BOYFRIEND EXCHANGE

Chapter 4: Sudden Burst Of Shame

CHAPTER 4: SUDDEN BURST OF SHAME

I had been sitting here in the third floor lobby for three hours when I felt an ache on my butt.

All the other classes and activities ended at 6 pm and I had been here since then. I didn't know why I actually stayed. Maybe it was because of my pride. Or maybe there's a tiny part of me that believed he'd come back. I knew what I did was childish and ridiculous but I just couldn't let myself be treated that way.

What would my sister do if she were in my shoes?

I waited patiently, contemplating the absurdity of my actions. Maybe he didn't want to come back. He was nothing but a mean person. There's only one thing left for me to do.

I had to go home.

My bag was hanging on my shoulder, half opened. I was trying to find my phone to call my sister and ask her to pick me up when the lights went out. My heart skipped a beat. My feet and my brain both agreed to run. It was so dark I almost fell off the stairs. My whole body was drenched in a cold horrified sweat.

As soon as I reached the ground floor of the building I grabbed the door's handle. My eyes widened in terror when it didn't open, apparently it was locked. I slammed my body against it but it didn't even budge. My pathetic attempt only resulted in additional pain on my arms.

"Hello? Excuse me? Is anybody there? Someone's still inside! Please open the door!"

I dialed my sister's number at once and it went straight to voice mail. Before I could leave a message my phone had died. What? I tried desperately to turn it on, my fingers trembling. NO. NO. NO. Why did I forget to charge my battery this morning? This was a big example of a train wreck.

Thirty minutes of shouting, crying, and rolling on the floor had passed until I finally decided to accept the fact that the security guards had left me here. To say that I was terrified was the understatement of the year.

There was a loud crash. My head spun toward the noise. I could feel my blood pumping through my veins. I walked near the window to sneak a peek. Seriously, if curiosity could kill I would be dead.

I bent over and a pair of eyes stared back at me.

I screamed at the top of my lungs. This had horror movie written all over it and I didn't want to pee in my pants. I stumbled back and forced myself to hide, squeezing my body at the far corner. I crouched down and held my breath. Was there a burglar in school?

Then I heard a loud bang from outside. The suspicious figure was clearly trying to break the door open and I couldn't let myself fall apart. There's no way I'd let him hurt me without a fight so I channeled my inner fighter and launched to battle mode. I heard footsteps in front of me and I charged forward, waving and throwing my arms all over the place.

"STOP I'm not going to hurt you!" the culprit yelled. He pushed me at the wall. "Serene, it's me. It's okay."

I paused, gasping for air. Recognition swept in. It was him. Chase came back for me. I let out a huge sigh of relief and jumped at him, clinging to his body like a child. It took me a while to realize how awkward our position was: My legs were wrapped around his hips and my face was glued to his neck.

I pulled away, creating an appropriate distance between us. Good thing it was dark in here or else he'd see me blush. I would die of embarrassment. We remained tongue-tied for seconds. I was the first one to break the silence.

"You destroyed school property," I told him.

"Who cares?" He rubbed his hands on his nape and turned to walk away. Realizing that I didn't move an inch, he looked back at my direction. He saw me grinning from ear to ear. "What?"