Words I Was Afraid To Hear

Midori fell silent . Before she could answer, the bell rang, indicating the start of afternoon cla.s.ses . The teacher went in and cla.s.ses resumed, leaving Dan"s question hanging .

In the interval between cla.s.ses, just before Dan can ask her again, he saw Midori stand and immediately went out, thus hr was still kept hanging for the answer .

Before the start of the last cla.s.s for the day, Midori went back to her seat .

"Where did you go?" Dan was being impatient for her answer .

"Why are you always so nosy when I go to the restroom? I don"t recall having the obligation to tell you these things . " Midori"s tone was annoyed, but deep within, she is also trying her best to avoid getting fl.u.s.tered in answering his invitation . She acted as if she forgot that he asked her out during lunchtime .

He felt like he was stabbed . He definitely did not have the right to question where she has gone . It would also be too much to expect that she would voluntarily give this information to him especially since it was a trip to the restroom .

Before he had the time to ask her again, the teacher came in and cla.s.ses resumed .

This teacher has the tendency to write all about the day"s topic on the board first before starting the discussion and everyone knows this .

Dan took the opportunity to write his invitation into sa piece of paper as pa.s.s it nonchalantly to his seatmate .

He wrote, "So, what do you say?" He tossed the paper to her .

She glanced at the note, then furrowed her brows .

"About what?" she wrote back then silently placed it on his desk .

"About going out this weekend . . . " he wrote back .

She pursed her lips as she wrote, "Just the two of us?" then tossed it back .

The paper did not land properly and dropped in front of his shoes .

Midori"s eyes widened on her mistake . She looked at him as if saying, "Don"t pick it up!"

They both know that if he tries to pick it up, the movement of his chair will cause a noise loud enough to draw the attention of everyone in cla.s.s, including the teacher .

Just then, Dan deliberately dropped his pen near the piece of paper . He then proceeded to move his chair to pick it up .

True enough, it caught everyone"s attention . The teacher turned around towards the noise .

Dan was seen picking up his pen off the floor . He looked up to the teacher with an apologetic face .

"Sorry . I just dropped my pen . "

The teacher turned his back and continued writing on the board .

Dan excitedly opened the note as he was expecting her answer through the course of the conversation . His heart sank upon reading her clarification .

He looked at her . She pretended to be focused on her note-taking .

Truly, it would seem like a date . However, he was frightened of the implications if he does not handle this properly .

He was afraid she would reject him . . . afraid to hear-well technically, see since it is in writing-that she would never go out with someone like him . She would be the first girl whom he would ask out . He was always asked out by girls around him, even abroad . He has never pursued a girl before .

"Wait, am I pursuing her?" He asked himself .

After some thought, he wrote back, "It"s just the two of us having lunch together . Why should I invite others too?"

He carefully placed it back on her desk .

She took a peek on the latest reply . She was flabbergasted .

Before she could think of what to write, the teacher began the discussion .

She immediately slipped the piece of paper in her pocket .

Dan pursed his lips, hiding his victorious smile .