Chapter 14: Chapter 12

It was three in the afternoon and all the students walk toward the exit to enjoy their evening. All except Johan who remained for a few moments before the professor tapped his desk.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Johan answered. "I must have been engrossed in my studies." He quickly stuffed his notes into his bag and exited the classroom.

Entering the hallway and heading towards the exit, a girl approached him.

"Johan, are you okay?"

"Huh?"

"You don't look so good."

"Oh. I'm just a bit stressed about mid-terms, that's all. If you'll excuse me now." Johan passes by her abruptly straight toward the exit.

Stepping onto the main campus grounds, he rubbed the back of his neck. 'I should apologize to her later. But didn't I say I was going to apologize to... um... Craig, was it? In fact, I think I'm supposed to apologize to a number of people. I can't keep track of everyone.' He scratched his head frantically as he pulled out his phone, only to put it back into his pocket, and then pull it out again. 'There's no way I've been on this phone for that long. But I have been ignoring my chores. I can't deny that. Maybe I too need a break from it. But it's not like I have a choice, I haven't heard from her in... who knows.' He sighed. 'Where has she gone? Is she ignoring me? Did I say something to offend her?' He noticed that his hand was holding his phone tightly, enough to turn his fingers red. Softening his grip. 'What is going on with me lately? Why am I so obsessed? Sure, I haven't had a friend in years, but I don't even know her. Yet, I can't seem to stop thinking about her.'

As he looked around his surroundings, seeing all the other students going about their day, he noticed a certain someone in the distance who was conversing with a male student. Johan couldn't hear the conversation due to the distance, but he could tell by the way she was moving her lips that she was putting on an act of childish meekness. When she pulled out her notes and textbook and the young man accepted them with a smile on his face, Johan knew that another sucker was had. She blew her gullible peer a kiss, ending the transaction.

It was when she ran off that she spotted Johan and waved at him, showing that smile that seemed to hypnotize the staunches of men. Only Johan seemed to be exempt from its alluring power as he waved back.

"Making new friends, Margaret?" Johan asked as he put on a friendly face.

"I guess you could say I'm making a few new study buddies."

"Studying or cajoling someone to do your bidding?"

"He likes doing homework, okay? He can't get enough of it. I'm just giving him what he wants."

"How much did he charge?"

“Two hundred, which is a steal. I would've gone with four-hundred but I managed to..." she brushed her hair with her hand, "convince him to lower it for little ol' me."

"You're something else, Margaret."

"In any case, no homework for me tonight. Let's you and I go out and do something fun."

Johan chuckles. "Sorry, but we can't all afford a mule to do our homework."

"Would you like me to hire one of my geeks for you?"

"I rather do things the honest way."

"You're a real boy scout, huh? Well, what are you doing after?"

"Going to sleep, I guess."

"Don't tell me you're just going to study throughout the night. Man, Wendy is right, you're too uptight."

Johan paused momentarily as his facial expression shifted to a more neutral position. "Wendy is talking about me behind my back?"

"Don't worry, it's nothing serious. Just a little gossip, that's all. It's not like, you know, I don't know about a certain special someone in your life."

Johan rolls his eyes. "And what does that mean?"

"Who is it? I promise I won't be jealous."

"Jealous?"

"Listen, I understand that love is a battlefield and I lost, okay? I just want to congratulate the winner, that's all. Shake her hand, tell her she did a good job figuring out how to unlock your heart."

"I don't have a girlfriend."

"But what about all that time you've been on the phone with her?"

"For goodness sake. Listen, don't believe Wendy. They're exaggerating details."

"You can't fool me, Johan. I remember how you were desperately looking for a girl the last time we met. Calling her beautiful and thinking how attractive she was and how you worship the ground she walks on and desiring a lock of her hair to smell every-"

"I didn't say any of that."

"Yes, you did. I remember... Oh, that's right, that's some other guy who told me that stuff. I forgot who it was thought. Charlie? Ken? Maybe Sean?"

'This is what I get for being nice,' Johan thought.

As Margaret pondered about the one among many men who lavished her with such sweet nothings, her words recalled back the time when he spotted the girl near the pond, being reminded how he felt at that moment when he saw that young girl's face. The emotion that ran through him still reverberated within him.

"Margaret, you like men, right?"

Margaret snapped out of her thoughts to address Johan. "Oh? Not just men." Margaret cocked her head and placed her finger on her smiling lips. "Men aren't the only option for a person such as myself."

It took Johan a moment to finally answer, "Oh, I see. But in any case, you like being around people, right?"

"I guess I'm an extrovert."

"But... you know... have you ever... uh..." Johan took his hand to rub the back of his head but a rounded corner ended up hitting his skull. He returned his hand in front of him as he realized he was still holding on to his phone. Looking at his phone, "Have you ever fallen in love?" He asked his reflection.

Margaret chuckled a bit. "Love, huh? I don't know. I'm still young and want to have fun. After all, I just became an independent adult. I want to enjoy this freedom I earned. I want to enjoy my twenties to their fullest."

"So you've never fallen in love?" he asked now looking at her.

"Well, maybe down the line. As of right now, not really."

"I see. Well, then I got to get going." He waves at her and takes his leave.

Johan stuffed his phone into his pocket and sighed. Not long after leaving, the sound of high-heel shoes clacking was chasing after him. He turned around to meet Margaret who already caught up. "So what's going on?" She asked.

"Don't listen to everything Wendy says. Just forget everything."

"Why are you questioning about falling in love?"

"I was just curious about the topic, but I changed my mind."

"After all the years we've been friends, you have never once talked about love and dating. This is the first time you've ever opened up about yourself."

"We've only known each other for less than a year, and I think you're Wendy's friend more than mine."

"Yeah, I know. It feels like a million years, doesn't it? Being friends, becoming more than friends.” Johan rolls his eyes. “And yet, all that time, I've never seen you with a girlfriend. So what's this about falling in love? Don't you like her? Or is there something else about her?"

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"There is no 'her'. I don't have a girlfriend."

"But there is a girl in your life, right?"

"Not in my life. She doesn't even exist."

"Exists?"

A look of surprise was on his face upon realizing what he just said. "Forget that. I was just saying random things. I got to go now." Johan sidestepped Margaret. He didn't want to make a scene by running but he knew that his stride could not escape the fast-paced clacking of her determined high heels.

Once again in front of him, "You can't just walk out on me after spilling the coffee beans. Come on, tell me. What's up with this girl? Maybe I can help."

"I told you there is no girl."

"Stop lying. The cat's out of the Mercedez."

"I told you, don't listen to Wendy."

"Forget about Wendy. You've been acting very weird lately. You've been smiling, being happy, and cheerful. Don't you think that's strange?"

"Isn't that what everyone should strive for?"

"Not when you're back to being grumpy and moody afterward, like right now."

"I'm not grumpy or moody."

"Well, maybe not grumpy, but you seem to be avoiding everyone once again and rudely cancel any conversation they start. A lot of my girlfriends say you outright ignore them, and it can't because you have no interest in girls. How about you apologize to them?"

"What girls? What are you talking about?"

"About Claire? About Lisa? About Mori?"

"Who?"

"Three women who asked you out and you told them you were 'busy'."

"When did that happen?"

"Exactly. You didn't even notice. You were stuck on that phone of yours, laughing and enjoying talking to the other person on the end. What kind of person ignores beautiful women? Even if they are a tier beneath me, who keeps talking on the phone and ignores them? I tell you who, someone who is in love."

"You just said you weren't in love. What do you know?"

"I said I wanted to have fun in my youthful adult years. But..." She took her finger and stroked his chest with her long fingernails. "I know what it means to be in love."

Johan grabbed her hand and pulled it away from him. "Leave me alone, please."

"Can't you just tell me who it is?"

"Why are you being so aggressive? For gossip?"

"I'm not trying to be aggressive, you're just being stubborn."

"I keep telling you there is no girl. I'm not in love with anyone, okay?"

"Will you listen to yourself? You're being so stubborn right now."

"What is it to you, anyway? Lucy is none of your business. I wanted to talk and have a serious conversation, but it's clear you only care about gossip. I'm not interested in entertaining anything of the kind."

"Lucy?" Johan's eyes widen upon realizing his blunder.

He had a look of desperation on him, his legs were tapping the ground, and his eyes target his car in the parking lot. Before he could enact whatever he had planned, Margaret placed her hand on his chest. "Care to tell me about this Lucy?"

Johan's scrunched face gave her his answer, something she was expecting, only for his eyes to give a look of realization.

"Listen," he said in a composed manner. "What if I told you I was writing a story."

"Trying to change the subject now? Come on, Johan. Tell me-"

"The male lead has been having these dreams. These strange dreams about a mysterious girl. A girl who always appears in his dreams. A girl... named Lucy..." Margaret had a suspicious look on her but eventually pulls her arm away from his chest. He continues, "He's been dreaming about her for as long as he can remember, even when he was a child. And then, when he grew up, he bumps into a girl that resembles the one in his dreams. What do you think about that?"

"That's quite a plot. You're very imaginative, Johan. Now, how about you tell me about-"

"Wendy told me that this girl might be the reincarnation of the one in his dream. And this girl, it turns out she's been dreaming of a man that looks just like the male lead. After thinking about it, he came to the conclusion that he must be the reincarnation of that man, and in that, she is the reincarnation of the girl in his. What do you think about that?"

Margaret now had a look of curiosity. "I like the idea. I would read it."

"What do you think about his plight?"

"What plight? They're destined to be together. He's going to end up marrying her."

"That's what you think?" he said with a very strong tone.

"Of course. This is a romance, isn't it?"

"Wait, hold on... I never said..." Her curiosity had now turned to perplexion as Johan looked like he was about to dart away. He tried to compose himself as much as he could but it was evident in his body posture that he was having conflict within. "Margaret, this is really important. Tell me what are your thoughts about this scenario. One day, as he was texting her, he decides to tell her that he might be the reincarnation of the man in her dreams. What do your think that means?"

"Johan, why are you suddenly asking me about your story ideas?"

"Just answer the question, please. This is important."

Seeing Johan completely serious about something she found trivial, “Did she figure this out as well?”

“No. He figured it out first and told her about it. However, she stopped responding to his messages and hasn't been contacting her for a while. What do you think happened? Why would she suddenly stop communication?“

"Well, if it was me in her shoes..." Margaret thought for a moment as Johan looked on with anticipation. “I'd say that was a covert confession on his part.”

“Con...fession?”

“Yeah. I mean, if I've been having the same dreams about this handsome man who looks like this other man I just so happen to know, and if he told me we are reborn, I'd say that was his secret way of saying that he is in love with me.”

Johan response was to turn around and wipe the sweat from his forehead. Margaret got in front of him once again. "Where are you going? You still got to tell me- AH!" Johan simply continued walking, shoving her to the ground. His frantic walk then became a stride, which then turned to a full-on sprint toward his car.

"He shoved me!" Margaret said loudly while she remained stunned on the ground.

After a few moments, she smiled. "He shoved me," she said pleasantly.

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