Bloom in Summer(2)

4

Our time as Grade 10 students seemed inexplicably short. We moved on to high school unprepared and hurriedly adapted to it. While we were still at a loss, it was already time for us to choose between the arts and science tracks.

That day, during the recess of our last chemistry tutorial class, Josiah had his chin propped in the palm of his hand as he asked me, "Are you going to choose the arts or science track?"

"Of course, I'm choosing the arts track."

Seeing that he was staring at me without any response, I was stunned for a while.

"Don't tell me that you've decided to choose the science track. If that's the case, you have my respect," I said.

"No."

Josiah sat upright and stretched his body. He had such long legs that I sometimes wondered whether he would feel miserable sitting in a chair like this.

"I'm also choosing the arts track. It'd be great if we could be in the same class," he uttered.

It'd be great if we could be in the same class.

His eyes were as calm as the sea when he said that sentence.

I truly admired him for being able to say such ambiguous words with a sincere tone every time.

It was impossible to make others suspect that he was implying something else.

But later, Josiah's words came true. I was the monitor, so I saw the name lists for the new classes first.

He was really assigned to our class.

"Hey, Josiah is joining our class. Do you know how many girls are in our class? Two-thirds of the class are girls! Doesn't that mean Josiah will have a lot of opportunities?" Caleb exclaimed.

He was shocked when he saw the name list.

By the way, Caleb chose the science track. My only good friend in Grade 10, who was on the same wavelength as me, left me behind just like that.

Aiden also went to the science track. We were going to hold a farewell party for him in private.

The location of the party was High Note Karaoke. Quite a lot of people showed up. Well, for me, I simply liked to join in the fun and wanted to have some food and drinks.

Josiah was also present.

That day, the impression he made on me was that he was drinking all the time.

As a matter of fact, we were all underage. To us, drinking was just for fun. It was also a way to make ourselves seem more mature by mimicking the adults.

However, no one drank as much as Josiah.

It was not until later that I learned that the very same day, July 18th, was someone's birthday.

Halfway through singing, I became a little sleepy. I looked at my watch and realized it was nearly ten o'clock.

The others were still singing at the top of their lungs. It was crazy. After my energy was exhausted, I just wanted to leave the place quickly.

I walked to the corridor, where the air conditioner was quite strong. There was no one around, and the noises in the private room could still be heard.

Shrugging, I walked to a private room where no one was singing.

Suddenly, someone hugged me.

It was the first time I realized that the smell of alcohol on men would not always reek as it did on my father.

When Josiah's breath touched my neck, my first response was not to push him away.

Then, I could not push him away.

With one hand clasping my waist, he pressed me against the wall. As he breathed on my earlobe all the way to my neck, his tall nose brushed my skin, leaving a tingling sensation.

I saw our reflection in the glass. We were like intimate lovers.

Then, I heard a name amidst his pants.

"Tianna," Josiah said.

Tianna Scott.

Words eluded me.

Darn.

"Josiah, I wasn't expecting you to be a devoted person."

When I spoke, I wanted to laugh. I put my fingers into his short hair, and in the end, I still could not help but ruffle it.

Probably dizzy from my actions, he stared at me blankly. His eyes were red-rimmed, and the outer corners of his eyes were a little droopy.

Josiah was much taller than me. After taking his hand off my waist, he lowered his head slightly because he wanted to look into my eyes.

"Don't leave me... Please..."

His voice was deep, and it turned hoarse and despondent at the end of his sentence.

At that time, perhaps affected by the smell of alcohol on him or simply thinking it was fun, I patted him on the shoulder and said to him smilingly, "Okay, I won't leave you. I will never leave you."

I saw a flash of light in Josiah's eyes.

After a while, the light in his eyes went out.

He pursed his lips and said in a low voice, "You're not Tianna."

"Hmm? Why am I not her?" I drawled, pretending to be confused.

"She won't smile at me like that."

I did not say anything.

Okay, then.

Right then, Josiah had a pitiful expression as if he had been abandoned by someone. To be honest, he was so different from the boy I usually saw.

Withdrawing my hand from his shoulder, I was about to give him some advice to comfort him when the door to the private room opened.

Caleb walked out with his hands in his pockets and was stunned to see us.

"What are you two doing here?" he asked.

"I'm fulfilling his dream." I pointed at Josiah.

"What?" Caleb was bemused.

However, he did not remain confused for a long time because Josiah turned around and hugged him.

It was a more intimate embrace than when he hugged me.

"Ah, Josiah. Josiah, you can't..."

Caleb struggled desperately, which amused me. Later, those in the private room came out one after another, and everyone talked about ending the party.

That was the first time the name "Tianna" appeared in my world.

She was the person Josiah loved but could not have.

5

A week into the summer break of Grade 10, I received a call from an unknown caller.

I answered the call but did not expect it to be from Josiah.

Although he and I added each other on Messenger, there was not a single message in our chat. Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine that he would phone me directly.

"So, what's the matter?" I asked.

"That day at High Note Karaoke... Did I do something bad to you?" he uttered.

I was quiet for a moment.

Some memories came to mind.

"Ah... You still remember it?" I said.

I thought he blacked out after getting drunk.

"I remember some parts of it. After thinking about it, I still feel that I have to apologize to you."

Josiah's voice was muffled but inexplicably serious. Sometimes, the things he did were unsuitable for him as he would be exceedingly earnest.

How could he be like that?

"I got it. I accept your apology. Besides, you didn't really do anything to me," I replied.

"I'll buy you coffee," Josiah suddenly said to me.

It was only after I arrived at the coffee house that I suddenly thought of a question. Did Josiah really reflect on what he had done wrong?

Or did he just make up an excuse to ask me out?

Oh well, in any case, there was a handsome man and a cup of coffee waiting for me.

When I was looking for Josiah, he was playing on his phone while biting the straw of the coffee in front of him.

His attire was simple: a white short-sleeved shirt with a huge cartoon character print and plain shorts that exposed his toned calves.

Girls kept looking over their shoulders to steal glances at him.

"Why did you come so early?" I looked at his almost empty cup.

Josiah crinkled his eyes in a smile, propping his chin to gaze at me.

"How can I make you wait?" he said.

Oh, that was very sweet of him.

Without holding back, I ordered the most expensive drink on the menu. After I sat down, I had to find a topic to chat about with him.

"Do you know whose name you called me that day?" I asked.

I did not know what came over me, but I started a topic I should not have.

"Tianna?" Josiah answered rather quickly.

I nodded.

All of a sudden, he laughed. "You do look a little bit like her, but it's not to the extent that I would confuse you with her. I guess I drank too much that day..."

"Do you like her a lot?" I was still curious about that question.

Staring at me, Josiah fell silent.

Fine. I should not have asked him that.

"I don't like her," he replied.

Then, I heard him continue in a soft voice, "If I still like her despite all this, then wouldn't I be degrading myself further?"

I did not say anything.

Josiah kept staring at his empty coffee cup when he talked to me.

As his eyes were downcast, I could not see his expression clearly. Later, I felt that it was an extremely cruel thing to me.

Because I knew very well how important Tianna was to him.

Later on, Josiah kept asking me out in different ways.

He would say he still felt apologetic toward me, his friend bailed on him on a movie hangout, or he found a restaurant near my house. No matter how dense I was, I realized what he was up to by then.

Josiah had a crush on me.

"Is there something you want to say to me?" I asked.

When he called me again with another ridiculous excuse, I took the initiative by putting forth that question.

"Hmm?"

He dragged out that word, which was quite irresistible.

"Josiah, you're regarding me as Tianna, aren't you?"

I had no doubt who he was looking at through me.

Josiah was silent for a while. Just as I thought he would not say anything, his voice traveled into my ears clearly.

"Would you be willing to come to my side, then, Lillian?"

I was at a loss for words.

Then, I sincerely expressed my puzzlement. "Have... you lost your mind?"

I heard him laugh a few times.

"Josiah, what are you after? My face that looks like your first crush, Tianna?"

"Yeah."

His answer was lighthearted and immediate. He did not even bother to put up an act anymore.

"Huh?"

"I can buy you coffee and clothes as well as go shopping and play games with you. Most importantly..."

All of a sudden, Josiah lowered his voice. Even his intonation was seductive.

"If you stay with me, other girls will envy you when we're together."

He truly was handsome, narcissistic, and mad.

Yet, for some reason, I felt that his words made a lot of sense.