Screechhh! The sound of the bus.
"Let's go?" Arthur spoke, offering his hand.
— 7:30 am, Friday: December 20, 2024 —
"You go ahead, I have a customer to meet," I said.
"Alright then." He said, leaving the bus.
I waited for everyone to leave, per usual. As soon as I got off, he was waiting.
"Here's $20.." He reached for his wallet and took it out.
"Here's your letter," I said, giving him the letter.
"It's in an envelope..?" He pointed out.
"Part of the service," I said.
He took it out and read it in front of me.
"This is good, thank you.." He expressed. Handing me a $5 tip.
What a soft voice. Anyways, I headed to class and distributed the rest of my services.
…
Rrrrriiiinggg! The school ended.
Just like that, a whole day had passed.
"Wooooo!! School's over!!!!" Some guy in the hallway started screaming and running around.
I'd rather go to school since I don't do much at home anyway. But with the volunteer project this summer, I'm pretty excited that school is over.
"Hey, Jeremy." Finn approached me.
The hallway is crowded at this time.
"Hi, Finn."
"I have a match in a few weeks, want to watch?" He asked.
"I'll have to check, I have my volunteer project starting tomorrow."
"Alright, if you do find time, invite Arthur while you're at it." He said.
"I'll be going now to practice. Bye!" Finn bid, making his way out of the crowded corridor.
I stored my books in my locker and made my way out of the corridor. It was still early before the actual school day was over, so I went to our 'hideout'.
Ping! My phone pinged.
"I still have class, aw man." Read now.
Oh, it's Arthur.
"I'll be sleeping in 'that' place." Sent just now.
"Alright, I'll head over there after."
I made my way inside the hideout and laid my bag to serve as my pillow.
"Don't be too sad, it's your last class." I texted.
He replied with a happy-looking dog sticker, cute.
I put on some music and slowly dozed off.
My class ended a few hours before lunchtime. I was probably tired after handing out my services, seeing how long I was sleeping for.
I finished the rest of my class, so we didn't have to attend them, aside from that Chemistry class where I had to sit for my classmates' presentation. Like I said, they were pretty common and similar to each other. Anyway, I didn't realise I fell asleep for a long period of time.
"Mhm," I mumbled, waking up from my sleep.
"You awake?" Arthur asked.
"Huh? Arthur? Where am I?"
"You're in our spot, haha."
"How long have I been sleeping for?"
"About 4 hours now."
"4 hours??"
"Yeah, aren't you glad? You finished your services and all your classes."
"I guess… Ah! Are you hungry?"
"Not entirely, I was waiting for you, haha."
"Sorry, want to eat here?"
"Suree!"
I sat up and took my lunch from my bag. I got to thank my mother for packing me lunch every day… Arthur and I enjoyed some Kiwi Meat Pie.
"By the way, Finn invited us to watch his upcoming game," I said, eating my food.
"Hm? When will that be?"
"A few weeks from now, said we should make time."
"Sure," Arthur replied. He was just focused on the food.
"We can leave early, if you want," I suggested.
"Waaaa, I still have a class after this," He said, almost tearing up.
"Oh, good luck then. I'll hang around somewhere, maybe take a walk."
"Alright," He said, still enjoying his pie.
Arthur and I finished our Kiwi Meat Pies. We still had a few minutes before his class started. We sat in our spot, scrolling through our phones, waiting for the time to pass.
"Oh, right, I got a letter in my locker earlier." He spoke.
"Letter? What kind?" I asked, still scrolling through my phone mindlessly.
"I haven't opened it." He said, taking it out of his bag.
The envelope was familiar.
"Fancy envelope," I commented.
"Sure is."
It's a common envelope, though, like mine, I bought it at the nearest shop. I didn't think I'd actually get to use it. … Arthur slowly opened the envelope, building a suspenseful atmosphere.
"What's the suspense for?" I asked, running out of patience.
I got curious, seeing the envelope.
"Haha." He laughed it off, picking up his pace.
He removed the seal on the letter. Grabbing the paper from the envelope and unfolding it.
"Here we go." He said, reading the letter.
It read: "Dear A.H." Wait… Is that my letter? I mean, the one I wrote for that guy?
"I've liked you for a long time. From the moment you walked in on your first day, shining bright in my life. We haven't talked, but seeing you shine in this darkness helped me a lot to survive the days I couldn't. I wished upon a shooting star, but they sent me a star. I've always wanted to talk to you, but the guys around me might target you too… If you have time, please meet me at the Pavilion by the end of the day. Thanks. Sincerely yours." The letter read.
It is… It's my letter!
…
…
There was a moment of silence just then.
"So, what should I do?" Arthur asked.
"You could meet them?" I suggested.
"I guess. But what should I do? Accept it or reject it?" He asked.
"Up to you. Just see them first, then think about it."
"Alright."
Rrrriiinggg! The bell rang.
"I gotta go now, I'll see you later," Arthur said, shoving the letter into his bag.
"See you," I bid, seeing him run off from our spot.
I wouldn't normally care what happens afterwards, but I might be a little interested in that than I thought. Maybe it's because Arthur received it that I want to know.
I was getting bored in our spot, so I decided to take one last walk around the school grounds before summer starts. I haven't walked around in months, mostly because I've always been surrounded by customers and occupied my free time, so I got used to sitting in one spot for the whole day—where everyone can access my service—which is the library. It's been so long, I'm starting to miss the fresh breeze of this school.
I got out of the spot and made my way to the field. On my way there, I saw a bunch of the dudes enjoying themselves, partying in their room, and some were filming TikTok. The bullying had stopped, and the members of the LGBT community were enjoying themselves too. He was there, the guy who asked for a letter; he seemed happy, worry-free, not the type who'd just given out a love letter.
After passing by the building, I decided to head over to the field to feel nature. I ended up sitting alone by a hill and lay for a bit, with my bag as my pillow and my hands placed under my head, enjoying the breeze as I stared at the sky. There was nothing in it, no clouds, no sun, just under a shade provided by a tree. I didn't realise it, but I had been staring at the sky for about an hour now. Just about time for the confession, it's faster than I thought. Out of curiosity, I wanted to check it. The field was close to the Pavilion anyway.
Rrrrriiiiinnggggg! Oh, it's the last period for the day. I was near the entrance of the Pavilion when the bell rang.
"I like you.." A voice spoke. It's the same softest voice.
I heard it, I heard the confession. I didn't think it was real, but I heard it through the open door of the small Pavilion.
"Thank you, um?" A voice replied.
It's a familiar voice. I peeked a bit and saw the same guy who asked for a letter… and Arthur's back.
"Simon."
So his name is Simon, huh, I don't get my customers' personal info or names, so I wouldn't know.
"Thank you, Simon."
"…"
Just a thank you? Oh shit, Simon saw me. I hid behind the door.
"I didn't know your name until now, and… It's kind of sudden. If we had gotten to know each other a bit earlier, I'd have a good answer. I'm sure you're a good person and all, but I just don't know you much. What do you like about me? You mentioned I was your light, but I can't be anyone's light right now, when I, myself, am losing light, haha. I appreciate your courage for confessing, though, but don't let anyone be your light if you, yourself, can't be your own light." Arthur stated.
Losing light? What does that mean? I peeked back again.
"What does that mean..?" Simon asked, with the softest voice, seriously.
"We can be friends for now, though," Arthur said, holding on to Simon's hand, as if he had handed him something.
"Oh, uh. Yeah…" Simon responded, just in a daze, looking at his hand.
"I'll go now. Thank you again." Arthur spoke, letting go of Simon's hand and walking away.
I saw him turn around and start walking out, so I rushed and hid somewhere he wouldn't see.
I rushed without thinking. Fuck, why'd I eavesdrop for? I placed my hand on the wall and tried to catch my breath. Good thing, a vending machine was near me, so I took one drink and chugged it all. Fuck, what does he mean lose light?
"That must be hell of a jog." A voice peeked through my shoulders.
"AHHHH!" I screamed. I looked back to check who it was.
I ended up spitting my drink at that guy.
"…"
"Ah! I'm so sorry, here, let me wipe it for you." I offered.
After wiping it dry, I realised it was Arthur.
"Arthur?" I asked.
"Yeah?" He responded, looking a bit pissed.
"Omg, I'm so sorry."
"It's fine." He said, wiping his face one last time. "Was the jog exhausting? You're sweating." He added.
"Yeah, haha," I replied, trying my best to lie.
"Mhm? Let's go?"
"Go? Where?!" I asked, still surprised.
I haven't calmed down, too many things just happened, and it all piled up in one scream.
"To your house, remember?" He reminded.
"Yes, yes. To my house. Let's go!" I said, throwing the can of drink and walking away hurriedly.