LIFE GOES ON

Laura and Rubin took the left pavement,leading to the bus stop to catch the early morning bus which travels along the route to their school– Laura kept fretting behind him which made her look a little funny. He secretly glanced at her and smiled to himself, almost with a chuckle. She instinctively glanced up at him and caught him in the act.

"Why are you laughing? " She asked, pausing in her steps. He instinctively put on a straight face and turned his gaze away from her.

Strategically clearing his throat, he answered. " Nothing– I think we should pace up now else we'll miss the bus "

With that, he sauntered ahead of her. Laura tilted her head with a sceptical gaze as she stared at his back. She scoffed and raced after her. "Hey, wait up– You better tell me what that was about" She called. Noticing her intention, he raced off with a chuckle to which Laura did same after him.

"It's really nothing " He laughed.

As time went on between the two, Rubin developed means to communicate with her without being wired– he always kept one of his earphones plugged in his ear, not to make things obvious. Just when they got to the bus stop, their bus pulled up; he instinctively joined the rest of the students and people boarding to which Laura paced after him.

Just when he got on, he flung his card over the monitor which made a beep sound after which he sauntered to a pair of seat at the far left of the bus. He made way for her to move into the seat at the window before settling right beside her.

"May I sit here?" A voice called which made him glance up from his phone–Laura stared at them.

"Um, sorry, this place is full" He answered. The young lady stared at him and swiftly at the empty sit next to him, sceptical. Not saying anymore, she hobbled off to the back seat which was only occupied by two students. Rubin spontaneously glanced back at Laura who smiled.

" Thanks" She mumbled and he tilted his head with a smile. This was quite unexpected of Rubin; he had started treating her quite different from before which made her feel like a human once again. She use to always get off her seat whenever someone walks up to them but today was different–This totally tells a different story.

Laura smiled to herself and returned to her formal posture as earlier on, glancing out of the window. Rubin stared at her and smiled – he spontaneously picked the remaining earphone and plugged it into her ears which made her turn her gaze, slowly on him. He had his eyes glued on her and when she raised her head, their eyes met–Their eyes kept locked in each other and the soft music which played behind the earphone in the background between them wafted over and for the first time, Laura noticed his bright eyes which betrayed his feelings for her; her heart skipped as well.

It seemed to her that the lyrics of the song "LIFE GOES ON (BTS)" which played on, was suddenly talking to her– to let off her current status and allow herself to go on; to give love a chance.

LYRICS

One day the world stopped,

Without any warning

Spring didn't know to wait

Showed up not even a minutes late.

Streets erased of footprints;

I lie here, fallen to the ground –

Time goes by on its own,

Without a single apology.

Looks like rain again today,

I'm soaked to the bone.

Still won't stop

Running faster than that cloud of rain

Thought that'd be enough

Guess I'm only human after all

I'm in a world of pain

This cold the world gave me

Prompts me to press the dust– covered rewind

Dancing off-beat lying on the ground

One winter comes, let's exhale

A warmer breath

There's no end in sight–Is there a way out?

My feet refuse to move

Close your eyes for a moment– Hold my hand

To that future, let's run away

*********

With this, a faint smile lingered in her and her heart flowed with it–Rubin who was no different when realization hit him, instinctively with the feeling of embarrassment written all over his face, bated an eye.

"Are you okay?" He mumbled after finding his voice. Her voice failed her as she took in his features. She could only shake her head in response to his question. Just then, a sudden stop of the bus brought her back to reality–she felt embarrassed, a sheepish smile lingered at the corners of her lips and she swiftly stared away from him as she tucked off a lock of hair from her face. The sight of Mya instinctively caught her attention as she glanced of of the glass.

"Mya!" She called and sprung off the seat. " I guess we've gotten to our destination, Rubin– Give way" She mumbled in a hast which made him jerk off her path.

"What's the rush for?" He asked as soon as they got off the bus.

"Look there–It's Mya" She answered and sped after him–Rubin stretched out his hand in attempt to stop her but she was already gone.

"Don't worry about me– You can go ahead. I'll meet you at home after school, okay" She shouted back and faded in the distance. He just stared at her back and sighed. Hearing the bell ring, he raced off to his class.

CLASS

Alixies had kept watch all along with an expectant gaze as she stared at the door– expecting Ben to walk through any time soon but her expectations were always met with disappointment. With the ring of the bell, almost all the students came in with the exception of Ben. On seeing Fred and Patrick, she knew all wasn't well.

"Why isn't he here?–Don't they always come together? So what happened today, why are they alone?" She thought to herself. Just then, Rubin tapped her on the shoulder–she deftly turned to him and the first question which exuded her lips, puzzled him.

"Have you seen Ben?" She asked.

With a sceptical gaze, he mumbled. "Ben?" She spontaneously bobbed her head.

"But why are you asking me of him?–Go ask his friends" He stuttered in mock anger and to his surprised, she paced off to Fred and Patrick.