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As a middle schooler, Eduardo hated Mondays. They marked the beginning of an entire school week where he would do nothing but sit in class and try not to fall asleep while listening to the teacher talk about things he would never use in life. The freedom of riding his bike was one of the few reasons he liked going.
He would always beg his parents to homeschool him, saying online school would benefit him more, but they were not willing to spend so much money on classes they thought he would fail. His parents never thought he would achieve anything good for himself, always claiming he would never be as talented as Alesha, his gifted older sister.
Their rejection and disappointment was probably why he fell so deeply in love with Marcy Wu.
They had Algebra together with seats right next to each other. It was as if we were meant to be, he would secretly think to himself.
She was the smartest girl in the entire school. Heck, he’d even bet she was the smartest girl in the entire world! She always knew the answer, always had her hand up, and always helped others when they didn’t understand the lesson.
So not only was she very smart, she was also incredibly kind! He admired her so much it was no surprise when his admiration turned into a crush.
He couldn’t help it! Her short black hair was as dark as midnight. Her big brown eyes that always shined when something captured her attention. Yes, Marcy Wu, Sweet, kind, loveable Marcy. The girl who captivated him heart-
He was snapped back into reality when he crashed. His bicycle collided into the trash cans near the school, covering him in dirt and rotten food. Just great, he thought.
He peeled off a banana from his head and looked around to see if Marcy had witnessed his embarrassment. He spotted her sitting with her two friends Anne and Sasha in the benches. She was distracted by her video games while Anne was chatting with Sasha.
He grinned. Just the sight of Marcy made him forget he was still covered in moldy food and smelled absolutely repulsive.
He got up, tried his best to look presentable, and strutted towards her before he was noticed by two girls gagging from his smell.
His confidence quickly left his body and he rummaged through his backpack in hopes of either having deodorant, cologne, or even a spare set of clothes. During his meltdown, he snuck another look towards Marcy but in doing so caught someone else watching her.
Aarav, a student who just recently moved to LA, was leaning his face on one hand while staring at Marcy, and Eduardo could’ve even sworn he saw hearts in his eyes.
Eduardo didn’t like Aarav. He looked cocky and arrogant, his pale brown eyes always aware of everything. He walked in confidence as girls fawned over his dark black hair and tan skin. He couldn’t understand why though. In his (not) honest opinion, Aarav was just above average.
As he watched Aarav staring at the love of his life, he got angry. Aarav could have any girl in the world and he chooses the one person that makes him happy?? No way is he going down without a fight!
Completely ignoring his now discarded backpack, he marches towards Aarav, who was sitting alone on a bench, and stands in front of him with his chest puffed out trying to look frightening.
Aarav realized that his view had been obstructed, so he raised his head a bit and glared at the person in front of him, not looking bothered by the failed attempt of intimidation.
Eduardo picks up on the lack of fear in the air but decides it’s too late to back down and attacks.
“What do you think you’re doing?” He demands.
Aarav looked confused. “Um, nothing?” He said. Genuine confusion slipping through his words.
Eduardo glared even harder at Aarav. He didn’t trust a single word that fell out of his lips.
He crosses his arms and sneers at him saying, “You were looking at Marcy, weren’t you?”
Aarav blushes. His eyes turn to the side as his face continues to heat up. “Was I really doing that?” He asked, clearly embarrassed about being caught.
The other boy rolls his eyes. “Yeah, you were. You also looked pathetic doing it. You should stop it” he smirks, thinking he’d finally gotten him to back off.
Aarav looked defeated before a realization popped into his head. “Hey wait!” He called out as Eduardo walked away. He turned and waited for Aarav to speak. “Why do you even care?” Aarav questions.
Now it was Eduardo’s turn to blush. “It’s none of your business” he hissed.
“It kinda is if you want me to stop looking at her” Aarav noted. He wasn’t going to back away from some girl he found interesting just because a random dude told him.
Eduardo rushed to his side again and explained “ok listen here. I like her and I know she likes me so please, to save you the heartbreak, back off”
Aarav looked at him funny. This guy was trying to get rid of competition this way? His delusional thinking was probably scaring Marcy more than attracting her.
His expression turned blank before he let out a snort. Eduardo looked at him with his jaw clenched.
“You really think Marcy’s into you?” He chuckled. “She probably doesn’t even know your name”. Eduardo did not find it funny.
“I’m just trying to protect you! Why do you even like her? There are so many girls just dying to get with you” He exclaimed, pointing to a group of girls behind him who were looking at Aarav dreamily. One of them even passed out at the sight of him and another was clenching her drink so hard, the top popped off and was now spilling on the floor.
He gave them a cold stare before turning back to Eduardo. “They may be cute but Marcy’s also generous” he gushed, “She even let me play Vagabondia chronicles on her switch. If anyone has a chance with her, it’s me”
He continued bragging about the interactions he had with Marcy, declaring it was only a matter of time before they got together. Not being able to stand his talk anymore, Eduardo lunged at him. He punched Aarav in the face, taking him by surprise, before a crowd appeared chanting “Fight! Fight! Fight!”
Aarav regained his sense after the first punch and raised his fist trying to fight back. The two were tumbling in the ground before a teacher broke them apart. They were both sent to the principal's office and got suspended.
Worth it, Eduardo thought. He hissed as his mother applied healing cream on his black eye.
Meanwhile during the fight…
“Hey, what do you think is happening over there?” Anne asked.
Sasha was filing her nails. “I don’t know. This school is full of weirdos”, She thought out loud.
Marcy was playing on her switch, completely unaware of the situation unfolding.
Number 1:
Marcy was sitting in the library with Anne, reading a book. She looked concentrated while Anne was smiling. Anne was twirling her hair and looked a bit red for some reason. It must be the heat, Eduardo concluded.
He was watching them through a hole in the bookshelf, waiting for the right opportunity to go up to her and ask Marcy on a date.
After a few minutes, he saw Anne get up and excuse herself to go to the bathroom. “Now’s my chance!” He whispered.
Getting out of his hiding place, he walked up to Marcy. Putting one hand on the table and leaning into it, he asked “Hey Marcy, how are you today?”
Pulling her attention from the book, she looked up and offered a small smile. “Hey”, she said. “I’m fine”.
After that small response, she went back to her book but it was clear she wasn’t reading it anymore. It felt more like she was trying to avoid a conversation. Eduardo didn’t know what else to say, his mind suddenly being cleared from any thought or rationality he had left.
The awkward silence was so loud he was glad when they were saved by someone clearing their throat to gather his and Marcy’s attention.
Turning around, he was expecting to see Anne Boonchuy, but was instead greeted by an unpleasant Aarav.
Jealousy was not a good look on him.
He gave Marcy a grin when she noticed him before giving Eduardo a glare.
“Hello Marcy, you look very pretty today” he said, maintaining eye contact with Eduardo.
Eduardo glared back with even more force. God, he looks pathetic, Aarav thought.
He came closer and sat on top of the table Marcy was in, just right next to her. He looked down at the book she was reading and commented “That’s an interesting topic you’re learning about, wanna tell me about it?”
Marcy looked at him, as if examining if he was joking. Recalling their previous conversations, she started a rant about the most recent game that caught her eye and how they’ve finally come out with a book about it.
She seemed really passionate about it.
Not wanting the moment to end, Aarav was inputting the little information he knew about the game. This seemed to encourage Marcy to be more open with him.
While speaking, He glanced over at Eduardo who was fuming. Steam could be seen coming out of his head.
He let out a secret smirk before doing something petty.
“Marcy, it has been nice talking to you” he started, “How would you like to hang out with me after school?”
Before Marcy could respond, Eduardo interrupted. “No Marcy! Hang out with me instead!” He blurted out in desperation.
Aarav gave him a cold gaze, tightening his fist.
“We could play video games together if you’d lik-“
“I think that’s a great idea! How about we go to my house instead. I just got a new game console”
“What, from the thrift store?” Aarav sneered.
“Jokes on you, I actually got it from Walmart” Eduardo preened.
“That’s even worse Dumbass” He ridiculed.
Letting out a gasp while holding his chest, Eduardo proclaimed “How dare you! I bet you don’t even have any good games!”
“I probably have more than you'll ever own in your life!” He screamed.
During their argument, they completely forgot about Marcy, who was once again engrossed with her book
Anne came back and noticed the situation at hand. Secretly, she took Marcy’s hand and pulled her outside. Although Marcy was still reading, at the feeling of Anne’s warm hand, her cheeks turned pink. She closed her book and gave Anne an appreciative glance, letting her drag Marcy somewhere else
The screaming match was still going on between Eduardo and Aarav minutes after they left. The students surrounding them, who had witnessed the whole thing, were no longer finding it amusing.
One even tattled to the librarian, who kicked them out and sent them to the principal's office yet again, for disturbance of peace.
The principal was not glad to see them again so soon after the suspension so gave them each a week in detention and a trip to the guidance office.
“And this will go on your record!” He mentioned. “I hope you make better decisions from now on”.
They didn’t.
Number 2:
Aarav was having a good day today.
It was a sunny Saturday morning, with birds chirping and people enjoying slow walks at the park.
Aarav was currently one of those people, looking around the park and seeing children running around having fun. Their parents watched them, making sure they didn’t go out far.
He chuckled warmly at the sight of a worried mother comforting their child after she fell down from her bike. My mom is like that, he sympathized.
He saw the parent and child get up and buying something from the food truck at the corner of the park. His stomach grumbled as he saw them buy some barbecue wings. He decided to buy one too so he walked up to it and purchased his food.
He continued walking, trying to find a place to sit and eat when came to a stop. There were two figures under the shade of a tree, one of which was instantly recognizable since she was none other than his crush Marcy Wu.
Marcy was sitting down with Anne’s hands wrapped around her. She was playing on her switch while Anne looked at the screen over her shoulder.
She frowned when she lost her game while Anne laughed. Marcy looked behind her, giving her a meaningless glare, before daring Anne to try the level she was in.
Anne took the game after some consideration and pressed the retry button. Marcy was now looking at her screen and giving her tips on what to do.
Aarav sat on a nearby bench, trying to figure out what game she was playing. “I bet I could beat it for her”, he grumbled, biting off a piece of his food while observing the two girls.
He stopped chewing for a moment when he heard a cheer in front of him. Anne had beat the level and Marcy was cheering with her. “Try the next level!” Marcy said excitedly. Anne nodded, new found hope resting on her chest.
They went back to their game. All the while, Aarav couldn’t stop staring at Marcy. She had never been that happy talking to him.
It made him a little bit sad. He had looks and popularity everywhere he went, but never someone who looked genuinely happy with him.
His sadness turned into motivation. He wasn’t going to let this time be like all the others. He and Marcy were going to be happy.
He was going to be the one who made Marcy smile like that. He wasn’t going to let anyone else take that place, not unless they prove themselves better than him.
In his deep thoughts, he didn’t notice a small dog barking and running towards him.
When he did, it was too late. The dog was now jumping on him, trying to get his chicken.
Aarav screamed. He was terrified of dogs and did not appreciate this one climbing up his leg. He pushed the dog off him and started running.
The dog, thinking that he wanted to play, chased right after him. Aarav was throwing wings at the dog, trying to get him to stop. All while screaming his face off.
Eduardo was laughing. He came to the park not long after Aarav did to walk his dog. The tiny chihuahua was energetic and always hungry so when he noticed Aarav staring at Marcy while holding food, he unleashed his dog.
Bella, the dog, immediately ran towards him.
Marcy and Anne had also seen the whole thing. They stared at each other before laughing quietly and going back to their game.
Number 3:
Algebra is easy for him. He can understand numbers and memorize the dozens of formulas that will supposedly help him in the real world.
What he can’t deal with is ELA.
It was confusing, draining, and complicated for no reason. Eduardo hated that class so much.
After spring break, his teacher gave the class each a list of riddles, and was making them work together to solve it by the end of the day. Whoever solved it first would get a prize.
They were simple riddles, ones you can find the answer online but he didn’t want to cheat. He had hoped he could finish the assignment in time since he shared this class with one of his friends but his teacher then announced that she had chosen partners for everyone.
It seemed like whoever was in the sky was currently favoring someone else because his partner was none other than Aarav.
“Okay, you may begin now!” Said the teacher, clapping her hands to signal that time was ticking.
Students got up and went to find their partners. Those who were determined to win immediately started brainstorming ideas as to what the first answer was.
Eduardo dreadfully walked up to Aarav. He sat next to him and put his head down. Aarav was crossing his arms and looking at the sheet of paper with the instructions on them, seeming bored.
None of them spoke. Aarav started writing down his thoughts in his notebook, not sharing his plan to Eduardo.
Mrs. Kerr, the teacher, watched two of her students not enjoying the assignment she made.
Disappointment filled her body as she realized who they were. By this point, Aarav and Eduardo were well known troublemakers. She had hoped this assignment would get them to be civil but it seems like she ran out of luck.
She got up from her desk and walked up to them.
“Kids, why are you not working together?” She asked sincerely.
Eduardo looked up. “I’m sorry Miss, I just don’t understand the assignment and genuinely don’t want to work with him”.
Aarav turned his whole body around to look at him and scoffed “Well I don’t want to work with you either”.
Sensing the tension between them, Mrs. Kerr acted quickly.
Putting her hand together and giving a tight smile, she said “What if I got one of my best students to help you? She’s in another class but if you work together during lunch, I’m sure you’ll solve it!” She gave a cough while mumbling “maybe I’ll finally catch a break”.
Not hearing the last part, both Eduardo and Aarav disagreed.
“It wouldn’t be fair to anyone else” Aarav stated.
“I don’t want him to win,” Eduardo whined.
Mrs. Kerr was about to give up when she said “I guess Marcy will just have to solve it alone”.
She was startled when the two boys jumped from their seats and blurted “We'll work with Marcy!”. She giggled when she realized why they wanted to work with her. “Young love” she murmured.
Satisfied with their response, she went back to her desk and sent Marcy an email.
During lunch time, Marcy was found sitting with Aarav and Eduardo.
“So what comes up but never comes down? Obviously age! I am easy to lift with hard to throw? What am I? It is clearly a feather. The mass of that object makes it hard for gravity to push forwards without support!”
Marcy was hogging the paper, writing down answer after answer.
Eduardo was admiring her and Aarav was eating lunch. Some of his food got on Eduardo’s shirt. Instead of apologizing, Aarav smirked at him and continued chewing.
He glared at Aarav before turning back to Marcy.
A few minutes before lunch ended, Aarav decided to pull the trick he did at the library.
“Marcy, this has been fun! How would you like to go on a date with me today? We can find more riddles online”
Eduardo looked back and forth between him and Marcy. Marcy, who had just finished the assignment, had no clue as to what he had asked.
“I’m sorry, could you repeat that?” She asked.
Before Aarav could even say another word, Eduardo pleaded “Marcy! I have a whole book of riddles at my house!”.
Confused, Marcy statues quiet. What are they on? She thought to herself.
“We can go to the library after school for more riddle books” Aarav offered. “I’m sure they have more variety”.
“Oh is this about hanging out? Sorry guys, I have plans with Anne!” She mentioned.
Just then, a looming figure appeared behind her. Anne put her hand on Marcy’s shoulder, making her turn around to see who it was. She smiled at Anne and Anne smiled back.
“Sorry dudes, lunch time is over and I gotta take Marcy to class. You know, make sure she doesn’t get hurt on her way there”, Anne said, holding a hostile tone and glare when looking at them.
They shuddered. She was a really scary person when she wanted to be.
They stayed in the lunch room until the bell rang. Then they started arguing.
“She clearly didn’t say anything because she didn’t want to make you feel bad” Aarav started.
Eduardo slammed his hands at the table.
“She knew I was the better option!” He claimed. “She just didn’t want to accept my feelings in front of you!”
“Oh yeah, and why is that?”
“To save your sorry ass from moping around by the rejection she was about to give!”
“Yeah, to you!”
Eduardo groaned before storming out of the cafeteria.
Number 4:
A year has passed since the rivalry between Aarav and Eduardo has started.
Each of them have been sabotaging each other's plans but this time, Aarav was not going to ruin his chances.
On a sunny morning, he spotted Marcy alone in front of the school. Finally, he thought. She was always with Anne Boonchuy, which had delayed his plans a bit.
Strutting towards her spot, Aarav repeated the lines memorized in his head.
“Good morning Marcy! What a coincidence to see you here” he lied. He had been waiting in front of the school since 5am.
“Hi, what are you doing here so early?” She asked, clearly confused.
“Oh, just like to be on time to everything” he puts his arm behind his head, trying to go for the humble honest look.
Marcy nodded in response. “That’s great”.
Not wanting her attention to wander, he asked her, “I’m sorry if this is sudden but I really want to ask you if you’d like to hang out today?” He asked hopefully.
Marcy looked over at him and shook her head.
“Sorry, I already have plans.”
Aarav’s hope was crushed. He didn’t want to even consider it but he had to ask.
“Are your plans with Eduardo?” Did he get to you first?, he thought to himself.
“Nope, I'm hanging with Anne today. We’re going to the new Avengers movie!”
She’s going with Anne and Sasha, He let out a sign of relief.
“Well, maybe next time” he says. It was now 7:40, and more students were coming in.
He took this opportunity to say goodbye to Marcy and rush out of there, praying Eduardo was not being creepy again and spying on him.
No such luck since after school, when he booked a ticket for the same movie Marcy was in, he saw him in the crowd.
Eduardo was sitting a few rows behind him. He looked down at Aarav, giving him a nasty stare, before turning his attention to the screen.
Mocking his expression, Aarav tried looking around for Marcy. He was trying to find the bright blond hair of Sasha since he thought that would be easier to spot.
After a few minutes, he found Marcy and Anne, but no sight of Sasha. They must be hanging out without her, Aarav thought.
The movie began and the crowd quieted down. With shushed anticipated voices, he heard theories as to what was going to happen.
The person next to him said “I have a spoiler! Apparently Tony Stark dies in the end!”. His friends let out a gasp and some were even hitting him on the shoulder, scolding him for letting them know.
30 minutes into the film, he felt something hit the back of his head. He picked it off his hair and saw that it was a skittle. Aarav recalled Eduardo having some before the lights went out.
He frowned but didn’t want to make a fuss about it. “Today I’ll be the mature person” he said to himself, tightening his lips as he felt more and more candy hit him.
The final straw was when a bucket of popcorn fell on top of him, covering his view.
He heard laughter, which made him even angrier.
Taking off the bucket from his head, he grabbed the remaining bits of popcorn inside and threw them towards Eduardo. He dodged the first few but was attacked in the face by more.
“Stop throwing food dude!” complained a random person.
“I’ll stop, when he does!” Aarav replied. He then heard Eduardo shout “Your aim is terrible!”
“You’re terrible!” He screamed back.
More and more people were becoming agitated since the movie was much more interesting than whatever these two boys had going on.
In the midst of their argument, Aarav found out Eduardo was interested in the movie and decided to tell him the spoiler he heard.
The room let out a big groan. Anne gasped angrily, covering Marcy’s ear to save her the disappointment of knowing what happens next. Eduardo shrieked and let out a cry of sorrow. Everyone inside the room started screaming.
“This sucks man!”
“Way to spoil the ending dude!”
“Can someone get them out of here?!”
“Booo, leave right now!”
“Security! Where are you?!”
They got kicked out.
Number 5:
“News Reporter Jane Bythe here! The three girls who have been missing since June 11 have not yet been found. The parents of these young girls are distraught. If you have any information about Anne Boonchuy, Marcy Wu, and Sasha Waybright, please contact your local authorities or call this number…”
It has been 3 months since she’s been missing.
3 months since the rivalry has stopped.
Eduardo was the first to find out. He then immediately informed Aarav, since Marcy’s safety was more important than any jealous feud they both had.
Everyday, the two would go into neighboring cities, trying to find any signs of Marcy. They were the ones taping missing person posters in buildings and parks, not just of Marcy too. They both knew how much her friends meant to her so they were doing their best to find all three of them.
3 months of no results.
3 months of lost hope.
Sitting down at the park, after hours of searching, Eduardo dropped to his knees.
“What if we never find her?” He whispers. “What if she’s gone forever” tears were spilling from his eyes.
Aarav put a hand on his back. “Don’t think that way. She’s alive, she just has to be”.
“We can’t give up now” he says
Eduardo looks at him. He saw Aarav clinging to faith, praying to whatever god was out there to bring Marcy back.
To think this was once the dude he hated with all his might.
He felt guilty. In the past 3 months, he got to see a different side of Aarav. He saw him as a real person, not the arrogant child he used to be.
Grabbing his hand, Eduardo squeezed it.
“You’re right, we need to help her”
Holding Eduardo’s eyes, Aarav’s small determination rose once again. He smiled.
“That’s the spirit! Now come on, we still have a few more houses to ask”.
A few months later, everything would be resolved. Marcy has been trapped in a whole other dimension with her friends. She had then been possessed by the monarchy there and forced to commit evil acts before she had been saved.
Both Eduardo and Aarav were happy but one thing was still bugging them.
That one thing was Anne Boonchuy.
Ever since she came back, the story had been revealed. Apparently Anne found a music box that got them stuck in Amphibia, so the boys thought she was to blame.
If she didn’t get that music box, Marcy would’ve been fine. She wouldn’t be in the hospital, getting treatment.
Standing in front of her house, Eduardo and Aarav were determined to get answers.
+1:
The first set of knocks were heard by her mom. The second set, now more loudly, were heard by her.
“Anne, go answer the door, I’m busy!” Ms. Boonchuy shouted from the kitchen.
“I’m on my way mom!” Said Anne, her feet already going to the direction of the door.
When she opened it she saw two random kids in front of her.
Of course she recognized them. They were the two annoying boys she had to deal with before going to Amphibia.
Curiosity killed the cat, so she ended up asking them what they were doing here, resisting the urge to shut the door in their faces.
“We need to speak with you” said Aarav
“Wait what-“ Anne asked. “What for?”
“What the heck did you do to Marcy!” Eduardo snapped.
Sensing this was going to be a bit awkward, she pushed them outside and closed the door behind her, not wanting her mom to deal with this. Standing outside, she crossed her arms. “Listen man, I don’t know what you’re talking about. I didn’t do anything to Marcy”.
Aarav puffed out his chest. “If you didn’t do anything, why is she in the hospital right now?” He hissed. “You harmed our girl!”.
Realizing what he said, he slapped his hands onto his mouth. His cheeks turned bright red. Anne looked at him with both jaw and eyes widened.
“What?!” She screeched.
Eduardo responded “Well, we don’t know for sure who she’s gonna choose but we still don’t appreciate you putting her in danger!”.
Glaring at Anne, he noticed her bewildered expression and nudged Aarav’s hip with his elbow to get his attention.
Anne put her hand in her head.
“I literally have no idea what you guys are talking about right now” she started. “And besides, I didn’t get us trapped there by choice. We were all oblivious as to what that Music box did”.
Except for Marcy, was left unsaid, but she kept it to herself, not wanting to ruin the image of her friend in front of these boys who clearly admired her.
After Anne said that, both Aarav and Eduardo were overwhelmed with guilt as they registered what they just did. They walked up to a victim's house and accused her of hurting someone she dearly loves.
Apologizing, Aarav said “I’m sorry Anne. I didn’t know”. Eduardo then said “We let our ignorance hurt you…We’re sorry, we just wanted to protect Marcy”.
Anne laughed softly. “It’s ok dudes. I know first hand what it takes to protect her.” She thinks back at all the moments she had to save Marcy from falling down a cliff or walking into a room full of dangerous animals.
“Could you tell Marcy we were here?” Asked Eduardo. “I tried going to the hospital she was in but they didn’t let me through.
Anne nodded, finding it weird that Eduardo would try to see Marcy. “Sure, I’ll let her know next time I’m there”. Walking up to her door she heard Aarav also add “And could you ask her which one of us she likes? I really want to know!”
Anne froze. They don’t know, she realized. Turning around, she decided to finally tell them.
“Who she likes?” Putting a finger on her lips she finally broke the news to them.
“I’m sorry guys. Marcy is not into any of you” Anne said, not sounding sorry at all.
Heartbreak filled the air.
It felt as if the universe was laughing at them.
Aarav saw his whole future fall between his eyes. Eduardo’s vision shattered.
“Is there another boy?” Eduardo desperately asked.
“Who is he? Does he even go to our school??” Aarav wanted answers.
Anne pursed her lips and looked away before answering.
“Um…there is no boy”, she said. “There never was. Marcy’s a lesbian”.
Eduardo and Aarav looked at Anne, then each other, then Anne again.
Looking back at all the interactions they had with her…
“It's so obvious,” one of them whispered.
“How did we not see it?” said the other.
Anne nodded in approval. “Yep. She never liked boys, and never will!”.
After some thinking, Eduardo concludes. “Wait so… those times you and Marcy would hang out without Sasha…we’re those dates?!!”
She chuckled with no humor, “Yes, and you ruined every single one of them”.
The weight of the guilt was now crushing them.
With a grim face, Aarav looked down.
“Damn so we” he stuttered while avoiding eye contact, “we really ruined your time together”.
Anne put her hands in her pockets. “Yeah, you really did”.
Eduardo dropped to his knees and started begging.
“I’m so sorry Anne!” He whimpered. “I didn’t know!”
He continued bawling and praying for forgiveness, making people stop and whisper.
“Get up Dumbass, you’re making people stare!” groaned Aarav.
Anne, who was starting to get embarrassed, accepted his over exaggerated apology.
Walking away, Anne called out to them. “I’m sure you’ll find true love” she said, full of optimism. “You just need to wait”.
Waving goodbye, Anne went inside her house and shut the door.
Going up to her room she exclaimed “I can’t wait to tell Sasha and Marcy this!”.
“What was that Anne?”
“Nothing mom!”
A few days later, Eduardo would be seen hanging out with Aarav at the arcade.
“It’s funny to see how we became friends,” said Aarav. “We used to hate each other”.
Eduardo laughed. “And all it took was us falling for the same girl”.
Aarav nodded.
A congratulations screen came up as Eduardo beat Aarav in a game.
He turned to him and put his hand up to motion a high five. The start of a new friendship was always nice.