If Only You Knew - Story Pt. 4

Continued from If Only You Knew- Story Pt. 1, Story Pt. 2 and Story Pt. 3

    The next few days went as usual, except for the fact that Mandy followed Jeremy around like a shadow.

   He was in class and was taking notes when he saw a little movement outside the window. Mandy was sitting on a tree branch, waving at him gleefully. Gaping, he could not tear his eyes from her for fear that she would fall. "Get down!" he mouthed. She just shook her head, pointed at the professor, then at him before making a gesture of someone jotting down something. Jeremy understood that she wanted him to continue with his lesson but he couldn't help looking out every few minutes. Each time he looked, she would wave happily. 

"Jeremy! Do you want to jump out of the window that much? I will gladly help you. You're not paying attention!"

   The professor was very angry and everyone turned their heads to look at Jeremy. Feeling completely humiliated, he muttered, "Sorry prof," before looking out one last time, only to see Mandy laughing helplessly on the branch. God, she was such a distraction!

   Another time Jeremy was meeting some friends at Joylife. He choke on his coke when he saw her standing just outside the glass window, watching him. His nose stung like crazy because of the carbonated drink and his friends laughed at him. She then stuck out her tongue before walking away. Apparently she was angry for not being invited to join his hangout. What a buzzkill!

   And when he was at the library, Mandy would stand opposite him on the other side of the rack. Whenever Jeremy took out a book, there she was, peeking and smiling through the gap. At first he was startled, but as she did it all the time, he eventually got used to it. He once asked her, "Don't you have anything else to do? You are becoming my shadow, Mandy." She just clasped her hands together and said, "How I wish to!" with a dreamy expression. Jeremy just stared at her without a word, then went to another rack. Mandy followed him closely and continued, "Nope, I have nothing else to do. I never cared about that anymore."

"Why?"

"Why is not a good question."

"Then what and how should I ask?"

"Well, you can try something like, 'Aren't you hungry, Mandy?'"

"Aren't you hungry, Mandy? Where did you get your food, anyway?"

   Mandy was exasperated. "Oh, forget it!" Jeremy laughed. They talked, until the librarian came, pointed sternly at Jeremy than put a finger to her lips. After she was gone, Jeremy whispered to Mandy, "Was I too loud?" Mandy just shrugged and grinned.

   The funniest incident was when they tried to save a kitten. They were walking home from the library when Mandy saw a large bulldog cornering a kitten. She tugged at Jeremy's sleeve. "Jeremy, look." He turned his head and saw the dog growling ferociously at the trembling kitten. "Chase it away, Jeremy." Mandy pushed him towards the dog.

"What? No, you go."

"You're the one who's supposed to. You're a boy!"

"I don't want to have my butt ripped off, thank you! I'm putting aside my manly ego, Mandy. Seeing how concerned you are, why don't you go?"

   Mandy glared at Jeremy and said, "Coward." Then she turned to the dog. "Shoo! Bad dog! Shoo! Bad dog, your name must be Jeremy! You're as bad as him! Shoohh!!" Jeremy was just about to retort angrily at her reference of the dog to him when it turned and slowly inched towards her, still growling. Mandy became more nervous but still managed to irritate Jeremy more. "Even the dog hates you , Jeremy. Look how angry it is." Seeing the situation, Jeremy picked up a stone and threw it at the dog.

"GRRR! WOOF WOOF WOOF!!!"

   What happened next was really unforgettable. The dog would have went for Jeremy if not for Mandy who pulled his hand and ran. They sprinted as fast as they can with the dog close at their heels. It only stopped chasing after they entered a park, when Mandy tripped and fell down a slope, taking Jeremy with her. They rolled all the way down, finally coming to rest at the bottom, next to the man-made Golden Lake. The bulldog can still be heard barking.

   Jeremy was still breathing hard from the run. He looked at Mandy, who suddenly giggled. "Hey, never say.." he imitated her voice, "...'Bad dog!' to a very, very angry dog. You even said I'm as bad as that dog!" She laughed, then replied.

"Hey, never throw stones at a very, very angry dog! You're not only bad, but kind of stupid too! We might not have to run if you didn't do that earlier."

   At hearing that, Jeremy chuckled. "I'm not stupid! It was just a reflex. Who knows what would happen if I didn't? At least we saved the cat." Soon they were laughing their head off.

"Did you see the way I ran? I think I left my guts behind!"

"Lucky you, then. I thought I lost half my skirt on our way here, seeing how that dog kept snapping at me!"

"Now you know why I didn't care about my, what did you call it? Oh ya, manly ego."

   Jeremy pronounced the words with such a flourish that both were in stitches again. When they were done laughing, Mandy rested her hands on her forehead, exhausted. "Oh my God, Jeremy, I haven't laughed this hard in ages!" Jeremy agreed with her. Then he saw the bracelet on her wrist.

"That's a pretty bracelet."

   Mandy couldn't registered it at first. "What? Bracelet?...Oh, this one." She looked at it like she had never seen it before. "Yes, it's...beautiful..." The bracelet was black in colour and a few white stones are embedded in it. What made it beautiful was that the stones seemed to pulsate with a dim light every second. Mandy looked at it for a while, than got up abruptly. "Oh well, I don't need it actually. At least not now. I think I'll keep it in the drawer." Jeremy was puzzled.

   "Why not just wear it? It looks pretty on you. You look pretty wearing it." He then added in a soft but convincing voice, "Really." 

   Mandy blushed, but she pretended like it was nothing "You think so? Hey, it's getting late. We should be home by now. Let's get going." Then she walked ahead, leaving Jeremy to catch up with her.

   Both had a small smile playing on their lips.

- To Be Continued -

Continued in If Only you Knew - Story Pt. 5