Reunion

Lestington High, a secondary school named after the town located in the city of London. A place I’d spent my teenage years, graduated and never looked back, that is, until today.

It’d been five years since I’d last been here, and everything still looked the same. The LED lights bathed the main hallway in their cool color. The echo of my steps squeaked against the vinyl floor as I treaded the path I’d taken many times before. The only thing here that changed was the posters on the bulletin board, and the chatter-less silence of school on the weekend.

The reason I came here again was because of the secondary school reunion happening at the school, though I didn’t know why I wanted to come here. It wasn’t like my school life was fun and fulfilling either; it was just… boring, plain and simple, so it was a mystery as to why I’d decided to attend the reunion. But whatever the reason was it didn’t matter anymore. I was here, so there was no time to regret my decision.

As I got closer to the gym, the sound of music, which I’ve never heard of, got clearer and louder. The door to the gym was open, letting the light shine through as the color changed its hue from blue to purple to red and to orange, all the way until the end of the color wheel and beginning the cycle again.

Seeing that kind of atmosphere, I was starting to regret my decision to come here. Knowing me, I would be standing by the side, holding my own drink as I watched other people. This had happened all the time whenever there was a school event, and now it appeared to be happening again this evening.

I stepped through the gym door and bathed myself in the purple light as I scanned around the building until I found my best friend, Kayle Holter. She was talking to one of my classmates that I couldn’t name, and as I was approaching her, she turned in my direction as if she sensed that I was nearby.

“Lena!!!” Kayle yelled.

She wore a simple long green dress, which complemented her reddish-orange hair tied up into a high ponytail, decorated with a white ribbon. A simple attire for a casual party between friends and ex-classmates.

I greeted her as well as my classmate, who I now remember the name of.

“Did you eat anything before coming here?”

“No, I thought there would be food here. Was I wrong?”

“Nope, but the food here is pretty bad. Oh, the sausages are kinda okay though!”

She then handed me a cup of beer, and I took a sip. The stale and lukewarm liquid entered my mouth and slid down my throat easily, as the only flavor to savor was bitterness.

“I didn’t expect you to come, Lena. I thought you hated this kind of event.” The classmate said.

“Right? I was surprised when she said that she was coming as well!” Kayle followed.

“You’re not wrong…”

“So why did you come?”

“I…”

My answer was interrupted by the chattering behind me getting louder. Along with the sounds of surprised gasp, Kayle, my classmate, and I turned to see the commotion.

Rachel Glintwood. A child actress turned full-fledged actress.

Her wavy chestnut-brown hair flowed down to the middle of her back as she donned a black knitted sweater, its low-cut collar, along with a white scarf tied up into a neat little bow, highlighted her face without any distraction. It took simple sky-blue jeans and a pair of white sneakers to complete her casual and outgoing look.

Born to a pair of famous actors, she inherited their beauty and talent. Coupled with the fact that she was kind and outgoing, she was sure to be surrounded by all sorts of people both in school and out of school.

“It’s always the same people hogging her, huh? Not even a window for us to say hi to her.” Kayle shook her head and looked at me. “That’s a shame, huh?”

It wasn’t a secret to anyone who knew me that I admired Rachel. Back then, I would sneak a glance at her from afar, talk about the little things she did to Kayle, and watch every show and series she appeared on.

The unfortunate thing, however, was that I never had a chance to talk to her, not even once during our secondary school days. It was a mixture of her always being surrounded by people and my inherent shyness that stopped me from doing so. Today was the same as well in that regard.

Feeling annoyance and disappointment clinging to my throat, I washed them away by downing the cheap beer and reached for another cup.

“Hey, don’t drown your sorrow on an empty stomach like that. Here, have something to eat.” Kayle handed me a plate of smoked sausages.

As I chewed on the smoked sausages, my eyes drifted in Rachel’s direction. Her smiling side profile soothed the burning sensation in my chest, even if the distance between us couldn’t be closed.

“Hey! Lena Marshal, can you hear me?”

“Huh? What?”

Kayle shook my shoulders to get my attention.

“Rachel still got your attention as always, huh?”

When I turned to her, the classmate who was with us was gone. Kayle said that she had gone to greet her friend who had just arrived.

“Anyway, I asked if you wanted to walk around the school with me for a bit.”

I took one last glance in Rachel’s direction before accepting Kayle’s invitation. After all, staying here would change nothing. Rachel would continue being far from my reach, same as always.

Kayle and I walked through the hallway as we sipped on our beers, strolling from the first floor now onto the second floor, a tour of memories that made me feel nostalgic despite nothing special happening back then. Who knew that mundane days of the past could invoke such bittersweet feelings?

We’ve arrived at Mr. Spencer’s classroom. Mr. Spencer was a history teacher, and his class was full of posters of ancient civilizations and maps that were painted to look old so that they would fit the aesthetic.

“Ah, this class… Mr. Spencer always called on me for some reason.”

“Yeah, cuz you were always sleeping in his class.”

We laughed as we reminisced about the hard time the history class had given Kayle. Luckily for her, she didn’t have to deal with memorizing historical facts anymore since she worked as a graphic designer now.

“Oh, you finished your drink? Do you want another round? I’m thinking of going to the gym again in case my band friends come over.”

“Sure, I’ll be waiting here.”

Kayle then trotted out of the room, leaving me alone in this empty class. Feeling bored of being by myself, I wandered around the room, touching the wears on the tables and chairs, studying the poster on the wall. Soon enough, I heard the door click open. I turned in that direction, expecting to see my friend, only for it to be…

“M-Ms. Glintwood?!”

The person that I’ve always admired from afar, now closer than ever. She fixed her bang to the side and gave me a soft smile.

“Lena… Marshal… am I correct?”

And she even knew me! Hearing her say my name felt as if I was dreaming, and so to make sure, I pinched my thigh through my jeans, and sure enough, it was real.

“Yes, but… just Lena is fine.”

“Then you can call me Rachel.”

Rachel approached me with steady steps. With her arms crossed behind her back, she walked over as if she were on a casual stroll on a beach. Meanwhile, I was standing stiff, caressing the back of my ear to calm my nerves.

I almost couldn’t contain my restlessness now that I was standing face to face with my idol for the first time.

“We had to write so many essays, huh?”

“Y-Yes?!”

Once she stood next to me, she suddenly spoke up as she looked at me. I didn’t expect for her to spark a conversation, so I was a little taken aback. But then again, she’d always been friendly to everyone, so maybe I should’ve expected her to do that even to someone like me.

“I mean, having to write a five-page essay after finishing each era was a little too much for an A class.”

“Y-You’re right. It was uh… tough. It’s like he didn’t think that we would have homework from the other classes.”

“Right? I lost sleep some days because I had to finish his stupid essay.” Rachel shook her head. “I’m glad I never have to take his class ever again.”

“Right…” I laughed in order to keep the atmosphere light.

“It must’ve been tough for you since you had to film back then…”

“Oh, yeah. I had to do lots of retakes cuz I could barely remember the line from not getting enough sleep!” She giggled. Her laughter reassured me that I didn’t mess up the conversation.

“I’m surprised you remembered that.”

“I… er… heard you complaining about it so…”

It felt strange that I was talking to Rachel like she was a friend, who I hadn’t seen in a long time. I was sure that this was our first time meeting each other, so then…

“...How did you know I was in this class?”

“I took the same class as you did. You didn’t notice?”

“I did but…”

Rachel wasn’t my friend. Hell, I didn’t think she knew I existed before this moment. So how could we talk like we’ve known each other before?

I couldn’t ask her that, because I didn’t want to know. Rachel and I, talking to each other like we were long time friends, reminiscing our school years together; it was a dream come true. And I didn’t want to wake up from that dream by asking the question I had in my mind.

So instead I watched Rachel from the side. She was tracing her finger over the poster and happened to nudge the pin loose, causing the corner to fall over. I instinctively closed my eyes and raised my hands to shield myself from the falling poster.

To my surprise I didn’t feel anything landing on me, so I opened my eyes and saw that Rachel was hovering over me, keeping the poster from falling over

“Are you okay?”

The distance between us made it impossible for me to look at anything but her face. She was so beautiful, even more now that she was right in front of me, apart only by mere centimeters. The tip of her hair rested on my shoulders, the sweet and woody scent of her perfume filled my nostrils; the kind that came in a thick and fancy container, only celebrities like her would use.

I was so distracted by all those qualities, especially her amber-brown eyes, that I almost forgot to answer her question.

“Yes…”

Rachel acknowledged my answer with a nod, and she pinned the poster back into its place.

“Sorry, that was stupid of me.”

When she was done fixing the poster, and turned to me, her brows knitted together, and she leaned closer to me.

Then I felt her fingers caressing my cheekbone, nudging my glasses slightly. Her warm finger felt ticklish to my skin; it made my cheek grow warmer as if the heat from her finger was transferred to me.

“There’s hair on your face,” Rachel explained her action before she flicked her fingers.

“T-Thanks– you…” I stroked the back of my ear as I looked away from her.

“Oh, by the way.” Rachel pulled out her phone from her jeans pocket. “Can I have your number, Lena?”

“Yes?! Sure, yes!”

I couldn’t quite register what Rachel said before she handed me her phone. And without questioning her, I inputted my number into her phone and handed it back to her. She stared at the screen briefly before she tapped on it, causing my phone to ring. She was just checking to see if the numbers were right, but when I pulled out my phone, I accidentally accepted the call.

Rachel raised her brows and chuckled before she raised her phone to her ear.

“Hey,” she said with a grin. I could hear her both in front of me and on my phone.

I imitated her and put my phone to my ear.

“H-Hey,” I answered, eyes still glued onto her.

“Who's calling?”

“Lena. Lena Marshal.”

“Ah, just the person I was looking for.”

She leaned on the wall next to her.

“So, how are you doing, Lena?”

“Good. You?”

“Better now that I’m with you,” she said tersely, followed by a wink.

It took some time for me to take in her words after I was struck with that wink. Loosening my tight chest with an exhale, my mind connected the implication of what she told me. But before I could ask her to confirm the idea in my head, the classroom door swung open.

It was Rachel’s group of friends. Once they spotted her, they gathered around her without sparing a single glance at me.

I understood that it was my cue to leave, so I stepped away from Rachel. And as I was closing the door, I took one last look at her. Instead of getting ignored like usual, our eyes met, and she did a ‘call me’ sign using her hand.

I wasn’t able to answer her before I closed the door. It would’ve been awkward to open the door again to answer her, so I left with a tinge of regret.

However, that tinge of regret was all drowned out by the happiness that I was able to talk with Rachel, even if it was only for a short time.

“Didn’t you say you were gonna wait in Mr. Spencer’s room, Lena?” Kayle approached with two cups of beer in her hands.

“It got a little crowded, so I left.”

Kayle looked behind me for a moment before nodding.

After that, I toured the school with Kayle before I headed home. On my way back home, I finally came to understand why I’d wanted to come to the reunion. Lestington High was the only thing that linked me and Rachel together. Deep down, I knew that if I were to go to the reunion, I would have a chance to see Rachel again. And that thought came true; it even rewarded me with some time together with Rachel.

The thought of regret melted away, replaced by the contentment that I came to the reunion today.