Chapter 3: Rejected by Clyden

Five years ago

Maia

“Are you sure about this?” Camille asked as we walked over to the basketball court.

“Yes, I’ve never felt this way to a guy before, so I think I should give it a chance,” I said and breathed in deeply.

“You’re fucking insane! Who the hell confesses to a guy in front of the entire student body during a basketball championship? Only you, Maia, only you.”

She’s right, though! What I’m going to be doing is definitely insane.

“How come you’re so persistent? He’s been acting indifferent toward your advances for the past few months, yet you still have the guts to ask him out in public?” She asked incredulously. 

I shrugged my shoulders. “He’s charming in that matter! Almost all of my suitors back then would want me to say yes right away, but Clyden understands me! He’s giving me such a fun chase,” I said excitedly. 

She looked at me in disbelief. “You’re down bad. You’re such a hopeless case, my friend. How can someone so intelligent like you be so fucking stupid when it comes to love? What more could you have prepared? Having the whole cheerleading squad hold signages for you?”

I stopped walking and looked at her.

She looked back at me with a startled face. “Oh no. Oh god, no. Don’t tell me— did you actually ask the cheerleading squad?”

My shoulders sank as I smiled at her sheepishly. “Is that bad? I thought Emily could help me.”

She grabbed onto my shoulders and started shaking me back and forth. “Why are you even asking? It’s horrendous! Imagine! You won the basketball championship, and you think that it’s finally over. However, the girl who’s been pestering you over the course of four months suddenly stands up from the crowd and throws a whole ass surprise in front of everybody! How would you feel?”

I blushed and looked down. “I think it’s romantic.”

She released me from her grip and groaned. “Nothing gets past you, really. You’re such a hopeless romantic.” She bit her nails in anxiety and looked at my still smiling face. “Whatever! I have to be on your side on this one since I'm your best friend. Whatever happens, just know that I’m always here for you, okay?”

I smiled at her brightly and gave her a hug. “You’re the best, Camille! I knew you’d agree that my plans are a good idea.”

She gently pushed me away from her and said, “Well, I wouldn’t go that far, but I guess your plan isn’t that bad. Let’s just hope the Clyden thinks it’s also cute and wouldn’t humiliate you in front of everyone.”

“He wouldn’t! He’s a good person,” I defended.

“Sure,” she drawled.

We finally arrived at the basketball court, and it's jam-packed with the students of Haven University. I glanced toward the cheerleader’s bench, and one of my cheerleader friends gave me an ‘okay’ sign. I smiled back at her and gave her a thumbs up.

I nervously sat on the front seats and watched as the two teams made their way to their respective benches.

Screams erupted in the bleachers once our team entered, but it even became louder when Clyden came in. I thought that the court was going to collapse from all of the noise.

The buzzer went off, indicating the start of the game. Clyden took the center spot and prepared to hustle for the ball. The referee threw the ball up into the air, and as expected, Clyden was able to obtain it without any difficulty.

The screams were deafening during the first three quarters, but now that the fourth quarter has commenced, everyone has turned serious. Although we were leading, it was only by three points, and a single mistake may cost us our championship.

Camille calmly ate a vegan hotdog right beside me while I clasped my hands together and prayed to every god I knew. “Please, please, please let us win. Please let us win,” I muttered under my breath.

Camille hit me softly in the head and gestured for me to watch the game. I was about to scold her for hitting me, but I saw that Clyden now had the ball, and he was dribbling skillfully toward the net. We all watched in anticipation as he passed by every opponent and dunked the basketball into the net.

The buzzer sounded once again, now indicating the end of the game. I stood up in excitement and watched as Clyden smiled. I felt my heart skip a bit when our eyes made contact for a little while. These are the rare moments where I’ve seen Clyden smile, and his smile never fails to make my heart skip a beat.

Clyden was given the title “Season’s MVP,” and I couldn’t be any happier for him. It felt like this was the perfect moment for me to confess to him, so I gave my cheerleader friend the signal to start their routine.

Without fail, they performed a simple routine and held up the placards that I’d prepared since last night. I went down to the court and stood in front of the cheerleaders, facing Clyden. His teammates started wolf-whistling when they saw me holding a tulip in my hands. I shyly scratched the back of my neck and looked at him expectantly.

“I like you. I’ve liked you since the first time that I saw you, and I’ve never felt this way before for somebody else. Would you give me the honor of calling you mine?” I asked with a nervous smile.

The audience was urging Clyden to say ‘yes,’ but he remained silent. The longer he stayed silent, the longer I became nervous. The crowd also started settling down, and we were all waiting for Clyden’s response.

After what felt like an eternity, Clyden finally opened his mouth and responded.

“Sorry, I don’t date,” he said and walked away without looking back. He didn’t even take the tulip that I’d prepared.

‘Aww,” the crowd exclaimed collectively.

“Sorry ‘bout that, sweetheart,” one of his teammates also said while ruffling my hair.

The cheerleaders also brought down the placards, and they were all now walking away. I was left in the center of the court, and I could feel the judging gazes of the audience. I glanced around and saw that some of them were also pointing and laughing at me.

I wanted to burst into tears, but I held it in. Maybe Camille was right. Maybe I came on too strong and made Clyden uncomfortable. The audience’s laughter was becoming louder and louder, making me freeze on my spot. Thankfully, Camille went to me and pushed me out of the basketball court. She held onto my hands and led me to the school park, where we sat on one of the benches.

We sat down in silence as I looked down on the ground. “Come on, say it. Say ‘I told you so,’” I said, breaking the silence. 

“What?” She looked at me, confused. “I’m not that bad, you know?” She led my head to her shoulder as I held back my tears.

“I thought he’d find my surprise cute, you know? I’ve been pursuing him for the last four months, but it seems like he never saw me in that kind of light.”

“Shh, it’s okay. He just doesn’t see your worth,” she said while caressing my head. “This may be cliche, but there’s plenty of fish in the sea. You’d find someone eventually, Maia.”

A tear finally escaped from my eye as I buried my face in her shoulders. “But none of them are Clyden.”

Then I broke out into sobs.

***

The miserable day was finally done, and I was now on my way home. The driver that picked me up must have sensed that something was wrong since he didn’t talk to me on our way back.

Just before I got out of the car, Ben, my driver ever since I was a baby, turned to me and said, “Whatever it is that you’re going through, just know that there’ll always be a tomorrow. Always have your chin up, Mai. Your pretty face should be shown off to the world.”

I smiled at him, but what he said elicited another round of tears. Before the tears could fall, I ran out of the car and into our house. I was hoping that my parents weren’t home so that they wouldn’t question me about my teary and swollen eyes, but luck must not be on my side today because my mother was waiting for me by the door.

As soon as I entered the door, she sensed that something was wrong, so she led me over to the couch.

“What happened? Did somebody hurt you? Do we have to transfer you to another school? Do I have to tell this to your dad?”

I remained quiet because if I speak, I’ll definitely break out into tears once again.

“You can tell me anything, Maia,” she said while stroking my hair.

I leaned on her and lied down on her lap, facing the ceiling. “He doesn’t like me, mom.”

She looked at me worriedly. “Who? Why would anyone not like my baby? Is he the guy that you’ve told me about before? Your first love?”

I nodded my head and suppressed my tears. “I confessed after his basketball game, but he didn’t even acknowledge my hard work. He just rejected me coldly in front of the other people.”

“That bastard!” She exclaimed and clenched her hands. I held onto her hands and made her relax.

“It’s okay, mom. Part of it is my fault. I should have known that he didn’t feel a thing for me. He has never given me any signals or cues that tell me he likes me back, but I was just stupid enough to hold onto my feelings. I guess I just liked him too much,” I said, my voice trembling.

“Oh, baby,” my mom said and hugged me. I cried onto her shoulder as she continued stroking my back. “None of it was your fault, okay? He’s the one at a loss for letting go of somebody like you.”

I continued to cry on her shoulder and hugged her more tightly.

“Please don’t tell this to dad, mom,” I said, still on her shoulder.

She hesitated and didn’t respond for a while, making me look back at her. “Mom? Please don’t tell this to dad,” I pleaded.

Her eyes showed conflict, but she eventually agreed.

“Okay.”