02 ARCHER

MAY 08, 2016

"Keep yourself up, young man." I heard my dad whisper to me in such authority.

I sighed in annoyance as I came back in my soberness. I glanced at the priest on the altar. He's still preaching nonsense that I'm pretty sure he just memorized while glancing back and forth at the bible.

I can't wait to get out of this hell. I mean this awful chapel that my dad funded and built on the wooden part of Camden Town. It is the first catholic chapel in Camden. Religious people were so elated by this chapel when they heard the news about this being built. Because they don't have to go to other places anymore and pay for a transportation fare just to visit a chapel every Sunday.

Well, me and my older brother Bryon were the opposite. We always hated our father's idea of building a church. And the funny thing is, that was the first time we agreed on our entire life. Well, on the contrary, he just built this for publicity. He's a corrupt mayor of Camden Town. I admit, but I am not proud of it.

It has also been a while since the last time he did something for this town. Heck, I can't even remember the last time he used the people's money in the right way.

Well, he still went straight to this idea. It'll not cost him a lot of money, plus the holy religious people here in Camden have been asking for this for years now. So it's a good go to cover up his misdeeds.

He's been a mayor here for five years. It's now his second term. People in Camden are just born stupid. Even when it's too visible that my father is just fooling them right in their faces using his sweet flowery words, people still continue to support him. And the funny thing was, there were no other candidates in the last election other than my father. Just proves how stupid the people of Camden are for trusting my father and our family until now. That's also the reason Camden never improves.

"And I hope we see each other again next Sunday!" I blinked several times when the priest bid his goodbye to us.

Well, if I'm not mistaken, his name is Joseph Walter. From what I've heard from the rumors, he was a priest from another chapel before he assigned here; I remembered hearing that he used to take advantage of nuns. But seriously, I hope that's not true or I'm going to puke on his face right now.

I lost count of the time. My father forbade me to open my phone because I kept looking at it the whole time.

The people stood up afterwards. Most of the people are greeting each other while bowing with such respect while the others are already leaving in a hurry. Most of them are teenagers like me, that were forced to be here. They probably don't want to attend masses either. I don't get why parents need to force their children to be religious or to have a religion as if it defines their humanity. But in my case, it's acceptable because even though we're not a religious family, at least we are a family who fools people in Camden Town and we're getting loads of money from doing these kinds of things.

"No sir, we are more than grateful because you finally built a chapel here. The people have been asking for this for a long time now. And I'm more than grateful to be assigned here. We can finally hold masses every Sunday and help straighten the lives of many." Father Joseph said, trying to sound holy and sincere in front of my parents.

My parents are faking their smiles at him, of course. My mother's face is so tense and looks si uncomfortable I can't help but stifle a laugh. They all looked at me in confusion while my father's face was telling me to stop showing my actual personality. And now that's my cue to leave the chapel.

I left my obedient older brother behind. Since he wants to follow in my father's footsteps in politics, I let him suffer alone by showing plasticity to people; which is tiring. My parents expect me to be like them too, but all I ever wanted is to compose music and be a well-known musician. But if I said and forced it on them, they'll surely get mad at me, disown me, or maybe abandon me without leaving me money.

The moment I stepped out of the chapel, I heaved out a sigh of relief. The warm sunlight shines through my face. It's summer, but the temperature is warm. Which I like the most out of all the temperatures.

I can't help but smile as I look up at the sky. The tall trees are almost covering the blue sky. I can hear the chirping of the birds and the people's voices around me and even though chapels and churches are not my comfort zones. The scenery outside seems to calm the war in my head. Maybe it was because of the relaxing and comforting vibes that the greenery gives to me.

When I slowly put my eyes back on my surroundings, one girl caught my eyes.

In a split second, everything turned into slow motion. As cliché as it sounds, everything around me and even the noises seemed to disappear the moment I saw her standing a little farther away from me. Only the loud beating of my heart are the only sounds I can hear.

Her fringe fell and covered her cheeks. That made her look more adorable. She's talking and having fun with the children, plastering a genuine smile on her face. Her smile is so contagious that I can't help but to smile, too. She has long, wavy ginger hair that is tied in half ponytail letting her remaining gorgeous hair fall perfectly down her waist. I notice the beautiful freckles on her face that look like little shining stars when sunlight hits them.

I have never felt this way before. Never in my life have I thought that a person could be that beautiful.

I don't believe in angels. Hell, I don't even know what they look like or if they ever exist. But for me, she's the illustration and definition of my imagination of angels. A bright, joyful face of innocence and perfection.

In Camden, a small town with only 400 people, how can I just notice such beauty that she holds? When, in fact, I am familiarized with all the people here...

I swallowed hard when she suddenly noticed me. Panic, accompanied by embarrassment, hit me like a punch. I even felt sweat threatening to come out of my forehead. I don't want her to think that I am such a lunatic creep staring at her. 

But what she did next made me flinch. She sweetly smiled and waved her hand at me.

She noticed me. And she smiled at me! I swear, that was the purest smile I ever saw in my entire seventeen years of existence.

Because of what she did, my heartbeats became even faster. I couldn't move my body, I became a statue suddenly, I even thought that I'm going to have a heart attack. I didn't expect that an angel like her would notice a simple person like me.

If attending the mass in this chapel would be the only way to see her every Sunday. Then I'd throw away my laziness and procrastination just to see her again.

"Love at first sight, huh?"