Day 1

Sidney left that morning. Her flight was at seven and my class was still at nine, so I got the chance to drop her off the airport. It wasn't like one of those cliche movies where the guy would cry and plead the girl to stay. I didn't cry or tried to stop her. If she decided not to go, who knows what would happen to her career.

I stopped by my dorm room when I came back before I went to my class. When I came in my room, a big tupperware filled with gummy bears was sitting on my bed.

At first I though that it was a trick by her. That she would appear from my back and yell "BOO YA!" But it was too good to be true.

I walked towards my bed and noticed that there was a note on top of it. I picked it up.

Let these gummy-deliciousness be your company for the week. It's just seven days. Let them be your dwarfs. I'll be back before you know it. I'll text you everyday.

Love,
Siddy

I folded the note and slipped it into my pocket, because I just knew that I would read it for the rest of the day.

Day 2

I was walking towards the auditorium that afternoon when Zoe started walking beside me. Even though I knew that she was exhausted because of the play, she still managed to look effortlessly beautiful.

But Sidney was still the most beautiful girl I had ever seen. It was only a day but I already missed her.

"Hey." She greeted with a smile. I didn't say anything and just smiled back as a reply. "Can I ask you something?" She asked with a shy tone.

I stopped walking and faced her. "Sure. What is it?" I asked.

She tugged her sleeve and looked away. She was really shy. "Have you read the script?" She asked. "All of it?"

I nodded. "Yes. I've read and memorized every single word." I said with a short chuckle.

She raised her eyebrow. "And you're okay with it?" She asked like I should've been screaming at her.

I found her expressions weird. As far as I knew there was nothing wrong with the script. Even the grammars were all correct. "Yeah. Why wouldn't I be?" I said.

Her weird expression suddenly vanished and was replaced by the smile she always wore. "Nothing. I just asked. Let's go?" She suggested and I nodded. Together, we went to the auditorium.

Day 3

The practice that night was finally over. When I went to the seats to get my backpack, I checked my phone and saw a text from Sidney.

I read it and she asked me to check the phone number that was written on a piece paper inside her cabinet. She said that it was under her folded clothes, and that it should only be the thing I will look at, nothing else. She also said that Zoe had to work with Ms. Styles until midnight that night when she asked her, so I was her only choice.

I hung my backpack on my shoulders and went backstage to ask Zoe her room keys.

"Can I borrow your room keys?" I asked her when I found her. She was practicing with the creepy senior for their part when she locked Cinderella from the Grand Duke.

She excused herself from the senior and placed down her script on the table. "Yeah. Sidney told me she needed a phone number." She said with a smile, though a hint of exhaustion was in her voice. She went to her backpack on a cabinet at the corner and took out the keys. "Here." She threw it at me. "Just to warn you, you'll probably see something very weird." She smirked and walked away, heading to the direction where the creepy senior walked off to.

I tried to think of a weird thing that could be in her closet, but none came to my mind. I went to her dorm room thinking for something, but my head just couldn't think of anything that it could almost explode.

When I was finally in her front door, I should've opened it immediately because of how curious I was. Ironically, I just stood there blankly.

Maybe I was just too afraid to find out what it was.

It took me a moment before I decided to open the door. I peeked before I walked in, probably afraid that Sidney was there to trick me. But, the room was empty.

I headed to the cabinet and immediately opened it. When I did, none bursted out like the booby traps or tricks I had imagined. Her clothes were neatly folded, some of her bags were packed in a little box, and there were small shoe boxes on the side.

I looked for the paper that she told me about and I found it within just seconds. I pulled out my phone from my pocket and texted Sidney the number.

Thank you! She texted.

I was about to close the cabinet but stopped when I saw some weird box. It was a box that had the name 'Box of Memories'.

I leaned forward and took it out to look at it. I was aware with what Sidney told me, to not look at anything else. But did I have a choice? I had eyes and they just did what they were supposed to do. To look at things. But I didn't only look at it, I also touched it, and thought of opening it. It was a triple offense.

I ignored the thought of me breaking Sidney's rules and opened the box. With the name 'Box of Memories', I expected to see letters, pictures, or beach sands like the ones on the internet all packed in a jar. Instead, what I saw were dessert wrappings.

They were all familiar. I gave them to them. The funny thing was, even the ones I gave her back in high school were there. I thought maybe it was a trashcan, but a trashcan isn't something that you keep inside your cabinet.

She was keeping them all along? I thought. That moment, I promised myself to give Sidney more treats, the next time, with better wrappings so they could be worth keeping.

Day 4

"Goodbye class." Mr. Kenny said as soon as the bell rang. I stood up without hesitation and packed my things. After the class was lunch and my stomach was desperate for food. "Dylan. Can I talk to you for a minute?" He called when I was about to leave.

I pulled my backpack to my shoulder and went to his direction. When I was finally in front of him, it was the first time I noticed his features. He was slightly similar to Mr. Johnson, only he had green eyes and beard all over his chin. "What's the matter, sir?" I asked in a formal voice.

He walked around his table so we were face to face. "You were the one who sang with Sidney last Freshmen Day, am I correct?" He asked, leaning his back to the table's edge.

I nodded like a normal student. "Yes, sir." I said politely, even though I was very confused why he asked about me singing at Freshman Day. As far as I could remember, I didn't sound bad enough for him to remember it for that long.

He clasped his fingers and rested his chin on its top. "On Monday is the opening program for the College Week Celebration, and the Dean had assigned me to find someone to give an intermission number." He said and then tilted his head to look at me speculatively. "Can you be the one to give the intermission, Dylan?"

"Me?" I pointed my chest. "Why? Why not Sidney?"

He smiled at me which made my skin tingle. "Sidney is already famous around America. You have a great talent, so I want people to discover it. You can show everyone your talent in singing, and this time, without Sidney by your side." He told me and all I heard was seriousness in his tone.

Back in high school, I was the talented one. Things had changed in college. But I didn't mind it, surprisingly. I was still proud of Sidney, and what she had reached. Just being there for her to help her and support her was already enough for may.

But then I thought that maybe singing in front of a crowd wouldn't be bad. I kind of missed singing. I missed acting too but that was solved when I got in the play, but singing was different from acting. Both can express emotion, but there's just something about giving it a melody that makes it more special.

"Okay. I can sing on Monday." I told him.

Day 5

Having to practice with Zach was always the worst part of my day. He would always stare at me like I might punch him any second (If he only knows how much I imagine it), and there were even times that I tried to speak to him and he would jerk away.

That night, I was surprised to see him smiling and laughing with Derek, one of the guys who plays as a guard.

I studied him and tried to see if it was fake, but all I saw was pure joy. Days ago, his face couldn't be drawn of sadness. It was just surprising to suddenly see him happy. It's not that I didn't want to see him happy, I did want to see him smiling like a goof ball, it was just surprising in a way that I was happy for him. Even thought I still hated him with my guts.

He saw me looking at him. He stopped talking to Derek and made his way to me. I wanted to run, but my feet didn't agree with me. "Dylan!" He said like we didn't have any problem at all. His smile looked like it could reach his ears any minute.

I just raised my eyebrows at him with a slight smile. My thoughts were still too jumbled at why Zach was acting like I was his best buddy in the world. He raised his hand to high five me when he was in front of me, and I did slap it back only with a slight force. I didn't want to make him think that everything was already okay between the both of us.

"Just to be clear, I'm still angry with you." I said after our high five.

His smile immediately vanished, and I didn't know if I was supposed to be happy because he got it, or that I should be sad because I took away the smile that he didn't have for days.

"I know you're still angry." He said. "And I still ask my self every night how to make it up to you and Sidney."

I wanted to say that what he did was unforgivable, but inside me I tell myself that it was not. All I had to do was say the words I forgive you, and everything would be okay. Could I really forgive him? No. I didn't have the right. It was supposed to be Sidney to have the choice. She was the one who got kissed and I was just the boyfriend who overreacted.

I sighed and looked into his eyes. "It's not my place to forgive you. Ask Sidney forgiveness because it was her you made a mistake on. If she forgives you, then maybe we can be friends." I told him and turned around. I didn't see his reaction and honestly, I didn't want to know.

Day 6

Two days. It was two days before the play. Everyone was so busy that day, and even I was running around around helping out everyone finish everything. Ms. Styles had already excused us from our classes so we would have enough time to finish everything for the play. We were only given two weeks, so the Dean really couldn't say no.

I was helping Danica, the president of the arts club, paint the staircase when Ms. Styles called my name. I stood up with no hesitation and excused myself from Danica.

When I got to Ms. Styles, she immediately said, "I need you to help Zach bring in some of the boxes for the minor decorations." I immediately nodded without any complaints and walked to the exit door where Zach was waiting. He still had his smile, so it made me breathe in relief because I didn't ruin his happiness.

There were about six big boxes on the parking lot, so Zach and I had to come back three times to lift it because we could only lift one box at a time with its heavy weight. On the first two batch of boxes, Zach and I didn't say anything. On the third one, it was him who spoke first.

"I know that you said it was Sidney who I should apologize to, but I want you to know that I don't like her as much anymore." He said and I raised an eyebrow. "I'm not saying that she's ugly or anything, because Dylan, she id so damn beautiful that I always get jealous of you. The reason I don't like her anymore is because I like somebody else.

At the first few seconds, all I did was stare at him. "Who?" I then asked. I was intrigued, I had to admit.

His smile got bigger. He looked happy and in love, and I began to wonder if I looked exactly like it every time I stared at Sidney. "Brianna." He said, and I gasped because I heard her name. Just days ago she was trying to steal Harry from his girl friend. It was surprising to hear that she suddenly moved on and went for Zach. "She's amazing. I don't think I've ever been this in love." He swooned.

I wanted to warn him. I wanted to tell him everything Brianna did to Harry. But somehow, my mouth didn't want to say the words. It was like a glue was stuck on my mouth. "Good for you." I said and walked away.

Day 7

I'm sorry. I can't come home today. An interview came up, and I can't miss it. I'll be back tomorrow, just enough time for the play. I promise.

Waking up that day wasn't good because of the text Sidney had sent to me. I was so excited to see her again. It was already 7 days that she was gone, and I couldn't believe that I still had to wait another one for me to finally see her. The text message was the least thing I expected to know about when I woke up.

When I touched my phone, a part of me wanted to throw it away, and a part just stood frozen. I guess the part who decided to freeze like a statue won the argument.

When I finally accepted the fact that she couldn't come home that day, I texted her back saying that it's okay and took out the gummy bear box she had given me. It was almost empty.

I took only one, saving the rest for the evening and for the next day. The box that was suppose to be for 7 days had to be adjusted to another day.

I took a bath then and got ready, and went straight to the auditorium for the last day of practice.

The stage was almost done. Just a few more designs and adjustments, and everything would be perfect. The back drop was carefully placed and the second one was neatly curled on the top, so the stage crew could just switch it easily. The staircase was almost done as well. Ms. Styles wanted some twirls painted on them for it to look Magical, so Danica had to work extra for the day. I offered myself to help her again, and she gladly accepted it. She really looked like she needed help anyway.

"I thought Sidney's coming home today?" She asked as she made a perfect twirl on the far right end of the staircase.

I was on the opposite side, trying to copy her twirl. I think I made a good job at it. "She had an interview. She'll be coming home tomorrow, hours before the play."

She gasped, having to end halfway of the twirl . "Will she have enough time to prepare? Did she have enough practice? What if she doesn't make it?" Worry was all I heard and saw on her, and I actually got touched of how dedicated she was to the play.

Then, her questions sunk in. What if the things she said would happen? I took a deep breath. "I trust her. She'll come on time. Maybe she'll even be early." I assured her, even though I myself wasn't sure.

The worry on her face suddenly changed into a smile. "You really love her, don't you?" She said in awe.

I smiled, and they were as wide as Poseidon's ocean. "Is it that obvious?" I asked.
"Yes."
"Then good."

When evening came, everyone was called for the final rehearsal. We would have to wear our costumes, and we have to act like it was the actual play. The only downfall was that it was already 10:30, and the day before we had agreed to end at 11:30 since the play was at 10 in the morning. Everyone needed enough sleep.

Ms. Styles paced back and forth on the stage while everyone of us sat down on the seats. "We only have one hour for the dress rehearsal, so if you can, try to do it faster." She said. She flicked her hand and with it, everyone ran to get ready.

It took five minutes for us to start. It started with Zoe's younger sister, Zelda, playing as young Cinderella for the intro telling how Cinderella came from being a normal girl to a  helper. Zelda had lots of similarities to her older sister, so it was really perfect for the play. Zelda was actually like Zoe that got shrunk into a ten year old.

Everything else went by so fast. But, it was already 11:30 and we were still on the part where the Duke looked for Cinderella. We had no choice but to stop the rehearsals. Nobody wanted to act at the actual play like a zombie.

Ms. Styles allowed us to go home, and the moment I stepped in my dorm room, Harry was already sleeping like a baby. He didn't even bother changing clothes. He just laid there immediately when he came in.

I did exactly what he did.

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Boring chapter, I know. I'm really sorry. But hey, the next chapter is the play!! 😱😱😱

Just about two or three chapters left ❤️

Did you see my edit on the multimedia section? I'm loving it 💕 I'll probably make one for Ed too on the next chapter.

See you on the next update! 😈

Z.