Chapter 2

Third Person POV

When she came down from the second floor where her bedroom was located, she once again found no one around. The house was quiet, too quiet but she was already used to it. Without bothering to call out or inform anyone, she headed straight outside. There was no one to greet, and no one to tell where she was going anyway.

It was Saturday, so she didn’t have school. Since she had nothing planned for the entire afternoon, she decided to visit her neighbor—her elderly friend. She hopped up and down on her way to the house next door, already wondering what new lesson the old woman would teach her today.

She didn’t ring the doorbell anymore. Instead, she pushed open the waist-high gate and went straight inside, even entering the house without hesitation. The old woman already knew that she could drop by anytime. It wasn’t like before, when she would wait to be called inside for snacks.

But the moment she stepped in, she didn’t expect to see a man standing in the living room.

She stopped in her tracks and blinked.

He turned to face her, and she didn’t know how many seconds she stood there staring at him “Excuse me? Who are you?” he asked seriously.

“Good morning… Is Grandma Esme here?” she replied, tucking her hair behind her ear.

“Oh, you look familiar. Are you Grandma’s friend?” he asked with a smile.

She blinked when his expression suddenly shifted from serious to smiling. She walked toward her, and she froze when he grabbed her hand for an enthusiastic handshake.

“I’m Alexander, little girl.” She almost lost her balance from how energetically he shook her hand.

“Suzy, sir,” she answered politely.

“No, you can call me Alex,” he said cheerfully.

“Alright, Alex,” she replied, feeling awkward.

Her heart was beating so fast even after he let go of her hand. “So you’re home already? I thought you wouldn’t be able to come back yet,” she said.

“Oh? You seem to know a lot about me. Do you already know who I am?” he teased.

Her cheeks turned red, and she lowered head. She heard him laugh softly. “Oh yes, I just got home. Are you here to keep Grandma company again? Thank you for always staying with her,” he said warmly.

“It’s nothing… I don’t really do anything at home,” she said shyly.

She tucked her hair behind her ear again. “She’s upstairs getting dressed. We were supposed to eat out.”

“Oh… so you’re going out. I guess I came at the wrong time.” She suddenly felt even more embarrassed.

“It’s fine. Do you want to come with us?” he asked.

“Ah, no, Alex. I just remembered I still have an assignment I need to finish. Just say hi to Grandma for me. Bye!”

She ran out of the beautiful house even though he called after her. She rushed into her room and sat on her bed, breathless.

She pressed a hand against her chest and squeezed lightly. “What just happened?” she asked herself.

She covered her face when she felt it heating up. To shake off the embarrassment, she tried to keep herself busy.

Even though she normally couldn’t finish cleaning her entire room in a single day, surprisingly, she managed to do exactly that.

“Suzy, let’s just go to your house!” one of her groupmates said.

She turned and realized it was their group leader. “Sure, but will the others agree?” she asked.

The girl grinned and nudged her shoulder. “Yeah, I’ll handle them. Let’s go.”

Eventually, the rest of their classmates agreed. She agreed too since they needed to finish their group presentation—they only had one day left before presenting.

Her brain worked like a turtle, so she really needed extra time to read and prepare.

“Are we close yet?” one of the boys asked lazily.

She didn’t understand why they were already complaining. They had only been walking for a few minutes. She walked this path every day and never got tired—maybe because she was used to it.

She flinched when someone suddenly draped an arm over her shoulders. “Stop complaining. We’re almost there,” said Bryan, who happened to be in their group. It was perfect that he was included—not only was he smart, but he was also her friend.

She held his arm lightly as it rested over her shoulder. “Stop fighting, guys. We’re here,” she said.

Their three other groupmates looked toward the house she pointed at. “Wow, whose house is that, Suzy?!”

She thought they were looking at her house—but they were actually staring at Grandma Esme’s house.

She continued walking while her classmates followed, their eyes glued to the old woman’s beautiful home. As they approached, the elderly woman stepped outside, assisted by her grandson.

In an instant, Suzy felt like hiding. She didn’t know why, but she suddenly felt shy.

“Let’s check it out, even just from outside!” one of the girls said excitedly.

She was startled when two of her groupmates rushed toward the front of the house, leaving her and Bryan behind.

Bryan shook his head at their behavior. “Let’s go see it too. I want to check it out,” he said.

She nodded, though she was starting to feel nervous, because of one person. As they got closer, the elderly woman noticed her immediately.

“Suzy, is that you?” the old woman asked. Her eyesight wasn’t very clear anymore.

She stepped forward.

“It’s Suzy, Grandma,” Alexander said gently to his grandmother.

She felt her cheeks turn red when she realized he was looking at them. “I haven’t seen you in a while. Are these your friends?” the old woman asked.

Suzy removed Bryan’s arm from her shoulders and stepped in front of her classmates.

She could feel their excitement.

“Hey, she knows the owner!”

“Has she been inside? Let’s ask her later what it looks like.”

“He’s so handsome.”

They whispered all at once.

“Good afternoon, Grandma. How are you?” Suzy asked softly.

She rested her arms on the fence as the old woman stepped closer. “I’m fine. But I haven’t seen you lately. I’ve been feeling lonely.” Suzy glanced at Alexander and saw him smiling at her again. Did he always smile like that?

She quickly looked away, hoping her cheeks weren’t too obviously red.

“I’ve just been busy,” she said, making an excuse. She couldn’t exactly tell her that she had been avoiding the house because she felt shy around her grandson. Every morning when she saw him in the garden, she would purposely take the shortcut just to avoid him that she discovered because of what she was doing—even if it made her look ridiculous.

“So what are you doing today?” the old woman asked.

Before she could answer, their group leader spoke cheerfully, “Group presentation, Grandma!”

“Oh? At your house?” the old woman asked.

She nodded and gave her classmate a side glance. The girl just flashed a peace sign.

“Don’t you stay alone there? Why don’t you all just stay here instead? At least the house won’t feel empty. Grandma prepared snacks,” Alexander suggested.

She panicked. “Ah, n-no—”

“Sure, sir! We’ll stay here!” their group leader answered quickly when she felt that she would refuse the invitation that the man was given.

“B-but—”

“Alex is right, Suzy. Come inside and do your school work here,” Grandma Esme said warmly.

“Yes!”

“I’m excited!”

“I wonder what it looks like inside!”

Suzy facepalmed as her groupmates rushed inside. Her cheeks burned even more when she noticed Alexander still looking at her with a wide smile.

“Come in, Suzy. Grandma missed you.” She nodded, and he held the door open for her. They walked side by side toward the door of the house

.

“I really missed you, Suzy. I hope you won’t be too busy in the coming days,” Grandma Esme said sincerely.

She hugged her softly. “Sorry, Grandma Esme. I’ll just finish what I need to do, then I’ll come visit again.”

Guilt crept into her chest in what she said over the past few days. She helped the old woman to enter  inside while Alexander followed behind them.

“Sit in the living room. I’ll get some snacks,” Grandma Esme said.

“I’ll help—”

“Don’t you have something to do? Alex will help me. Just sit down.” Lola Esme’s voice is scarry like a tiger.

With no choice, she joined her classmates.

“You didn’t tell us you had a handsome neighbor,” her female classmate whispered excitedly.

“Suzy, who’s more handsome? Him or me?” Bryan teased, raising an eyebrow as he put his arm around her again.

She shook her head. “Stop it and let’s start.”

She glanced toward the kitchen and caught Alexander looking at them. He smiled when he saw her looking. She smiled back and focused on the presentation.

A little later, Alex brought the snacks. She was sitting on the carpet beside Bryan, whose arm was still around her.

She gently removed his arm when she noticed Alexander’s gaze and helped transfer the food to the small table. “Thank you, Alex,” she said.

“You’re welcome, Suzy.” She was startled when he suddenly pinched her cheek before returning to the kitchen.

“Are you two close?” her classmate asked.

She shook her head. “Let’s eat, guys.”

As usual, Bryan sat beside her. He was naturally clingy.

They finished their presentation by early evening. Grandma Esme kept checking on them and bringing different kinds of food until they needed to go home already.

“Thank you so much, Grandma Esme!”

“The food is delicious!”

“Thank you!”

Her classmates said as they prepared to leave. She didn’t walk them home because she wanted to help to clean up. The old woman hadn’t allowed them to clean earlier.

“Take care, guys. See you tomorrow,” she said.

She and Grandma Esme watched them leave.

“Your classmates are so lively. I was happy earlier—the whole house felt alive,” the old woman said.

Suzy hugged her. “Sorry, Grandma, I was gone for a while. I’ll make it up to you, I promise.”

“You’re such a sweet granddaughter.”

Since it was getting cold, she guided the old woman inside. She found Alexander already cleaning and immediately approached him.

“Sorry we made a mess,” she said.

“It’s fine. Grandma was happy,” he replied with a smile.

She tied up the trash in a plastic bag while Grandma Esme washed the dishes. “Thank you for letting us stay here, my classmates had fun,” she said.

“Is that guy your boyfriend?” he suddenly asked.

“Huh? Which one?” she said in surprise.

“The one who kept putting his arm around you from the time you arrived until they left,” he said seriously.

She scratched her temple. “No, Alex, he’s just my friend.”

“Oh… okay. Don’t get a boyfriend yet. You’re still young.”

He ruffled her hair before walking toward the kitchen, leaving her standing there in stunned silence.