7 YOU HAVEN’T TOLD ME YOUR NAME!
***
“You haven’t told me your name?”
In the convenience store where he usually buys food and stuffs, Austin went to buy a drink to make himself sleep. Weng was once again astonished by the young student. After getting his order, he sat down and drank a bottle of beer until the woman he had sex with last time appeared all of a sudden. She looked so seductively sexy, wearing red sleeveless top and two-inch shorts. Austin was surprised when he saw the woman holding a beer as well. She immediately asked Austin about his name.
Austin opted not to give his name to the woman but she was persistent enough to know the boy better, knowing that she still had the after-sex-glow. The woman was still seducing Austin, touching his hand, giving her a look of a desperate woman who was looking for sex.
Tranquility was what he was looking for. After arduous hours of reviewing for the final day of exam, he went down to find peace with the help of the beer but the universe sent him chaos.
“You look so sexy and hot!” the woman uttered.
Inside of the store, Weng saw that someone was closely seducing Austin and she didn’t like it that’s why she went outside to throw out the water from the pail accumulated from the malfunctioning air-conditioning unit of the store. The water was cold, not to mention filthy and she did it on purpose but it looks like not. The woman who was seducing Austin got angry and while murmuring about the intentional incident, she walked away furiously.
Weng sent her apologies exaggeratedly and went back inside. Mission accomplished as she whispered when she brought back the pail on its original position.
***
On the same night, Vanessa stopped reviewing and she kept on walking back and forth inside her room, still confused if she’s going to send her “thank you” message to Austin after giving her snacks and drink a while back. She had no choice, someone did good to her and in exchange to that was a simple message of gratitude – a simple task she couldn’t even offer to the man she hates the most. If it’s someone else, it would be easier for her to say thank you but the universe made it difficult for her to be grateful at all.
“Okay, I have to thank him!” she whined.
While holding her phone on her hand, she wrote a message for him. However, she deleted it. After deciding to text him, what made the situation more difficult was the content of the message. She never wanted to be sounded sweet nor to be sounded too stiff. She couldn’t imagine herself in the situation where she couldn’t even compose a message, not to mention that she was a writer of the school publication.
“Thanks for the snack!”
As usual, when it comes to Austin, her message was too simple and short, no words beating around the bush – just direct to the point.
***
“Thanks for the snack!”
While he was still drinking on the convenience store, an unexpected message arrived on his inbox. It was Vanessa thanking her for the snack he bought for her. The man widely smiled as if he was a kid who received his favorite candy and he replied back, saying “You’re always welcome my dear”. The message was too simple but an endearment was added on the last sentence. Austin really had a plan to make this girl fall in love with him.
Austin was asking Vanessa about her decision for the date he was insisting. While waiting for her response, a call from her ex-girlfriend came in and it was the recent girl who slapped him on the cafeteria. The girl missed Austin so much and with her bold and strong nature, she said she wanted him back. She dared to offer herself and even her body as a bait just in case, Austin would decide to be with her for the second time around.
“Sorry, I am no longer interested!” he said, then, dropped the call.
It was half past 10 and he was still waiting for Vanessa’s response. The atmosphere was too cold, the night was still young and the cars passed by became music to his ears. He went back to his apartment after drinking, while heading his way back he was too vigilant and never wanted to miss out the text from Vanessa that’s why he tried to check on his phone minute by minute.
“Okay, this Saturday! It’s not a date. It’s just a meeting!” Vanessa replied.
***
On the third of the examination, it was Vanessa who arrived early on the bench near the library. She took her handout from her bag and began reading some important notes. While reading, she was too vulnerable to fight the thoughts she had on her mind, roaring like a boisterous thunder circulating her entire consciousness, she found herself distracted about Austin and the date he set for them. She couldn’t imagine that she would have a date to someone she doesn’t like or rather she hates. She was pondering about Krist’s idea that it was not a date, it was her time to know his motive.
“Hey, Vanessa!” Andrew greeted.
“Ahh, it’s you! Andrew.” Vanessa surprisingly greeted.
“Yeah, it’s me. Who are you expecting? Austin?”
“No. No. No!”
Andrew asked permission to Vanessa if he could sit beside her, Vanessa nodded – an indication she was allowing Andrew to sit down. Vanessa was a bit nervous and was not paying attention to Andrew. Then the man began asking question about what she was doing all alone on that bench. She disclosed that she was waiting for her friends to arrive. To the same reason, Andrew was also waiting for his friends to arrive. While they were both waiting, a glimpse of opportunity knocked on Vanessa’s mind. That’s why she took the chance to ask him a question. Andrew had the same thought with Vanessa, that’s why he wanted to ask Vanessa once and for all.
“Can I ask?” they both uttered. They both smiled when they heard the same question posted by and to each other.
“You can ask first.” Vanessa said.
“No, go ahead. Ladies first!” he protested.
Before telling her question, she first went on to elaborate her disclaimer. She just really wanted to know the truth and nothing more. “What’s wrong with Austin?” When she uttered her first question, she knew that it was too general and maybe it would be hard for him to answer the question. That’s why, she altered it right away. “I mean, what’s his plan towards me?” When she heard the paraphrased question, she felt relieved because the second question sounded more specific than the previous one.
“I really don’t know. It is his first time to make some effort with a girl.” Andrew replied.
Andrew asked his question and never allowed Vanessa to do follow-up question. And of course, he was also clueless about his friend’s plan towards Vanessa. “Why do you hate Austin so much?” he boldly asked. Vanessa explained her answer and made Andrew believe that she had grudge towards cheater and playboy. Based on the stories she heard from the ex-girlfriends of Austin including Mitch, Austin was really an asshole. He was cute, smart and appealing but those things would never save him from being a jerk and playboy.
While the two were discussing, Mitch and Krist arrived together, a hint for Andrew that he needs to leave the place. He said goodbye and good luck, then left the place. The two were puzzled about what was going on until Vanessa mentioned that she was asking her if she saw his friends.
