19 Chapter Eighteen - Better Late Then Never...
*Once more, apologies for the long chapter*
Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock. Tick...
Briella cannot rip her eyes off the clock right above the door and before she knew it, the bell rang. A wave of students flood the hallways, but within minutes, the crowd clears out.
"Hmm..." Nadia begins. "Its always so fascinating to me how fast everyone - well almost everyone - leaves the school... it really shows how much school is liked...".
Briella replies with a chuckle at Nadia's sarcasm.
They both walk out of the building. Usually, they would both turn the corner and follow the paved pathway to the school gates. But today is different...
When both Briella and Nadia turn the corner and halt when they notice Ryan, Liam, Ronan and Scarlett all in a group, talking. They look as if they are waiting for someone.
It was Ryan who first saw Nadia and Briella approach the group.
"There they are! Come on, we'll be late for the bus!!" Liam speaks.
"Wait, late for the bus? Are we actually going to travel home altogether by bus?" Briella asks as she continues walking alongside Nadia.
"Well, yes..." Liam replies.
"So, I assume Cole is at football training?" Nadia asks, although she already knows what the answer will be.
"Yeah," Ronan replies. "And that is them right there, I think. Heading out to the field.".
Seconds pass before the shouting from a few players echo through the air. They all look down the small hill, by the GYM doors. Guys in different togging clothes walk out of the GYM. Instantly, they see one of the players with a ball in his hand. He throws the ball up into the air and then they all clash in an attempt to keep the ball from touching the ground.
Suddenly, Nadia freezes when she sees Cole come out. He has shorts and a t-shirt on himself. Though he is quite some distance away, Nadia can see that he has an athletic build. Big thighs, flat stomach, big arms and forearms, and not to mention his broad shoulders.
Nadia keeps her eyes on him as he gets a ball to his feet before beginning to kick it up and do some random tricks with it.
'He is not like others when they say that they 'can play' football... I see that he really does know how to play the sport...' Nadia thinks to herself.
He then stops, before looking back. Consequently, the first person who he sees is her, Nadia.
Slowly, but surely, Nadia feels her cheeks heat up, that is the longer his eyes are on her. Not long passes before he, once again, wins their gazing contest as Nadia is the first one to break their eye contact.
She turns around towards the group.
"I really think we should get going now, we really are going to miss the bus..." She says as her head is tilted down ever so slightly to not allow others to see how flustered she is.
"I agree with Nadia, let's go, everyone!" Liam says before he begins walking. Seconds later the rest of the group follow.
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All six of them exit the school grounds and begin their way down towards the bus stop. From being one big group, everyone has spit into two groups. The first group having Liam, Ryan, Ronan and Scarlett chatting away, while the second group having Briella and Nadia as they walked side by side.
Briella looks up, she looks at the four sixth years that are a few meters away from them. 'It's hard to imagine what it would all be like when they all leave school... What will I do next year?' Briella thinks to herself.
"Is everything okay, Briella?" Nadia asks.
"Yah!" Briella quickly replies. "Why do you ask?".
"You just went really quiet... I also noticed the fact that you were deep in your thoughts..." Nadia replies.
Briella simply nods to Nadia's words.
"I was wondering what would happen when Ryan, Liam, Scarlett and Ronan finish and leave school..." Briella elaborates. "Not that it's of any importance, but it... I guess, it was just one of those thoughts that send you into that state of mind where you... where you are dreading something as natural as finishing school... wishing for it never to happen...".
When Briella looks up at Nadia, she notices the way that Nadia's eyes are widened in surprise.
"Never to finish school??" Nadia questions. "In whatever world you are in, where the school does not finish... I want no part in it...".
"Ah, I didn't mean it that way... like..." Briella begins before letting out a sigh. She looks up at Ryan, she looks at the back of his head. "I don't want to lose contact with him... who knows where he will go to study... all I hope is that it's not too far away....".
Then for a brief moment, neither Briella nor Nadia spoke, they listened to the gentle giggles that came from Scarlett as she chuckled away with Ronan and Liam.
"So, I'll take it... you didn't confess?..." Nadia breaks the silence between them.
"To who? To Ryan?? No... not yet at least...".
"Are you planning to do so soon, or?..." Nadia asks.
"Well... I don't know... When a good opportunity arises, I'll take it to my advantage to finally confess to him... like maybe for Valentine's day?".
"What???" Nadia begins. "Are you really going to wait that long!?".
"Well... well, I... I don't... I don't know!!" Briella replies. "I... I have never confessed to anyone... I don't want him to... you know... I don't want him to look at me as weird, as potentially needy...".
"But are you? Are you needy?" Nadia asks.
"Well, I sure hope not!".
"Don't worry... the right amount of needy at times can come off as cute, who knows, he might like it! And no, I am not telling you from now on to become needy around him..." Nadia replies.
"Yah..." Briella starts. "I guess I am waiting, yes for the right moment, but also for the right feeling, like when I am ready to tell him that I like him... and when I am ready to accept his rejection...".
"Don't look at it that way, like its all doom and gloom. What is he confesses back, and tells you he likes you too?" Nadia inquires.
"You are raising my hopes up..." Briella replies with an awkward chuckle.
"But hey, it's possible..." Nadia answers back.
"True..." Briella says. "But still... I don't feel like raising my hopes up for something as uncertain as that. Who knows, he might leave school with us being just good friends... and then not long after... he might forget me..." Briella adds as a sheepish smile takes over her lips.
"Yeah... That's also a possibility..." Nadia responds. "But whenever you want to confess to him... make sure it's only him and you. It will make it that bit more sincere...".
"Well, would you look at that!" Briella begins. "Nadia knowing something about love and romance!".
"Just because I may seem heartless on the outside, it doesn't mean that I am heartless on the inside too... it also doesn't mean that I can't watch a sweet romantic film from time to time" Nadia replies, to which them both break into gentle laughter.
Then, once again, silence drops amongst them both, only for Briella to break it seconds later...
"But anyway... what's up with you and that guy Cole?" Briella asks.
Nadia reacts by widening her eyes ever so slightly. "I... I don't know what you are talking about...".
Nadia's answer causes Briella to raise an eyebrow. "Oh really?".
"Yah!" Nadia begins. "I honestly have no clue what you are talking about... as I mentioned before, could have been a major misinterpretation...". With Nadia saying that she speeds up her walk.
Briella lets out a chuckle.
"You know, I'll get you to tell me everything one day..." Briella says.
"One day, one day... but not today..." Nadia replies, continuously speeding up her pace of walking.
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With both Nadia and Briella rejoining the group, they all continue their way towards the bus stop, that was until a loud hush was heard, seconds before a bus was seen departing from their stop.
They all stop in their tracks, to which Ryan, Nadia, Scarlett and Briella, with a practically emotionless look on their faces, watched the bus as it drove away.
It was Liam and Ronan who looked at each other before frantically running towards the bus stop to look at the time table to see when the next bus is scheduled to arrive.
"Ermm..." Nadia begins. "We just missed the bus, didn't we?" Nadia asks with a deadpan face.
"Yup..." Ryan, Briella and Scarlett reply in unison.
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They all sit by the sheltered stop, some do their homework while the rest keep an eye on the road, in hope that the next vehicle that drives up the small hill will be a bus.
"At what time did it say that the next bus should arrive at?" Nadia asks.
"At 4:20 PM. Now its 4:25 PM. Judging by the timetable itself, it looks pretty old, so it could be outdated..." Ronan replies.
"Can't we look at the timetable that is up online?" Nadia inquires.
"Well, strangely... I can't get any service..." Scarlett says as she holds up her phone.
"So we are out of service?..." Nadia reiterates Scarlett's reply into a question.
"Looks like it..." Scarlett replies.
"What will we do until the next bus arrives?" Nadia questions.
To which Ronan replies with, "I am not all too sure, but what I am sure about is that we will think of something...".
*About a couple of seconds later*
"Did you think of anything?..." Nadia asks him.
"Nope, nothing so far, but I am definitely in that process of thinking..." He replies. "Hmmm... what to do? What to do?..." He mutters under his breath.
*A few more seconds later*
"Now?" Nadia inquires.
"Ermm... nope..." Ronan replies.
*Another couple of seconds on top of that*
"What about now?" Nadia and Scarlett both ask in unison.
"... Nope..." he replies, giggling awkwardly.
*I have lost count of the number of seconds that have passed... so... a few more seconds later...*
"And now?..." Briella, Nadia and Scarlett all ask in unison, stepping closer towards him.
"N-nope!!" He replies. "Are you all ganging up on me!?".
Just then, Liam looks up at the road and widens his eyes...
"B-bus... it's a bus!!" he says, then he walks that bit closer to the road. "HEY, OVER HERE!!!! HEYYYY!!" Liam begins to shout as he waves his hands in the air.
"Ermmm... Liam, I don't think that is necessary to wave your hands up in the air like a crazy person..." Nadia begins. "I am sure it is scheduled to stop here, regardless if there are passengers at this stop or not...".
'Well, that's not always the case!!' Liam exclaims in his thoughts.
The bus continues its way down the small hill.
"It'll stop here, right?" Briella asks.
"Yes, it's meant to..." Nadia replies.
The bus continues driving on the road right before... well right before it zooms by the stop.
It leaves behind a wave of thin dust that rises up into the air before engulfing them, causing them all to cough.
After the small coughing fit, Liam's face slowly but sure straightens, becoming emotionless right before he slowly turns and faces Nadia.
"And you were saying?..." Liam voices.
"W-well, it was just a speculation, how was I to have known for sure?..." Nadia replies.
Liam responds back by letting out a sigh. "I knew I should have been louder...".
