CHAPTER 39

“Of course not! I’m still concerned about my health, Pierre, but this is the first time in my life that I’m going to perform as a cheer dancer, and I don’t want to miss it simply because you booted them out of school.” I knelt and played with my finger. If he kicked them out, I would be unable to experience this again due to a severe lack of time.

“Why don’t you try again next year? What they did is extremely punishable, Aurie. EastWood’s first rule is no bullying, and I’m sure uncle would do the same if he knew.”

I would not going to make it till next year.

“Uh, I don’t want to. I want this year because it’s my final year as a grade 12 student. Please don’t expel them.” I placed my arm around his neck and kissed him on the cheek multiple times. He remained silent for a few moments and simply stared at me before collapsing onto the bed.

“Hey.” I was fearful that he would not listen to me. What if he went ahead with his plans? I would become quite enraged.

“All well, then. I’ll still kick them out, though.” I scowled at my inability to comprehend what he was saying. What did he mean? He wouldn’t do it, but he would still? This was stressing me out.

“What are you talking about? Enlighten me.”

“I’m not going to do it till after the intrams; after the event, I’m going to do it. No buts, okay? I’m not interested in hearing your other explanation.”

Oh “Whatever. You may do whatever you want following the intrams; I won’t interfere.” I laughed and leaned over him. Pierre and I spent the entire evening discussing about me. He frequently asked questions, which I promptly responded to, as long as they were not personal.

We awoke the following day at midday. When I saw the time, I instantly became concerned; we might get scolded.

“Pierre, wake up!” I gently tapped his shoulder as he made no attempt to move. I patted his shoulder once more before he finally opened his eyes.

“What? It’s too early...” he murmured, his voice hushed. He approached me, burying his face on my thigh, wrapping his arms around my waist and forcefully hugging me.

“We need to go downstairs! Dean might scold us, and anyway, Iris might be looking for me!” I yanked his arms away from me. I rolled out of bed and changed into my clothes. My fit appeared to be decent, so...this, I believe, would suffice “Pierre, stand up. We’re leaving after lunch; if you want to catch me leaving, stand up and get ready.” I headed to the bathroom to wash my face. I cleaned my teeth with the unused toothbrush. Even though I was only wearing simply a white t-shirt and boxers, I wanted to appear presentable in front of them.

Pierre was seated on the bed when I emerged from the bathroom, his hair was unkempt and his eyes were still quite sleepy. I approached him silently and kissed him on the lips.

“Good morning,” I greeted. He gave me a sleepy expression before slipping his hands beneath my top. I almost bit my lip as he reached and rubbed my chest.

“It’s way too early for this!” I tapped his hands and yanked them from within me. Was this how we greet good mornings now? By massaging someone’s breast?

“You still look beautiful in the morning; I love you so much.” He wrapped his arms around my waist and buried his face on my tummy. I felt an electrical charge engulf my body as a result of what I heard. This was the first time he had expressed how much he loves me and... it made me ecstatic. It was only five words, but it made me feel fantastic.

In any case, what did he mean that I still looked beautiful in the morning? Every morning, I looked like a dead white lady since I was not wearing any makeup. I was literally pale as fuck.

“Let’s go downstairs.” I yanked him upright on the bed, but he did not move an inch.

“Pierre, let’s go—”

“All right, all right,” he said, as though giving up due to my forcing.

We descended together and made our way to the dining area. When I heard a few voices coming from there, a shudder crept into my chest.

Who were they? I had not yet met the dean’s wife; was she nice?

As we entered, Pierre and I clasped our hands. When they saw us enter, they quickly ceased speaking.

“Good morning...” I turned to give my respects. They were all seated, dean, Iris, Alister, Iris’s father, and a woman who I believed was the dean’s wife.

Pierre released his grip on my hand and approached the woman, kissing her cheek. She locked her stare on mine, but I couldn’t hold it. She was quite lovely, but her vibe screamed scary; I was confident Ali did not take his attitude from her, as I believed they were rather dissimilar. Indeed, it appeared as though Pierre was his biological son; this was how I felt the first time I met him.

“She’s Aurie, my girlfriend,” Pierre’s quick introduction to me throbbed my chest even more. I wasn’t expecting him to mention our relationship now, so I didn’t know what to say.

Iris had been aware of this for a long period of time, because of that, I didn’t hear a word from her. She was preoccupied with her meal, and I was guessing she was still groggy from her recent awakening.

“Nice to meet you,” I said with a smile, but she merely gave me a nod. I even got a sense of unease as she examined me from head to toe.

I was not wearing a bra; Pierre’s tshirt was quite thick so I didn’t bother wear one.

Pierre and I sat next to the dean, as that was the only available spot. Pierre handed me a plate, but I was the one who served myself.

I didn’t want to appear as if I was a baby being babysat by Pierre.

“Eat more,” Pierre said as he added more food on my plate. I did nothing but nod because I was trying to keep my movement to a minimum. I was not interested in creating a scene for as long as I could.

“I enjoyed last night’s celebration, Iris,” Alister’s mother commented. Iris appeared to have returned to reality upon hearing the woman’s voice.

How much liquor did she consume last night that she appeared to be zoning out? She seemed to be suffering from a nasty hangover.

“I didn’t ask.”

I almost spit out my lunch in response to Iris’ response. It appeared as though I was the only one astonished, as the entire table was silent. Were they expecting her to respond in that manner to Alister’s mother? What’s going on? It appeared as though there was tension between the two of them?

“Iris...” I softly called. I was not expecting her to respond in that manner. The lady spoke politely; nothing bad had been done to her, so why would she respond like that?

What’s going on?

“Uh, let’s just eat, I suppose? Let’s respect the food,” the dean stated, he didn’t even defend his wife. What’s happening?

“Whatever. I’ve lost my appetite; I’m simply going home.” Iris rose up and gave me a brief glance, as if to indicate that I should not follow her if I still wanted to stay here.

“Iris, eat first—” Uncle Mateo cut himself short as Iris exited the dining area.

Before I stood up, I wiped my lips with a tissue; Pierre instantly turned to me and frowned.

“Uh, I need to leave as well. Nice meeting you, have a good day,” I bid goodbye.

“See you at school, I love you,” I whispered in Pierre’s ear.

I greeted them once more and hurriedly followed Iris. Pierre was powerless to restrain me once I let go of his hand.

Apologies, my love. Sister before mister.

“Iris!” I yelled as I saw her approached her car. Gosh, she was still walking at a breakneck pace; I was afraid I wouldn’t be able to keep up.

“Iris!” She turned her back to face me the second time I called her. I could see the mirror of a smile on her lips even from a distance. She waited outside the car for me until I was able to exit the house.

“You walk so fast!” I said as I approached her. She chuckled as if nothing had occurred earlier inside.

“You simply walk slowly, you bitch,” she said, laughing. I rolled my eyes and wiped away my sweat. After a few seconds of silence, I raised an eyebrow at her.

“What was that? She spoke politely?” With both hands on my waist, I asked. I was not sure why she responded in that manner and the others in the room pretended not to hear anything. Even if Alister’s mother had not greeted me previously, that wasn’t an enough reason to talk to her like that.

“She did speak politely, I am aware of that. It’s just... um, something happened in the past and she is involved. I’m not comfortable discussing it.” She averted her eyes, as if embarrassed by her inability to tell that story. Even though I was perplexed, I smiled at her.

Naturally, I understood her. I had the same feelings about Pierre, so I understood how she was feeling.

“All right, I’ll pretend I didn’t hear anything. By the way, how about we go?” I poked her shoulder and ushered her into the pink Lamborghini.

As I already stated, the days passed and we continued to act as if nothing had happened. My relationship with Pierre came back to normal; regardless of how much I ignored him, he continued to pursue me. Perhaps it was too late, huh? He was far too smitten with me, as was I. That was how I feel. I supposed I’d simply sit back and enjoy the ride until I die.

“Where are you?” Pierre inquired solemnly from the other end of the phone. I smiled as I adjusted my hair tie in the rear view mirror.

“Still in Iris’ car? It’s too hot to go outside.”

“All well, then. Wait for me there.” I was about to say something when he cut the line.

Oh, this man.

I inhaled deeply and leaned back against the chair’s backrest. This was the final day of intrams, namely the championship. Today was a watershed moment for EastWood kids, as all of our varsity players had advanced to the championship. Not just basketball, but all sports.

This was an important day for me because it was the final entrance of the cheering team.

A final entry for me as well.

It had been two months since I met Iris; time has flown by without my awareness. It feels as though it was only yesterday that I awoke from a long sleep, and now I only had a few months to live.

It was as if I awoke to wait for me to fall asleep again.

“You look really serious; what are you thinking?” My mind froze as I heard Pierre’s voice. The Lamborghini’s window was open, allowing me to hear him even if he was still outside. I opened it a little while ago to allow myself to breathe fresh air.

“Nothing? You look good.” I examined his entire body; he was dressed in his varsity outfit; their jerseys were changed for finals.

“I usually look good. By the way, where’s your captain?” he inquired, referring to Iris.

“I’m not sure. She simply went inside. I am not sure where she’s going because she didn’t say anything to me.” He shifted to the opposite side and opened the driver’s seat door. As soon as he sat next to me, he touched my nape and kissed me on the lips.

“You’re very sexy,” he observed my entire entirety. Similarly to them, we had a new uniform.

“You tell me that every day,” I stated glumly. He never failed to inform me of this on a daily basis. Until I became accustomed to hearing that from him everyday.

“You’re sexy every day, that’s why.”

I didn’t respond and simply looked at him. It was very cheesy. I was used to that, as Pierre constantly showered me with compliments, whether in public or not.

It was only a matter of minutes before it was time for us to go inside. Seven greeted Pierre and me immediately upon our exit from the pink Lamborghini. He was holding a digital camera and was dressed in his lab coat.

This was the first time I’d seen him in his coat since the day he looked after me.

“What are you doing here? Are you here for a photoshoot?” I asked, raising an eyebrow. He shook his head and smiled.

“No, I brought this to record you. This is your final performance, right? I also recorded your first,” he responded, referring to our performance.

“Whatever, let’s go,” Seven said as we entered the gym. This was not the typical gym where athletes used practice; this was a facility dedicated to hosting events such as the intrams. It was not a typical high school gym; it was styled as an arena, with numerous seats.

“I’ll simply stay here,” Seven stated as he sat near the cheering team.

Our cheering team served as a prelude to the tournament, as EastWood was the only school to qualify for the championship in every sport.

As Iris talked in front of us, I was feeling a range of emotions. Excitement, enjoyment, and sadness, as this was my final performance.

“We can do this, y’all hear me? We can!”

This would be the most difficult of all our performances. There were numerous dangerous acts to perform, but they were all worthwhile if we could do them without making any errors.

I cast a glance at Pierre on the other bench; he was staring at me intently, but I could see he was nervous. Not for their performance, but for ours. He had frequently been like way since the intrams began. I assumed he was concerned about their game, but as the day progressed, I realized I saw the same expression every time we would perform.

“I’ll be fine,” I murmured. I could still see the reflection of a faint smile on his lips even from a distance.

“I love you,” he mouthed back.

Since Pierre learned about my bullet scars, he had taken extra care of me. When compared to Seven, I’d say he was more over reacting in terms of my health. He kept an eye on me throughout every practice session; not a day goes by that he was not present to keep an eye on me. Despite that Seven was there to look after me, he was still watching my practice everyday.

“Team, it’s time!” All members of the cheering team had taken their positions according to Iris’ instructions. My heart felt as if it were throbbing with excitement.

Aurie, this is it!

Iris continued speaking into the microphone for a few seconds longer before the music began. The crowd’s cheers were so loud that they practically matched the volume of the music.

I scanned the area until Pierre and I came into view. When I did a couple tumblings, I saw him biting his lip. Even from afar, I could sense the nervousness in his eyes.

I smiled at him to convey that I was fine. I performed many walkovers until everyone pulled over to the side. It was now up to Iris to perform her duties and impress all of these folks.