When the afternoon was over and we all headed back to the cabin to get ready for dinner, all of them were shocked to see my swollen nose. Despite the band-aids, you could still tell that it was pretty swollen. They started calling me Rudolph.

"I think you're too early for Christmas," Natalie joked and they all laughed. Even Mr. Smith! Unbelievable. "You'll be happy tomorrow, though, it won't include anything about sports."

I grinned. At least tomorrow's activities won't include any major physical requirements.

Cheska's hair was in a bun, and suddenly, I noticed something. "You got the undershave!" I said in surprise.

She smiled with pride. "Yeah. Natalie did it a while ago."

When I said that morning that she would look great with it, I wasn't wrong. She rocked it. It was perfect for her, and I could really tell that she loved it. I couldn't help but be happy for her.

During dinnertime (we still ate in our cabin), I went online to send Mr. Stranger's photo to Jennifer. She then called for a video call, and the moment her face popped on the screen, most of the sounds that came from her mouth were screaming and cussing. "He looks like Asa Butterfield, don't you think?" she said.

I looked at the picture one more time. "Yeah, you're right. Why didn't I see that earlier?" The same nose, same mouth, and same magical eyes.

"You should definitely take a picture with him, you know?" she suggested. "A stolen picture isn't enough."

Then, someone said behind me, "She should definitely take a picture with whom?" It was Prince. I forgot they were all in the cabin with me. All four of them immediately gathered around me, interrogating Jennifer.

Jennifer looked at me for permission to spill my crush. I was planning to tell them anyway, so I sighed and nodded. "It's this guy she sent me a picture with. Here," she showed her phone to the screen and they all squished forward to take a good look, having me suffocated.

"Hey," Cheska interrupted. "Isn't that the guy at the RH earlier?"

"And the guy at the Wall Climbing Arena," Prince added. "I thought you would get over him in a hour. Guess I was wrong."

Jared then laughed, and I looked at him like he was a crazy person, which he was. "Are you guys telling me that Celene, Ms. I don't need boys in my life after she got her heart broken in freshman, actually got attracted to a stranger?" I blushed, and he laughed, and they laughed. "Okay, this is incredible news. So, who is this guy?" he asked.

I looked away and sighed. "Unfortunately, I have no idea," I admitted. It really is funny how you can feel a lot of beautiful things for someone you don't know a single thing about. I didn't know his name. I didn't know where he lived. I didn't know a single thing about him except that he was perfectly good looking. Yet, my feelings felt like I knew him for years.

I was never the kind of girl who fell for exterior beauty, but the moment I saw him, I knew that there was something more. Something in him that made me feel like he was different from others. The question is, will I find out what it is?

Natalie brushed my hair to comfort me, and I always liked it when somebody else brushes my hair with their hand. They make my head feel ticklish yet relaxing at the same time.

"What group color is he?" Jared then asked.

I eyed him. How was his group color important? "Green," I answered anyway. "Why?" I couldn't help but ask.

He shrugged. "Kim from Ridge High is on the green team. I mean, there's a tiny chance, but she might know him, you know?"

"Very tiny, even tinier than a grain of sand," I told him, but he just shrugged.

I was still very doubtful, but I took any opportunity I could get to know more about him, so all five us left the cabin and looked for Kim from Ridge High. Well, we didn't technically look because Jared knew exactly where her cabin was, which he hesitated to explain how. Sneaky Jared.

When we reached her cabin, she and two of her cabinmates were outside their cabin eating some chips. "Hey girls," Jared greeted them, and they all returned him with shy smiles. Jared then turned to Kim. "Kim, you're on the green team, right?" he asked.

I felt a little bit alarmed because of how direct he was, but Kim nodded indicating a yes. "Why?" she asked.

He coughed, smirking and eyeing me, which is exactly how he teases me. "Well, my nerdy, clumsy, and unathletic friend here, Celene, wants to know if you know a certain guy."

I glared at him. I thought he already forgot about my volleyball embarrassment, but I guess I was wrong. "Who?" Kim asked. I then handed my phone to Jared as he handed it over to Kim.

Kim looked at the picture and the two other girls peeked a look. When they all got a good look at the photo, they all looked like they saw Barney doing seven cartwheels.

"This is Rover Jackson!" One girl said. She was talking about Mr. Stranger, not Barney. "He's also from Indianapolis, just a different school from us. Kim once had a huge crush on him." The other girl added.

"Hey! I did not." Kim defended. Then the two girls gave her a quit lying look. "Okay, maybe I did. But that was a year ago."

Rover Jackson. His name lingered on my mind for a while. It kept repeating inside my head for a million times. I liked his name. No. I loved his name. It sounded like a mixture of Grover the satyr and Percy Jackson.

"Does he have facebook?" I asked her. When Jennifer first had a crush on his current boyfriend Will, I helped her stalk him on facebook a little bit. I thought that maybe I could know a little more about Rover if I stalk him. And maybe, like Jennifer and Will, be together.

"Yeah," Kim said and I smiled. Bingo.

Maybe if I add him, he'll notice me. Maybe if he'll notice me, we'd be close. Maybe if we become close, we'd have something. Maybe if we have something, it could turn into everything.

I was being too hopeful, wasn't I?

Natalie suddenly scrunched her face and kept jumping up and down. "I gotta pee. Celene, accompany me, please?"

"Okay," I answered. We excused ourselves from the rest of them. Jared then kept talking to Kim while Prince and Cheska talked to the two other girls.

I was too preoccupied thinking about Rover Jackson that I didn't realize we weren't heading for our cabin. When I did, I said, "This isn't the way back to the cabin."

"Well we're not heading for the cabin," she said. Her legs were still wobbly, which made me wonder how many liters of pee she was carrying. "We're going to the RH. The bathroom there is so much cleaner than ours." I only nodded and we kept walking towards the RH.

When we reached the RH, Natalie ran to bathroom so I had to catch up with her. When I reached the bathroom, I was panting. I did say a million times already that I wasn't athletic, didn't I?

A minute passed, but Natalie was still peeing. "Dude, how many liters of pee can you pee?" She didn't answer. "Hey, you didn't fall asleep there didn't you."

She then made snoring noises, which I knew was fake. I then laughed and she did too. "I'm almost done," she said.

While her 'almost done' still wasn't done after thirty seconds, I walked in front of the mirror to look at myself.

My nose still looked pretty swollen behind the band-aids. The nurse said that it'll probably be gone tomorrow, but 'probably' doesn't really make me feel so sure.

I then wondered, if Rover Jackson sees me, will he feel something too? Probably not. I'm not pretty. I'm too pale. I look like a child when I smile. I'm a girl who has nerdy glasses on and is still wearing the blue anklet her cousin gave to her when she was seven. A handsome guy like him must want pretty and hot girls, which were two things that I wasn't.

"Done!" Natalie finally said.

As we were about to open the bathroom door, I heard the sound of a basketball ball being dribbled. And when we walked out, there were a bunch of guys playing basketball.

Natalie and I were about to walk out of the RH, when I suddenly stopped walking. "What's wrong?" She asked.

I held my breath. I couldn't believe it. "It's him," I said. "The guy talking on the phone. That's him. That's Rover Jackson."

Her eyes grew wide. "Oh my gosh. He really is very handsome." I couldn't agree more.

He was talking with someone on the phone, and it made me wonder, was it his mom? Or dad? Or girlfriend?

"Ask to take a picture with him!" She said. "That's what Jennifer said, right? Go, get a picture!"

I took a deep breath. It was my chance. I shouldn't care about my swollen nose. I shouldn't care about his friends who would either tease me or make of fun me. All that mattered was a picture with him. Easy, right?

The only problem was that I didn't have my phone with me, nor did Natalie.

"We have to get it before they leave," Natalie said. And so, we ran, and ran and ran. I tripped, and it hurt really bad. I even cried. The wound was a little bit big. But, I stood up, and ran. I tried my best to not mind the pain on my knee, and pictured inside my head a photograph of me with him. That was all it took for me up on my feet and running.

When we reached the cabin, we were panting and I was still groaning in pain, but I had to get that picture. I was unbelievably that desperate. Funny what having an attraction for someone can do to you.

We both ran back to the RH with our remaining breath, just to get that picture, but it was all for nothing. The running, the wound, the hope, they all went to waste.

They already left.

¤ ¤ ¤

What's up?

Okay, this is not related to the story, but please do read this.

Last Tuesday, I saw a viral post (in the PH) on facebook showing an old and poor woman roaming around a certain fast food store asking people if they need someone to do their laundry in exchange for money. So the person who posted it (I forgot to take note of her name) got asked by that woman, but she told her she didn't need anyone to do her laundry for her. But instead, she gave her a hundred peso bill (equivalent to two dollars in the US) and apologized that it was all that she could give her. Then, the woman hugged her and thanked her for it was already a big amount of help. She then told her why she was looking for money. So apparently the woman was the one who pays for the education of her grandchildren, and they had nothing to eat that night so the woman tried to find anything to get money, hence having her roam around fast food chains hoping for someone to give her the temporary labor that she needs.

Reading the post made my heart break. Why do the kindest people have to suffer? So to everyone reading this, please do help anyone who asks for your help. You may not know how a single dollar can greatly help to other people.

But anyway, I want to say Happy Birthday to gigirose23! She had been a really great friend to me and I am thankful for having to meet her in this lifetime. ❤

Book suggestion of the chapter: This Savage Song by Victoria Schwab. If you like books with monsters, this is for you. I really loved it, and I can't wait to read book two. I promise this is a must read!

Z