03• Matthew

"Leah!" I shouted again running towards my sisters who stopped on their track glancing at me while I stopped running, striding over to their side, and trying to catch my breath.

"What are you doing here?" Ruth fired as I got closer to them.

"Weren't you instructed by Dad not to come to school today?" Leah added in.

"Well, I convinced him," I say standing at their front. "And I remembered we'd be having the midterm exam in our class today," I replied finally having control of my breath.

"Are you that careless?" Ruth fired. "You had a chest pain yesterday, and you're back running today?" She added with a concerned look.

"Well, I couldn't possibly miss school because of that." I smiled. "Besides I took my meds along with me," I assured.

"You know moving around concerning your health is risky. Not even to talk about running." Leah added and I smiled holding my sister's hand.

"We better get to class, we're very late as it is." I was reminded wanting to stop them from nagging at me, especially concerning my health which I don't like to be reminded of. "How was your date with Theodore?" I asked Ruth changing the topic as we walked inside the school compound.

"Don't let Dad hear you say that." Leah teased and I laughed along with Ruth who blushed. "And you too?" I glanced at Leah. "I heard you lying to someone that you were Brianna," I said and she looked surprisingly at me.

"I thought you were sleeping!" Leah exclaimed and I shrugged.

"Who did you lie to about your name?" Ruth inquired with a raised eyebrow.

"A crush. I heard he loves ladies who are named P, B---"

"You're talking about Keith again?" Ruth interrupted and I giggled, my gaze still fixed on Leah.

"Well..." Leah blushed.

"Holy Mary Leah! Keith is three years older than you. You better stop dreaming about him." Ruth advised.

"Is that what I get after helping you bond with Theodore who's a dropout?" Leah pouted with a sad look.

"Ruth didn't mean that." I chimed in. "It's just a bit lame to lie about your name."

"I know. He will soon know that I'm lying anyway." Leah said lowly. "And please, don't you dare tell him I'm your younger sister." She directed the words at me.

"Why would you give such a warning to me?" I asked rhetorically as we entered the school's hallway.

"You're in the same class with him. He might hate dating his friend's siblings." Ruth chimed in.

"I'm not friends with Keith, for Christ's sake," I said knowing how much I usually repeat these words whenever Keith is mentioned, especially when my dad and mum are singing his praises for being so upright and righteous, unlike his elder brother who hate me for no reason.

"But you're his classmates." Leah would say.

"I gotta go to class now," I mentioned this to end the argument of whether I was friends with Keith or not when technically everyone wanted to be friends with him.

Although he's sitting beside me, we aren't friends because I hate people who get too much attention, still I have a crush on me which I always regret.

I stepped inside the classroom and his grey eyes were the first thing I noticed. One reason why I cannot stop crushing on him.

"Why are you just coming?" Mr. Jones, our history teacher asked.

"I'm sorry," I said trying to avoid eye contact with the rest of the students who knew me to be introverted because I hardly mingle with any of them.

I walked to my seat and sat on it while Keith's eyes seemed to be on me, but I'm sure he wasn't directly looking at me probably a lady beside me, and my curiosity took over as I raised my eyes at him and his grey eyes which has been staring at some lady beside me suddenly got locked with my eyes.

This event always happens, I thought. Aware of the fact that I'm the one who always lets our eyes get locked.

Clumsily, I bowed my head and I heard the lady beside me grinning, maybe he already resumed staring at her, and why the holy hell did he always find it comfortable whenever our eyes met?

He is always cool, well part of his charm. While I would be the first to disengage from the staring contest acting clumsily and even girlishly. I was already feeling embarrassed at my act when Mr. Jones called me. "Are you having your class there?" He fired at me as I raised my head which must have been bowed for quite a while.

"I'm sorry." I apologize for opening my backpack and bringing out a history course book.

After history, we had two more classes before lunch and our class turned into a talking competition coming from the females with laughter and jokes from the males, especially from Keith's friend's group which contained cute guys whom I always secretly stared at and I even heard them talking about Brianna, my crazy Leah of a sister.

"You better give her to me if you aren't pleased with her." The one whom I know as Darren instructed Keith who was seated on top of a desk, with the sun hitting his grey eyes that shun just like my cat's own.

"Two more girls already fixed the date they would be collecting your number from me." Bill, the quietest one among them say and Keith was smiling like a fool!

I wonder why he always smiles at the mention of girls or whenever he sees one. It would have been so heavenly if he could smile for only me.

Keep on dreaming! My inner self scorned me and I rolled my eyes away from him, concentrating on the book I was reading.

I was still reading the romance novel Naughty CEO when I decided to steal a glimpse at Keith and there. His grey eyes were staring at me!