Kyla's Flashback 6

-Kyla's Flashback continuation-

Like a sense of warmth sparkling in the cold, the darkness in the sky vibrated with shimmering stars. Under the vast starry night, the exciting chatters of a gathering filled the liveliness in the surroundings.

In a private yard, a young man in a bright white shirt, gray tie and deep navy-blue suit walked through the gathering. His head tilted sideways and body rotated in a full circle as his eyes wandered continuously around him.

After spinning slowly for another three hundred sixty degrees, he sighed and mumbled to himself. "Where could she be? Kyla is always here for our family parties. Why can't I find her anywhere? Could she be sick or something? I need to find Jessica and ask her."

Spotting Jessica's back figure from a close distance, Isaac walks over and politely greeted the guests. "Pardon me. May I borrow my sister for a few minutes? I have some important matters to ask her."

"Of course! Take your time." The few guests walked away from the siblings to give them some space.

Raising the glass of champagne to her lips, Jessica stared at him with an amused expression. "What's wrong?"

"Where's Kyla?" He asked while turning his head in all directions to look for her.

"She didn't come tonight. I asked her earlier and she told me she was busy with studying. You seem quite anxious for someone who rejected her confession just several weeks ago. Why are you asking for her? Shouldn't it be better since it'll lessen the awkwardness if she doesn't come?" Jessica purposely pushed his buttons, knowing her questions would irritate him.

"I'm only asking to make sure she isn't sick. She is always here for our parties, so it is weird to not see her here." He replied.

Jess swirled the glass in her hand and shot him a suspicious glance. "Oh really? So, what if I tell you she is actually sick?"

Isaac instantly sucked in a deep breath and held onto her arms. "What?! She's sick? So, I was right? Where is she? Why are you here and not with her? Aren't you her best friend? How could you be entertaining people when she is sick?"

Jess stared straight into his eyes that were filled with worry. "Look at you. You're already reacting this way, and I only mentioned her being sick. Are you sure you are just curious and nothing more than that? In what position does the person who rejected her have to ask about what's going on in her life? And how about you ask yourself again, just exactly why she should attend these parties anymore?"

Wiggling herself out of his grip, Jessica proceeded with greeting other guests. Taking out his phone from his suit pocket, Isaac unlocked his screen and clicked into Kyla's text messages. The last time she had sent him a message was right before the university welcoming night where she had confessed to him.

Suddenly, his thumbs began moving on its own, typing out a message. Right when his thumb was about to click the send button, it froze and stretched to the backspace button instead. He sighed as he stared at the empty message, shook his head and placed his phone back into his pocket.

- Three months later -

Isaac's chin rested in his palm as his fingers restarted the message app on his phone repeatedly. He mumbled to himself, "Why didn't she response to my message yet? It's Saturday."

The sound of a new notification alerted him, making him subconsciously straighten his back. He cleared his throat and cracked his neck before opening the Kyla's message. "Sorry, I'm busy. Maybe next time."

He frowned upon receiving another rejection from her. Ever since the Wang family's party, he had been finding random ideas to form topics with her. He never knew creating a conversation could be this difficult.

Scrolling up to the previous messages in the past months, another sigh escaped between his parted lips. "All of them were the same responses. Why is she so busy? Maybe it is school work? Argh, what's wrong with me? Why am I feeling uneasy?"

His fingers scrolled up in their chat history. A small smile rose when he reread her messages. Finally, realization began striking his heart. 'It's always been her talking all the time. I barely hit her up...'

- Four months later -

Outside a boba milk tea cafe, Jessica giggled as her eyes fixated on the figure behind the transparent glass window. "Hehe. Kyla would never have guessed I would appear! Let me give her a small scare before meeting brother."

Stepping a step forward, Jessica's smile froze. She saw the full view of where Kyla was writing in her notebook and noticed a guy sitting across from her.

From where she stood, Jessica could briefly tell the two of them were studying. "Ah! That much be Zach. Kyla mentioned a nerdy guy who was her classmate since elementary school would be her tutor. Hmm..but that guy's way of looking...at her...Maybe I'm thinking too much. Bingo! I got a good idea."

Rummaging through her handbag, she took out her phone and texted Isaac. After the text was successfully delivered, Jessica crossed the street and walked into a dessert spot. She took a seat by the window, ordered from the menu and smiled. "Who told my brother to be such a slowpoke? If he could realize his feelings for her sooner, then I wouldn't have to do this."

Ten minutes later, the door to the dessert spot slammed open. Isaac sped walked towards Jessica and checked to see if she was feeling alright. "You! Are you playing a joke? I ran here thinking you were really sick."

Scooping a spoonful of her special deluxe ice cream with extra fruits and Nutella, Jessica explained. "I was feeling low sugar. That is considered sick. Since you're here, have some food with me. It takes me a while to finish this bowl anyway."

Isaac settled down, ordered himself a milkshake and raised a question for her. "If you had low sugar, isn't it faster to order boba milk tea from across the street than a dessert?"

"Huh? There's a boba place here?" She pretended to be clueless as she stuffed ice cream into her mouth.

"It's right there." Isaac turned his head and pointed. He blinked twice, turned his head and widened his eyes. "Isn't that..."

"Hmm? Who?" She reacted so natural that he couldn't figure out her act. "Ah! Kyla? And oh, he must be Zach." She slipped out Zach's name smoothly as if she had known him for a while already.

"Who is Zach?" His voice deepened when he mentioned Zach's name. Subconsciously, his hands clenched into small fists.

"He was her classmate since elementary school. They're studying together almost every day now." She smiled when she caught a glimpse of his jealous expression. 'Get more jealous! Realize your damn feelings, turtle! Get her before she changes her mind and dumps your ass!' Jessica thought to herself.

'Is he more important than me? Is that why you're so busy nowadays? It's just studying. I could help you too.' Issac made a note to himself to find a time to talk to her alone.

A few weeks passed since Isaac had seen Kyla with Zach. His heart felt oddly unsettled. After asking Kyla out for a drink for months, she finally replied saying she had time on a Sunday afternoon.

He arrived half an hour earlier than the time they had agreed to meet up. After ordering an iced coffee for himself, he waited for her to come. Not long after, a sweet voice entered his ears.

"You're already here." Kyla smiled as she walked over to him. She was wearing a white top, light leather jacket, a pair of denim shorts and sneakers. Her hair waved naturally, curving behind her ears - showing off her cuffed earrings.

Compared to her oversized outfit choices from the past, her style had changed nearly a hundred eighty degrees. The aura around her had changed to one that emitted more confidence. Seeing the obvious change in her appearance, he quickly snapped out of his daze and pulled out the chair beside him for her.

Unlike before, Kyla took the seat across from him and placed her bag on the chair he pulled out. She tilted her head sideways with a small smile, "What's wrong?"

"No. Nothing is wrong." He was actually disappointed because she normally gave him a hug before sitting next to him. Now, she sat directly across from him and didn't bother giving him a hug greeting.

The atmosphere at the table wasn't bad, but nobody knew what to say. To be more precise, Isaac was the one who was hesitating on the many questions he had on his mind. Every time he wanted to ask her something, he questioned who he was to ask this particular question. At the end, he ended up asking her about how school life was treating her.

"Oh, school is the same old stuff. Dull and boring. The classes are alright, but teachers are very strict already." She sighed.

"If you have any troubles with studying, I could help you out. You can come to me anytime you need. Besides, I'm in university, so the material you're learning should be easier to me." He smiled when he thought of his offer.

"Hmm? Thank you, but it's alright. I have a classmate who has been studying with me. I'm already used to the way he explains the textbook and his simplified notes. You're a university student, so you should have less time than high schoolers do. Focus more on your studies." Kyla rejected his offer politely.

After a while of chatting and catching up, Kyla looked at the time. "It's 6:30 P.M. already. I need to start walking home before it gets dark."

Understanding the meaning behind her words, he nodded and paid for their lunch. "Let me walk you home."

Kyla gathered her belongings and shook her head. "It's okay. My house isn't too far from here. Isaac, I'm not the little girl who needs you to walk me to my door anymore. I'm in high school. Besides, your house is in the opposite direction. Thanks for lunch. I'll treat you next time! Get home safe! Bye bye." She waved her hand and left before he could say another word.

He stood at the same position and watched as her figure grew smaller. An indescribable feeling rushed to his heart as uneasiness spread.

Kyla turned the corner of the block and immediately took a deep breath. She patted her chest and exhaled deeply. "Sorry Isaac, I had to leave because if you asked another time, I might get convinced. I can't forever remain the same. I need to change for you to change too. I want you to realize your feelings yourself and confirm my thoughts. Surely, I'm not the only one who thinks you like me too."