When you see the asterisk (*) somewhere in this chapter, please play the video above to make it more fun and lively. Haha! :3

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

| LANCE |

Maybe you all want to ask: "Lance, why are you being chased by so many guys while eating a slice of chocolate mousse cake?"

        How considerate of you. It's because these guys are in love with me, and that eating a slice of chocolate mousse cake while running is the proper way to eat a delicious slice of cake.

        Obviously.

        Did you buy that? No? Okay, then you have to blame your favorite Oscar-winning actress Mackenzie Adams for the predicament I'm currently in.

        This has happened to me three times since I've been at Weyral. But this time, it started when Mackenzie had said she'd treat me lunch. Surprising, I know. But we'll get to that part later. Let's start with what happened in homeroom:

"Ohmigosh, Lance! What happened to you?" exclaimed Cindy as she saw me coming inside the room like a zombie. As I sat down at my desk, my best friends came over and stood in front of me.

        I turned to her mortified look. "I could not sleep," I stated simply, then yawned while covering my mouth.

        Spencer whistled, but his face was clouded with concern. "Well, you shouldn't have attended today. Look at those bags under your eyes!"

        "Fresh eye bags for sale," I deadpanned. "Good grief! You guys are acting like I am going to die any minute now. It's not that bad, I promise."

        Cindy crossed her arms over her chest while raising an eyebrow. "We're sorry we're worried for our best friend's health."

        Spencer nodded in agreement.

        I smiled tiredly at them. It was like Cindy was my mother, Spencer was my father, and I was their only son. Happy family, eh? "Thank you for your concerns, but I ate oatmeal and drank Earl Grey tea for breakfast. I will be fine in a while. This is nothing new," I assured the two of them.

        I wasn't lying to them. This had happened to me many times before because of playing the violin late at night until early in the morning, and nothing unfortunate would happen to me if I took a four-hour sleep and then ate my usual breakfast. But this time, the reason why I'd slept late was different.

        Cindy and Spencer were skeptical but nodded in defeat.

        I noticed our other friend wasn't in the room. "Where is Eunice?" I asked them.

        "Oh, she's at the theater with the rest of the Drama Club members for a meeting," Cindy answered, running a hand through her hair. "She said she wouldn't eat lunch with us later."

        "Ah. Understandable."

        Just then, Rachel and Mackenzie walked in and took their seats.

        Rachel noticed my "handsome" haggard face. "Looks like someone didn't get a decent sleep," she began.

        "Yes, yes. That's me." I chuckled awkwardly.

        "Maybe someone was thinking of you last night. That's why you didn't get to sleep well," she said, glancing slyly at Mackenzie.

        Her eyes squinted at Rachel. "Why're you looking at me like that?"

        "Oh, nothiiiinnnggg," Rachel said sweetly in a sing-song tone.

        After seeing Mackenzie, I remembered what had happened in trigo yesterday, but quickly dismissed it. I shouldn't care about that, anyway. "I believe that is just some weird myth," I replied with a sleepy blink. "And besides, if that is true, then there would be a lot of tired people around because there are some people that fantasize about other people--especially celebrities--almost every day or night, I am sure."

        "Are you implying you're one of those people?" Rachel asked, intrigued.

        My eyebrows arched. What was Rachel Simpson thinking? I'm not sure, but she wasn't afraid to say what was on her mind, which I somehow respected. "Um, no," I answered eventually.

        "Or it's more likely you're the one who's thinking of someone or something," Spencer speculated. "The anxiety builds in your system, then results in an inability to comfortable fall. You could be thinking about this person or thing subconsciously or consciously. Nonetheless, it's your brain that's being over productive about something or someone, resulting in your inability to sleep."

        I pondered this, and I was surprised why I hadn't thought of that first. "You may be right, Spence. As I was about to go to sleep, I was thinking about Alice--"

        Cindy suddenly looked furious, like she was about to pounce on me, and it made me flinch at the sight. "Hamilton?" she snarled through gritted teeth. "Did I hear you right, Lance? You were thinking about her?"

        Spencer cackled out loud. "Oooh! I should probably tell that to Alice. She'd be on cloud nine for sure!"

        "Don't you dare, Spencer," Cindy hissed while glaring at him, causing him to shut up instantly. She then started mumbling "Must put operation 'Execute Hamilton' to action" to herself while I continued.

        "Not like that. I just cannot afford to think like that," I assured her. "I was thinking about what piece she would be using for the Elgar Community's Violin Solo Competition to be held in San Francisco next month. I am pretty sure she also received a letter from them last night about it." Then an image of my grandfather flashed into my mind, but I quickly shook my head inwardly.

        "You better beat her, then, Lance," said Cindy darkly. "Or else!"

        I chuckled awkwardly once again. "I will do my best, Dee."

        Spencer scowled at her. "Don't pressure him like that."

        She waved a dismissing hand. "Oh, I'm sure it's no pressure for him. He loves having more time with S.H., in case you've forgotten."

        I just grinned at her, implying she was right.

        Before Rachel could say anything (probably wanting to ask who S.H. was), we noticed Neil was up at the front table. He then cleared his throat loudly to get the attention of the other students, making them all stop on what they were currently doing.

        "Guys," he started with a big grin, "Mr. Larter's attending an important meeting at the moment. Meaning, we can do whatever we want for one hour!"

        The class let out a happy whoop, and then some of our classmates started leaving the room to go wherever they wanted inside the campus.

        "Good that." I stood abruptly, making the four start. "Cindy and Spencer, come with me, please."

        As the three of us were leaving the room, I noticed out of the corner of my eye Mackenzie looking longingly at me with her soft green eyes (why am I noticing that?) while Rachel gathered her things. I hesitated for a half-second, as if I wanted to call out to her, but I had urgent business with my best friends.

🎻 🎻 🎻

"And why are we here?" asked Cindy, spinning her favorite yellow paintbrush in her hand, as we reached our destination: the Left Pegasus Park.

        We sat on a bench next to the mini Pegasus statue. We were thankful it was a cloudy morning.

        "Er, for fresh air?" guessed Spencer.

        "Yes, I also need that," I answered, "but first and foremost, I need your suggestions for what I shall play for said competition earlier. The theme is..." I gave an involuntary shudder, "um, love."

        The two turned to me sharply with confused faces.

         I sighed, shrugging. "Yes, you heard me right. Love is the theme for the violin solo competition." I wasn't an expert in that area. "And it's to be held this October. October 1st, to be exact. Very weird, right?"

        "That is indeed weird," Cindy agreed.

        "The person who thought of that must be whacked! They should've decided for 'horror love' instead! That, I have lots of suggestions--" Spencer's expression turned a little dreamy, and Cindy and I knew what was coming. "I mean, it's October, for Pete's sake! It should be Halloween-type of stuff!"

        Spencer was a level-one-hundred horror fanatic. I remembered the night when the three of us had been at Cindy's house inside her home theater, and he'd brought The Exorcism of Emily Rose, saying he wanted to watch it with us.

        Cindy and I had felt we could handle horror movies, but we'd soon found out we couldn't handle anything that had exorcism in it. Throughout the movie, she'd been constantly covering her face with a pillow, and, earphones in her ears, listening to music on her phone at full blast. I'd been doing the same thing, except for the covering of my face with a pillow, since she'd had the only one available. So I couldn't help taking a peek on the screen from time to time, which I'd really regretted.

        Spencer, meanwhile, had been laughing to his heart's content, especially whenever Emily Rose rotated her head three hundred and sixty degrees. He'd had the audacity to ask us, "Why are you two being scaredy-cats?"

        Cindy's and my horrified expressions had been priceless, and we'd thought something was definitely wrong with him.

        Unfortunately, we couldn't do anything to stop him at the time, since we had this rule that whenever the three of us have a movie marathon at Cindy's, no one complains about what movie to watch when it's their turn, and no one could walk out of the theater in protest. It was only fair.

        And in this case, extremely terrifying.

        Since then, exorcism movies were excluded from our golden rule, which had made Spencer rant for days, but it had been three against one: me, Cindy, and Cindy's evil glare--more horrifying than the scariest scary movie!--so he had lost. Her infamous death stare is the one thing Spencer's definitely afraid of, and, as she was giving it to him right now, he immediately took the hint to change the topic.

       "Um, er, w-why don't you ask Marcus i-instead?" he asked, stuttering while looking at her, totally terrified.

       "He has a class at the moment," I said, getting a notebook and black pen from my bag. "I will ask him later in chemistry."

        So we brainstormed for my piece, and then I wrote their suggested pieces in my notebook. Of course, being with me most of the time, Spencer and Cindy already have plenty of knowledge about classical music.

        After a few minutes, Cindy asked, "So, what piece do you think Hamilton will play, Lance?"

        "Debussy's 'Clair de Lune' violin version, perhaps," I replied tentatively. "Her choices of titles are unpredictable, I must admit. It's hard when you have that kind of opponent."

        "Say, is Gabriel Vole joining, too?" questioned Spencer.

        I nodded with a smirk. "Yes. He texted me earlier, telling me that he and Jennifer Arnatt, the Sarah Chang of Eldreez Point, also received their letters last night. I have to prepare early. Famous teenage violinists in America have been asked to join, I believe." I then noticed my two best friends shared a look of uncertainty with each other, and I knew the reason why, making me stop on what I was writing.

        "Just...enjoy yourself while you're practicing, okay?" Cindy told me after a moment of silence. "I'm sure your grandfather's proud of your achievements...especially after you won the Paganini International Violin Competition five months ago."

        Spencer nodded with a soft smile. "Yeah. Don't worry about him, Lance. I'll bet he's smiling widely at you right now."

        I gazed at the clouds with a sigh. "I hope so." They knew about the conflict I'd had with my grandfather, since they were my best friends.

        "Now, why the long face? We'll be sure to come with you to support you," he said while clamping a hand on my shoulder.

        "We'll even use my private jet to go to San Francisco," Cindy said with a beaming smile. That was no problem for her, because her family owns Levatine Airlines, one of the biggest airline companies in America.

        I did my best to grin gratefully at them. "You two are really the best!"

        But I still couldn't stop thinking about my grandfather. Was he truly proud of my achievements? I guess no one could really answer that question, because he was now dead, as Cindy and Spencer knew.

        And, of course, as did I, because I'd been the cause of his death.

🎻 🎻 🎻

"Marcus!" I called in a booming voice as I entered our chemistry room and briskly walked to our lab table.

        Startled, Marcus looked up from The Selection book he'd been reading. "Oh, Lance! What's with the rush? Is something wrong?"

        I saw Mackenzie was already there, chatting about girl stuff with Sabrina and Lauren, no doubt. When I reached our table, they looked up and greeted me. I greeted them back with a smile, then turned to Marcus, but not before noticing a look Mackenzie was giving me that I couldn't quite describe. Just like the longing look from before...

        "Nothing's wrong, Marcus," I assured him. "I just wanted to ask for your suggestions for what I shall play for the Elgar Community's Violin Solo Competition next month. See, I received a letter from them last night..."

        His eyes lit up as I told him what the theme was. "Oooh, that competition. Why, of course, I have tons of suggestions."

        So I wrote down Marcus' suggested pieces. Even when our chemistry teacher came in and started discussing conversion, the two of us were still talking in hushed voices until Mrs. Steward called on me.

        Oops.

        "Mr. Collins," she said, "please convert one thousand and five hundred cubic centimeters to liter."

        I did a quick calculation in my mind as I stood up from my stool to answer Mrs. Steward's simple question. I knew conversion, of course. Since it was in cubic centimeter, I should first convert it to milliliter, and then to liter. "One point five liters, Mrs. Steward," I answered.

        The teacher nodded in approval, saying my answer was correct, and then told me to sit down. She called another student to answer her next question.

        "Ah, yes. Where were we?" I asked Marcus after seating down.

        He blinked. "Why do I still find that amazing?"

        I was aware the three girls were now gazing at me, waiting for my answer. I gave him a perplexed look. "What is still amazing? A teacher giving a recitation?"

        "No," said Marcus with an eye roll. "You answering a question in less than a minute even without listening to the teacher."

        "Of course. I mean, it was just conversion."

        "Just conversion?" he repeated, aghast. "Well, if it were me, I'd still have to use a scientific calculator, and it'd take me a few minutes to answer the question."

        "You are exaggerating, Marcus."

        "No, I'm not."

        "Your future girlfriend will be so lucky, Lance," Sabrina instantly said with a dreamy look on her face.

        "I know, right?" Lauren agreed. "Imagine when his future girlfriend asks for his help on her homework: perfect grade coming right up!"

        She said when, not if.

        Sabrina and Lauren looked at each other, whispering, "Very sosy."

        That must be their routine whenever they found something interesting for them.

        Marcus gave me a sassy look.

        As Mrs. Steward continued writing on the whiteboard, Mackenzie was taking down notes in her notebook, but kept stealing glances at me. What was she looking at? Did she think I couldn't see her? Or did she just not care...about what I thought, or how she was being perceived?

        Girls are strange.

        I made a disgusted face. I don't even have a plan to have a girlfriend, I wanted to tell them, but just kept my mouth shut. Obviously, Lauren and Sabrina didn't know anything about my infamous romantic orientation, or just ignored it like most people did. They would just say, Bah! You just haven't found the right girl yet.

        Maybe they were wrong. Maybe they were right. Who knew? But, meh, I didn't care. Really. I had important things to think about, and romance wasn't one of them.

        When Mrs. Steward dismissed us, Mackenzie said good-bye to Lauren, Marcus and Sabrina as they exited the room, then she warily approached me.

        "L-Lance?" she began in a halting voice.

        I put my notebook inside my bag and turned to her. "Yes, Mackenzie?"

        She exhaled after a moment. "I wanted to apologize again for my actions yesterday."

        I knitted my brows in confusion, trying to remember what she was talking about, and then it dawned on me. "Ah. The 'it's-nothing' moment."

        Mackenzie nodded reluctantly. "I'm very, very sorry! I didn't get the chance to say that to you earlier because, um, you walked out with Cynthia and Spencer from the room, so I thought you were angry at me..." she faltered while glancing away, embarrassed.

        Mackenzie wasn't acting, that was for sure. This was real.

        I waved a hand dismissively while standing up. "It's all right. I honestly do not mind. I just asked for their suggested pieces at the Left Pegasus Park because the room was very noisy. Not good for my perfect-hearing ears."

        She faced me. "Just let me make it up to you, please? I'll treat you lunch."

        I gazed at her impassively, but in my mind I was grinning widely. Time to joke around with Mackenzie Adams again, eh?

        "You are going to treat me lunch?" I clarified after a moment.

        Mackenzie looked nervous under my gaze. "Y-yeah. I mean, if you want to..."

        "So, it's like you are asking me out on a date, then," I mused.

        She frowned, then caught up quickly with my act, so she playfully punched me in my arm. "That's not it, sicko!"

        "Ouch! That hurt!" I exclaimed dramatically, making her laugh. "Okay, then. Since I am hungry, I accept." I paused. "Do you and Rachel want to eat lunch with Cindy, Spencer and me?"

        Mackenzie smiled up at me gratefully. "Sure. And thanks, Lance."

        I smiled back. "No problem, Mackenzie."

🎻 🎻 🎻

Mackenzie let me choose what I wanted for lunch, so I picked what was available from today's menu that I liked: mashed potatoes, a liter of coke, and a plate of chocolate mousse cake--which made her widen her eyes, asking me if I could finish it all, but I assured her it was for the five of us.

        As Mackenzie, Rachel and I took our seats at the table my best friends were occupying, Cindy was hyperventilating.

        "I'm going to eat lunch with Mackenzie Adams and Rachel Simpson," she panted, her hazel eyes beaming. "Fangirling right here. The overwhelming feels. S.O.S. You even replied, retweeted and favorited my tweet, Mackenzie. That's the fifth time you did that to me!"

        Mackenzie grinned. "Ah. So that's why your username looked familiar. Well, you can't blame me that I love my fans."

        "Evil Woman, don't scare the food," Spencer mumbled.

        Cindy turned sharply to him, giving him her death glare, resulting in him to cower a little.

        "I'm not that famous," Rachel said with a laugh. "Cynthia, you just concentrate on Kenzie, 'kay?"

        "Oh, shut up, Chel," said Mackenzie while rolling her eyes.

        "Thank you for the food, Mackenzie," I said, smiling earnestly. I couldn't wait to eat a slice of one of my favorite chocolate cakes. Or two slices. Hmm, or three...?

        She shook her head. "No need to thank me, Lance."

        "We're missing something here, aren't we?" Spencer asked as he looked back and forth between Mackenzie and me, curiosity in his blue eyes.

        "Ah. It is her way of saying thanks for giving them the successful tour yesterday," I replied. I wasn't lying; I was indeed sure part of this was Mackenzie thanking me for the tour. "Well, get your slices now, all of you."

        Spencer and Cindy also thanked her. She waved a hand dismissively, then gave me a secret smile. Of course I knew what it meant: not telling my best friends about what had happened yesterday. Well, if she threw tantrums, that I'd gladly share. Not only to my best friends, but also to the world so that it'd be amusing.

        Just joking. I wasn't that evil.

        Mwe-he-he.

        As we started eating, I noticed Rachel was giving Mackenzie a questioning look. After my explanation, she knew something had happened between the two of us but didn't know what it was.

        Mackenzie mouthed, I'll tell you later.

        It was a shock for me she hadn't told her best friend yet. Well, not that I cared, of course. But still...

        As I was about to get a slice of the cake, someone called, "Lance!"

        I turned to the source of the voice and saw Alice Jessica Hamilton coming toward our table. She grinned, and I grinned in kind. "Hey, Alice!" I greeted. "You also received the letter, I assume."

        "Yep," she responded as she fished said letter from her skirt pocket so that I could see it. "So, have you decided what your piece will be yet?"

        I shook my head. Next to me, I could sense Cindy's tension at Alice's voice and presence. She was keeping her mouth shut for now, but she was smashing her own mashed potatoes with vigor. The poor already-mashed potatoes.

        "I already have some pieces written in my notebook," I told her. "I still have to choose one, though."

        "We're on the same boat, then," Alice said. Then, she noticed who was sitting across from me, so I got to eat my slice of the chocolate mousse cake. Finally! "So, the news is true: 'Oscar Winner Mackenzie Adams' and one of Eldreez Point's tennis player champions, Rachel Simpson, are now studying here at Weyral." She smiled. "Hello. My name's Alice Hamilton."

        Rachel and Mackenzie greeted her back with smiles while Cindy mumbled, "No one asked."

        "You're the Sarah Chang of Weyral! I've heard of you ever since I was still at E.P.," Rachel said, beaming. I then noticed she was always surrounded by a positive aura.

        "Yep, that's me all right." Alice continued looking at them. "I'm sure Blaire or Rayner has told you many wonderful things about me," she said sarcastically. "Well, you don't have to believe them." She paused, as if sharing a private joke with herself. "But know this--some of the stories you're going to hear about me, especially from this skinny girl here, are only partially true."

        Cindy lost it. "Are you implying that I'm a liar, Hamilton?" she demanded while standing up, facing her with narrowed eyes. "Why, I'm sure Marcus and I weren't spreading gossip about you."

        Alice was frowning at her, then unexpectedly, she gave Cindy a cold smile. "Whatever, Blaire. You're wasting my time. I still have to choose a piece for the competition. Oho-ho-ho!"

        Cindy snorted. "Don't bother. Lance will surely beat you, so keep that obnoxious laugh to yourself!"

        Alice smirked smugly. "We'll see about that." She kissed me suddenly on my cheek. My mouth formed an "o" as she leaned back. "See you soon, Lance," she sweetly said with a seductive wink.

        "Y-yes," I stammered. That was the first time someone had kissed me on the cheek, except for my mom, girl relatives and Cindy.

        Cindy started yapping at Alice's retreating figure. She was about to throw a lunch tray at her head, but Spencer grabbed her arms from the back in time to prevent her from doing so. She stomped her foot on the floor instead. "Gah! She really, really pisses me off! That good-for-nothing--ugh!"

        "Alice Hamilton is straight-forward to the max," Rachel said, her dark brown eyes wide.

        Mackenzie nodded in agreement.

        I faced Rachel and Mackenzie with an awkward laugh. "Please forgive Cindy and Alice's, ah, moment."

        Spencer sighed in exasperation as he released Cindy, who, in turn, frowned at him disapprovingly. "Chill, Dee. At least we now know she still doesn't have a piece to perform."

        But Cindy wasn't listening to him. She turned to me, then gasped in terror while pointing a finger at me. "Lance, you better wipe that off right now!"

        I gave her a confused look. "Wha--"

        "Um, Lance?" interrupted Rachel. "You better do what Cynthia said."

        Without another question, I got a napkin from the napkin holder, wiped it on my cheek where Alice's lips still tingled, looked at the napkin, then gaped. There was something red on the surface: Alice's lipstick.

        Then I noticed Mackenzie was looking behind me with wide eyes. Turning around slightly in my seat, I saw that most of the guys in The Cafeteria were now glowering at me, like I was a mouse and they were the cats, ready to eat my insides. I winced. "D-did I do something wrong?" I asked stupidly, even though I already knew what was coming next.

        As usual, Terence was one of the guys. He pointed an accusing finger at me. "You kissed Alice!"

        Before, in my freshman year, Terence had accused me of holding hands with Alice, even though she had been the one who'd been holding my hand. In my sophomore year, a guy whom I didn't know had accused me of sexually harassing Eunice in public when she had hugged me after I'd finished playing a violin piece on the stage of the theater as thanks (I believe she couldn't contain her happiness on how I'd wonderfully played it). The Drama Club had asked for my help to play a violin piece for their play that time.

        And now for my junior year: I had kissed Alice, even though it was she who had kissed me.

        On the cheek, mind. They were acting like we'd kissed on the lips! But then again, at the "holding hands" and "friendly hug" parts, they already exaggerated. So why not overreact to this, too? These guys were worse than high school cheerleaders!

        Now I was wondering what "preposterous crime" I would do for my senior year. Maybe I would kiss a girl that they like on the lips. And then they'd exaggerate that we--

        Well, I'm too much of a gentleman to say.

        "Are you guys blind?" I asked while rolling my eyes. "Alice was the one who kissed me on the cheek!"

        "Shut up!" another guy said. "And you're even sitting with Mackenzie, Rachel and Cynthia!"

        So it was special this time because I was sitting with these girls? On top of kissing Alice? To them, I'd committed two crimes!

        Wow. Should I be proud of myself?

        "Well, as you all already know, Cynthia is my best friend. And Spen--" I turned to my right, but only to find the seat empty. Then I saw my other best friend quietly exiting the double doors of The Cafeteria like a ninja. "H-hey, Spence! Traitor!" I turned again to Terence and the others. "It's not my fault! I mean, you could ask them next time to sit with you lot, you know?"

        "We don't need your explanation, Collins!" they roared, marching toward me. "Why must it always be you?"

        Always me? I don't even know!

*

        "Oh, crap," I muttered as I got another slice of cake with my hand (it wasn't dirty, mind), and then ran straight for the doors as fast as I could with my school bag with all the jealous guys in school right on my heels. Why does this happen to me every year? I complained in my mind.

        The others were starting to catch up to me, so I ran faster like my life depended on it...which it did, since if they caught me, I'd be dead meat. It also was not the proper way to eat a slice of delicious cake. But at least the sugar gave me a much-needed burst of energy!

🎻 🎻 🎻

And that, ladies and gentlemen, is how I ended up being chased by all these guys while eating a slice of chocolate mousse cake.

        As I exited The Cafeteria, I dashed toward Spencer's, Cindy's and my secret base (as he liked to call it because of Pokémon) that only the three of us knew. But I was now having trouble breathing.

        Then I saw Spencer in front of the clock tower. This was our routine whenever something like this happened. Calling him "traitor" was just an act.

        "Hurry, Lance!" he called. "I'll lead them the other way! The usual!"

        I high-fived Spencer as I passed him. "You really are the fastest runner I've ever known!"

        He smirked. "Stop flattering me, please." Then he ran swiftly to the opposite side while yelling, "Over here, guys! Lance is heading to the indoor sports center!"

        Good thing those guys were idiots, always falling for our routine.

        I continued running to the Right Pegasus Park. Thankfully, as I reached the area, there weren't any students at the moment. Then I entered the dense canopy of trees, passed the grassy downward slope, and, after a few minutes of jogging in the forest I reached our secret base.

        Our base was beside a small spring with clumps of edible mushrooms and non-poisonous berries. There were also some wild plants that could be eaten raw. If you had to, you could survive here for months.

        The three of us had discovered this place when we had been exploring the forest out of boredom in our freshman year.

        We were glad we did. And right now, I was especially glad we did.

        I put my hands on my knees while taking deep breaths. My dark brown locks were plastered to my forehead with sweat.

        My body wasn't used to running for long periods of time, because when I was a child I rarely got out of the house; I had been usually playing the violin or reading a novel in my garden, not running around in the streets like Spencer. Sometimes, I wished I'd joined sports with him when we were still young.

        Since the trees were blocking the sun's rays, the air was cool. And the area was as peaceful as a dream.

        I knelt down beside the spring to drink and splash water onto my face. After that I sat down on my comfortable nature bed. My dad had taught me how to make one when we had been camping in the mountains with my younger brother years ago. Thus, when we'd found this heavenly and quiet place, I'd passed this knowledge to my best friends.

        Feeling sleepy all of a sudden, I took a nap in our secret base, not caring about my next classes.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~