Flames

Airi froze when Jiro knelt before her.

“I believe this pen is yours,” he said, smiling, showing his dimples.

Trembling, she took the pen from him and coyly said, “Thank you.” That simple gesture almost made her pass out again. She ran out of breath, hearing only the drumming heart in her chest. She turned a deaf ear to the shocked reactions of their classmates.

As much as she wanted to follow him as he walked away, she couldn’t. She didn’t want to be too obvious about her feelings. Then, it was her turn to speak.

She walked towards the teacher’s table with confidence, wanting to leave a positive impression. However, as she stood there, her knees buckled, seeing the scornful looks from most of her female classmates. ‘If looks could literally kill, I would’ve been roasted by now.’

After a deep inhale, she managed to smile, focusing on her friends to calm herself.

“Hello, everyone! I’m Jian Airi Resan.”

She scanned her classmates’ faces before continuing. Most of the girls scornfully glared at her, jealousy in their eyes. Others, especially the boys, were looking at her in their cutest manner. Zai-zai and Merry were grinning at her, giggling.

“I love watching anime and K-Dramas. Sometimes I draw, but I love writing short stories the most. I even dream of becoming a published author. I’m not a big fan of crowded places because I get overstimulated. Introverts don’t like being surrounded by a lot of people,” she continued.

“Resan is your family name?” Mrs. Amphordone asked.

She nodded.

“Is your father Artenian Resan?”

“Yes, Ma’am.”

The teacher clapped. “This is exciting! Your father is a student of mine. He and Jiro’s mom used to be a famous couple on campus.” Her smile widened. “I wonder what’s in store for the two of you.” She teased, looking back and forth between her and Jiro, who was also smiling shyly.

‘Is he blushing?’ she asked herself. Her cheeks burned when she noticed Jiro was writing some notes while his friends also teased him.

*

Upon returning home, Airi locked herself in her room after dinner.

She slammed her body on the comfortable bed. Its warmth made her think of Jiro’s smile. She hurriedly grabbed a pillow and hugged it tightly, remembering how he knelt in front of her.

“My pen!” She jumped out of bed and picked up her bag, which was resting on the couch. “I should try this now!”

Holding the pen she dropped earlier, she began scribbling in her notebook.

FLAMES

JIRO SONDIAN

JIAN AIRI RESAN

“Four?! M?! Is this for real?!” She rejoiced when the destiny name game fell on M, MARRIED. Her dopamine spiked, tossing her on cloud nine.

**

The next day, Zai-zai’s and Merry’s grinning faces greeted her. They stood by the school gate, obviously waiting for her. She waved at them with vigor. They walked straight to the rows of benches under some acacia trees and sat there, away from some other students.

“Looks like someone’s excited to see Jiro,” Zai-zai whispered, loud enough for the three of them to hear.

“What’re you talking about? I’m excited to learn…not see him,” she replied. She shyly grinned at them, averting their teasing gaze. “But out of curiosity, I tried FLAMES last night, and you wouldn’t believe the result.”

“You what?!” Merry exclaimed, drawing the other students' gaze to them. “Why would you do that?”

“Really, Merry? You didn’t get it?” Zai-zai gave her a smug-teasing face. “And here I am thinking that you’re smarter than me.”

“Don’t beat around the bush, will yah!”

Zai-zai sighed. “Riri likes Jiro. As simple as that.”

Merry looked at Airi with disbelief. “That fast? You only met yesterday. And now you’re already crushing on him?”

“Who wouldn’t like a knight in shining armor?” Zai-zai answered for Airi.

“Actually, it’s not because of that…” she said. “I already liked him since the scout camping.” Both girls were speechless at Airi’s confession. “I’ll fill you in on our way to the locker. Let’s go!”

Once in the locker area, she took a notebook out of her bag and tore the page where she had written the FLAMES game. The two girls gasped and burst into laughter.

“What’s funny?!” She folded the torn paper quicker than she opened it. “It says MARRIED.”

“Do you even know how to do it?” Merry teased. “You did it wrong. You don’t need to include the family names.”

“Really?! I’ll try it again later.” She kept the notebook in her bag. “I’m also curious why Mrs. Amphordone mentioned Papa and Jiro’s mom.”

“Were you even listening during the self-introduction part yesterday? He mentioned his parents’ names, so our adviser asked him more about his mom,” Zai-zai said.

“Destiny must’ve been working its plan for the two of you,” Merry said when she heard the whole story. “Who would’ve thought that the first guy to have ever caught your attention ends up being your classmate?!”

“Not only that,” Zai-zai butted in. “Your parents were even couples in high school.”

“Ooh, this is exciting!” Merry giggled. “I think destiny wants the two of you to continue what your parents started.”

“I wasn’t paying too much attention. My mind wandered off after I heard Jiro’s full name.”

“Wanna hear more?” Merry asked while putting some of her stuff in her locker. “A few too many girls are jealous of you.” Zai-zai nodded in approval, too.

“Why?”

“Yeah, you wouldn’t know because you were in the clinic. Jiro carried you all the way there when you fainted. He’s quite popular with girls.”

“What?!”

*

They left the locker area and walked down the pathway filled with trees and flowers. It was the area of their school where most Botany activities were conducted. It was on the side of the baseball field.

On their way to first-period class, a group of five girls blocked their path. One of them was a not-so-attractive, lanky girl, like a walking bamboo pole. Her lips were red with lipstick, though it appeared more busted from a punch than eye-catching. Her bulging eyes and thick eyebrows didn’t sit well with her witch-like nose. She gave them a smug, bitter look while her minions posed like hookers ready for a fight.

“Well, look who’s crossing my path,” the lanky girl said. “It’s Faintyrella!” Her minions laughed at her unfunny pickup line. “Did you do that on purpose to get my boyfriend’s attention? You probably know he’s behind you, so you pretended to pass out.”

Airi scanned the faces of the onlookers. Her heart began pumping wildly again, along with her throbbing head. The girl kept talking, attracting more attention from the other students.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she said while massaging her temporal lobes. “Please let us pass. We have a class to attend.” She took several steps forward, but the girl grabbed her arm.

“Stay away from my boyfriend! Jiro is mine!” the girl warned before pulling her hair.

Airi screamed in pain, fighting to let loose. The girl’s long nails dug into her skin. Her friends approached to help, but were stopped by the bully’s cohorts.

“Please! Let me go! I didn’t do anything wrong,” she pleaded in between sobs. She wasn’t fighting back because she didn’t want a fight. She just protected herself from the assaulter. No one from the watching students helped or even stopped the bullies.

“Celina! Let Airi go!”

A familiar voice echoed in the pathway. The same voice she had heard while at the school clinic. The crowd dispersed as Jiro and his friends walked towards the shocked girl who was still holding a lock of Airi’s hair.

“I said, let her go!” Jiro took several strides closer and pushed Celina away. He helped Airi stand while fixing her hair. “Are you okay?” he asked.

She nodded, although her body still shook in terror.

Jiro glared at Celina. His eyes were like newly sharpened knives, ready to slash whoever came near Airi. “Touch my girl again, and I won’t hesitate to have you expelled! How dare you announce that I’m your boyfriend! YOU. ARE. NOT. MY. TYPE! GET LOST!”

Gasped and murmur filled the open air in sync with the whistling soft breeze.

Jiro, still holding Airi’s hand, trembled in anger. He rechecked her, smiled, and wiped her tears. “Shh. It’s okay now.” He pulled her close in a hug, letting her head rest on his chest as he gently stroked her hair. “Stop crying. I don’t want to see you cry.”

Celina stomped her foot and ran away with her pals. The other students stood in disbelief at the sight. Some of them even took photos as an initial reaction.

“What are you staying here for? Go to your classrooms!” A male teacher’s voice broke the awkward situation. “What happened here?”

*

At the guidance office, Merry and Zai-zai narrated what happened. Airi sat on the couch, zoning out, still trembling in fear and shock. Jiro was beside her, holding her hand while his other arm wrapped around her shoulder to calm her down.

“We don’t tolerate such behavior.” The guidance counselor glanced in Airi and Jiro’s direction. “Are you two in a relationship?”

Jiro gently removed his arms around Airi and coyly grinned at her. “I-I’m just making her feel comfortable, Ma’am.”

“Well, I’m the one feeling uneasy watching such demeanor.” The counselor, who was an old maid, adjusted her round reading glasses. She raised her left eyebrow in annoyance. “I need to see your parents or guardian as soon as possible. As for the girl who caused the assault…she’ll be called in later after you leave. Now, go back to your classes.”

When they stepped out of the office, Jiro walked ahead to avoid getting more attention from the gossiping students. He waved goodbye at the three girls and ran to their next class.

Merry teasingly squinted her eyes at Airi, “Looks like FLAMES is real. I can already hear wedding bells in the air.”

“Don’t be so sure yet. She did it all wrong after all,” Zai-zai added and laughed.