Chapter 22: A Look at the Past

Alena felt a little nervous with everyone's gaze upon her. They looked at her expectantly, awaiting her answer patiently.

She sighed. She felt the pressure to speak up so that their hunger for information or gossip in this case could be satiated.

Their ears were awaiting a satisfactory answer and perhaps some spill of tea kind of gossip. They were certainly hoping to hear some gossip.

"Well since you guys insist -" as soon as Alena spoke she was soon cut off from speaking further.

"We do insist! Come on! Tell us some juicy gossip, some hot news!" Aiko said excitedly.

Alena smiled, "Alright. I doubt there's anything juicy in here for you but I used to study at St. Francis Middle School. The one in City B"

"Whoa, that's a tough deal to crack, some students get in purely through donations and the others through their best grades," remarked Natasha, the all-knowing one.

"Wow, no wonder your grades are excellent. You're way above average"

"Haha, it's nothing. It's not a big deal" replied Alena.

"It is a big deal! Come on! Do teach us for school tests. We should do study sessions together"

"That sounds like a good idea. My grades are not that good. I need help this semester," said Rei, obviously hoping for a chance to spend time together.

This statement caused a smirk to appear on Aiko's face which was noticed by Natasha who gave a light nudge to Aiko. "Oww!" whined Aiko.

"What happened, Aiko?" asked Alena with concern in her voice.

"Oh, it's nothing. I felt a bug bite me or something, I'm not sure" Aiko's eyes directed toward Natasha while she spoke her sentence. "Anyway, so your school must be pretty strict right?" Aiko asked with curiosity.

"Yeah it was kind of strict with all those rules and regulations but it was also sort of fun. I was friends with many people there so we all were a big group and we used to hang out frequently. It was fun. We also had study sessions," Alena smiled as she felt nostalgic remembering her past.

"Aww, that's so sweet," added Yuki. "You must be missing your friends then?"

"Well, yeah I do," Alena's smile turning into a bittersweet one. The memories that rushed in turned her smile bittersweet as she recalled leaving the school, the final goodbyes and the final "going away" party or "farewell" the teacher and students threw her. She had received many letters and bouquets. A drop of tear appeared in her eyes making them glisten.

"Oh no Yuki! That was a sensitive question. Look what you've done. You've got Alena crying now," said Natasha as Alena wiped a stray tear falling out of her left eye.

"I'm sorry Alena," apologised Yuki with sad eyes. She looked like a cute puppy as her big eyes glistened even in the shade of the tree.

"Ahh, it's okay guys. I apologise for suddenly getting emotional like this," smiled Alena to reassure everyone. Everyone felt bad for Alena. A few drops of tears fell out of her eyes again as she furiously tried to wipe them away.

"Aww, you don't need to apologise. It's alright, we get it," Natasha tried to comfort Alena by reassuring her that it was okay for her to cry.

"Yeah, it's alright, Alena. Please don't cry though, it's making me feel sad," said Rei with a sad look on his face.

"Come on let's group hug, everyone!" exclaimed Aiko in a loud voice and went over to Alena to hug her. Soon the others joined in, Natasha, Yuki and Rei felt a bit too awkward to join them but felt left out as well.

"Hey, you also come!" Natasha urged Rei to join in who soon hugged them all from behind. His cheeks were a slight tint of pink shade.

Alena smiled and hugged them back. "Let's finish our lunches first, guys" reminded Alena.

"Oh no, yeah let's finish the lunch. We all got too carried away," giggled Yuki.

They all rushed back to their spots to quickly finish their respective lunches.

"So, did you have any crush in your middle school Alena?" smirked Aiko initiating a new gossip topic. The question perked up Rei's ears. He was more curious to know the answer than everyone else.

"Oh good pick, Aiko," winked Natasha, "You came straight to the point," she chuckled.

"Geez you guys, that's a silly question but the answer is no," smirked Alena. "What about you guys?" Alena wiggled her eyebrows directing the question back towards her friends. Trapping them.

Rei felt like an oddball in the group. He was totally left out. "Hey, why are you guys not asking me anything?" he blurted to grab everyone's attention and soon everyone's eyes were on him which got him nervous unlike his demeanour just now.

"Of course, you're included silly," smiled Alena to reassure him that they all hadn't forgotten about him. "The question is directed towards you as well, Mr Rei," smirked Alena.

"Yeah, yeah, of course you're included. Now spill the gossip quickly!!" exclaimed Aiko as Natasha's ears perked up a little by the sudden change in direction of the question.

"Umm, well, I guess I'll have to answer now, don't I? You guys really got me trapped real good," squinted Rei at Aiko. "Well, here goes nothing. Yeah, I had a crush in middle school."

"Whoaaa, I knew that. Who was she?" asked Yuki excitedly. Everyone's attention was now on Rei but his eyes were looking for a reaction from Alena.

"Wait, if I'm not wrong, you had a girlfriend in middle school, didn't you? Besides, although she was kept hidden, everyone was still speculating if it was Miss Amanda or the cute and popular Reili-chan from class C," pointed out Natasha, the gossip queen, trying to reel out more information.

RRRIIIIINNNNNGGGG

The school bell rang all of a sudden, interrupting the group's interesting conversation indicating that the break was over now and they all started packing their stuff up to rush for their classes.

"Hey Rei, your answer is still due. Don't forget that WE won't forget about it!" winked Aiko.

"Oh, so you don't forget huh? We'll see about that," Rei stuck his tongue out at Aiko.

"Heyyy that's rude!" Aiko squinted her eyes then stuck her tongue back at Rei.

"We're getting late guys," Alena pinched both Rei and Aiko, breaking their little banter, they both squealed in unison "Owww! That hurts!"