A Dreamstruck Mari

Monday. Mari wakes up just to daydream again about last Friday's ball. Her lips curve to a smile as she recalls the magical moment she shared with Aiden on the dancefloor. When she thinks in anticipation that they will be sitting next to each other in class today, her cheeks feel like they're on fire.

She closes her eyes and hugged the pillow. But her daydream was cut short by the alarm. She throws her pillow over the alarm and dragged herself to the bathroom for a cold morning shower. When Mari entered the school gate, there were already plenty of students around. Most were clustered into groups and are still talking about last Friday's masquerade ball. Some of the boys were jealous of Aiden for getting all the attention of the girls. The more the girls talk about Aiden, the greater their jealousy grows.

"That Aiden guy sure is lucky. Every girl in town wants to jump into his arms." A guy complains to his friend.

"I don't know what's wrong with these girls. Are they all blind? What does this 'Aiden' have that we don't have? Life is so unfair!!!" His friend complains back with an irritated tone. Upon hearing this Mari just smiles and continues walking towards her class.

As she walks a little farther, she noticed a group of girls gossiping. Some of the girls who recognized her as one of Aiden's dates rushed to her and greet her. "Hi Mari, you are one lucky lady! You've got to dance with Aiden at that ball. How did that feel?" Mari finds these questions awkward. Instead of answering them, she just smiles and continues walking. Several girls gave her cold shoulders, while others gave her some angry and glaring look. She also sees Vicky who pretended not to see her. Mari just pretends not to notice.

"Well, girls, I don't blame you. If I was you, I'd wanna be me too, hehehe'. She then happily struts to her class humming the famous Meghan Trainor song. Lunch break. Mari is seated at a table all by herself. She has no appetite for lunch. She has lots of questions in her mind. The more she thinks about these questions, the more uneasy she becomes. "Why did he miss school today? What could be wrong with him?." Mari wonders about Aiden's absence knowing that perfect attendance is a big deal to him. He also doesn't receive

her calls. Mari continues to rattle her brains as she stares at her lunch. Her mind was so preoccupied that she was distracted by an annoying voice.

"Well, well, who do we get here? Ahhh, it's the sloppy Cinderella abandoned by her Prince Charming." Vicky says in a loud mocking voice, attracting the attention of the students in the hall. "What's the matter? Sad? Did he got bored with you that fast?"

Mari was a little embarrassed. Not because of what Vicky said but because of the attention that was drawn toward her. She also has got enough of this Vicky. She recalls how this brat insulted Aiden and her in the Hallway a few days ago. So, Mari stands up, picks up her bags, walks towards Vicky, and says, "No Vicky, I, Cinderella, am not sad. In fact, I was enjoying my moment daydreaming about the dance I had with Aiden last Friday while my ugly stepsister watched with envy on the sideline. Now, the same ugly stepsister starts to

annoy me again. I don't want any of this toxic atmosphere because I am

waiting for a call from my Prince. So, excuse me." Mari stormed out of the cafeteria in a bad mood. She hates to be pestered, especially now that she senses that something is wrong with Aiden. Right behind her, she could hear Vicky screaming in the same excruciating voice; "You're lying! He is not your Prince. He is mine! Liar! You will never take him from me!" Mari shudders in disgust! She shakes her head as she walks away as fast as she can. She rolled her eyes and softly utters; "retard". Mari was out of breath when she arrived at a bench under a tree at the schoolyard.

"AAAARRRGGGH! When will those nitwits grow brains!" Mari sits on the bench and puts on her earphones. She presses play and closes her eyes. Slowly her face relaxes as she listens to "ONCE UPON DECEMBER".

In the middle of the song, Mari opens her eyes and quickly removes her earphones. She remembers something about Aiden during the ball. Right after they dance and the people were applauding them, Mari innocently interlocked her arm with Aiden, but Aiden did not respond. Mari also noticed that from that moment on, some sadness appeared in Aiden's eyes. Aiden then excused Himself and asked to be alone. He then has the family chauffeur drive Mari home. Mari did not take that seriously considering that in times when they hang out together, there were moments when Aiden asked to be alone. Mari thought that that was just one of those moments. Before Mari left the ballroom, he saw Aiden walking towards the garden all by himself.

Mari's eyebrows crossed. "Did I do or say something that offended him? Did something happen in the garden that night? If so, is he alright.? I need to see him!!! " Mari quickly picks up her bag and goes to Aiden's home in a rush.