Chapter 38: Chapter 38

Sunny

"Don't you know it feels cumbersome if someone you are close to gets mad at you?" I asked him. "Don't you know that feeling? I cannot stand it. I do not want everyone to get mad at me. I am uncomfortable." I added.

Who will feel okay when someone you are close to gets mad? No one, right? I can't think that we could not talk anymore or that they would not like to see me. That is so scary, and I do not want that to happen. No way!

"I can't stop looking at your name because you might chat with me, but you never did. You ignored me for almost two days. I feel bad thinking I offended you by saying that word. And, oh, I never said that in the first place. Only Shiela did. I only nodded and said something, but I never said that word that night." I told him. "Maybe I did, but that was before. When you are still new." I admit it.

Well, to tell him honestly. He was like that, a robot, when we first met or when he came to our school. He does not talk, and he does not communicate with everyone. If he did, he would just talk a little, and his voice was deep, like a robot. He talks like a genius, and he knows everything you ask him. But that was before. Not now. We all know he changed too much. He is much better today.

"Sorry, that would never happen again." He replied, after scooping some of my parfaits. I hit his spoon with my spoon. He looks at me, confused. "What?" He asked.

"This is mine. Get yours," I told him. "Why are you extending your spoon in my parfait? After ignoring me for almost two days." I answered.

He snickered. "Why do you keep saying that for almost two days? Can't you forget that already?" He asked back.

I shook my head. "No, I will never stop saying that until I am good with it. You made me scared and depressed. You are also teasing me now." I responded.

I thought someone still would not tease me, and I felt that it was him, Steven, but I guess I was wrong. Now that he bonds with the boys, he has also learned to do it.

"Whatever." He said and went back to eating his food.

Their parfait here is the best. No wonder Gino's family kept on coming back here. I wish we were rich like him. It was the first time I experienced eating in stalls for free because Gino's family bought us a pass. Free for all access.

Imagine how much it would cost. "I did not imagine until now that Gino was this rich?" I shared my amazement with Steven.

Steven drank his iced tea. "Have you guys known him for a long time?" He asked.

I nodded my head. "We have known each other since first grade." I answered.

"You guys did not notice it since then?" He asked again.

I shook my head. "No. As in, never in those years when we noticed him. He even asked for my cookies and plans to do the same for our other classmates. He uses what we use. Look at his phone. He has never changed it for years already," I shared. "I never heard him say anything that screamed, 'I am rich!' He also has a lot of friends who are involved in gangs. He is just the simple and cool Gino we know." I added.

Gino is very simple. He does not want extravagant things. He became a really good friend for those years we were with him. Although sometimes he asks for money and says that he will buy food. He never did anything that may have hurt us.

"Maybe he does not want you guys to look at him differently. There are a lot of instances like that. That is why he decided to stay low." Steven explained.

"I also think that too. They said that there are a lot of people who choose to be simple rather than boast. He is cool." I said.

"But when I heard him say those lines when we went to your ex-boyfriend's department, I thought that maybe he was different." Steven shared.

I nodded aggressively. "You are right. I noticed that too." I commented.

"He seems calm and does not look like he is saying empty words." Steven added.

I made a face and pointed my forefinger at him. "Steven, you sound like a sharp profiler." I teased him.

"I am smart, that is why."

My teasing face turned into a grimace. He did change. He knows how to boast now.

After our lunch, we thanked the restaurant and returned to the pool where my classmates were.

"Here they are." Shiela said.

"Let's go. We will take a photo." Aira invited.

We quickly reassembled ourselves and compressed each other.

"I will set it for five seconds." Marco said as he set the timer on the phone.

The phone was on a stand already, so we all needed to click the shot button and pose until it captured us.

"Ready? Let's do a formal one first, okay?" Marco said. We all nodded back at him. "Okay! In three, one, go!" He yelled and quickly ran to us to pose.

We pose for a formal one and just smile at the camera. When we heard the captured sound, we all laughed.

"What's with your counting? Three, one, go?" Ivan said, laughing.

Marco stood up and headed back to the camera. "I was excited to take a picture. Can't help it," He explained. "Now, let's do a wacky pose. A wacky. We would not continue to the next pose if I saw someone not doing it," he said, talking straight to Steven's place. "I am sure you get who I am talking to, right Steven?" He added.

"Right! Make a wacky pose. Do not just stand there like a handsome man. Be ugly sometimes, please." Chris said that made us laugh again.

Steven just nodded, not bothering to answer back. I taught him how to make a wacky pose before at the mall. I am sure he will do one of those. HAHAHAHA.

"Okay, In one go!" He yelled and ran back to us.

We all made wacky poses before the camera and waited for the captured shot to sound. When we heard the sound, Marco returned to the camera and saw the picture. "You did good, Steven. Improving, but not until you have the same pose as Sunny. Are you guys a couple now?" Marco started teasing.

The other began to make noises, mocking Steven and me.

"They were not beside each other, but they still posed similarly. My heart." Shiela said, beside me. I pinch her to stop teasing me as well.

"Let's stop it. Steven's glaring at me right now. Bless my soul," Marco said, laughing. "Go away, girls. It's boys' time now. Take a good picture of us." He added.

Our vice volunteered to take a photo of them. We, the girls, went to the side and watched them do their poses. They did not ask for two or five photos, but they made different poses, and most were funny. We were all laughing the entire time they did their photoshoot. It was even funny when they made Steven do what they were doing. He seemed happy and smiling the whole time.

He looks handsome when he is smiling. Like Mavin, there is no time I will see him be serious. That makes Mavin more charming because he always smiles.

"Now, he looks like Mavin." Shiela said beside me.

I nodded. "If he smiles a lot, he will be charming like Mavin." The moment I said that Steven turned our way and glared at us for a few seconds before turning to the camera again.

"Why is he glaring at us?" I asked.

"Why do I feel like he heard us talking about him?" Shiela also asked.

"There is no way he will hear us talking about him and his brother. We are not even talking out loud. What are you talking about?" I asked Shiela.

"Well, you are right." She said.

After the boys, it's the girls' time to take photos. With the help of Marco's directing every pose we made, the photoshoot ended happily and was fun. After that, we started going back to swimming. We asked Steven to join us in the pool, but he said he did not want to and did not want to get wet. He is being choosy.

"Catch the ball, Sunny!" I heard Aira say, and she threw the ball at me.

I caught the ball and pushed it to Ella afterward.

"Why don't we play volleyball?" Shiela suggested.

We all nodded and made two teams. After making the team, we started playing and passing the ball.

"Beverly!" Justin yelled as the ball got to Beverly. "Nice!" He screamed when she was able to hit it back.

I did not know that playing volleyball in a pool is hard. It's hard to walk to fetch the ball, although this is better. I do not even know how to play volleyball, and there are no rules here. We played until the other team won. After that, we left the pool to rest and prepare our dinner.

"Take a bath and change. It is cold already." Steven suddenly spoke, and that made me flinch.

"You scared me!" I told him.

"Go. Take a bath and change now." He added, pushing me to go back to our room.

"I still need to help, you know?" I replied.

"Just go. I will help them. Go and change already. Aren't you cold?" He asked back.

Why does it feel like he can hear my thoughts? Since it is already near evening, the wind is cold, and we are preparing for the barbeque party. While helping, I cannot help but say in my mind that I have started to feel cold.

"Shiela, tell the girls to take a bath and change. It's already cold." He told Shiela.

"Later, we will just fix this―"

"We will do that. Go and change. You guys will get sick." He interrupted and pushed me to go inside our rooms immediately.

"Why do I feel like you are making us the reason to make her change?" Shiela teased Steven. And she is indirectly teasing me too. This girl needs to stop.

"You will change now, or will I not let you guys change later? Choose." He added, giving us some options.

"Yes, brother." Vice replied, and they started moving.

"Why is he strict with us as well?"

"I do not want to be his sister already."

"Scary."

The other girls, laughing, said as we headed inside the room.

"Sunny, what do you feel about Steven?" Melissa asked while we were taking a bath in the big bathroom.

I looked at her. "What do I feel about him? He is kind but sometimes scary?" I replied, sharing my thoughts.

Melissa laughed back at me. "Not that way, I mean as a man. What do you think about him?"

What does she mean about being a man? Is he not a man at all?

"I know what you are thinking, Sunny," Shiela suddenly said. "I guess you are considering whether Steven is a real man."

My eyes widened after hearing Shiela say what I was thinking. I got a laugh from the girls again. "Is it that obvious? How could you read my mind like an open book? I want to do that too?!" I told them, stomping my feet out of frustration.

"You are too easy to read." Aira commented.

"But it is not what we are talking about now. What Melissa wanted to ask was, what do you feel about Steven? What did you think about when you saw him or heard him? Does it excite you, or do you feel some butterflies if he did something unusual?" Beverly explained, broadening the question to make it more comprehensive and understandable.

"He is kind. He understands me better, and he is fun to be with. He wants to experience many things and would like to do it without complaining." I shared.

"Have you finally moved on from Jake?" Mikaela asked.

I thought for a few seconds. Have I moved on? "Now that you asked me, I am not thinking about him anymore. Although I still feel sad about what he did, since he was my first boyfriend." I shared it again.

"I think it is because you just can't let go of your memories with him. First love never dies, they say. Maybe you have finally let go of him since you are not that hurt now. That is what should have happened, Sunny. You did a good job." Mitchell said as she patted my shoulder.

"So, do you have a little crush on Steven now?"