"All right class, that's all for today. Make sure you submit the forms on time. You have a whole week to think about it."

Mr. Keilan left the room shortly after. I gazed dreamily at him. Tall, good looking and the mole below his left eye was such an attractive feature. It was placed just on the right place! Still in his late twenties, he was the man with whom I fell in love with a few years ago and fortunately or rather unfortunately, he is my homeroom teacher.

"Being in the same class as Mr. Keilan for another year, this must be fate."

"Don't you think he's a little too old for you?" Juliette replied putting all my hopes down. She had been my friend ever since high school and lucky enough for me, we are going to the same college.

"Talking about Mr. Keilan, isn't that him?" Juliette pointed out.

I looked down through the window and saw him talking to someone. That someone was one of the lady teachers working there. There was a ridiculous rumor that she and Mr. Keilan were dating. Of course I hardly believed it until Juliette said that the rumor was in fact true.

I stared blankly into space.

"Jerinah? Hey? Are you even alive? Gah! Come on let's just go to the cafeteria for now." Juliette dragged me away from the hallway.

• • •

As they walked across the cafeteria counter, Jerinah bumped into someone.

"Tsk! Can't you see where you're going?" the person snapped.

Jerinah was too shocked from what she had just learned that she just walked by without saying anything.

"Ah, sorry!" Juliette apologized to the person who seemed irritated and led Jerinah straight to a table.

~Back at the counter of the cafeteria.~

"What's wrong, Al?"

"Ah, nothing." His face turned red.

"Dude, your face's red. Are you having some allergic reaction or something?"

"It's nothing. Let's grab what to eat."

• • •

"This meat bun is the best!"

Having returned back to my senses I gobbled down the meat buns Juliette had bought. Also at the same time, crying my eyes out. You know they say 'you can't think straight if you are hungry.' My situation was exactly that. After gobbling down ten buns, I sat for the rest of the classes yawning.

I came back home and headed straight to my room.

Not long after, somebody knocked at the door of my room. The door was left unlocked and it opened. I sat there on the floor and turned my head to see my sister.

"What are you doing, sis? Her tone was indifferent.

I jumped up at once at her for a hug. But she wasn't in for it and I landed on the floor, face down. I narrated the entire story to her to which she said that I was obsessed with Mr. Keilan and that he was too old for me. Seven years isn't a big difference or is it? Whatever it may be somewhere inside me felt that she was right. Even though I'm the older to Sara by 3 years, it was actually quite the opposite.

She looked around my room but said nothing of it.

"I just came here because mom asked me so. Better get your butt down here and help her out after you're done, stalker."

'Stalker?'

She turned on the lights in my room and left. A few seconds later, a box was pushed in through the door. On the side of the box was written 'WASTE'.

I looked around my room for a few seconds and one by one I took off the pictures of Mr. Keilan which I had taken secretly. Maybe I was actually being a stalker without even realizing.

Unable to crumple them, I gently placed all the pictures in the box.

It was already the next day and I really didn't want to attend classes but there I was, walking across the hallway looking as if like I was rejected for a love confession. As unlucky as I could get, Mr. Keilan was walking right towards my direction. If this had been any other day, it would had been the luckiest, the best day of my life, yet it was not. I quickly turned back and rushed to the other direction.

<Thud>

Unintentionally, I bumped into somebody. Yes, for the second time ever since I found out that stupid rumor was true. But this time I had my senses. Juliette gave me a rather long lecture because she had to apologize to someone I bumped onto at the cafeteria yesterday.

I hurriedly said that I was sorry but the expression of the person I had run into showed nothing but annoyance. It was the same person I bumped onto at the cafeteria.

Sara and Juliette often said that I was such a cry baby and even at this moment, tears rolled down my cheeks.

"I am sorry!" I dashed past him.

• • •

As Jerinah left the place, the two men met.

"Hmm? Don't you think your way of expressing your love to a girl is a little odd? Especially when it's the girl you've been crushing on for quite some time. You have to work on that expression of yours too, you look quite scary." Mr. Keilan said.

"Tsk. It's none of your business, get lost."

Even though the other boy replied in a rude manner, Mr. Keilan seemed to be unaffected by his words and smiled, showing the opposite reaction.

"I don't think that's also how people treat their older brother, Al. Also I am your teacher here, show a little respect."

Not far behind at one angle of the hallway, listening to their conversation was Juliette who slowly turned around and headed back to the classroom.

• • •

I laid my head on the desk and sighed.

"What's wrong, Jerinah? Didn't get enough sleep?" Juliette asked.

I was exhausted from what had happened earlier. I ran as fast as I could back there and didn't even had the need to cry but now my eyes were puffed out. It was so embarrassing.

I glanced over at Juliette and noticed that she changed her hairstyle.

"You look good today. You changed your hairstyle too. Is there anything special going on?" I asked.

"(Special? Yes! I just found out that Mr. Keilan has a younger brother and he has a big crush on you and I heard that from Mr. Keilan himself! Is what I want to tell you but I don't think you're going to like it right now.)

Ah no, there's nothing special. That dumbass fashionista brother of mine said I couldn't keep the same hairstyle for more than two days and this is the outcome." Juliette replied twirling her hair.

It felt as if Juliette was hiding something else from me but I was too exhausted to ask. I placed my head on the desk and let out sigh. 'Would everything been different if I was born a few years earlier? Forget about that, that's impossible. How do I get myself out of this situation?'

The time went by slowly that day. Maybe it was because I wanted the day to end quickly.

Classes were finally over for the day and the week. I walked home with Juliette.

"Why do you like Mr. Keilan so much, Jerinah?" she asked me out of the blue.

Thinking back upon it, she never did ask nor did I ever tell her and so, today was the big day I told her about my first love.

"The story goes back to 5 years ago, I was still 16. We had moved in to this new apartment which was in the same neighborhood where Mr. Keilan lived. He looked a little younger than he was now but still as attractive as ever. He usually used to jog around the neighborhood during the evening so I decided to go take a stroll too. (It was definitely just to run into him). This went on for some few days but we never crossed paths until one day, I was sitting on a bench at the park nearby and he came there but there was a boy with him. The boy seemed to be of my age. I sat there and watched them play with a ball when Mr. Keilan noticed me and asked me to join them. I accepted even though I had no idea even how to kick a ball. Anyway, that's when I first met him and fell in love. Later I overheard the aunties from the neighborhood talk about him and that he teaches at an institution even at such a young age. Thus, I decided I'd join that college too and here I am. I'm so glad you decided to join here too. Oh I also overheard that he had a younger brother, so it was probably that boy.

That was when we lived in XXXX street. Just after a year and a few months, we had to move to our new home but I don't regret moving since I still get to see him in college."

"Isn't that just similar to stalking? I mean you even joined this college just because of him." Juliette replied. "Also since you've mentioned it, did you know that Mr. Keilan's younger brother studies at our college? It seems he transferred recently and is in his senior year now. I heard from some of the students talking that he is as hot and attractive as Mr. Keilan."

I was least interested on knowing about Mr. Keilan's younger brother unlike Juliette. I didn't remember anything from the past memory when I met them in the park either. Could it be that Juliette was interested in him? But when she mentioned how he was the person I had bumped into at the cafeteria, I remembered how frightened I was just by how he looked at me at the hallway in the morning. If anything I'd never want to meet him again. I didn't narrate that story to her because it was embarrassing and maybe she might give me another lecture on 'look where you are going' and I didn't want that.

We reached the intersection where we had to go though different lanes, Juliette asked if I wanted to go out the next day. I planned on staying at home but when she said she'll be paying for the food, I straight away said yes. Don't get me wrong here, but there's nothing more pleasing than having to get free food!

The following day, Juliette called me over to her place with different outfits. Her brother, Kai decided he'd do our hairs before we headed out. I didn't mention it before but he works at a salon. He used to be a model but he left that career over hair styling. I don't quite understand why, I mean he has good facial features and body, his fashion sense is as good as ever too. He could have been famous across the globe as a model but then again who am I to question?

After getting our hair done and our outfits picked out by Kai, we head out on our little date. Juliette decided to go to the theatre first. The movie was about two young lovers whose relationship was ruined when the girl found out that her boyfriend was gay. Juliette laughed throughout the movie, while I cried. I felt bad for the girl!

Juliette offered me tissues once we were out of the theatre and laughed at how easily I cried. Cutting off my embarrassment, I decided we should go eat.

We came to a café and entered. I pushed opened the door. The bell on top of the door rang. All of a sudden, I was sucked into something, into some unknown space.

• • •

On the other side, Juliette entered the café.

"Hm? What am I doing here alone?"