I also wanted to thank our guests for their appearance tonight. As you all would know, tonight is a very special night for the members of the Bradford Corporation, though all of you aren't informed of it that much. I would hand it over to the Chairman of Bradford Corporation, Charles Bradford!" Phillip said in his speech, making everyone clap their hands. Charles took Phillip's position, then continued on his speech. Jordan observed the two of them. So they were one of the members of Sophie's family. He could somehow see the resemblance in Phillip though, they had the same smile, though it was an artificial smile made for events like these.
"Tonight is a very special night. Before I could tell you why, I would like to say my greetings to James and Lynn Mayura for joining us, especially Lynn who is staying here for the first time. To think that such a person on television and magazines would look so beautiful in real life" Jordan heard Charles said in his speech. He saw James and Lynn raising their glass at the mention of their names. "The reason why its a very special night isn't only to introduce Lynn Mayura face-to-face with all of us, I also wanted to introduce you to my two grandchildren, the younger children of my late son, Henry Bradford. Yes, I understand you all know that Phillip is his eldest son, but he also has two younger children. Tonight, I will introduce you to them. Matthew and Sophie Bradford!" Charles ended his speech as the door to the ballroom opened. Matthew? Jordan thought. Then why isn't John being introduced? he pondered by himself. By this time, Samantha was already by his side, her face grim.
When he saw the two people step into the ballroom, Jordan almost gasped out loud, though he managed to keep it by himself. Matthew Bradford was actually the happy-go-lucky, cheerful and lovable Mathematics teacher, John Harper! Though when Jordan saw him, he looked quite refined compared to normal image he had projected in school. His usually boyish auburn hair was slicked back, making him look the age he was. He was escorting Sophie, whose top of her head stopped by Matthew or John's head. Jordan decided to call him Matthew, since that was the name he was known to the guests at the ballroom. But for the time being, Jordan's attention was focused on Sophie. Her long black hair that drove him crazy was coiffed in a bun. There was a red dahlia pinned on to it, making Jordan smile. It really does suit her, the red dahlia, he thought to himself. He saw Sophie looking at his way, then blushed as she saw his smile. She composed herself as she walked towards Charles Bradford. "It is such a joy for me, as a grandfather to introduce all of my precious grandchildren to the world I've been in. Now, everyone, let's make a toast!" exclaimed Charles, his face lit up with a smile. Everyone rose their glasses, and drink the contents of it.
Jordan noticed Robert standing by Sophie's side, whispering. He saw Peter right behind the two, acting like a bodyguard. He was so engrossed in studying Peter, he didn't notice Scott Kennedy, his senior, walking up towards Sophie for a dance. He could see a discontented look in Sophie's eyes as she let Scott lead her to the dance floor. Jordan could see the two of them were arguing, though it was not so obvious since the two of them danced gracefully together. Sophie seemed to plaster on a fake smile, though she was somehow replying to Scott through clenched teeth, while Scott was slightly frowning, his eyes unsatisfied somehow. Jordan could not stomach this, and it seems that Robert and Peter thought so too, since they were doing what Jordan was doing: coming to Sophie's rescue. Jordan even noticed from afar that Matthew was looking on with a worried frown as he was talking with a crowd of beautiful women. Even so, Jordan continued his pace, and reached Sophie and Scott before Robert and Peter.
"Excuse me...? May I have a dance with the beautiful lady here?" Jordan said smoothly, making Scott and Sophie stop dancing. Even though Scott was clearly unhappy, he obliged to Jordan's request; it was courtesy to do so. Jordan saw Peter and Robert retreating at the corner of his eye, as he smiled at Sophie. The both of them danced, him leading her, she following his rhythm. Jordan tried to make a conversation with Sophie, who was looking at anywhere else other than his eyes. He wouldn't blame her, she was quite petite compared to his height. "Do you want to escape the prying eyes of hungry gossip mongers and curious business men?" Jordan whispered into her ear, trying to look casual as he did so. This made Sophie look up at him in surprise, and saw her giving him a small smile. "How are you going to do that?" she asked, making Jordan ponder for a moment.
Suddenly, Jordan was bumped at the back. "Oh, I'm sorry. Perhaps I have two left feet" said a female voice from behind him. Jordan managed to catch Sophie biting her lip as he looked at the voice. It was Lynn, this time in the arms of an older, familiar-looking handsome man. He was tall, tanned and well-built, though James was a bit more well-built than him. Unlike Lynn's former companion, he had golden blonde hair and dark brown eyes. He had a heart-warming aura around him, too. "Forgive me for my sister's intrusion. Are you alright?" said the blonde man, giving them a friendly smile. Lynn looked around them, then turned to Jordan and Sophie. "We should change venue if we want to make a conversation. Come, let's get out of people's way" Lynn said, walking away. The blonde man beckoned at them, asking them to follow suit. Jordan reluctantly followed, though Sophie didn't hesitate at all. "That was Darren Mayura, the eldest of the famous Mayura siblings. In other words, Lynn's elder brother and the new, young chairman of the Mayura Corporation" Sophie whispered to Jordan as they followed the man from behind. No wonder he looked familiar, thought Jordan.
Darren then turned to them when they were out of people's way. "It seems that my wife needs me. If you could excuse me" he said politely, walking towards a beautiful woman, presumably his wife. Before they could do anything, Jeffrey and Serena suddenly appeared right in front of Jordan and Sophie. Jordan forced out a smile as he met the people he was trying to avoid as much as possible. "Sophie, this is my father, Jeffrey Watson, and my stepmother, Serena Watson" Jordan introduced them to Sophie, biting off the word 'stepmother' as he did so. Serena then piped in, "Formerly known as the famous supermodel, Serena Woods". Jordan did not falter as Serena glared at him, but he did took a glance at Sophie's reaction. Instead of looking surprised or smiling politely, Sophie smiled brightly. "My, a friend of mine is a fan of yours! She would always admire your pictures and will watch all the shows that you appear in" Sophie said in a friendly tone, making Serena's face lit up, though she pouted after that. "Oh? How about you? You aren't a fan of mine?" Serena asked in a low tone. Sophie shook her head and smiled. "I'm afraid not. I was more interested in the clothes you were wearing. Though, my friend's enthusiasm made me a fan of yours, but I'm not such a fanatic" Sophie answered calmly, ignoring Serena's icy stare. "In fact, she's here right now" Sophie continued on.
Jordan was surprised at this, when suddenly he smelled a lilly scent. Where did he smell it before? he thought to himself before the source of the scent came into view. Lynn smiled at Serena before she grabbed Serena's hand and cupped it in her hand. "Serena Woods?" Lynn said in a syrupy voice. "Oh, my mistake, is it Serena Watson now? My, you are beautiful even in real life!" Lynn purred on. Jordan could see that Serena was smiling, though it was twitching at the side since she was trying to stop herself from smiling too much. Jordan pulled Sophie away from the now 'embarrassed' Serena, the Jeffrey who was trying to drink in the situation and Lynn who was being a fangirl of Serena, though Jordan noticed Lynn winking at their way as they left.
Jordan brought Sophie to the balcony, away from the people. Jordan stretched his body as he leaned onto the balcony rails. "What a relief to escape from a stuffy place! I think even if it's an outdoor party, i would still feel stuffy" Jordan said as he looked into the night sky. "Even though you have been exposed to such a world earlier than me?" Sophie asked, now standing by his side. Jordan smiled at this, then looked at her apologetically. "Sorry. I shouldn't have made you feel like that, especially since you made a debut tonight" he apologised. Sophie shook her head, then looked up at him. "Actually, I'm puzzled at the fact that you were willing to act as the 'good son', even when - if I'm not mistaken - you seem to not enjoy the presence of your father and your stepmother" she said. "You're right to think that. To be honest with you, I don't even want to be here. I was only attending functions like these for my late grandfather, Jeremy Watson, the person who built the company that my father is managing now. Though, now that I know the possibility of your presence in functions like these, I guess I won't feel that way" Jordan replied, smiling at Sophie. He saw Sophie blush slightly, though she still kept a cool face.
They stayed like that for a while, until Jordan spoke up suddenly, "She left the both of us. My mother". He saw Sophie perk up, but she remained the way she was: looking into the night sky. Jordan didn't care what she felt, but he told her everything about the suffering his mother hid from him, his father's attitude and confusion. He even told her about the fact that he went out with many women to heal his wounded heart. He didn't care if she thinks that he was a playboy or a jerk, he just wanted to tell her everything. When he finished his story, he looked at Sophie. Her expression was unreadable, making him worried. "Why are you telling me all of this?" she asked suddenly. "I just felt that it is time. You've already seen the way I acted in front of my father and Serena, so I guess it was already the right moment" he said, shrugging. Jordan was then surprised when Sophie leaned on his arm.
"I'm sorry, I'm not really used to comforting people. If Sammy in a slump, I would just lean onto her body like this" Sophie explained. Jordan grinned mischievously, though Sophie could not see it. He slipped his arm around Sophie's shoulders, pulling her close. "Does Sammy reply like this?" he teased. "No, she doesn't" Sophie said weakly, making Jordan look into her eyes, staring at it deeply. He noticed opening her mouth slightly, then she said, "Though Lynn would cuddle me if I do that". Jordan chuckled, then pulled her into his arms. He could feel Sophie stiffening as he did so, but she eased herself after two seconds. He could smell the scent of shampoo on Sophie's hair, so he couldn't resist his desire to run his fingers through it, so without thinking much, he loosened it, making her hair fall tumbling on her shoulders.
Jordan managed to catch the red dahlia that was about to fall onto the floor. As he did so, Jordan stepped back, in awe. Sophie's jet-black hair looked even shiny due to the moonlight reflecting on it. But the fact that her hair was wavy at the ends, as if inviting him to twirl his finger around it. Even though it was only a second, he could still feel the softness of her hair. Instead, he twirled the red dahlia instead. He placed the flower on his lips, making it look like he was kissing it. He then gave it to her back, giving her an apologetic look. "Forgive me for acting rashly, here, your red dahlia, m'lady" Jordan said in a smooth voice, making Sophie giggle. "I know, I know, I'm not really a classical novel fan" Jordan said, glad that she wasn't angry.
Sophie took the red dahlia from his fingers, then 'kissed' the flower like Jordan did before. Jordan was mesmerised yet again; the red colour of the dahlia and Sophie's lips were so red, Jordan was tempted to kiss her lips right then and there. But he refrained, it was still too early. In fact, he was unsure of their relationship, so he decided to ask her himself. "What is exactly our relationship, Sophie?" he asked, his tone a touch sad. He could see Sophie's face change, but she reverted back to her cool face. "I honestly don't know" she replied, embarrassed. Jordan smiled as he see this. He stepped nearer to her, then took her hand. He knew it was a corny move, but he did it anyway. He placed her hand on his left chest, wanting her to know that his heart was beating, fast. "If you could feel my heart beating faster than normal, then you know that my feelings for you are for real" Jordan said to Sophie.
When Sophie did not answer him, he cupped her face. Her face was warm, making him chuckle. "You're warm! Are you, possibly, blushing?" Jordan teased. He was expecting Sophie to tell him that it might be the cold weather, but she did not say anything, as if she wasn't denying his statement. When Sophie looked up at him, he could see sadness in them. "I'm sorry. I-I'm not sure if I'm able to be with you" she said, biting her lip. Jordan looked at her, confused. "I'm scared that you might get hurt. That's why I acted cold towards you. Please, step away from me. Cut ties with me" she begged, her tone sad. Jordan's heart ached as she said this, then kissed her at the nose. When he stepped away from her, he could see Sophie was surprised. He grinned. "Hey, didn't I tell you that my feelings for you are real? You don't believe in me?" he pouted.
Sophie was about to say something, but he place his finger on her lips, stopping her from talking. "Didn't I tell you before? I will make your heart mine. If you could accept my past, then why wouldn't I accept your past? I don't care if you're the daughter of a mafia or anything bizarre, as long as you accept my feelings" Jordan claimed. As he did so, he took her hand and kissed it, like a prince kissing the hand of a princess. He then took the red dahlia from Sophie's fingers, tucked it on her ears, like he did during the night festival. "You are my red dahlia, after all" he said, and lead her back to the ballroom.
What he and Sophie didn't know, someone else was listening to their whole conversation. As they left, the person stepped out from the shadows. "Kimmy! There you are! I was searching you all this time! What were you doing?" Samuel asked Kimberley who was now in the ballroom, watching Sophie and Jordan walking away, together. "Nothing, Sammy-bun. I just wanted to take a fresh air" she replied, still watching Sophie and Jordan. Samuel then lead her to the fruit punch counter, Kimberley holding on to his arm. Scott stepped away from the door that lead to the balcony. He was watching Sophie's move. He saw the people around the ballroom being surprised and complimenting on how beautiful she looked with her hair down. He heard the conversation, and felt sad at how slow he was. Scott did not realise that Phillip was a few steps away from his position, his face turned into stone. Phillip stared at Jordan's figure, hard. He, too, heard the conversation. Even Lynn, who was by Serena's side when Sophie and Jordan left, managed to hear their conversation too. She also realised at the three people who heard what she had heard. She sipped the grape juice from her glass. As she looked at Sophie's blushing face and Jordan's bright face, she let out a sad smile. "Now, how are you going to protect your princess, Prince Jordan?" she said to herself.
THE THIRD WHEEL (PART 21)
"Put that over there, please" ordered Sophie to the delivery man who was bringing down the boxes. There was going to be another special night which was going to take place tomorrow. Scarlet High was going to celebrate the chairman's, Mr. Carmichael, birthday. Considering his bizarre and cheerful nature, he was always planning something to make the student's high-school life 'enjoyable and memorable'. Though even if he does that, in the end, Sophie had to plan and follow his every whim. Sophie didn't mind, in fact, she somehow have a soft spot for the chairman, maybe due to his behaviour was almost the same as Lynn, though Lynn's a bit more responsible, but maybe it was the fact that the chairman treated her like anybody else, not like the grown ups who looked at her with pity and talking behind her back at how unlucky she was.
Sophie shook her head, and tried to concentrate on her work. She was about to walk towards the student council room when she heard the fuss. "What should we do? The man in charge fainted when he was doing the work, so who was going to pin up the banner?" said a worried voice from behind her. She turned to look at a crowd of paid workmen crowding in front of the school entrance. "What seems to be the problem? I'm the president of the student council, so please do tell me" she asked them. They then explained the situation to her: two men wanted to pin up the banner in front of the school entrance when one of them fainted due to anaemia. The others could help, but they needed to move the bench at the school yard quickly and put a tape over the area so that no one could enter the area and disturb their work.
Sophie told them to continue doing their work and volunteered herself to pin up the banner with the man. "You sure you can do this, young lady? You seem light, I'm scared the wind might blow you away from the ladder!" the older man said, his tone a touch worried. Sophie shook her head to reassure him. "Let's get this over with. Asking a help from other people will take time, so it's better we do our work quickly to finish up the all the work for today" she said. She pinned up the banner with the man, though with a little difficulty at first, due to her height, "I shouldn't have let a pretty girl do this!" the older man exclaimed as this happened. When they successfully did it, Sophie took a look at her handiwork. She nodded in approval, then gave a thumbs-up sign at the older man in the other side. Just then, a freshman who was fooling around with his friends, was suddenly pushed towards Sophie's direction. Before the freshman could stop himself, his body hit the ladder where Sophie was on.
Due to the impact, Sophie lost her balance, then she fell from the ladder. The first thing that Sophie heard when she fell was a shout, "Pretty lady!" from the older man. She braced herself, instinctively closing her eyes as she fell. After a minute, she opened her eyes, confused. Wasn't she suppose to feel an impact when she hit the floor? she thought. Or was she unconscious? She opened her eyes, and saw Jordan's face looking down at her. She realised that she was in his arms, carrying her in a princess carry. She guessed that Jordan managed to catch her before she fell on the floor. He put her down, staring into her eyes in the process. Sophie liked it when he did this, but at the same time hated it too. He made her feel all fuzzy and warm, but at the downside, she would be flustered, when he was looking calm. People will watch too, like now.
She was self-conscious as Jordan made a fuss at her, checking her body for any bruises or anything. The freshman who bumped into the ladder was apologising at her, while the older man was fussing around her, looking on as Jordan fussed over her. Jordan nodded his head in approval, making everyone sigh in relief. "I'll take care of her now, guys. Go on, continue with what you were doing" he said, making them leave. The older man winked at Sophie, then whispered to her, "Quite a handsome man, your boyfriend, young lady". Sophie reddened at this statement, then shook her head slightly at him, making the older man laugh as he left her and Jordan alone.
They stood there, Sophie baffled, Jordan being calm. Sophie walked away from Jordan, her pace fast. "Hey" Jordan said before pulling her arm to bring her close to him. He gently pushed her into a wall, the space hidden from passer-by's view. "You know, avoiding me won't solve the problem you know. Why not you just tell me the problem yourself?" asked Jordan in a low tone. There was a reason for this: Sophie had been avoiding him for 3 days, after their last meeting at the party. She wouldn't blame Jordan for being frustrated, and what he said was true: her running away won't solve the problem. She didn't want Jordan to be involved in this. But looking at his eyes, made her forget about the warning that she was given right after the party.
*flashback*
Sophie faced Phillip who was sitting in the opposite side of the dining table. His face was grim, hers was cool. Phillip just sat there, staring at her, while Sophie stared back. After what seemed to be more than hour, but in reality it was only two minutes, have passed, Phillip spoke up.
"How was your first social function?" Phillip asked.
"It was quite all right" Sophie answered stiffly.
"Good. How were the people? Did you have any problems socialising with them?"
She knew where this was going. "They were quite friendly. I didn't feel left out at all" she answered.
Phillip then let out a cold smile. "Friendly. That word suits quite fine, considering you were quite friendly with the Watson heir" Phillip said, biting out the word 'friendly' and 'Watson heir'. Sophie flinched at this, but she did not intend to back down. "I don't quite understand this. Aren't the Watsons the Bradfords business partners? Why are you so angry at this?" she asked him, making Phillip flinch in return. He glared at her, then slammed the book he was holding on the tabletop. Sophie did not falter, instead, she glared back at him.
"Didn't you remember the warning I gave you when I visited you? You refrained from having a relationship with a male. Instead, you went prancing around with one just tonight!" Phillip yelled at Sophie. Sophie remained quiet, looking at him. "Not only you were prancing around, you were gone for quite a long time, and as if I didn't notice, even him too! We have to make up a few excuses to explain your 'disappearance'. We tried to make the guests to not link the two of you" he continued on. "I didn't ask you to do that" Sophie said, feeling like a brat at that moment. Phillip huffed, then leaned back. "As of this day, you are forbidden from coming into contact with him. It's unavoidable for you to meet in school, but you are to not have a relationship with him. Soon, you will be going to a marriage meeting, or as what the Japanese say, an 'omiai'" he said. Phillip knew that Lynn cooperated with them, or he wouldn't use a Japanese word, since Lynn's ancestors were Japanese.
Sophie was enraged, she could not keep herself composed forever; it was too tiring. "How could you?! All you do is listen to that man! The man who ruined our life, especially yours! How can you be so loyal to him, after what he had done to us, to our parents?! I'm not going to be tied down by a stupid thing like a political marriage! If you want me to be dead, then so be it!" Sophie yelled, angry. Phillip blinked at her outburst. She packed her things, and opened the door. Before she slammed the door, she heard Phillip giving her a last warning in a dark tone. "Killing is not going to happen, since you're valuable. I will say one thing: I won't keep quiet at this". She was two steps away from the door, she met with the half-crying Matthew. He pulled her into a hug, and cried into her hair. "Don't say you were going to die, Sophie. Don't leave me and Phillip. Phillip has his reasons, don't hate him, Sophie! Please, we made a vow to each other" was what he said, then he started to blabber, making Sophie pat him at the shoulder as they hugged. She calmed him before she left, even when her brother begged for her to not leave him.
Now....
Sophie looked at Jordan's dark green eyes and was tempted to tell him everything. But even when she defied her eldest brother, Phillip, she was actually worried at what he would do. She find her heart beating fast for Jordan, meaning she may be in love with him. She tried to push him away, but she was so distracted with his attention, she forgot to keep her cold mask. Instead, she took it off whenever she's with him. She liked that, but she didn't want him to suffer. Not like her parents. No, she didn't want to see the person dear to her go through that all over again. She pulled him close, hugging him. She could guess Jordan was surprised at her behaviour and she could see it when she pulled herself away from him. She then kissed him at the cheek. She gave him a sad smile, then said with a sad tone, "Goodbye". As she walked away, she felt herself being pulled from the behind, but she whacked Jordan's hand.
She ran out of the place, ignoring the glances from her puzzled school mates. She just wanted to get away from Jordan as far as possible. As she ran, she suddenly bumped into someone. "Whoa, a fan girl!" said a familiar voice. She felt her shoulder being touched, then she looked up at the person who was touching her shoulder. Robert had on a worried face, making her burst into tears. She felt herself hugging Robert, who hugged her back. Robert pushed her to the lockers, still hugging her. She felt a shadow closed in on her right side, then the left side. "Even though I didn't like the fact that you're so tiny, I guess it's quite convenient at times like these" a voice said, presumably Samantha's. "Pffft, not if they see Bobbles' feet. He's got four feet" said the voice that Sophie heard earlier, she guessed it was Lynn, because after saying that, she said in her serious voice, "Just let it loose. Story's not important now. Just let it loose girl. We're your knights, Sophie, though we are not shining, since we're filling in for your prince. Oh, here comes a big one". When Lynn meant the 'big one' it meant Sophie's crying, which was much more violent than the one before. Robert didn't say anything, he was looking at Lynn, as if they were the ones making a conversation. Samantha was memorising a mathematical formula, though her voice sounded like she was worried of Sophie. Sophie could feel Lynn's warmth from her side, even when Lynn was pretending to have a conversation with Robert. Seems that Robert's trauma and Lynn's teasing didn't matter at that moment, they were protecting Sophie.
