‘You’ve all got ten more minutes,’ the examination invigilator boomed over the microphone. Anna was writing furiously trying to cramp as many words as possible on her last sheet of answer paper. From the corner of her eye, she caught Wei Yee who was seated beside her, tapping the tip of her ballpoint pen on the table rhythmically, as if willing for time to pass quicker. Anna, filled with anxiety and irritation, shushed her friend who replied with a lop sided grin.
The two girls have always competed against each other throughout their academic years. Anna would spend countless hours burying herself in her notes and textbooks but alas, Wei Yee would always emerge the victor despite taking things a lot easier. Wei Yee would contribute the fact that she paid her utmost attention during lectures and tutorials but Anna often argued scornfully that her best friend is blessed with a photographic memory and the intelligence of a rocket scientist. She frequently blamed this unfairness on the genes she inherited.
‘Pens down everyone,’ the invigilator said. ‘And I mean now!’ she added, referring to the few students who obviously ignored her initial statement. After their exam sheets were collected, the girls along with the rest of the students thronged towards the bottleneck at the exit of the hall. A few of them were spotted browsing deep into their textbooks, trying to confirm their answers. Some looked relieved whilst others appeared dejected.
Outside, the weather was simply lovely. The air was fresh from the after-rain and the sun was still playing hide and seek behind thick heavy clouds.
‘I need to head to the library. Got a book overdue,’ Wei Yee said.
‘Oh ok. We’re still set for lunch tomorrow right?’ Anna asked.
‘Yup,’ Wei Yee answered and offered her friend a pinky promise.
‘See ya babe,’ as she walked towards the opposite direction.
Gabriel was leaning against one of the concrete pillars, playing on his mobile, oblivious to the group of girls who were too busy admiring him to notice Anna approaching. Anna was close enough to make out the whispered words hot, gorgeous and yummy before one of them spotted her and promptly nudged the rest. The group scooted away with much reluctance.
‘Enjoying all the attention huh?’ Anna said with much sarcasm.
Gabriel looked up and responded with a blank look, the confusion making him look all the more dashing.
‘Nevermind,’ she said as she looped her right arm into his left.
From behind, a voice was calling loudly, ‘Anna’.
They both turned around and a guy was running towards them. He was catching his breath when he finally stood in front of the pair.
‘Here,’ the guy said, handing over a cardigan to Anna. ‘I saw you left it behind in the hall earlier’.
‘Oh yea. Silly me,’ Anna said as she took her cardigan from the smiling guy. ‘Thank you so much ...
‘It’s Rufus,’ he said, still smiling.
‘Well, thank you Rufus. I’m Anna and this is ...' she answered.
But he cut her midsentence and said ‘I know who you are. You’re from 10B right?’ he referred to her class.
Anna looked over at Gabriel who was trying to stare down Rufus before nodding awkwardly.
‘I’m from 10A. So I guess I’ll see you around eh,’ he said with a wink before turning around and taking his leave.
‘You know him?’ Gabriel asked as they descended down the staircase.
‘Obviously not. I don’t even know his name,’ she said.
‘Well, he most definitely knows you,’ he said with a tone of jealousy.
‘You’re acting all silly. Come on, our exams are just over. You promised to take me some place nice to celebrate,’ she said reaching out to tickle his chin.
His attempt to stay livid failed miserably and he broke into a smile. He squeezed her waist a little tighter and said ‘I know just the place’.
As they exited the college grounds, they heard a honk. They spun around and saw a silver BMW 7 Series flashing its headlights at them.
Puzzled, Anna looked over at Gabriel whose shoulder had slumped and a scowl plastered across his face.
‘Wait here for me,’ his voice stern.
He didn’t wait for her response and walked towards the car. From the back, his body language seemed abnormally rigid with tense. The tinted window at the back wound down and she saw Gabriel lowering himself, speaking to whoever it was inside. From where she was standing, she couldn’t hear the conversation but she saw that the sentences exchanged were brief. He straightened himself and jogged back towards her. She could tell he wasn’t his cheerful self by the looks of his tightly clenched jaw.
‘I’m so sorry baby but I’m afraid I’ve got to give our date a miss,’ he said looking utterly disappointed.
‘Hey, don’t worry ‘bout it ok. We could always do it another time but is everything ok?’ she asked worryingly. ‘Who’s that in the car?’
‘I’ll tell you everything later ok. Promise,’ he said as he hurriedly walked back to the Beamer.
Gabriel got into the back seat, closed the door and the car sped off like a bullet, leaving behind a very distressed Anna.
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