Love At First Sight? Maybe, Not! (Part 3)

"Class, I want you all to come up here and tell me about your best friend", said our teacher when we were in standard 3. We all started to look around staring at each other and glancing at our best friends just like any other excited 9-year-old. I was gonna talk about Serina so i just smiled at her to sort of signal her. So we all watched and listened patiently at everyone who was talking. Aden went up, so did Alisha. Then came Ken's turn.

I was paying extra attention but of course tried to mask it by putting on a 'do not care' face. He began by describing that his best friend was a girl and that she was nice and fun to hang out with. Everything was going on well until he mentioned the name of his best friend. "My best friend is....Gina." ME! He said MY NAME! I cannot lie that I indeed was shocked beyond explanation! He had tons of guy friends he hung out with but decided to declare me as his best friend. I just stared at him as voices started to whisper around us. What was once a rumour to my friends had taken a turn today. They were all sure that something was going on between Ken and me. Otherwise, he wouldn't have bravely said such a thing.

My teacher, who didn't see anything wrong in Ken's speech asked everybody to applaud him and asked for the next person to volunteer. I was still in a state of shock but I had to think fast. If I let him get away with this, people would start teasing us. He might know that I have feelings for him. I can't let that happen. I might be 9 but I had a reputation in that school to uphold. I had to make a decision right then, right there. My hand shot up straight to the air as I volunteered to go up.

"Hello, I'm Gina. My best friend is Serina. NOT KEN! I like Serina because......" Whatever I said after that didn't matter because all I could hear was a loud OOOOHHH among my classmates. Then as I spoke, I stared at Ken and our eyes sort of communicated. I was trying to warn him never to do such a thing and his eyes sort of apologized. Serina on the other hand was beaming at my speech about her for of course, she is the best friend anyone could ever have, NO DOUBTS ABOUT THAT!

After my speech, as I was walking towards my desk, I noticed the hurt in Ken's eyes. I BLEW IT BIG TIME! This guy was kind enough to call me his best friend and I just embarrassed him in front of the whole class. I began to feel really guilty so I grabbed a chair and sat next to him. I was about to open my mouth to apologize when he said "I'm sorry for saying you're my best friend without asking you first." Now I felt extra guilty. I thought of something safe to say. Something that would try to justify me at the same time not reveal my true feelings for him. "You're not my best friend, Ken but you are special to me in a different way." Then his expression changed as though he had deciphered the message within the quote but luckily, he just smiled and said, "You're special to me too, Gina." Once again we just stared into each others eyes and I felt a spark. A million butterflies flying inside of me. I thought I was going to levitate or something with my super speedy heartbeat.

I got up from the chair, smiled at him and walked away to my desk all the while fixating my eyes deep into his. I knew he liked me, he just HAD TO! The way he looked at me, the things he said, it could have only meant one thing. But could I have been wrong? Could he have only been a nice friend who I was just attracted to? Or could he have been my soulmate that I was destined to be with? To find out, stay tuned to "Love At First Sight? Maybe, Not!". Part 4 coming soon...