She wrapped herself in a hoodie and mask covering her face, hoping Jasper wouldn’t see it. But her exaggerated disguises and unnatural behavior make it easier for Jasper to recognize her. Jasper even laughs at Helena’s attempts to avoid him.
Jasper even lets Helena through and pretends not to recognize her. And when Helena is relieved to think that she has tricked Jasper, that’s when Jasper pulls Helena’s hand until the distance between them becomes so close. Then Jasper lowers Helena’s mask and stares at her with a deep stare until Helena freezes in front of him.
“ Didn’t I tell you we’d see each other again after school? Don’t be afraid to like that and keep avoiding me, I’m not the monster that’s going to eat you.” Jasper spoke with his heavy voice while smiling.
“Who else says I’m scared...” Helena said quietly with a frowny face.
“Let me take you home.” Jasper replied with a smile.
Strange enough, even though Jasper didn’t force her, Helena obeyed Jasper and sat on Jasper’s bike while hugging Jasper with both hands. Jasper smiles because he thinks that Helena may also have the same feelings at him, even though Helena is not aware of it. But Jasper is convinced that the girl destined for him is Helena and that one day Helena will feel the same way.
Helena wraps her arms around Jasper’s waist and rests her head on Jasper’s back. Her eyes looked empty, as if her mind had been elsewhere. Jasper was happy on his own without realizing that the current wind blowing to greet them had made Helena think of others and that made her sad.
Yes, Helena’s thinking about Alex right now. Alex’s crying face kept bothering her mind. Helena’s been trying so hard not to think about Alex and trying to get over him. But she couldn’t stop herself even though she had tried. Even when there’s another guy with her, she still just thinks of Alex like there’s no other man in the world.
***
Time is turning, and it doesn’t feel like the day has changed, Alex is back sitting at his desk feeling empty. He glanced at the chair next to him, which was empty and today Ruby did not attend school. The day changed again, and once again Alex remained empty. At first Alex wasn’t so anxious and thought Ruby was just skipping like any other kid to meet Ricky.
But more and more days Ruby still doesn’t attend school either. It’s even been almost a week, a considerable time, if only to ditch school. Anxiety fills Alex’s heart. He tries to call Ruby but his call is not picked up. Alex even sent a message, but none of the messages were read.
His anxiety became more and more so that even Alex went to meet his homeroom teacher and asked Ruby why but the homeroom teacher wouldn’t answer and instead gave an answer that Ruby was just not in, an ambiguous claim that couldn’t satisfy Alex.
Alex knows he doesn’t have to go this far, but he can’t let himself continue to get anxious. The anxiety that peaked in his heart made him feel frustrated as if he was going crazy. But no matter how far he goes, there’s no answer he can find, as if Ruby’s tracks just disappeared.
***
The days keep changing, but Ruby doesn’t attend school and makes Alex even more gloomy. The longing and suffering that continues to grow in his mind makes Alex even more chaotic day after day. Seeing Alex getting more and more chaotic makes Drake feel frustrated, too. Drake always cared about Alex that’s why he was sad when he saw Alex somber.
Drake lost his passion for doing anything. Even when he was eating cake with Natty at the café, Drake looked disinganty and sighed. His mind continues to fill his anxiety about Alex until he can’t focus on watching Natty on their date. Natty also realizes there’s something bothering Drake, that’s why she’s silent and lets Drake continue to sigh to calm his mind.
“ You can tell me everything, I’ll listen to you. So, what’s been bothering you all these days?” said Natty, persuading Drake to talk to her.
“ It’s Alex, he’s getting, and it makes me sad to see him. I know this because Ruby’s been out of school long enough and I don’t know how to comfort him. I tried calling Ruby, but she wasn’t picked up.” Drake then sighed in frustration.
“ How about we go on vacation together this weekend? We can go camping, maybe if Alex can be a little better.” Natty said.
“Sounds good, but are we going to take Helena too? Maybe if they spent some time with Alex, it would open his heart a slight to Helena. Ruby loves other people, after all.” Drake said.
“All right, I’ll ask Helena first. But I’m a little unsure because lately, it seems like she’s been busy with something.” Natty said.