(DECEMBER 2010)

---

ZOEY RIVERA

Rich and I were paired together with no hesitation.

Am I really that easy to see through? No. Mr Darley's our teacher. He just knows.

Rich didn't say anything when I went up to him. He simply stared blankly into the foliage. He looked too out of it to feel the chill and I envied him for that. This cold was still a shock for me and my hands felt like they were a step away from frostbite.

"Why am I paired off with this idiot?" Mallory asked, pointing at Sam.

"Come on, that's uncalled for—"

"Shut it!"

Vivi's walkie went off. It was Mr Darley's voice. "You can start sending them off now. Over."

Bond and Illiana headed first. Mallory and Sam were fourth. Charlie and Carrie fifth. And Conan and Emilia seventh.

We waited a while until, as the ninth pair, Rich and I were sent to go.

He went off without warning and left me to catch up. "Don't leave me. We don't have flashlights this time."

We came upon where the path split off. A man holding a ukulele approached us.

"This is a forest of tragedy, drenched in blood," Mr Darley said, playing a few ominous notes. "Take any of the six paths, but stick together for the wendigo that dwells here fears groups."

"This is more realistic than I was expecting," Rich said, taking the right-most path.

I agreed. "Let's get out of here."

After we made some distance, Mr Darley began talking again. "This is a forest of tragedy, drenched in blood..."

Rich shot a thumb back. "Hearing him say the exact same story to the next couple makes it so much more realistic."

I let out a chuckle.

"Are you cold?" he asked. "You're shaking."

"Just my hands. My gloves are in the washer."

Rich took off his gloves and handed them to me. "Here, use mine."

"But your hands are gonna be cold."

"It works in my favour. The cold is the only thing keeping me conscious. Besides, my hands are rather warm tonight."

I held my hand up. "Mine are cold to the touch."

Rich pressed his palm against mine.

I pulled my hand back. "What are you doing?"

"I wanted to feel if your hands were actually cold."

"At least ask me first!"

"Can I feel your hand?"

He's actually gonna ask?

"Fine." I pressed my palm against his.

As embarrassing as this was for me, I couldn't deny that the warmth of his hand was comforting.

Rich chuckled. "I can feel your heartbeat through your palm."

I put my hand down. "Are you stupid? You're making this awkward now."
"I'm too spent today. Sorry. I'm doing the first thing that comes to my head. Everything I'm saying is unfiltered."

"So you're like on some truth serum?"

"I guess you can say that. I know that earlier, something I shouldn't have said slipped out of my mouth, but I don't remember. I don't think I'm gonna remember this walk either. So if something happens, it's all you."

"So I can say whatever I want and you won't remember it?"

"There's a slim chance, I will, but even I find that hard to believe."

Everyone had some suspicion that I had feelings for him, but his mind was hard to read. Either he's good at pretending or he's completely oblivious.

I put on his gloves. "Who do you think I like?"

"I don't know."

Phew. He's completely oblivious.

"How about you? Who do you like?"

"No one. I'm not interested in that kind of stuff."

"Fine, I'll accept that answer. Who do you think likes you?"

"What are you trying to do?"

"Answer the question!"

"Okay, jeez." He kept quiet as we walked down the path. "I think I figured it out." He grabbed my head and turned it to face him. Our eyes met. "She's right here."

I brushed his hand away and walked further ahead.

He ran to catch up. "Am I right?"

"What made you say my name?"

"You're the one who kept asking questions. And everything clicked. I just realized that every time we're in contact, your heart instantly goes from a normal heartbeat to an intense ba-dum, ba-dum, ba-dum. It's like you get nervous every time you're close to me."

How is he able to see through me in this condition but not when he's normal?! Bond was right. This must be because his ego is gone.

"My heart won't do that the next time we're in contact," I said.

He grabbed my hand and my heart instantly started beating faster.

No! Why is my own organ betraying me?!

"There it is. Ba-dum, ba-dum, ba-dum," he teased.

I pulled my hand away and stopped walking.

I clenched my fist as multiple butterflies fluttered in my stomach. It was a gamble, but if he won't remember anything by tomorrow, I might as well come clean to see how he'd react.

Half of me wanted to confess while the other half squirmed to keep quiet. How was I being peer pressured without any peers?

"You're right, Rich," I forced myself to say. I relaxed my breathing to calm myself. "I do like you."

Saying that took a lot of weight off my chest.

What I said got Rich's full attention. Or whatever was left of it. But he simply continued walking.

I ran to him. "Aren't you gonna say something to what I said?"

"I'm trying to process it and think of an answer."

"You can't process anything in your condition!"

"Oh yeah. Then I guess I feel delighted."

"What type of answer is that? If you don't like me back, just say it. I took a gamble telling you and I'm prepared to lose."

"My answer is not that simple. I told you, I'm not interested right now. But that could easily change in the future. This is kind of embarrassing to say, but by my standards, you'd make a great wife."

"I know. You said that earlier this morning in front of everyone."

His face reddened up. "I did? I don't even remember."

I hugged his arm. "But it's fine. Everyone brushed it off as a dumb comment because you were sleep-deprived."

Rich chuckled. "Your heart's not beating crazy anymore."

"You're right. It calmed down," I replied. "You're just gonna let me hug your arm?"

"It's not the first time you've hugged my arm. And you look cute clinging on to me like that."

"I'm cute to you?"

"Eh. I guess I can take it up a notch and say you're pretty." Rich glanced down at me. "You're taking advantage of the fact that I'm gonna forget this, aren't you?"

"What's wrong with that?"

"Nothing. I won't remember this conversation, but I might remember you hugging my arm."

"Ahh! A chipmunk!" I screamed. "There. Now I'm holding on to you because I got spooked by a chipmunk."

Rich let out a laugh. "No way that's gonna work."

"It will. You're gonna wake up tomorrow and ask about what happened tonight. You're gonna tease me about being scared of a chipmunk and I'm gonna reply with: how cute..."

"Okay, you got yourself a deal," Rich said. "By the way, out of everyone, why do you like me?"

I let go of his arm. "To tell you the truth, you're not smart. Not even close to athletically fit. You have a nice side, but you're outright mean sometimes. You're kinda weird, and clumsy, and stupid. You get aggravated super quickly—"

"Hmm. You're hurting my feelings now. Maybe I shouldn't have asked that question."

"But... those are the things I like about you. Your whole personality is one giant oxymoron and that makes you your own you."

Rich carried a big grin on his face for the rest of our walk.