Could It Be? (Chapter 10)

CHAPTER 10 - Belinay
I got on the bus zombie-like. Despite it still being the second day, I felt dead, nothing with the moaning and groaning or the “I want brains!” talk, but the sluggish walking getting from place to place. This proves my theory about getting on the bus with closed eyes (which also, by the way, I never dared to prove). I haven't yet settled on how to undertake Keith's note. To give the number or not to give it? That is the question. Now I understand you, Hamlet. I sat for a while lost in my reverie and didn't notice Rae was talking to me. I was using only half of my senses when I barely hear a foggy voice far away:

"Cassie was sent on a trip to the moon.”

"Sure," I agree obliviously until I realize what I just heard. Right there and then the meaning of the phrase sunk in, waking me from my daydream and I found myself sitting on the bus between Rae and the window, as usual. "Wait what?"

"What's happening to you today? You seem hypnotized! Does the note Keith gave you has to do with it!" Rae demands.

I start blushing hopelessly. She knew that was a yes. "I sometimes despise you when you read my mind," I said with a grin. I adore Rae. She knows every single thing about me. Not that I like her more than I liked Cassie or Lynn. They all are special to me. I know I am lucky to have them.

"He asked for my number" I sigh loudly. She gives me a playful grin, one I know all too well. "Look, I haven't decided what to say," I add, nudging her in the arm to stop.

"Why? Just give him your number. Simple as that!" Rae points out.

"It’s not that easy..." I take a look around the bus to dodge her questions and comments since I didn’t know how to answer back.

The bus jerks back and comes to a full stop in front of another neighborhood. At that moment, Keith comes through the squeaky, yellow doors of the bus. His hazel eyes lock in mine while asking for an answer. Instead of resuming my looking around, I quickly glue my eyes to the window to avoid eye contact.

It’s all robot mode from here. No more zombies. I let my mind take the wheel when we arrive at the school. I got off the bus and didn't stop walking till I was before my locker. I put my combination in my lock and fling the door open. It somehow turns into a staring contest, girl against locker: who will win?

"Hey there!" Keith suddenly pokes his head from the open door of my locker. I jump back, startled.

"How are you EVERYWHERE?" I glare at him irritatedly. I just wanted to be alone, even if it’s just for one moment! Keith's smile was rubbed off to give place to a gloomy look while he turned to leave.

I then became aware of what I had done. Well, that just branded me as a jerk.

"Wait!" I run over and quickly grab him by his jacket's sleeve, making him rotate towards me, but only halfway. "Sorry. I know I shouldn't have reacted that way. You just surprised me. I didn't really mean what I said. Please forgive me," I humbly look at him, then at the floor.

There’s a brief silence that falls between us, making it really awkward for me. I’m beginning to give up on expecting an answer and drop my hold on him, and I begin expecting him to leave when he speaks up out of nowhere.

"Hey, your shoelaces."

I glare at him uncomprehendingly. His eyes are fixated on something on the floor, so I look down.

My right shoe was untied. Like always.

These converse always untie no matter how tightly I tie them! Once, the girls and I were riding our bikes in the park, my shoelace got tangled on the pedal, so I lost control and fell in a fountain. And I won’t say too much, but I got really soaked.

My shoelaces must have untangled when I was half-sprinting to my locker. Without any words, he bends down, and using his one knee as support, starts tying my right shoe. This was the nicest act a boy had ever done for me. A very simple one but still nice.

"You don't want to fall over someone, do you?" With this one sentence, Keith managed to release a hoard of butterflies into my stomach, something that I couldn’t calm down even if I tried. "Well, I’m really sorry if I scared you. I didn't mean to. Are we okay?" he asks as he gets on his feet.

"Yeah, we’re okay," I answer, barely able to say the words under the hard blush on my cheeks. There was another awkward silence, except it wasn’t really silent, with the whole bustling crowd of students trying to get to class.

"Wait, did you read my note?" He begins looking at my surroundings, yet never finding my eyes.

"Yeah.”

"So?"

I open my mouth to say something, but I had a better idea. I take a piece of paper from my locker and after writing something on it, I fold it neatly and hand it to him.

"Go ahead," I say, taking a few steps back.

He unfolds the paper, and on it it said:
Thanks for the note. Here’s my number, just in case your strange example comes true...

"Thanks," he said, grinning down at the note in his hand. The bell rings, followed by an orchestra of locker slamming. "Well, I... I guess I have to go. See you around!”

As he disappears around the corner, I notice a girl with jet-black hair and dark brown eyes leaning against a locker, supposedly hers, eyeing me. She seemed familiar, but where did I see her before? It was getting way too freaky just standing there with a random girl burning holes in the back of your head, so I made a run for it, while also looking as calm as possible. She walks toward me like in those movies, when the killer finally catches their victim and puts an end to their misery, or in their case, death.

"Huh! I think he likes you.” She stood very near me, as if not wanting anybody to hear her. Who was she? But before I could ask anything, she turned and walked away. "Good luck, ‘cause you’ll need it.”

"Uh, thanks?" I take a better look at her as she strolls down the hallway. She had a black leather jacket, matching her hair color, and dark blue jeans to come with it. The mystery girl was also wearing a shirt saying “Fries for me, please”. I decide not to freak out. Maybe she was just messing with me. The bell brings me out of my thoughts, and I realize there was only one minute to get to class. I’m late for algebra!

Even if I tried, I wouldn’t have been able to concentrate on the classwork this morning. There was just so much on my mind, especially the one about the girl. Then loud shouts ricocheted from wall to wall as Mr. Shirley exits the classroom to see what’s going on. We all were wondering who on earth was shouting "Let us out! Let us out!" that felt like it was coming from everywhere yet came from nowhere.

As soon as algebra finished, I told Rae what happened with Keith. By the looks of her face, I could see she was very pleased to see me blush so hard.

At astronomy, as I sat beside Keith, there was such silence that you would be able to hear a needle. No, A HAIR fell to the ground. This was an awkward situation to be in, considering the morning events. I reach to put my astronomy notebook in my backpack when I see the black-haired girl again. She was whispering to Geraldine back at the farthest corner of the classroom. They must’ve thought I was blind, but I could clearly see them talking, followed by throwing an evil glare at me. Typical of Geraldine. What did that other girl have against me?

"Guess what happened to Belinay today!" Rae says as we join the rest of the gang at lunch. They were very interested in what had happened. No matter how hard I tried to turn the conversation around, it always returned to me. So I told them everything, and when I finished, somehow their playful, but also friendly grins, didn’t disappear.

"So you gave him your number," Lynn concludes.

"Yes."

Just then the speakers squeak loudly and through them came an announcement of a camping field trip to Mirror-Pine Lake.

"A camp!" Rae looks at all of us eagerly.

"You're all coming, right?" Cassie asks soon after. I knew she would rather go if we were there.

"Sure!" I replied excitedly, but then, after a split second, I realize something and I frowned. "If I can," I add quickly after.
Everybody also seems to frown at this. I knew the reason. They knew the reason. Want the short version?

My mother.

I know it sounds a bit mean to call her apprehensive but I don't know a better word for it. Like a few years ago, when we went to this school conference, and I went to the bathroom for five minutes. She got so scared that she got on the stage and asked me to help her find me. My face was painted with embarrassment as I saw her talking into the microphone, in front of all the teachers, the parents, the students, being projected on the giant screen saying "Belinay Dawn Everdeen."

After that incident, my mother never let me go anywhere unless it was with her, my family, or the girls. I already knew the short time I’d be at the camp (that if she let me go), she would be worried sick about me.

But like always, Cassie turns our frowns upside-down. And I'm glad to say not in a painful way.

Somehow we end up acting like cowboys.

A guy I had seen in English class, which everyone nicknamed Peter Parker for the inexplicable resemblance between them, gave us the permission slips for the camp.

"Don't forget to bring them signed by your parents if you want to go to the camp,” “Peter Parker” reminds us before leaving.

"You can bet your boots we will!" I answer with my best western accent, that in reality, isn’t that good. "I ...I mean, yes, we will not forget." I switch back to my regular voice.

The guy gave us a weird look and hurried to leave.

We all explode in laughter. Maybe I was getting too much personage.

School ended, and I headed home. In my room, I was just about to finish my homework when I heard a small vibrating noise coming from my phone.
BUZZ! BUZZ!

I make a quick escape from my quadratic equations, which has this gruesome plan to melt my brain, and look at my phone:

Keith: hello it’s Keith:)
My eyes bulge out of my head, and my brain melts, so I guess I didn’t need those equations after all. A few seconds pass, and I finally figure out what to answer back.
Me: hey:)
It’s short, but that was the best I could think of. Since my hands were shaking so much, I almost wrote that simple three-lettered word as 'frey'.
Keith: lol, I hope I put the right number or I’d just be talking to some random person
Me: oh, this is Belinay
Then there was a brief pause. I thought he just wanted to end the conversation here, and I was about to text bye when there was another buzz.
Keith: you going to the camp?
I got a LITTLE excited about him asking if I would go.
Me: I’m not sure. I haven't asked. what about you?
Keith: wouldn’t miss it for anything. When are you asking your parents about it?
Me: tonight. fingers crossed!
Keith: tell me later when you do then
Me: count on it:)

"Belinay! Dinner is ready!" My mother's voice rang from the kitchen.

"Coming, Mom!" I shout back.

I knew she would get annoyed if I didn't come downstairs immediately. So I wrote speedily.

Me: gotta go. i'll tell you what happens later:)
Keith: i’ll be waiting

I began sprinting to the dining room, with my dinner and family waiting at the table. No one spoke a word as we ate, and I had to talk about the camp at one point before it was too late.

"Mom? Dad?” I call for their attention.

“Hey, why didn’t you say my name, you big cry baby?” Celeste argues while waving her spoon around like a crazed maniac. “Mom thinks I’m rude but talk about you!”

“Celeste,” my mother quietly set her utensils on her plate. “Let your sister talk.”

“Alright, alright, but I’m just saying, you need to fix Belinay’s rudeness quickly, or else things will go from bad to worse,” Celeste mutters out.

"Anyway,” I say, looking down. “Today, at school, there was an announcement. And it was about this school trip to Mirror-Pine Lake. Well, I was thinking... that maybe..."

“Yeesh, plain and simple: she wants to go,” Celeste interrupts.

“Celeste! I was going to say that!”

“Oh, yeah? When? In a thousand years?” She folds her arms and looks at me jokingly. “Even if Mom did let you go, which won’t ever happen, you’d be too little and a small critter in the wilderness.”

“I’m not little!”

“Are too!”

“Honey, that place is too far for you to be wandering without supervision,” my mother speaks up again, sternly looking at Celeste to be quiet. “I’m not sure you should go. There will be plenty of other field trips you can go to!”

"Please, Mom,” I plead. “If I don’t go, the girls won’t go for me. I don’t want it to be my fault they miss it!" I turn to my father. "Dad, you went there before. I have to go, don’t you think?" I said to him, obviously asking for support.

“She’ll be okay. The counselors will be looking after them and it’s perfectly safe. After all, Belinay is in high school now. It’s time we should make some allowances." my father sticks up for me, giving me a conspiratorial wink.

"Well..." my mother pauses.

"Please! Just this time!"

"Okay," she nods slowly. "You can go as long as I'm chaperoning your group so nothing bad will happen to you. But you have to promise to be very careful, okay?"

“Of course, I’ll be careful!” I jump from my seat and hug her tightly. “Thank you, thank you!”

“Hey, Mom, while we’re on the ‘of course you can’ subject,” Celeste calmly says. “Can I get a tattoo?”

“No, you can’t, Celeste.”

“B-but Mom!” Celeste sinks into her seat and eats. “I swear I’m stuck with delusional people.”

After supper, I run, or rather leap, upstairs. Skipping a step every jump. I reach my room and settle myself near my sitting window, grabbing my phone.

Me: i'm back
In one second, I got a message from Keith.
Keith: hey! had luck?
Me: it took a little begging, but I can go!
Keith: great!
Me: can't wait to be there!
Keith: see you tomorrow at school
Me: bye:)