Misled Heart

It all started on three words, "like me back". A single phrase that thumps your word like a drum.

The 3th of February, 2020.

"George, wake up. It's 5 a.m now!" a feminine voice can be heard shouting through the door.

"Yes mom! I am awake!" I shouted back to my mom who was knocking at the door.

I stood up lazily, as I prepare for a new day in class.

My classes starts at 7 AM, very early but we end somewhere between 12 PM to 1 PM which is a good trade-off.

I opened to the door on my pajamas and a towel then walked out to the shower.

I then took a shower which lasted 15 minutes then went back to my room.

It was now 5:25 AM as I finished wearing my uniform, my uniform is a plain school uniform.

I went out my room again but this time to the dining room.

"Your food is on the table, I need to go now" My mom told me as she went to the door and left.

My mom works way earlier than me but is very caring, my dad works outside the country therefore it is rare to see him.

I looked at the table and saw bacon and eggs with bread, it was a normal breakfast.

Thinking about it, when was it when I had a companion for breakfast.

It had probably been 10 years since I had a companion for breakfast, I was still 5 years old at that time.

I then placed my eggs on the bread before placing the bacons on top, it was a sandwich.

I ate my sandwiches and took 25 minutes, before washing the dishes and brushing my tooth.

It took quite awhile, though it is still early at 5:55 AM, I went back to my room.

Upon entering my room, I went to the table where my notebooks and books were organized.

I took a red, a blue, a yellow, a green and a violet notebook and my History book and placed them onto my black bag.

I then wore a yellow sling which holds my identification card for my school and then switched off the lights before closing the door.

It was now 6 AM, I still have time to walk to my school which was a 15 minute walk from my home.

I walked to my school and had arrived at the gates a few moments later.

It was still early in the morning, most students arrive at 6:45 AM therefore there were little to no persons here.

I entered the gates and walked to my building where my class was situated at.

The building had 4 rooms every floor and is capable of handling 50 students per class.

I ran up to the stairs onto the third floor before entering my class room which was located on the edge.

"Hey George, morning!" I reached my room as a black haired girl greets me with a lovely smile as she stares into my eyes.

"Morning, Rika" I greeted back.

Her name is Rika, another 15 year old like me who started kindergarten late also.

We are both 8th graders, which was quite odd for our age.

"Have you made your homework? Rika asked me.

"Wait?! There is one?" I shouted before sitting on my desk which was right next to her on the window.

"Ahh! There you go again!" As she threw me a paper which was the answered homework.

"Thanks!" I bowed down to her in appreciation.

Our teacher is known to be strict, once you made the slightest mistake, it was a excuse letter.

I then copied the homework with a little modification, after which it didn't take long before class started.

Class were as usual, the only difference was our English class had us film a video by group.

I was grouped with a few people who were Joshua, Thea, Mike, Rika, me and Stella.

We planned to meet at the bench to discuss on how we are going to tackle this project later after class.

Classes ended and I went to the bench near the gate, it was a normal spot for students to hangout.

"Hey!" Rika waved at me.

"Hey Rika, have you ate lunch?" I asked her.

"No, we can eat lunch as we discuss." She told me.

A few minutes after me, the others had arrived.

We discussed a few things as we ate, especially the song and the choreography.

The song we selected was a love song from 2010, it was a well known song and the roles we had were 2 actors, specifically a male and a female.

I was the cameraman and editor while Rika acted as the director, the rest were their own world.

The plan is to start filming tomorrow and then pass it by the end of the week which was a huge stretch.

We then went home after our talks.

4th of February, 2020.

It was the same old routine, for the morning.

Classes had just ended and we met up at the bench again, I brought with me, a Nikon camera.

I had already thought out a few angles and transitions I will use for the film.

Rika arrived late to the bench, 8 minutes late to be specific.

"Let's get started then!" Rika said.

We chose a few locations then started to film from there, it took 3 hours to finish the shots after a few retakes.

The day ended with me and Rika walking around the school as we interact about how we are to shoot the film and etc.

"How about, we make her slip and the male catches her" Rika suggested.

"Too cliche, but might work." I said.

It was interactions like these, that occured between us other than sightseeing other groups.

7th of February, 2020.

The days went by same as usual, me and Rika got closer with each day passing by.

It wasn't as if I hadn't noticed, it was just I tried to be clueless.

Once again, the class had ended at 1 PM, we had nothing more to film therefore I went home early to edit the films.

By the time I arrived home, it was already 1:27 PM. I took a few detours to the mall to buy some coffee and the likes.

I went to my room upon arriving then taking a shower and wearing my home clothes.

It was now 1:34 PM when I opened my computer.

My computer is very fast, with a Nvidia GTX 2080 and the latest Intel core CPU. It didn't take long for it to start up.

I started up Premiere and contacted Rika to help out on the edit.

Rika guided me from clip to clip and by the time we had finished, it was already 6 hours after.

We decided to name the video "Ethereal" before sending it to our subject teacher's email.

I hopped into my bed after sending, it was a Friday therefore I need to spend my time wisely and efficiently.

10th of February, 2020.

It was the same old routine, greeting each other at morning, and talking about a few topics.

Nothing unusual had happened though and classes had ended the same way.

I went home the same time, and went on my computer as always.

I drew a few digital art as a hobby and talk to other internet friends, it was now night time and I was about to rest.

I went to bed and took my phone to open Messenger when Rika messaged me.

"Hey George, you awake?" Rika sent me a question.

"Yeah, I am awake." I replied back.

"Let's ask each other questions." She said.

"Sure why not, you can start." I told her.

"Okay, my first question is. If someone close to you loves you, will you love her back?" She asked a weird question.

"Probably." I didn't find anything weird at first and replied.

"My question this time, what's your favorite food?" It was a usual question I asked to her.

"Chicken." She replied.

"My next question, what kind of person do you love?" She asked me.

"A person who can understand me truly and trust me." I answered back.

It was pure silence at that time and the day ended there.

11th of February, 2020.

Everything went as normal, Rika was acting weird, she didn't interact with me as close as before.

She tried to avoid me sometimes, but I had thought of nothing about it.

In the end, classes had ended after examinations with nothing special occuring.

I went home at the ordinary time, bought coffee along the way and took a few detours.

It was then night time when Rika messaged me.

It was normal messages but with a happy tone.

For instance, "Have you ate yet?", "What did you eat for dinner?" and the likes.

It was idle chatter from there, similiar to talking to a friend. That was supposedly the case, though.

"Like me back." Rika messaged me.

"What?" I asked

"I said like me back." Rika messaged again.

"Are you serious?" I asked.

"Dumb, am I not serious?" Rika messaged me.

I then realized feelings I had for her, it was not friendship I wanted but love.

"Truth to be told, I had feelings for you." I replied to her.

"True?!" Her message contained a tone like shock.

"Yes, true." I said.

We both chatted for awhile before she went off to sleep.

12th of February, 2020

Rika was late this time, she arrived 15 minutes after 7 AM. I thought she was going to be absent today.

We didn't talk until a few more subjects after, but it was all small interactions like "How do you do that" and etc.

Classes ended that way and nothing really happened.

I went home and was in doubt but didn't take it to heart.

It was night time but she wasn't online, it was weird but I thought it was just for today.

14th of February, 2020.

It was the same thing yesterday, she went online but only seen my message before going offline a few minutes later.

It was really odd and the doubt in my heart was really taking place.

The interactions between us became more distant as time passed by.

I really didn't have the heart to question it as examinations are today also.

The examination wasn't really hard, it was mostly what was lessoned the whole quarter.

I went to the mall with Joshua and we bought coffee and had talks there.

It was a Friday therefore I thought she was going to be online today.

I went home earlier than Joshua and slept first.

It was night time when I woke up, I didn't slept the whole way though.

I woke up at intervals checking my phone for the moment she was online.

There was a huge doubt in my heart taking place and it wasn't good.

It was now 7 PM when I opened my phone for the few times.

Her name was on the active list with a green check mark signifying that she was online.

I took no time and opened the chatbox.

"Evening, Rika!" I sent the message first.

"Evening." Her message holds a uninterested tone.

I asked her a few questions as usual and sge answered with a uninterested tone.

It was then she sent a message.

"George, I have to tell you something." She said.

"What is it?" I asked.

"Don't get me weird okay." She said.

"Okay." I said.

"I was actually not serious with you." She replied.

I dropped my phone, it cracked and went off.

That message broke everything within me, I kept thinking. Is this real? Is this really her?

I dropped to bed and thought for awhile.

My heart was in shatters, it was painful.

I took a pillow and cried.

"How could you lie to me." I said as I broke down.

END.