Chapter 3: A Piece of the Sun (1)            

Approximately, about four years ago.

Want to know what love at the first sight is?

Everyone has all kinds of ways to fall in love, such as when they walk down the corridor, then stopped each other’s footsteps simultaneously, looked back, and stared at each other’s eyes –of course, it’s in dramatic way. However, to me, it was like a strange curiosity creeping into me slowly.

Precisely this second.

It was at this very moment that I fell for the boy right across from me, separated only by a distance that wasn’t too far nor too close. This is the story of my very first love that took place in the most refreshing period of life –of course, that was what I thought before.

The weather in September was getting colder, the rainfall was increasing. However, that day, to signify that it was a special day, the temperature wasn’t too cold and the sky, which was usually gloomy, was now just cloudy but still bright enough to indicate that it wouldn’t rain any time soon.

At an X International School in the famous City B, there are two separate buildings, separating high school students –building A, from kindergarten, primary and secondary school students’ –building B, with one suspension bridge to connect the two buildings.

When they were on our way to enter the building B, while enjoying the ice cream they bought secretly from outside the school, there was an unusual object in the front lawn of the building A, a transportable whiteboard filled with various scribbles of names caught her attention, especially the name that comes at number two.

“Wáng ZǐMò”

Wáng ZǐMò –王子墨

With a few people still circling the transportable whiteboard, which was smaller than a typical hanging whiteboard in the classroom, one of the four people, who surrounding the whiteboard holding a marker, was drawing a crown next to the name.

At that time, I, who was supposed to be listening to a story from one of my friends, turned my attention away and instead, watched the interaction of the high school students’ who were joking beside the whiteboard from distance.

With distracted attention, I stopped my footsteps, and read the name that had been bothering me inwardly.

I unconsciously mumbled, “What a small head.”

Then, commented the vertically challenged boy, who was observing his friend –who was drawing a crown on the whiteboard.

Cute.

I ignored my presage at that time, subconsciously grinned, fell into a twist of fate, in my own curiosity.

“Shane?”

One of my friends called out to me, confused.

I, who just regained my attention back, stared back at my friends, giving back the confusion look they gave me.

“What happened to you? Our class is about to start.”

While chuckling, Siena’s gaze still fixed on me while moved her head to point towards the main entrance to their classroom’s building.

The unusual feelings on that unusual day also remained within me, left behind, drowned, for a long time without me realizing it.

Time could be a friend, a foe, and also a place to escape. When seconds turned into minutes, and minutes turned into hours, days suddenly became months.

For the little girl from my past –who is still in her prime youth, time was like a friend, time flies so fast, without realizing that every time she opened her eyes the seasons have changed. However, without her knowing time could also be a hidden enemy, secretly hiding without being noticed before aiming your back without being detected.

*

A year later, September.

When time returned to the starting point –zero, and so did her, who returned to the starting point of a year ago.

The short-haired girl stopped her footsteps, when an image from the whiteboard she saw a year ago appeared before her along with the lingering feeling that had resurfaced inside of her.

She commented, this is gonna be interesting.

In the new academic year, Shane Theodorus –which after passing through the complicated phase, was name by two names, she is also known as Xiào Yǔ Yān [肖语嫣] or Shane Xiao –or whatever, was one of the middle school students who have now graduated and entered high school, she excitedly walked in –rather quickly, into the building A, which felt very foreign to her sense of sight.

Shane was in class 10-2, with one class having a total of 24 students. Among the familiar faces, there were only two faces she failed to recognize, Shane chose a seat on the left side of the third row right next to the wall, she chose the seat because she wanted to sit next to a girl who has short hair, Reese Zhao, her close friend, and also because she wanted to sit close to the new student who was also her online friend for the past year, Charlotte Huang.

Like the other students did, the three of them were busy talking about the holiday they had spent. Suddenly, there was a knock on the door, making everyone in the class turned their attention towards the door that was slowly starting to open.

“Please gather in the hall on the second floor.”

Announced a young man in a silver gray jacket confidently, his bulky body make him not looked like any others, and usually only seniors who are in their final year that have this kind of body structure.

Without wasting much time, we each started to move. We exited the class that automatically formed a long vertical line, which then met another long horizontal line before slowly blending in.

Shane started to feel uncomfortable as soon as the surroundings became crowded. Shoulders touching each other, feet moving back and forth, and smells that was starting to mix together, started to make her feel dizzy. However, luckily Reese who was beside her, started to talk to her to distract her attention.

In the large hall, the space between one to another was wider, Shane who found her composure again, began to daydream, staring blankly regardless of her boisterous surroundings.

Without any warning, Shane found a back that somehow felt familiar, when the owner of the back turned around, she found that he was the cute boy with a small head that she had noticed a year ago.

She hastily grabbed Reese’s shoulder, “Do you know that person?”

Reese asked back, “You don’t know?”

She turned her head, they eyes met.

Reese sighed when she met those innocent and confused eyes, then continued, “Even though you’ve been studying here since the fourth grade of elementary school, at least you’ve been in the same building as their generation for at least five years.”

Shane still looked at Reese in confusion, causing her to let a small laugh of frustration.

“You’re quite famous for going to school in sandals the first day you moved, how can you be so apathetic?”

Shane was silent as she recalled her dark past, and she started blaming the administration lady for forcing her to attend the class –right after she enrolled into school, in other word, she moved schools, and registered into the new school late; she enrolled right on the first day school started. Even though, the administration lady knew that she wasn’t ready at that time.

Shane still clearly remember what really happened that day, because her mother registered her late, it should have been the day she measured her school uniform, but instead it turned into her first day of school.

When the administration lady told her not to take off the training clothes she was trying on, and started to convince her to attend the class instead. The administration lady knew very well she was in sandals at that time and would be the only student in training clothes. However, she still insisted that it was ‘okay’, and actually, she wasn’t apathetic, but rather she was a pretty curious girl, who was a little bit slow in awareness for her surroundings.

Just then, Reese began her introduction, “He is quite well-known, and many teachers like him because he is smart.”

 “Albert Wang, Wang Zi Mo.”

At the very moment, she heard something she shouldn’t have known, and learned of an existence that should’ve remained hidden.

……………