Chapter 4 [Secret Admirers]

I peer into the classroom. No one still.
It's 6.45am in the morning, I am squatting beside the window, and Joseph is sitting on the grass, leaning against the wall.

"You sure she'll be here so early?" I ask him.

"Trust me." He replies.

We are carrying out his plan. To find out whom L.Y is. According to him, there are only two possible times that L.Y can put her letter into my textbooks without anyone noticing, early in the morning before everyone arrive, or during recess when most people are away.

"She can also do it after school when everyone is not around. Just have to slot it into one of those textbooks I keep under my desk. Actually she can do it anytime if she's careful enough." I tell him for the nth time. I lost count.

He just twitches the side of his mouth and will not heed my words.
Forget it, anyway we're here already, no point spoiling his fun.

"Why are you so eager to find out who L.Y is?" I want to know.

"Because she's your first secret admirer." He emphasizes on the word 'first'.

True. It's the first time I receive a love letter but I'm not excited about it at all. Is that always the case? Because I remember Joseph's not excited about the love letters he received too.
Yes, love letters. He's got numerous.

I think he started receiving them ever since he joined the soccer team. He's very good at soccer, and is one of the higher scorers in the team. I guess he attracted a lot of girl fans after winning a few inter-school matches.
Joseph's never that kind of person who likes to be in the limelight, but his good looks (I hate to admit that), plus his happy-go-lucky character, his heck care attitude, and a 'he thinks he's always right' personality, allows him to stand out among people. And the verdict is that, even when he doesn't want to, every action he does attracts people's attention.

I recall walking down the corridors with him and find groups of girls look at him and then chit chat happily among themselves.
I recollect one of those times.

"Do you know that girl standing at the water cooler?" I asked.

"Nope." He didn't even turn to look.

"But I think she said hello to you when we walked past."

"Do I need to know everyone who says hello?"

"But she's still looking at you." I turned to steal a peek.

"Do you know her?" He asked me back.

"No."

"Then why do I need to know her?" He said.

True.
Eh, wait a minute.
That's not true.
How come I always get stumbled by his weird reasoning?
I recall I let it go at that.

The bell sounds and marks the end of the last period of the day. L.Y didn't appear in the morning, nor did she appear during recesses. Maybe she'll appear after school like I say, but I'm not going to squat by the window and await her appearance anymore. Nor will Joseph this afternoon because he has a match, inter class soccer, and I'm suppose to be present at the field to root for him.
I don't know when it began, but I'm like Joseph's all time supporter now. He requested at that time, I cannot remember when exactly, that I'm to be present at every of his matches.

I make my way to the field and pick a shady spot under a tree. I see Joseph at the far end of the field doing his stretches. Maybe his match is the one after this, and I watch the one currently playing.
I probably will not understand in this lifetime, why on this planet, can there be so many people passionate about soccer? A group of sweaty people chasing after one ball, under the hot sun, tackling one another, and whether victory or not, let out cries like animal cries and then tackle one another again.

Joseph's match has been going on for about more than half an hour, and though I'm under the shade, I'm starting to feel uncomfortable from the heat. I decide to go to the canteen to get myself an iced drink, and perhaps get Joseph a bottle of Gatorade.
On the way to the canteen, I notice a lot of girls standing sporadically around the field area, watching Joseph's match. I sort of find them all familiar looking, like I've seen them before along the corridors. I'm not aware that there are so many of them.

I buy my drink, sit down in the canteen, rest my head on both of my fists and sip the iced drink with a straw. Nothing beats a cooling beverage on a warm day.
I am just complaining about the freaking heat, and delighting over the drink repeatedly in my mind, when someone sits down, opposite me. A girl. I've never seen her before.
She's got big eyes like the Xiaoyanzi in "Huan Zhu Ge Ge" and straight long hair that flows over her shoulders like those you see in Head & Shoulders' commercials. Who is she? And why is she sitting opposite me?
I try not to look at her. I place my eyes on the cup in front of me and just continue sipping.

"It's a hot day isn't it?" She starts a conversation.

"Er... Yah." I answer. I avoid eye contact.

Silence.

"You're from Class 3-5 right?" She asks.

"Er... Yah."

Silence again.

I am kind of anticipating her next question. Will she ask me whether I'm Dylan? Maybe she's L.Y?

"You're his best friend right?" Her next question comes out like this, different from what I am expecting.

"What?" I look at her finally. I don't quite understand.

"You are."

"I am?"

"You are."

"I am what?" I'm totally confused.

"You are his best friend."

"I am not." I say, although I still haven't a clue who she's referring to.

"You are Joseph Chan's best friend." She reveals her motives finally.

I'm just about to say something to her when I observe that she's blushing and her eyes are fixed on something behind me. Or someone.

"DY-LAN-CHENG-IS-FLIR-TING." I suddenly hear this familiar voice call out behind me, emphasizing every syllable.

I feel a tap on my shoulder and Joseph sits beside me. He's wet with perspiration and has a towel around his neck. He eyes me for a moment, eyes the girl opposite us, and then eyes me back.

"What are you doing here?" He asks me in a very low tone, which makes his words sound like a growl.

I point to my cup of iced drink and pass him the bottle of Gatorade I bought.
He gives me a smile, then like remembering something, takes it off his face and gives me 'the eye'.

"Who is she?" He 'growls' again.

I shrug my shoulders.

"Who are you?" He turns to the girl and 'growls'.

"I'm... er..." She's blushing some more. Her eyes start to look everywhere and she's playing with her hair. I think she's not aware that she looks quite comical in this state.

"It's alright if you don't want to say." Joseph tells her.

"Orh." She makes a sound.

"Let's go." Joseph says.

"Ok." She replies.

"Not you, you." Joseph points at me.

Without waiting for me to acknowledge, he stands up, holds my hand and pulls me away, out of the canteen towards the direction of his bicycle.

"We won the match. Let's go 7-11 for ice-cream, my treat." He says.

"But the girl..." I feel a little sorry for her.

"I don't know her."

"I don't know her too." I say.

"So let's go 7-11."

"Ok."

And he holds and pulls my hand all the way to where his bicycle is.


~End of Chapter 4~