by Fumise Love
“Gab,” Samantha’s voice rang from the other side. I immediately opened the door for her. “That’s good. You’re already dressed up. I was told that we need to go to the auditorium because of an announcement,”
Announcement? For what?
The two of us went to the auditorium and I noticed that all the lights were switched off. Samantha was holding my hand and she guided me to sit in the front row.
I thought that there was an announcement? Why was there no people inside the auditorium except for the two of us?
Lights suddenly filled the stage and I saw my bandmates there. Did we have a performance scheduled for today? Was I not involved? Was I not a member of the band anymore?
“Gabrielle…” Johanne spoke up using the microphone. “We want to say sorry because of what happened last night. We want to make it up to you by singing this song,”
Somebody else also spoke up from behind Johanne, “To be honest, I’m just really going to dance. I did tell you that I’m known as the ‘Dirty Dancer’, right?” Jeffrey smiled. I remembered that he did tell me and Samantha that he danced when we first stepped inside the training camp.
“...I refuse to give up, I refuse to give in,
You're my everything,
I don't wanna give up, I don't wanna give in,
So everybody's sing,
One love, for the mother’s pride,
One love, for the times we cried,
One love, gotta stay alive,
I will survive,
One love, for the city streets,
One love, for the hip hop beats,
One love, oh I do believe,
One love is all we need,”
Jeffrey was dancing while Crescent Moon was playing. Now, I knew the reason why people called Jeffrey as the ‘Dirty Dancer’. He was great when it came to dancing that he looked like he was making a Youtube video.
I could not stop myself from smiling. I did not realize that they would do something like this just to ask for forgiveness.
Their performance came to an end and Samantha whispered in my ear, “Hey. Are you still mad at them?”
“Just forgive them already, Gab,” Matthew rolled his eyes. “We didn’t sleep because we practiced all night. Be kind enough to forgive them because Paul and I sacrificed our sleep for this!”
“Why did you need to practice anyways?” I raised an eyebrow at them. “Afte—“
I was interrupted when Samantha’s phone rang. “Hello, Dad?” Samantha quickly answered the phone call. “What?!” All of us were surprised because of how my bestfriend reacted. “A-Alright…” she whispered before she hanged up.
“What happened, Sam?” I asked her.
“I need to go back to New York,”
“What?” I frowned. “W-What happened?”
“Mom was taken to the hospital. She had a heart attack,” Samantha’s voice was shaking. I knew that Samantha’s mother had this heart problem that was why I did not ask any questions while the others did not know what to do.
“I’ll come with you,” I decided. I did not want to let Samantha go back to New York alone. I also needed to check up on her mother because we were also close. Samantha was trying to stop her tears from falling while I offered to accompany her back to her room to start packing. I looked at Johanne and Jeffrey before walking out of the auditorium, “Don’t worry. I’ve already forgiven the two of you.”
◆◆◆
Now was the time when Samantha and I were going to leave the Nashville University Training Camp to go back to New York. We finished packing our stuff last night. I did not expect that our time of staying here in the training camp would be shortened.
I went to the lounge and noticed that Samantha was already there together with our friends. They helped us in placing our suitcases and bags inside the cab.
I looked at each of my bandmates, “Thank you for letting me join Crescent Moon,” and I hugged them one-by-one, including Jeffrey. “I will miss all of you,”
Samantha followed my example and also hugged them. I knew that our friends did not know what they were supposed to say because everything happened too quickly. I understood even though not a single word was muttered.
I was sure that this was not the last time that we were going to see each other because we could still go here next year.
◆◆◆
“Hey!” I playfully elbowed Samantha who was sitting beside me in the back seat of the cab. “I honestly don’t know why you’re sad. Are you sad because of your mother or are you sad because of Paul?”
“Both,”
“You know that there are these things called internet and phone, right?” I tried to cheer her up. “I’m sure that you will still see each other again,”
You should consider yourself lucky, Sam. At least, you have something to hold on to.
Chapter Nineteen
Johanne
She had already left. I thought that I still had a couple of weeks to do everything to make Gabrielle happy. I planned to confess to her…but everything was gone in a blink of an eye.
Would I ever see her again?
Maybe. Maybe I would get to see her next year. I could wait but I wanted to see her so badly.
There was no Gabrielle to tease in this training camp anymore.
I really wanted to see her mad face.
But how?
◆◆◆
Gabrielle
Samantha and I went back to our own houses after we visited Samantha’s mother in the hospital. Samantha would go back to the hospital once she finished unpacking her things.
When I stepped inside of my house, it was like my mother saw a ghost. I knew that my father was not around because he had to work.
“Why are you here?” my mother asked while in utter shock.
“Do you not want me here?”
“What are you talking about?” she walked toward me and hugged me tightly. “I missed you so much! I’m just wondering why you came home earlier than the expected date. Did something bad happen?”
“Mom…” maybe she had no idea what happened. “Your bestfriend…she’s in the hospital.”
◆◆◆
I was currently inside my room because my mother rushed to go to the hospital. Samantha’s mother and my mother were the reasons why my bestfriend and I became what we were.
I plugged my keyboard piano because I suddenly had the urge to play a song. Even though Johanne was not here, it felt like I needed to dedicate this song to him.
“Before I let you go,
I want to say I love you,
I hope that you're listenin' 'coz it's true, baby.
You'll be forever in my heart.
And I know that no one else will do, yeah.
So before I let you go.
I want to say...
I love you,”
The song fitted what I was feeling perfectly. Even though Johanne was not mine in the first place, I needed to let him go. Because of Johanne, I always found myself being so dramatic like a sick puppy in love.
Damn.
I should just wait for the new semester…who knew? Maybe I would meet someone else who would replace Johanne.
◆◆◆
The vacation went by so fast but it was fine with me because I had nothing else to do back home.
Samantha and I were already 4th years in our course, Accountancy. Two more years to go before we could graduate. The both of us walked the hallway of Nashvile University, New York campus. Samantha and I requested to the Dean to make us blockmates up until we graduated that was why we were still classmates now.
“Damn, girl,” a loud voice of a girl gathered our attention while we were walking our way to the classroom. “The new transferees are hotter than hell!”
“That’s true!” another girl agreed. They were a group who was standing at the corner but we could hear their voices clearly. “Mark is so hot. It’s such a shame that we don’t have any classes together,”
“The
older Mark is hotter,”
“I like Paul better,”
Samantha and I exchanged glances but she shook her head, “Maybe we aren’t hearing things right because we miss them so much,”
Samantha was right. It was impossible for them to be here.
Two girls passed by the two of us, “I was told that they are in a band,”
“Heard it too. I hope that Matthew will notice me soon,”
Wait. If they were really here…who was the older Mark? I remembered Johanne having an older brother but…why were they here?
Were they really here?
That was clearly impossible.
“Weird…” I whispered to myself. “This is crazy,”
Samantha and I went inside our classroom without talking to each other because we were too busy thinking about what was happening.
Our professor that we had known ever since we stepped inside the university, turned out to be one of our professors again. “Good morning, students. I’m Professor Gerald Sue,” why did he need to introduce himself? Even though the students were shuffled, there was no Accountancy student who did not know of him.
I noticed that there were no transferees in our class because each of the faces inside the room seemed so familiar.
Someone knocked on the door and I literally stood up from seating when he stepped inside of the room, “What the hell are you doing here?!”
“I’m going to study, why?” he smirked.
“I can see that you already know each other,” Professor Sue interfered with our interaction. “Students, this is Mark Johanne Rivers and he will be your blockmate from now on. Mr. Rivers, you can go and take your seat beside Ms. Bailey,”
I slowly sat back on my chair and looked at Samantha, “Sam…they are really here…”
Samantha immediately pulled her cellphone out of her handbag and started texting. Maybe she was going to ask Paul for confirmation.
I stared at Johanne even after he sat beside me. “Maybe you missed me so much that’s why you’re speechless,” he chuckled. “Why are you not talking? Am I that handsome?”
“You’re too full of yourself as ever,”
“I’m just stating the truth,” he shrugged.
“What are you doing here?” I asked him again. “Are they also here?”
“Yes,” he nodded. “All of us transferred here,”
I suddenly remembered the girls’ conversation in the hallway earlier, “Who’s the ‘older Mark’ that transferred here? I heard girls talking about it earlier. Is it the time to meet your older brother, gorilla? Is he kinder than you?”
He frowned and he looked at me like I grew a second head. “Haven’t I told you yet…?”
“I’m the one asking here, gorilla!”
“The ‘older Mark’…that’s Jeff, my older brother.”
Chapter Twenty
Gabrielle
I thought that my jaw would literally drop down on the floor.
“D-Don’t joke about this,” were the only words that escaped my mouth. I glared at Johanne because I was serious with my question and he was just teasing me in return. But his eyes told me that he was speaking the truth.
It was obvious that Samantha was also shocked but she was too busy texting Paul.
“Does it look like I’m joking?” Johanne asked me.
I knew them for more than a month but I did not know that Johanne and Jeffrey were brothers?
But I knew for myself that right from the start, they had this odd resemblance that I could not point out, and when I went to Johanne’s house, I thought that Johanne’s father looked a lot like Jeffrey.
“You two have different names,” I pointed out. “See? Stop joking!”
“What’s my name?”
Why was he asking me of his name? Did he not know of what his name was? Even though I was irritated, I still answered his question, “Mark Johanne Rivers,”
“What’s Jeffrey’s name?”
“Jeffrey Reyes,” I responded a little too quickly.
Johanne smirked like he was enjoying my confusion. “I thought that Jeff already told you of his full name. His real name is Mark Jeffrey Reyes Rivers. I share the same name except for ‘Johanne’. We have a Filipina mother. We also both have the initials, ‘MJ’,”
Why did Johanne need to say ‘MJ’? They were not the only ones that I knew with that nickname because there was Mary Jade.
“Why do you not treat each other as brothers?” I wondered.
“Because Jeffrey hated me. He always thought that everyone favored me more than him. And yes, one of the reasons was because of Mary,”
I noticed that every girl inside our room was staring at Johanne. Maybe, if I did not know who Johanne was, I would also find myself staring at him.
Maybe I would even build a fan cub just for him.
Nah.
Kidding aside, I hoped that Johanne and Jeffrey would start treating each other as brothers.
“All of you transferred here, right?” Samantha spoke up and Johanne nodded in response. “Where are you living right now?”
“The four of us are staying in a single apartment,” Johanne answered. It was a no-brainer that the other three that he was talking about were Jeffrey, Paul, and Matthew.
“What made you decide to transfer?” I wondered.
“Nothing,” Johanne shrugged. “I just really missed teasing this particular someone.”
◆◆◆
Johanne
The four of us transferred in Nashville University, New York campus because of me. Originally, Jeffrey and I talked about this but Paul wanted to be with Samantha that was why he came with us. Since Matthew did not want to be left alone in the Seattle campus, he decided to tag along.
*Flashback*
It had been three days since Gabrielle and Samantha went back to New York. I was standing here in front of Jeffrey’s room in the training camp to talk to him seriously.
He opened the door after I knocked on it for two times. “What are you doing here?” was the first thing that he asked.
“I’m going to play this game fair and square,” I said. “I decided to go and follow Gabrielle,”
“What do you mean?”
“I’m going to transfer to the New York campus. If you’re not coming with me, it means that I’ve already won. I told my bandmates about this and they are coming with me because Paul wants to see Samantha and Matthew wants to see…you know…girls?”
It was obvious that Crescent Moon would still be up and running.
*End of Flashback*
◆◆◆
Gabrielle
It was already our break time. I did not talk to Johanne that much because I was still speechless after finding out the truth. Even now, I still could not believe that Johanne and Jeffrey were brothers.
My head ached because I was thinking too much about it. I felt so dumb for not knowing.
“Hey, witch! Tour me in this campus,” Johanne demanded.
“Go by yourself!”
Samantha told us that Paul and Matthew would not be able to join us for lunch because of our schedules. Johanne informed us that Paul’s course was originally Civil Engineering like Matthew but he shifted to Culinary Arts when they transferred to our campus because apparently, even though a little hard to believe, Paul liked to bake and cook.
Samantha, Johanne, and I saw Jeffrey sitting alone in the cafeteria. He was the one with the same schedule as us because he was always free. According to Johanne, Jeffrey was supposed to be working now but he extended one semester because there was this one subject course that he did not attend.
I immediately approached Jeffrey and screamed at his face, “Why didn’t you tell me that Johanne’s your brother?!”
Jeffrey just chuckled. “Well…you’re the one who didn’t ask.”
◆◆◆
Fortunately, there was no professor in our next subject course. Maybe the professor got lazy because it was just the first day of the new semester
. Samantha left me and Johanne because it was already time for Paul’s break.
“Where do you want to go?” I asked Johanne because I suddenly remembered that he wanted me to tour him in our campus.
“To you heart,”
“Do you want me to punch you?” I rolled my eyes. Johanne never changed. He always liked to tease me even though I was talking to him seriously.
“Where will you get the guts to do that?”
“I already punched you twice before, gorilla,” I warned him. “Do you want me to do it again? Now, tell me, where do you want to go?”
“Anywhere,” he shrugged as he took hold of my hand and started walking. I was surprised by what he did. Did he think that we were still in the Nashville University Training Camp and he was still allowed to hold my hand?
We talked to each other while we were walking. Maybe the students here thought that we were dating. Maybe girls were envious of me because I was walking side-by-side with Johanne. Even though we talked about random things, I was happy to see Johanne again.
But I still had no idea of the reason why they really transferred here…especially I had no idea about Johanne’s reason.
I now started thinking about my feelings for Johanne. Should I tell him about how I really felt for him? Should I confess? But I was sure that he did not like me that way and there were many beautiful girls enrolled in this campus.
It was possible that Johanne would find a girl to date here.
Johanne was considered as the ‘Campus Heartthrob’ in the Philadelphia campus, right? Johanne was a headturner and I was a nobody.
I should just enjoy this moment wherein Johanne was holding my hand and not somebody else’s hand.
Chapter Twenty-One
Gabrielle
I was stuck with Johanne because Samantha wanted to walk with Paul all the way to her house. I saw Matthew walking with a random girl and I had no idea where Jeffrey was.