With the sudden tease from my older sister, I just stood still and thought mindlessly. My sister, noticing it was no longer fun to tease me, eventually spoke about the real reason they were in our room.
"Ahmm, let me properly introduce myself, fellow Juniors—I'm Marianne, a.k.a. the newly elected Student Vice President of our school. I'm here to check on Alisha, the newly transferred student from an elite all-girls high school. I suspected she'd be surrounded by students due to her appearance and background, but I didn't expect this. Well, I'll let it slide this time, but please make sure not to tease Alisha—and my adorable younger brother too," she said in an intimidating tone.
"That's all. Have a wonderful day." She smiled as she walked out of the room.
After she left, most of our classmates who were teasing us apologized to both of us and promised never to do it again.
"We're really sorry, Alfred and Alisha. Please forgive us," they pleaded.
"Okay, we forgive you guys. Just make sure not to do it again, alright?"
"Yes! Mark our words," they answered.
Now that the situation had calmed down, I shifted my attention to Alisha.
"Alisha, it's fine now. You can relax," I said as I tried to comfort her.
"Thank you, Alfred. You really are a gentle... um I mean you've got my respect," she said, giving me a smiling pink face.
"Oh, thank you," I replied, my face turning a little pink.
A few hours, lessons, and recitals passed by, and the first day of Alisha at our school finally came to an end. One by one, students started leaving the classroom, but Alisha seemed to be waiting for someone.
Noticing her, I slowly walked toward her and asked if she was expecting someone.
"Alisha, are you waiting for someone? Do you want some company while waiting?" I said in a friendly tone.
"Yes, I'm waiting for someone. Do you want to know who it is?
Who? I asked
Well… It's you," she said as she chuckled a bit.
"You're waiting for me? Why!?"
"Well, it's because I saw you earlier this morning leaving your house for school while I was also on my way. I figured our paths back home were the same, so I waited… because I wanted to walk with you. Can I?" she asked pleadingly.
"Of course you can Alisha. But before that, can we head to the student council room? My sister will be joining us."
"Oh, okay," she replied with a smile.
As we were walking across the corridor a sudden spark in my brain triggered a memory of the moment I had locked eyes with Alisha.
"Um, Alisha, about the corridor earlier this morning—weren't you creeped out by my intense face looking at you?" I asked anxiously.
"Well, not really. As I said, I saw you walking to school, and I saw that you helped a granny cross the pedestrian lane. So I knew you are a good man… though it did make me really embarrassed cuz you were the first boy in this school I locked eyes with."
Hearing that I was her first made me shy a bit but happy at the same time.
"Oh, I'm glad to hear that, Alisha. "I smiled at her, and she smiled back at me.
As we were smiling at each other, we didn't notice that my older sister Marianne was already walking toward us.
"Alfred, it's nice seeing you smile for once. Eheheheh," she said teasingly.
"Sister, um, well, we're just smiling because…"At that moment, I couldn't understand why I was stuttering or why my cheeks were burning, but thanks to Alisha, who explained the whole story, the awkward situation was resolved.
"Hmmm, okay. We should get going—it's already getting dark," my sister said, checking her watch. "Alisha, your house is near ours, right?"
"Yes, senior. That's why I'd like to ask permission to join you and Alfred on the walk home."
"That would be amazing! I'd love to have an extra person to talk with," my sister said, flashing a big smile toward Alisha.
After that, we headed home. We were walking at a moderate pace, in silence, when suddenly my sister spoke to Alisha.
"Um, Alisha, do you want to hang out at the theme park tomorrow? It's near our houses," she said as she showed a picture of the theme park on her phone.
"I'd love to!" Alisha replied joyfully.
"Then let's exchange numbers! Oh, and include Alfred's number too since he's going with us."
"Okay," Alisha nodded, and we all shared contact information.
After a while, Alisha stopped in her tracks and called us out.
She was now standing at the gate of a newly bought modern house—a two-story home with enough space to house an eight-person family.
"Umm, senior Marianne, Alfred… it's nice knowing you two. Let's meet again tomorrow," she said as she waved goodbye.
"Yeah, Alisha! We're looking forward to a wonderful day tomorrow," we said as we waved back at her.
Surprisingly, her house was right beside ours. Even before entering our respective homes, we waved once more before heading in.
As I stepped into the familiar atmosphere where I had lived for many years, I sensed my older sister's cute aura immediately shift from sweet to mischievous.
Before I could turn to her, she said something that struck me straight in the head, leaving me speechless.
"Alfred! I know you like her. Don't even try to refute it. The eyes are the way to the mind. I'm sure she noticed it too."