★ Eight ★

Gaius hurried back to the library after handing out books to the newcomers and giving them a quick rundown on the chess pieces. Spotting Ophelia on the balcony from the entrance, he jogged up the stairs and tapped on her table. She looked up and flashed a smile.

"You found what you were after?" he asked, settling into the seat opposite her and eyeing the book in her hands.

"I think so."

He took a look at the cover. "Van Gogh. You're a fan?"

"Oh, yeah! I find him interesting. I don't know much about him, though. I've seen a few of his works."

"Isn't he the artist who," he paused and gestured over his right ear, "chopped off his own ears?"

"Yes. Besides being a great painter." She laughed a little, amused.

He nodded, and they both fell silent. She shut the book, placed it on the desk then looked over the railing and down at the lobby thronged with students, and then to her book. It got a little awkward and she tried to look anywhere else but his eyes.

"Are you planning to read?" he asked, breaking the silence.

She looked up at him and shook her head. "No. I was just waiting... I mean you said you would return. So..."

"Cool! Shall we head to the Club House? Korong's there holding a session for the new members. School will be over in a half-hour. We could go get him, chat on the way."

"Sure. He chose music, right?"

"Yeah." Gaius grinned as he stood up. "He's there just because he loves the trumpet. I bet he's already playing it now. Are you going to borrow that book?"

"Yeah. I'll give it a read."

They descended the stairs, stood in a queue for a while, issued the book at the counter, and as they turned to leave after signing out by the door, they ran into Hringni and her closest friend, Daisy. Hringni exclaimed a little as she had been giggling with her friend quite intensely on the way.

"Holy smokes!" Hringni burst into laughter. Then, with a sudden realization, she exclaimed, "Hey!" upon recognizing Gaius. Her surprise only heightened when she noticed Ophelia with him. "Oh! Ophelia!" she added, clearly astonished to see them together. "What a surprise to find you both here."

Ophelia tactfully noticed the subtle change in Hringni's complexion, and a twinge of guilt swept over her almost immediately. Having heard rumors about something brewing between the two, she had no intention of causing any misunderstanding.

"What are you two doing here?" Asked Hringni.

"We just ran into each other," answered Gaius. "Are you already buried in your books?" He teased her about studying too much.

Hringni laughed, rolling her eyes. "Speak for yourself, please. But we might be hosting an introductory quiz soon for the new entrants next week. So, we're here to pick up some quiz books. Be sure to stop by both of you."

"Sure."

"Which club are you in, Ophelia?" Asked Hringni again.

"Social Service."

"Ah!" Hringni nodded deliberately, followed by a little smirk that she tried to hide, but failed. "Well, good luck with that. Bye!"

"Bye."

Ophelia noticed Gaius glancing after the girl as she pranced inside, seemingly in a good mood. As they walked down the steps, Ophelia followed closely behind him.

"Are they both in the Quiz club?"

"Yeah. They've been there since they were little. They're good with it."

"I have no doubt. They seem very smart."

"Yeah. They are." Gaius agreed and looked at Ophelia, pausing and then continued with renewed vigor, "You know I think Social Service is a great club. I truly appreciate people who choose to be there... You know, doing something for society. Most people here think it silly to be in Social Service because it's social service. They think it's. . . nothing special. . . which is not the case at all, of course. In fact, I'm really glad there are still people like you. . ."

He paused again when he noticed Ophelia staring at him confused, and wearing a small smile. Then she saw him starting to catch a shade of pink on his boyish face, thinking he had failed miserably at trying to lift her spirit, especially after how Hringni and Daisy had reacted to her club.

"We're mostly only just helping out. . ." Ophelia smiled at him, walking along the cobbled pathway.

"Most people are too busy doing their own things nowadays. It takes real guts to take time out of one's schedule and help other people out."

"I guess."

"Don't mind anybody. Just do your thing. You know, my mom also works for orphans. And I hear stories of children getting family, dreams being realize... Nothing better than that. You guys are better than people like me."

"What do you mean?"

He grinned at her. "I'm not in social service. I like to do other things."

"Naww," the girl laughed. "That doesn't mean you've made a bad choice. What do you like to do anyway? Later in life..."

Gaius looked ahead, thinking moment and then he blushed fully red. "We'll talk about that some other time," he laughed.

Ophelia couldn't help laughing with him. He suddenly seemed so silly and adorable.

"So, what did seven-year-old me give you?" he asked as they strolled across the lawn past other students toward another building. "That was such a long time ago. I'm surprised you even remember me."

"I could never forget you even if I tried. That was the first well-packed present I got from anyone. In our homes, sponsors would bring us gifts in huge bags, and hand out dolls and toys. We loved them of course, but they were never packed in ribbons or anything. But yours. . ." she beamed at him as she recalled the glittering golden papers, a huge red ribbon on top.

Gaius watched with all his attention as the girl explained to him with pronounced animation all the items he'd gifted her then, and he couldn't help starting as he struggled to absorb the fact that anyone could be that taken by a gift-wrap. They had never mattered a dime to him. Every birthday and every Christmas, all he ever did with the gift-wraps was tear through them and throw them in the dustbin. His father was right. He and his sisters lived lives of abundance, and they should learn to be more grateful.

Never before had he considered that a simple gift-wrap could hold such profound meaning for someone. In hindsight, he wished he'd given her everything he had.

"Did you really like the Optimus Prime?" He asked, apprehensive that it could have impressed her. "I mean, it's not much of a. . . girl-toy. A barbie or something would've been better for you. You'd like them better."

"It was perfect. You know, in my home, everyone of us watch the TV together. We all watch the same movies, play the same games, so there wasn't much difference whether I got a soldier or a barbie. Even boys loved barbies and girls love power rangers. I was always the yellow ranger from Jungle fury when we played," she laughed. "Optimus Prime became everyone's favorite. Kids used to fight for turns to play with it. You were right. You said in your letter it would work for a very long time and it did. I tried to save it, but both arms were broken when two boys fought over it, and later on, I gave it to another small boy. But I still have the spaceship though. And your picture, and your letter."

"Burn them," he joked. "Especially, my picture."

"Not in a hundred years."

He chuckled and said, "I'm glad that you got the gifts. Thank you for cherishing it."

"It's me who should be thankful. "Remember the keychain you found in the hallway?""

"The spaceship?"

"Yeah. That was spaceship you gave me. I made the keychain out of it."

"That spaceship?!" Gaius looked at her stunned, his eyes wide and bright. "How long have you had it?"

"Ten years now," she giggled, relishing the way she kept surprising him. He seemed to have lost all the words he'd ever learned as he stopped in his tracks, looked ahead at the building, said, "Wow," and resumed walking. "I never imagined this."

"I wanted to thank you for a long time. Once I got my own phone, I looked for you on Facebook. I think I did find your page, but couldn't reach you. Maybe you don't use it."

"Yeah. I use it only for gaming."

"I thought so. I'm glad I could finally thank you now. Thank you."

"I should've given you more."

"They were more than I could ask for."

"You know, my mom would love to meet you. She's always the most excited one regarding this warm hands stuff. She really loves buying things and gifting people. Her favorite part is the packing process," he said with a light laugh as they finally came to the clubhouse.

"That's very sweet of her."

"Yeah. She has her kiddish side that my dad always teases her with. You should meet her. I'll take you to my place one day."

They walked through the door, entering another lobby. They proceeded down a hallway to the left, passing by several other clubs like Photography, pottery, and when they finally knocked on the door of the music club and peeped inside, they found the room empty.

"Guess they left already," said Gaius.

"It's a great room!" Ophelia marveled, assessing the wide space adorned with instruments she had only seen in movies.

"Do you wanna take a look inside?"

"Sure."

As he opened the door for her, an ear-shattering noise, close to their ears, startled them from behind, making Ophelia jump with a loud scream. She gaped at Korong, who had doubled over laughing, clutching his trumpet in his hands.

"Fuck you," exhaled Gaius.

🍁🍁🍁

Belated Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!! 😁 I hope I'm not too late.

Thank you so much for reading! Hope you're all doing well.

Lots of love,
Hermyne

I've also been thinking about reading some of your works too. Maybe I won't be able to read an entire book, but I'm happy to read a few chapters and provide feedbacks if you'd like that as well. Lemme know in the comments here if there's anything work of yours that you'd want me to read. Also please specify if you want feedback.