by Fumise Love
I hoped that Samantha would come and find me.
I could feel my eyes closing because I was so tired. I over-reacted when I ran away from Jeffrey.
I was really an idiot.
◆◆◆
Johanne
Text Message
I know that you’re with Gab. Just tell her that I’m sorry because I have a date with Paul today. I also want to apologize to you because you are not going to be able to practice. We’ll return later at night. Just take Gab out on a date if you want. -Sam
What was up with Samantha and her lengthy text message? She obviously got my number from Paul. What was she saying that Gabrielle was with me? I had not seen Gabrielle for the whole day.
Samantha and Paul sure did have the guts to go out on a date even though it was raining heavily outside. What did they intend to do? Get soaking wet from the rain and run around like a couple of fools?
I went to Gabrielle’s room to tell her that our practice would be cancelled for today. No one answered when I knocked on the door but she left her room open.
Where did that witch go?
Should I look for her? Nah. She could handle herself. She was not a kid anymore that I needed to take care of twenty-four hours per day.
Her phone on top of her bed rang and because I was curious, I looked at who the caller was. When the ringtone came to an end, I noticed that she had not answered plenty of calls and texts from Jeffrey.
Text Message
Gab, I’m sorry about what I’ve said to you earlier. I was also surprised when I said it. You ran away from the training camp. I tried searching for you but I couldn’t find you. I’m aware that you know what you’re doing...but please, forgive me.
My mind got stuck in the middle part of the message.
You ran away from the training camp. I tried searching for you but I couldn’t find you.
I refused to think twice about what I was going to do. If this was Gabrielle’s first time to come here, I knew that she still was not familiar with the streets of Los Angeles.
I did not have the time to look for Matthew for him to help me search for Gabrielle. I also did not want to talk to Jeffrey to locate where the witch was.
I hurriedly grabbed an umbrella and went outside of the Nashville University Training Camp. I walked far but I still had not found her yet. What was Gabrielle doing? Jogging while it was raining?
What happened between Gabrielle and Jeffrey? Did they fight? I knew that Gabrielle would not run away without a reason.
I noticed that there were people surrounding one area and I immediately went to their direction. They were surrounding a girl who was lying on the bench.
“My gosh! Is she dead?”
“Is she still breathing?”
“Is she from around here?”
The skin of the girl was turning pale but I still noticed her necklace with a guitar pick. I could not be wrong that it was Gabrielle.
“Move! I know her!” I yelled at the people who were blocking me.
Why was no one calling for an ambulance? They were full of talking yet they were not doing a single thing about Gabrielle. What kind of thinking did these people have? They were pathetic and useless because they did not know how to care for a stranger.
I anxiously tried to carry Gabrielle and realized that her lips were turning pale too. I was surprised when she still had the energy to open her eyes, “J-Johanne?”
“Don’t talk,” I told her. “I’m going to bring you to the hospital,”
“Why?”
“Be—” before I could even stand while carrying Gabrielle, she pushed me away. “Hey! What are you doing, you witch?!”
“I was sleeping, you gorilla! What hospital are you talking about?” the people who were surrounding us walked away one-by-one because it appeared that Gabrielle was fine. The rain also stopped when Gabrielle woke up.
“Who’s the person in the right state of mind would sleep outside while it’s raining?!”
I could not accept the fact that she was just sleeping for Pete’s sake!
But her paleness never went away. Maybe she was feeling so cold and her whole body went numb.
“I was lost…” she chuckled without humor. “What are you doing here?”
“W-What?” I stuttered. I could not tell her that I was looking for her. I did not want to look stupid just because I was frantically searching for her. “I was just taking a walk,”
“While it’s raining?”
“Don’t pry on my business, witch.”
◆◆◆
Gabrielle
“I don’t want to go back to the training camp yet. Let’s go to the mall?” Johanne offered. Johanne was here that was why I was sure that I could go to the places that I wanted without getting lost.
“Sure,” I did not refuse even though I was surprised that he offered to go to the mall. Like him, I also did not want to go back to the training camp as of the moment because I did not want to see Jeffrey.
Johanne and I rode a cab all the way to the mall and he was the one who paid. I came to the realization that I ran so far away and I was thankful that Johanne came to get me. Johanne did not ask about what happened and I was not in the mood to tell him about it.
When we arrived at the mall, there was an event in the middle area like some kind of carnival. We were just about to go there to check it out when someone blocked our way.
“You sure have the guts to flirt with Johanne, huh?” I could not forget her pixie-cut hair that matched her pretty face. Me? Flirting with Johanne? Damn. That was clearly impossible.
“Steph…” it was apparent that Johanne knew of her too. “What are you doing here?”
“I was going to shop but then I saw a girl who’s flirting with my ex-boyfriend,” she answered using her bitchy tone of vo—wait. Ex-boyfriend? She was with Johanne? This Stephanie girl was Johanne’s ex-girlfriend?
Because I was surprised, it felt like my chest was in pain and I was clueless of what the reason was.
“Up until now, you’re going round and about that we were together?” Johanne asked.
“Yes,” Stephanie responded quickly. “Start remembering the days when you were brokenhearted because of Mary and I was the one who willingly offered her shoulder for you to cry on. And you need to admit, you were happy with me,”
Mary? Who was she?
“When she left, I looked for girl who would fill in her shoes but unfortunately, I found no one,” Johanne explained. “Even you, Steph. You were still not enough to replace her,”
When I looked at Johanne and saw that there was sadness in his eyes while she was talking to Stephanie, I realized that he loved Mary so much. He was in pain...and believe it or not, I felt hurt seeing him like this.
“Let’s go,” I grabbed Johanne’s arm but Stephanie stopped me.
“Who gave you the permission to do that? Can’t you see that Johanne and I are talking?” Stephanie remarked.
Johanne was looking at me but the sadness in his eyes never faltered. Who the hell was Mary and what was her deal in Johanne’s life?
Why did Johanne start to react this way when Stephanie spoke of Mary’s name?
I glared at Stephanie because I was not used to seeing Johanne like this. What I was going to do might be my payment to Johanne for searching for me earlier. “And who are you to interfere when we are out to have fun? You’re a nuisance to our date,”
“I’m the ex-girlfriend and you’re just a newbie,”
“So, what? Is that important?” I raised an eyebrow at her. “What’s the relevance of an ex-girlfriend in our date? Did I even ask of who you are?”
“You are the nuisance here!” Stephanie screamed on my face.
“I don’t really care,” I shrugged. Like what happened in Yellow Cab, I embarrassed Stephanie again. Johanne remained silent and was looking at the both of us.
“You!” she pointed at me. “You don’t have the rig—”
“I do have the right to
do whatever I want. I can do whatever I want and say whatever I want to say!”
“You don’t know anything!” she reasoned while people who were walking around the mall started to gather around us. “You don’t know what Johanne had been through! You don’t know his relationship with Mary! And during the time that he was heartbroken, I was the person who was there for him!”
What was up with people yelling at me? First, there was Jeffrey...and now, it was Stephanie. Who was next?
“I don’t know anything? Damn. I do study!” I mocked. “But I guess you’re right. I don’t know what Johanne had been through or his relationship with Mary. If you were there when Johanne was heartbroken, I’m sorry to say that I’m the one who’s beside him now. And now, I’m going to make sure that he’ll be happier with me than the time when he was with you,”
What the hell was I saying?
Why did it seem like I wanted Johanne to forget his memories with Mary?
Who was Johanne to me and why did I want him to be happy?
Stephanie’s face looked like it was going to explode. She took a step toward me to land a slap on my face. I was going to dodge it but Johanne held her arm to stop her, “Don’t you ever touch Gabrielle,”
Johanne harshly let go of Stephanie’s arm and grabbed my hand to walk away from the pixie-cut girl with a pretty face.
When we were already far away from Stephanie, I noticed that Johanne was trying his hardest not to laugh.
“H-Huh? Are you crazy? Why are you laughing?” I frowned. The moment earlier was intense that I did not expect Johanne to find it amusing.
“Because of you!” he laughed. I did my best in confronting Stephanie earlier and he was just laughing at me? “You’re so special, you know that, witch?”
“What?”
“You really do have the guts,” he continued laughing. After a couple of seconds, I started laughing too. It really was infectious when you see someone laughing. It was the first time that I had seen Johanne laughed like this. I always saw him laugh whenever he was teasing me but this was different since he genuinely seemed happy. When he caught up with his breath, he looked at me seriously, “Thank you,”
“It’s nothing,” I smiled at him but in my mind, it was hard to decipher Johanne’s mood swings. First, he was laughing and then he would be serious. It was difficult to guess what he was going to feel next.
“Regarding Samantha...Do you always come to her rescue when you feel that she’s in danger?”
“Of course,” I said without thinking about it. “She’s my bestfriend which means that she’s important to me,”
“She’s so lucky,” Johanne looked down on the ground. “She’s so lucky because you’re always there for her whenever she needs you,”
“What do you mean by she’s lucky?” I chuckled. “You’re also lucky, gorilla! Whether you like it or not, you are now my friend. I’m willing to walk on shattered glass or burning floors just to save you.”
Chapter Eleven
Gabrielle
Johanne and I went back to the training camp and he bought me a stuffed toy as a token for shielding him from the pretty monster called Stephanie. I did know how to be grateful even though he bought me a pig stuffed toy.
I knew that he was just teasing me but I was happy that he bought me a gift.
It was the first time that I had been alone with Johanne for this long without a lengthy argument. It was surprising that we got along very well.
“Hey, gorilla!” I called for him before we took a step inside the training camp. “Even though you bought me a pig stuffed toy, I still want to thank you. You were fun to be with. Let’s go out again next time, alright?”
“I know that I am fun to be with. I bought you a pig stuffed toy because you drained my money. You’re such a glutton! There is no next time for people like you!”
Because I did not bring money, Johanne paid for everything, including food and transportation. I ordered whatever I wanted because this might be the last time that Johanne would treat me.
When we stepped inside the training camp, I saw Samantha. When she saw me and Johanne, she immediately ran towards our direction, “Where were you? I thought that something happened to you bec—oh, you’re with Johanne,”
“We just took a walk,” Johanne answered for me. Samantha’s eyes were widened. “It’s not what you think it is! Don’t make up stories in your head,”
“Why did you leave your cellphone behind?” Samantha sighed as she ignored Johanne’s remark. “Even you, Johanne. You’re also out of service,”
“I was lost that’s why Johanne searched for me,” I honestly answered. There was no use in lying to Samantha because she was my bestfriend. “Johanne’s cellphone died on the other hand,”
We all went back to each of our rooms to take a rest. I quickly checked my phone and saw that I missed calls and texts from Jeffrey.
When I saw his texts, there was only one thing that came into my mind.
Jeffrey and I were just strangers.
If he did not want for me to take care of him as a friend, then that was not my problem anymore.
◆◆◆
“Gab, did something bad happen between you and Jeff?” Samantha asked me while we were eating our breakfast here in the cafeteria. I remembered what happened yesterday and how stupid it was for me to run away from the training camp.
“Why are you asking?” I continued munching on my food like I did not care. “Just eat your breakast, Sam,”
“You should settle that now. Jeff’s on the way to our table. Talk to him, okay?”
“Gab,” as if on cue, Jeffrey called for my attention. “Can I talk to you for a second?”
I inhaled a huge amount of air, stood up, and walked towards the direction of the park. I knew that Jeffrey would be following me, “What do you want, Jeff?”
“I want to apologize for the things that I’ve said to you yesterday,” Jeffrey was nervous while he was talking.
I just gave him a nod and started to walk back to the cafeteria but he grabbed hold of my arm, “Gab...when I told you yesterday that I’m jealous...it’s true,”
“Let go of me, Jeff,” I tried to pull away from him but his grip on my arm was strong.
“I’m hurt whenever you’re with him. I feel pain whenever you have a band practice and I don’t know what to do when I see that the both of you are getting closer and closer,”
“You can’t do anything about us getting closer, Jeff. Do you know what happened yesterday? Something unexpected happened to me and Johanne was the one who saved me. Can you blame me if I’m getting closer to him?”
“What—”
“And Jeff, I will forgive you but don’t expect me to worry about you like the way I did before. We are not friends, remember? Now, I don’t care about you,” I mustered up all my strength to pull away from his grip and luckily, I was able to succeed.
I could accept the fact that Johanne was such a pain in the ass, but I did not expect that Jeffrey would be one too.
◆◆◆
I received a text from Johanne who informed me that we would have a gig on Saturday and counting the days, we still had two days to polish our performance and practice our songs.
When I stepped inside the music room, I noticed that all of my band members were already complete and they were just waiting for me.
“Why are you late, witch?” Johanne’s irritated voice greeted me. He went back to normal and I realized that it was no use if I let myself fall for the likes of him. Maybe the Johanne from yesterday was just my imagination.
“Don’t blame me. I didn’t know that we have a practice today,” I reasoned. I was not going to be kind to him just because he saved me and searched for me when I was lost.
I hoped that Johanne would always let me see the good side of him like yesterday but deep inside, I knew that it was an impossible wish.
“Gab, Johanne, the two of you will sing love songs because that is a request made by the per
son who hired us,” Matthew explained. I noticed that Matthew was always the one who decided about what songs the band would play and no, I was not complaining about that.
“What songs?” I wondered.
Matthew told me the list of the songs but Johanne’s guitar fell down from his grip when he heard the song title ‘I Knew I Loved You’ by Savage Garden. All of us turned our heads to look at Johanne and we all noticed that his body was shaking.
What was up with the song and why was Johanne bothered about it?
“It’s just a song, Johanne,” Paul reminded. “You need to forget about the connection between the song and Mary. It’s something that your mind just made up,”
“Why don’t we just change it?” I suggested.
“No,” Johanne disagreed with my suggestion. “Past is past. It’s nothing. I was just surprised,” and he walked out of the music room without waiting for our responses.
I was not able to stop myself when the question came out of my mouth, “Can somebody tell me who Mary really is?”
Paul and Matthew looked at each other like they were making a conversation with the use of their eyes. Matthew breathed a huge amount of air and volunteered to do the talking, “I know that Johanne doesn’t want us to tell you about her but because you’re now our band mate, we’ll tell you the truth. Mary is the only girl who holds Johanne’s heart,”
I started to feel a pain in my chest. Why was I hurt by what Matthew had said? Why was I bothered whenever I heard Mary’s name being spoken?
Who was Johanne in my life?
Because I was so damn stupid, I followed Johanne outside of the music room, “Hey, Johanne! Where are you going?!”
Johanne ignored my presence and continued walking. I did not want to push Johanne into talking that was why I just followed him even though he went outside of the training camp.
Maybe Johanne needed someone who would accompany him even if it meant being silent throughout the whole night.