The blue sky became a soft, orangey orb, with a bright ball of fire slowly sinking in. Stan looked at Elsie with an expression she couldn’t decipher after she asked a question he didn’t see coming. Everything was quiet as they locked their gazes with each other. The wind was warm, embracing her and calming her down.
“What kind of question is that?” Stan asked.
“The kind I’ve been meaning to ask for quite a long time. A question that will help me decide,” she said.
“Decide on what?”
“On how I will view you from now on.”
A few days before the kidnapping incident, Elsie and Lily were talking about the boys on the campus. They were inside the cafeteria, looking at every guy and rating them.
“He’s a ten, but he has wild fans that could kill you anytime,” Elsie said while staring at Dexter.
“Well, he’s still a ten because he looks like a member of BTS and BTS is love,” Lily replied. She looked at Nathan coming in. “He’s a seven, but he’s funny.”
“He’s a nine,” Elsie replied. She looked at Brian. “He’s a ten, but he farts in the classroom without excuses.”
Lily chuckled. “He’s still a ten. He can grow up.”
“Seriously?” Cade entered the canteen. “He’s a nine, but he’s rude.”
“He’s a ten,” Lily replied, resting her chin on her palms while staring at him.
“Gosh, your taste is weird. I can’t stand him.” Elsie rolled her eyes.
“Oh. Here he comes,” Lily said in a pitchy tone. She was looking at Stan.
“What are you so excited about?”
“He’s a ten but he’s not a fictional character,” Lily said.
“He’s a five.”
“Why?” Lily asked in a harsh tone, almost yelling.
“Shh.” Elsie covered her mouth. “Because he is real. And real people destroy our fantasies. They can hurt us. Fictional characters are better. They are perfect and never disappoint.”
“But he’s too ideal for a real person. Besides, you can’t be with fictional characters in the real world. You just imagine them. While Stan? You can date him, and he’ll show you how a fictional character loves a woman.”
“D-date?” Elsie stuttered.
Stan suddenly looked at her and smiled. Elsie tried not to panic and waved her hand. Stan waved back, puffing his dimples out.
“Look at that smile. Isn’t he precious?” Lily said.
“I-I’m not so sure.”
“I’m going to give you some options. Letter A. Ask him out on a date. It’s not a bad thing to make the first move. Letter B. Stay friends. Or Letter C. Make him fall for you.”
Though Elsie’s question puzzled Stan, he replied, “You are the person closest to me. A dear friend.”
“Alright then, it’s letter D.”
“What’s letter D?”
The sky turned into a pale tint of magenta.
“You’re going to find out soon.”
***
It was early morning in Mchalmmond High School. The latecomers gathered at the field. One of them was Elsie, who had huge eye bags which were not visible because of the concealer. The moderator of discipline walked back and forth in front of them.
“You know the drill! Give me ten rounds of running around the oval!” He roared.
Stan arrived, wearing his varsity jacket. He sat on the stairs while observing them. Elsie closed her eyes for a second after seeing him. The redness seeped through her face. Why did he have to see her in that state?
Stan approached the moderator and asked, “Can I join them, sir? I think I need some exercise.”
“Sure. Go ahead,” he responded with a bright face.
Stan stood beside Elsie. “Good morning.”
“There’s nothing good about the morning,” she replied in a bitter tone and followed the others as they began their trail.
“Is something wrong?” he asked, coping with her pace.
“Nothing.”
“There is something behind every ‘nothing.’ You can be honest with me.”
“When I say it’s nothing, it’s nothing,” she replied without even looking at him.
“Did you eat breakfast?”
“Yes.”
“How about some coffee after this?”
“I’m good.” Elsie ran ahead of him. He surrendered, clueless about her behavior.
During lunch, Stan found Elsie with Lily. It instantly marked a smile on his face.
“Hi,” Stan said as he sat beside Elsie.
“Oh, there’s Curt,” Elsie said while looking at Cade coming from the door. “I gotta go and talk to him.”
“You know what? You stay here and I’ll go there,” Lily said. Elsie had a sharp look in her eyes.
“What?” Lily mouthed.
“Stay here. You don’t have a business with Curt.”
“I also don’t have a business with Stan.”
“Well, I have a business with Curt.”
“I thought you hate him.”
“Not anymore.”
Stan gazed at Elsie as she clung to Cade’s arms.
“She’s so weird,” Lily whispered.
***
It startled Cade when Elsie held his arm. He almost dropped the tray in his hands.
“What are you doing?” He asked as he raised his left brow, staring frantically at her hand.
“Just play along,” Elsie replied, displaying a fake, wide smile.
“Are you hitting on me?”
“I will definitely hit you later at five.” It sounded like a death threat.
“Crazy woman,” Cade blurted.
Elsie was glancing at Stan while stabbing the meat with her fork.
“Are you a writer?” Cade asked.
“No.”
“You look like you’re imagining a murder scene.”
“Yeah. And you are the victim.”
“So this is the psycho side of you.”
“Shut up.”
“If not, then… are you heartbroken?”
Elsie paused.
“What do you know?” Her tone was firm and fierce. “You don’t know anything about me.”
Cade raised his hands. “Chill. It’s a question. Don’t act defensive or I’ll assume someone rejected you.”
Elsie pointed a fork at his face. “Another word from you and everyone will see a murder scene. Got that?”
“Geez. Why does everyone hate me? You’re just like Stan.”
Her facial muscles softened. “What about him? What made me like him?”
“He’s been really mean to me these days.”
“Are you that close?”
“Well… Since we rescued you from the kidnapping incident, we became acquaintances. But like I said, he is indifferent to me. So do you.”
“I can’t be like him. That’s ridiculous.” She rolled her eyes.
“If you don’t want to get rejected,” Cade went nearer to her face. He caught her off-guard before she could react violently. Cade pulled the black choker around her neck and whispered, “Stop wearing dark colors. It makes you feel gloomy and unapproachable. No guy would want that.”
For quite some time, she was drawn to his deep green eyes.
“I don’t need your advice,” she replied and twisted his hand.
“Aw! Stop! No guy would want a violent woman!” Cade said while tapping her hand, trying to free his wrist. “No sane woman would want you,” she replied as she inserted more force into breaking his bone.
Everyone was astonished when Elsie came to school in a distinct character—no black color, no strong features, and no death glare. She was reincarnated as an angel that exudes vibrance. She had little light makeup on. The boys kept checking her out. Even Cade had to clean his glasses to clarify what he was seeing.
Cade rested his back on the locker beside hers. “Is it the end of the world?”
Elsie slammed the door of her locker. Just like he thought. She could change the way she dressed, but her powerful personality remained.
To his surprise, Elsie flashed a sweet smile at him for the first time. “I don’t know when the world will end, Curt. But I make every bit of my time on Earth worth it.”
Cade pondered on her response for a while before coming up with a question. “Seriously… What’s wrong with you?”
“Nothing is wrong with me,” Elsie said while gently tapping his cheek. She held her stuff in her chest and went to her classroom. Cade touched his cheek. “What was that for?”
Cade scanned his memories to see if he could decipher why Elsie was acting bizarre.
A bulb lightened his mind when he remembered his advice to Elsie.
‘If you don’t want to get rejected, stop wearing dark colors. It makes you feel gloomy and unapproachable. No guy would want that.’
‘So she likes someone,’ he thought as a little smirk formed on his lips. “Who’s the poor victim?”
Elsie’s transformation made a fuss over the campus. The girls didn’t accept her changes wholeheartedly as much as the boys did . She would see random flowers in her locker matched with a death glare at her back. There were letters and small gifts too. Oh, how the guys could throw their body at her. But no one had the courage to face her. It seemed like they were still cautious about being rumored with the creepy badass girl in school.
Overnight, the girl who was labeled as a ‘witch’ became the campus’ favorite. Elsie was overwhelmed with the fame she gained in her new skin, but she would trade anything to catch the attention of that one guy who never looked at her the same way as they did.