***
A few days have passed. Now Natty is recovered and has returned to school. More than a month has passed since the last day she saw Gale, but until now, the pain of separation is still felt and fills her days.
Her longing was so deep it even filled her dim room. Every night Natty sits at her study desk looking at a photo of Gale that she still keeps well. Other people might have forgotten about her, and they don’t indeed talk about her rumors like she never existed. But for Natty, Gale still fills her heart.
Memories of the days she went through with Gale kept coming to her mind, even when she didn’t want to remember it. Those fond memories of those good days hurt when she remembered them because it reminded Natty back to the day she lost her loved ones.
During the day it is filled with busyness. She met many people even busying herself by practicing basketball catching up with her in rehearsals for a month. On that busy day she was always smiling, maybe to prove that she was okay. But as night fell when she sat alone in her gloomy room, longing filled her heart and only tears filled her night until she fell asleep.
And when morning came, she put her cheerful face back on. Went to school with a smile to show that she was okay. Although she can fool many people with her fake smile, Drake can still see the cracks in her mask and realize her true feelings.
However, a man who has the same fate and feels the same way is always the one who understands best because he wears the same mask. Drake approached Natty, who was hanging out with her teammates. Drake then takes Natty to the school garden, where there are only two of them so that Natty can feel more comfortable to show her real face.
‘Why did you bring me here?’ asked Natty while putting on her fake smile.
“ Now stop pretending to look okay. You may fool others, but not me. Smiling is a good way to cover your tears, but it’s not the right way to treat your heart’s wounds.” Drake looks at Natty with care while holding Natty’s hand.
“ You always sound wise at times like this. But what can I do but smile? Do you want me to cry? No, it’s too sad...” Natty shook her head while smiling.
“ What if it’s sad? It doesn’t harm to cry out of love. Our hearts are being tormented by the loss of our loved ones, it’s only natural that we cry because it hurts so much. I even cried for a few days, even though I knew she had betrayed me and didn’t deserve my tears. Then you, be more tormented than me because your love is right it just looks wrong.” Said Drak.
Drake hugged Natty and let Natty immerse her face into his chest. Drake will cover Natty from people as long as she can cry. There is no better cure for heartbreak than tears because tears make the heart more relieved and can release all the emotions that are still in agonizing and excruciating.
Natty hugged Drake. While immersing her face in Drake’s chest, Natty bursts into tears. She cried so hard that she spilled all the grief she had endured. The tears that come out make everything seem real. All this time she tried hard to deny the breakup, but the tears that came out made her no longer able to deny it. The pain of the heartbreak was so real that she could feel that the breakup had happened.
Drake sighs, he who has been frustrated to see Natty go to great lengths to hide behind her fake smile now Drake can feel calm. Drake rubs Natty’s back and makes Natty calmer. Drake then stares at Natty, who is still crying while immersing her face into his chest.
Drake fell silent, and suddenly, he felt something was wrong with him. Drake then recalls how he used to hate Natty so much that he hated seeing Natty’s face so much. But now things have changed, like a world that goes mysteriously. Now her is so upset to see Natty helpless in grief.
Right now Drake just wants to make Natty get her smile back and for that to make her cry is the first step. After crying and being able to let go of the feelings that still go through her heart and torture her, then Natty can overcome her heartbreak. Then she can go back to her life.
Meanwhile, distantly Helena is watching Natty. Helena was a little surprised to see Natty crying in Drake’s arms. She doesn’t think Natty still harbors so much sadness when she keeps an eye on Natty, but all she sees is Natty always looking happy joking with other friends.
Helena can only keep her head down because she’s disappointed in herself. Disappointed that she couldn’t see Natty’s grief. All this time she always thought that she was Natty’s best friend and that she was ever the one who always understood Natty the most. But what she's seeing now is a hard slap in the face for her. For the first time, she realized she knew nothing about Natty. She even cast doubt on herself as Natty’s best friend.
“What are you doing here?” asked Ruby, who passed by and greeted Helena while embracing Helena’s shoulder.
Helena was a little surprised. She might have just pulled Ruby’s hand around her shoulder if she hadn’t seen Alex standing behind Ruby.
She was a little uncomfortable with Alex’s presence who was also looking at her but seeing Ruby’s warm smile made her anxiety disappear.
“Instead of standing here alone and doing nothing, how about, we go to the cafeteria together? It’s been a long time since we’ve eaten together. Come on!” said Ruby with her warm smile.
To be honest, Helena didn’t want to accept Ruby’s invitation, she was having so many thoughts even more so she was uncomfortable to be around Alex after hearing for herself how Alex felt. There will be so many things that fill her heart, and it will make her even sadder.