It Started With A Kiss-->updated till chapter 18

annehuda

CHAPTER SEVEN

Annelise waited for Alex to come home for hours. Not till half an hour to their regular bedtime that he came home, driven home by Cassandra from God-know-where. Annelise huffed, and she made her way to her bed.  She already heated the fish and chips that her father has given her, and put it on plates for two.  She left it untouched, not bothered to put it away at all.  She just walked upstairs, changed into her PJs and tried to sleep.

Alex saw the plates for two, undisturbed.  He wondered if Annelise has waited for him to come back home.  He too longed for the dinner for two that they used to have.  But ever since that night….. He shook his head, trying to block away the memory from coming back again.  As he went into his room, he took another glance at Annelise’s door.  He remembered something that he need to discuss with Annelise but he can’t recall it.  After the discussion with his parents at Midnight, Cassandra made and effort to catch up with him and persuaded him to take a ride down town.  He gave in, and now he’s back home dead beat and tired.

That morning, Annelise woke up half an hour earlier than usual.  She got up anyway, get dressed and get ready for another new day.  As she went downstairs to the kitchen, her lunch already prepared for her.  Sandwich made from leftover inside a brown bag.  She looked upstairs and knew that it was made by Alex last night.  Nevertheless, she put it in her bag and went to Amanda’s house.

“Oh shoot!  I had to get home. I forgot to feed Kaleb”, said Amanda, as they reach the school parking lot.  

“What? Why? Who’s going to help me to finish the essay that Mr Hamilton gave to us yesterday?” Annelise actually dreaded to stay alone in the school.  They reached school quite early that morning, and literally no one was there accept for the school janitor busy wiping clean the glass door.

Amanda clasped her hands together, like a Buddha monk in prayers.  “Won’t take long. I’ll come back to you in less than 15 minutes”.
      
Annelise has no choice but to let her go.  She nodded to the janitor at the main entrance and headed to her classroom, 3 doors away from the principal office.  It was so quiet, and so dim, it seems like a scene of a B-grade slasher movies.  From meters away, she saw a figure crouching on the floor.  She figured that it was a man, with spiky, dark hair and his big hands sweeping the floor like scanning radar.  

“He-hello?”, her voice trembled, and it echoed along the hallway.  The man abruptly halted, and raised the hood of his sweater to fully cover his head.  As he rose, Annelise realized how tall he was, even from just looking at his behind, his broad shoulder manifested how strong he could be.
        
Annelise walked slowly towards him.  The man stand still, his head bent low.  

“Hello, sir.  What are you doing here?   Are you lost?”  

The man, who still didn’t turn around to look at her, answered her timidly. “I’ve lost something here”.

Annelise heard a hint of accent she couldn’t register in his words.   “I can help you search for it.  What is it you’re looking for?”  Annelise offered her help, and the man just nodded.  

“I need you to help me find my contact lens.  I think I dropped it somewhere here”, he pointed to an area just in front of them.

He squatted again, and so does Annelise.  It’s a mystery why the man didn’t reveal his face to her; he just bent down and focused in looking for his contact lens.  She took a glimpse, and she noticed that he got a button nose, small lips, and his skin is porcelain fair.  He looks Asian, a good looking Asian.  Asian were always assumed as a geek or a nerd, maybe this guy is donning contact lens instead of spectacles so he wouldn’t be deemed as a nerd.  She smiled.  Maybe they could be friend after this.  

She found it, just below the potted plant, a brown tinted lens.  She wondered why do an Asian need a brown lens, aren’t all Asian are supposed to have black or brown colored-eyes?   She carefully placed it on her fingertip, and showed it to the mysterious Asian guy.   “I think I’ve found it”, Annelise stood up.  The man rose from his knees, and as he finally looked at her, she gawped at what she saw of him.

“Thank you”, he said.  Annelise stared at him, partly enchanted, partly awed.  He has 2 different eye colour.  On his left eye, was a clear sky blue with golden sparkles dancing around the inner ring, and another one was a deep chestnut brown, match with the color of the lens she has just found.  And his face, it surely show a mesh of two different side of the world brought together, his eyes are not as slit or out-of-bed like other Asian she has met, and his double eyelids and lush eyebrows just add the awesomeness to his odd eyes.  He bent his head low again, avoiding her gaze on him upon realizing she was staring too long.  

“I’m sorry”, Annelise apologized.  She knew she’s being rude but she can’t help it…. “It just, your eyes are beautiful”.  She didn’t saw him smile, but his face radiated pleasantly.  

He carefully took the lens from her finger, and asked her the direction of the mens’ room.  She waited for him outside the toilet, and as he emerged out from it, she noticed that his eyes are both brown now.  And somehow, she was disappointed.  

“Thank you for helping me.  It’s my first day here; I guess I’m a bit early” he stretched his right hand to her “I’m Henry.  What’s your name?”

Annelise shook hand with him “I’m Annelise.”

He beamed with excitement.  “Wirklich? Sie sind ein Deutscher? Sprechen Sie Deutsch? ”

Annelise startled.  She couldn’t understand a thing he was saying.  And she wasn’t sure if he was speaking Chinese at all.

Henry heaved in disappointment.  “Verzeihen; I thought you were a Deutsch, a German like me. Your name is very Germanic”.

“Germany? You’re from Germany?”

Henry chuckled at her dumbfounded expression.  He was always been misunderstood, but this girl tickles his fancy.  “Heinrich is my full name.  Heinrich Schmidt”.

While waiting for the school staff to reach the school office, they sat at the bench just beside the office’s door and talked mainly about Henry.  She found out a lot about Henry, that he was a mixed child of a German-Chinese automotive engineer and an all American housewife, that he was from Wolfsburg, a city she never heard of, he came to Glenview because he wanted to attend MIT someday and to take care of his American grandparents Mr and Mrs Campbell, who live at the outskirts of Glenview. When she asked if he missed his family in Germany, he talked about being the eldest of 3 younger sisters aged 9 to 1, Hannelore, Elsie and Christel, and about his grandmother who hailed from Shanghai.  She could only imagined that Henry or Heinrich adored his family, and truly devoted to the family ties he decided to come here and tighten the relationship severed with distances.  She was careful not to touch the subject of his odd eyes, but she noticed Henry the odd eyes is somewhat preserve, coy and less confident than the chatterbox Henry she’s talking too now.

annehuda

Amanda came running down the hallway, as heaps of students and school staffs already buzzing at the main entrance door.  Amanda in her  billowed white blouse and flowered skirts that makes her look twice taller that she already is, slowed down when she found that Annelise is not alone.   Annelise introduced Amanda to Henry.  Once the staff arrived, Henry excused himself for some paperwork to be done, and Amanda dragged Annelise to their locker.

“Is he really Asian? Is he adopted? What’s with his accent?”  Amanda is much more interested than Annelise expected.  They proceed to their class anyway, and surprisingly, Henry was admitted to their class.  He made a quick but charismatic introduction of himself to the class, and seeing Annelise, he waved at her, “Nice to see you again, Annelise”, right in front of the class.  Annelise blushed.  She can feel every eyes in the class are on her, envious and questioning.  Henry chose an empty seat beside her, at the last row.  Amanda and Annelise always pick the last row so nobody can throw anything at them.

At recess, Amanda invited Henry to join them.  Henry gladly accepted, although Annelise is still abashed with Henry recognizing her in his introduction.  

“What is that?” Henry pointed to the brown bag Annelise took out from her bag.  

“It’s my lunch.  Nothing special. Just some sandwich made from leftover”.  

She took it out and realized the portion was too much for her to settle.  She wants to offer some for Amanda but Amanda already downing a hearty meal of home made macaroni and cheese.  

“I’ll take that.  I’d like to try American food sometimes.”  She shared the sandwich with him, as they sat idly under the tree eating their meal.  

Out from somewhere, Alex was lurking around at the second floor balcony of the cafeteria.  He noticed a man is accompanying Amanda and Annelise, seated between them is a stranger he never saw before.  And he also notices they were sharing meals, the meals he has made from scratch for Annelise, and Annelise is laughing at something he said.  He frowned at the sight, and he almost knocked over Keller when he tapped him at the shoulder.

“What are looking at dude?”  Keller looked at his direction, and he saw an Asian man opening a can of soft drink for Amanda.  He gritted his teeth angrily, as Amanda clink her can with his’.  

“Oh look, your sister finally found a guy”, Cassandra hugged Alex from behind.  “And quite good looking too.  For an Asian guy”.

“Who is he?” Alex questioned her.  Cassandra shrugged.  “Don’t know.  Why don’t you ask her yourself?”

Keller mood changed rapidly when he saw how the Asian man offered his hand to help Amanda get up from her place.  He turned and stomped away, unwilling to savor his sight with such intimacy.  Cassandra didn’t bother at all with his reaction.  Alex, however was transfixed to one sight that he hasn’t seen on Annelise for quite a long time.  Annelise was laughing and smiling cheerfully.  

“Wow, the Asian guy is really nice to her, don’t you think?” Alex realized that.  He gripped the handle bar of the balcony tightly, realizing that since that night he hadn’t done anything to make her happy like this again.  He had to resort to seeing other man treating the one he cared the most in this world better than he could ever be.

Alex unfolds Cassandra hands on him, and turned around to face her.  “Hey Cassie, do you think I should go to Andover?”  He deliberately changed the subject of their conversation.  He can’t watch them anymore.  If it wasn’t because Cassandra was strangling him, he’ll walk away just like Keller did.

Cassandra, unprepared with the immediate change of topic but always calm, nodded. “You should.  Andover is a good place to start a great future”.

Alex smiled wryly. He tugged a strand of hair that got out of place and tuck it to the back of her ear.  “Does that mean that you don’t love me that much, that you rather let me go even if it the best for me than to ask me to stay?”

Cassandra fought in her mind of words she should say to Alex right now. “I love you Alex. You know that”, she held his hand that touched her face with both her hands “it just I don’t want to jeopardize your future for me”.  

And she guided his hand to her heart, letting him feel the beating of it. “Well you know, if you truly love somebody, sometimes you need to let it go so one day he can come back to you”.  She memorized the words from a Mills and Boons novel she’d read before.  Never know it could come handy one day.  

Alex seemed convinced.  Cassandra too, is convinced that Alex is going to Andover.  She smiled, but not for him, but for herself.  As she knows that Alex is under her spell now.

“I don’t want to be selfish, Alex. I just want the best for you”, Cassandra added another kick to her persuasion.  

Alex smiled a little, he let go of his hand from her grasp.  “I’ll think about it”, and with that he walked away and headed to the table and joined his other teammates.

Cassandra bit her lips exasperatedly.  Her seductiveness didn’t work on Alex.  Perhaps it time for her to arrange another plan with Mrs Harrison.

annehuda

CHAPTER EIGHT

As school ended, Amanda suggested the three of them to take a tour around Glenview.  Since Annelise and Amanda are the two people he first befriended in his new school, and since the two girls are not the most popular girls in school, he followed the two girls around all day, everywhere.  But that didn’t stop the girls and boys of Glenbrook High from stealing a glance at the new guy in school.  He smiled politely at each of them, no one in school were not smitten with his dimpled smile.   He is strikingly good looking for an Asian, and unusually too good looking to walk around with the two plain looking girls.  

“Let’s take my car”, his silver Volkswagen Touareg beeped when he pressed his remote key.  Amanda and Annelise looked at each other, sending mental bubbles, “this guy really is something”.

“Courtesy of my father’s company”, he winked at Annelise who was admiring the stereo system of his car.  They were waiting for Amanda to park his 1980 black Volvo in her house garage.  On the dashboard was a picture of his family in Wolfsburg.   Henry is the only one with dark raven hair. His father is auburn, whilst his mother is strawberry blond, and all his sisters are blue eyed and platinum haired.  And they all look nothing like him.  First glimpse and nobody would think they were his biological family.  Henry seems to be out of place in the family picture.

“Can I have it back? I kind of miss them this morning”.  Henry neatly put the picture back into the passenger’s compartment.

“Wow you guys really don’t look like each other.”  Henry smiled bitterly.  “Do you get mistaken as adopted child?”

“All the time” he answered glumly.

“Well if it wasn’t because you told me that your grandmother from Shanghai I would like to think you are adopted too”
Henry neither replied nor reacted to her remarks.  Annelise is considering in her mind if she should apologizes for being inappropriate.

“Anne, promise me something” Henry shifted his gaze to Annelise “Promise me you won’t tell anyone about my family background, and about my eyes”

Annelise was taken aback with his impromptu request.  She recalled about Henry telling the class that his family resided and worked in Germany, instead of telling them he is a half German.  She wanted to ask more, but she couldn’t.  Amanda already reached the car.

“Sorry for taking so long”, Amanda slumped her big brown bag on the seat.  “I had to feed Kaleb again.  He’s eating like a pig”.

“Who’s Kaleb?” Henry’s mood suddenly changed with Amanda’s arrival.  He reset himself to his sunny side, chatty and entertaining.  A far cry from the first time Annelise met him.  All in a day, she saw the 2 sides of Henry, though the sunny side is more comforting and fun to be with, it was his gloomy side that intrigued her the most.

“Ok, decided. Let’s go to the Park Centre”, Henry key in the destination in his GPS navigator and off they went to a trip to Park Centre.

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Meanwhile, Alex and the rest of the football team were practicing in the school field.  They were invited to have a game with a private school in Chicago this weekend, and Coach McMillan was really tough on them today. After a grueling 2 hours under the sun, the team retreated to the rest room.  Except for Alex and Keller, who decided to stay and practiced a little bit more.

Alex and Keller put down their armor and helmet, they both clad in their jersey, playing catch casually.  Alex lost his focus, and the ball flew to a diverged direction from Keller.  Keller jogged after the ball; Alex slumped down onto the green grass.  

“What happened man?” Alex questioned his own QB.  Alex rarely made mistake, especially not this stupid of mistake.

“I’m sorry, got a lot of thing in my mind” he apologized.  Keller sat down beside him.  

“You want to talk about it?”

“Yeah, I should talk to you about it”

“Tell me then”

Alex hesitated.  Should he? The last thing he wanted to feel is being judged.

“I….I got an offer to Andover” Though it’s not what he really want to talk about, but he figured it could be a good start.

“Congrats man!” Keller patted his friend’s back.  “So when are you going to Andover?”

“In three weeks time”, Alex laid down on the field, his wrist supporting his head, the other hand half covered his face from the sun. “But I’m not sure if I want to go, man”

Keller stretched his tired legs.  “Why? Why not?” Some thoughts clicked in his mind.  “Is it because of Annelise?”

Alex removed his hand from his face.  “Sort of.  What make you think like that?”

“Oh that, well you know.  I know it will be hard for you to go since Annelise got that threat letter…”

“What threat letter?” Alex rapidly raised his upper body up.

Keller stared at him at the moment.  So Alex actually didn’t know.  But according to Amanda…

“Dude, tell me. What threat letter? How did you know about it?” Alex is urging him, but Keller remained silent.  Alex’s mind is filled with speculative thoughts.  “Dude, are you dating my sister?”

Keller shook his head.  “Be calm, man.  It’s nothing.  I thought you knew”

Alex stood up and grabbed Keller by his elbow. “Hey follow me.  Now.  I want to show you something”

They both went to the rest room.  It’s empty. Everyone has gone home after the practice.  Alex took out a red envelope that he has kept for days in his back pack.  He tore it open, and read it together with Keller.

“That’s a cruel thing to say to a girl” was the first words that came out from Keller’s mouth.  Alex couldn’t agree more. He completely forgot about the letter until Keller brought it out again.

“I got to see Annelise.  How could she? All this time she kept it from me, but she told you?” Alex expressed his disbelieve to Keller.  His head bow down, defeated.

“She really hates me, Keller.  After what I’ve done to her” Alex tried hard to hold back the tears from his eyes.

Keller stood up and leaned on a locker, facing Alex. “What did you to her, man?”

Alex lifted his head up, eyes red.  “I kissed her, Keller”

Keller was a bit surprised, but not entirely taken aback with his confession.  Alex covered his face, he was so ashamed with himself.

“Aren’t you supposed to like, feel disgusted at me now, Keller?” Alex asked, seeing Keller remained wordless after hearing his confession.

“Well…” Keller cleared his throat, trying to find the right words for this very awkward moment. “I don’t want to judge anyone, but maybe you should try to have a DNA test with Annelise.  You know, just to make sure….”

Alex thought he was mocking him.  “Dude, what are you talking about?  She’s my sister; we shared the same blood type. What I did to her was….”  He didn’t dare to say the word out loud.  

Keller understands how distraught his friend was at this time.  But he couldn’t say more.  It was a family matter, not his.  He has no right at all to reveal everything he knows about Annelise’s birth to Alex.  He remembered a piece of advice he gave to Amanda the other day, ‘friends through thick and thin’.  

“Hey Alex, look” he sat down again beside Alex “I’m sorry dude.  But whatever has happened, it already happened.  I don’t want to judge you for that one mistake you’ve made.  Let’s concentrated what matter the most.  You should resolve this before you go to Andover”

Keller stroked Alex’s back, trying to comfort him more.  “Whatever you did to Annelise, I’m sure she’d understand.  It’s not like, you want to kiss her again right?”

Alex was relieved.  Keller truly stood up to his name; he’s a true ‘companion’.  He was expecting of Keller to walk away, but he didn’t.

“You’re right.  Whatever happened between us, she’s still my sister.” Alex stood up from the bench and grabbed a clean towel from the rack.  “I’ll talk to her later.  Thanks, Keller” With that, Alex headed to the shower.

Keller took out his cell phone, and punched the number 3 long enough until it autodialed Amanda’s number.  It went straight to the voicemail.

“Hey Amanda, it’s me, Keller.  Call me A.S.A.P. I got something to talk to you about”

annehuda

CHAPTER NINE

Amanda was tasting fresh berries with Henry and Annelise at the Glenview Farmer’s Market when she got Keller’s message.  She wanted to take pictures of them when she realized her phone was actually off.   Amanda whisked herself to a corner 2 stall away from Annelise and Henry, and made a call to Keller.  In two ringing tone, Keller picked up her call, and told her everything about what happened in the locker room.  

“I thought you said that Annelise already told Alex about the threat letter, but she didn’t Amanda.  Did you know now he thought I’m dating her sister?”

Amanda was thunderstruck.  She looked back at Annelise, happily chatting with Henry, and bit her lower lips.  Annelise lied to her, she couldn’t believe that. All this time….. Amanda hanged up on Keller, and she stomped her way to Annelise.

“You lied to me Annelise!” Amanda was serious. Annelise was shocked with her hard cold statement.  Henry was confused.  

“You lied to me Annelise.  I thought you already talked to Alex about the threat letter but you didn’t, right?”

Annelise was caught in her own lie.  She couldn’t say anything, tears started to dwell in her eyes, and instinctively she gripped Henry’s cuff.  She was not good in confronting people, let alone to stand up for herself.    Henry can feel her tugging on him, and it tugged his heart too, seeing Annelise looking like a puppy bullied by a bigger dog.

“Wait Amanda, I’m not sure what really happened, but I think we should go to somewhere else.  Quieter place than here?”
Amanda looked around and noticed some adults peering at them.  Amanda paced her way to the Touareg.  Annelise let go of his cuff, but Henry swiftly grabbed her wrist.  Annelise looked at him, and he smiled back at her, so captivatingly lovely.  Under the sun of Glenview, Annelise swore she saw a ring of halo on top of his head.

“Let’s run away.  Run away from her” Alex suggested.

“What?” Annelise was dumbfounded.  But before she could properly answer, Henry took her hand and led her to the opposite way.  Annelise wanted to protest, but deep inside she knew this is exactly what she wanted, to run away.

Henry just led her blindly through the maze and stalls, until they passed a little shop full with pots of colourful prairie flowers.  Annelise stopped, and gestured Henry to enter the shop.  Henry obliged, but then her cell phone ringed.   She took out her cell phone from her jacket pocket; it was a call from Amanda.  She began to hesitate; maybe she should go back to Amanda.  But Henry snatched the cell phone from her hand, and turned it off.  

“You don’t need that right now, Anne.  Come on, just come with me”

Henry then led her to enter the shop.

Annelise was awed, like a little kid on her first trip to a candy store.  She walked around among the flower pots.  Each pot was filled with every type of fresh wildflowers that Annelise has collected in her scrap book.  It’s like a dream comes true for her.  
She caught her eyes on a pot of flowers that look like a purple star.   She examined it closely, beside an open window flooded with a serene sunlight, and smiled brightly.  Even brighter than the sun itself.  Henry couldn’t take his eyes from her.  It’s a vision he sure will forever be etched in his memory.

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“Do you know what kind of flower is this, Henry?” Annelise showed him a purple flower.

Henry shook his head. “I don’t.  What is it?”

“It’s a cliff onion”

Henry giggled.  “Why? Because it smells like one?”

She frowned, but it is correct.  In where it come from, it is not favored by the herbivores because of it onion-like smell.  
“This flower is so rare in Illinois.  We can’t find it here in Cook County.  Maybe in McHenry, but not here”

“And this one” Annelise picked up another blue-violet tubular flower, “this one can only be found in Menard.  Its name is Anise Hyssop, but it actually a member of mint family”.  

Henry was amazed with Annelise’s knowledge on wildflowers.  He can see and heard the enthusiasm in her voice when she introduced to him the flowers in the little shop.

“Wow, you do like flowers so much”

Annelise blushed.  She’s not used to compliments, especially from someone she only knew for a day.  “Well, I do want to be a florist one day”

“Why not a botanist?”

Annelise shook her head.  “I’m not that bright.  I mean I’d be lucky if I could finish high school”  Annelise shyly admitted.  Reality bites, and it hurts.

“Why’d you said that? I can see you have the enthusiasm” Henry quickly disagreed with her.

“Yeah, but not even near perfect, not like Alex”

Henry frowned upon hearing the unfamiliar name. “Who’s Alex?”

Annelise explained to Henry about her relation to Alex, he told him how Alex won everyone and everything in his life with his perfectness.  How she thought maybe it was meant to be, she will be a 2 beside his perfect 10 brother.

“So you feel like all this time you were overshadowed by your brother?” Henry tried to put himself in Annelise’s shoe.  But it’s a picture he found hard to imagine.  He never experienced sibling rivalry before.  Hannalore, his oldest younger sister is still eight years old.  

“Well, I guess maybe it was meant to be.  I mean, I’d be happy if I could do something that I like.  I don’t want to dream in something I couldn’t achieved” .

His gaze on Annalise softens upon hearing the distant sad tone in her voice.  Deep inside he realized how disappointed Annelise is to herself.  All this time, she has been compared to her own brother; in every aspects of her life she was judged.  It surely crushed her confidence of herself; to even try to make a tiny step in her life, knowing his brother will always emerged as the winner.  He understands that, very clearly.  The circumstances were not similar, but he’s been to that point in life where he wished he was not who he is at that time. Heck, that’s why I run away, he thought.

“Anne, you know, I just knew you for less than a day, but”, Henry extended his right arm, landing it on her shoulder, “but I already think you are special”.

Annelise didn’t smile, but she blushed.  She was frozen in place, she never heard anyone describing her as ‘special’ before.  “Really?”

Henry nodded.  “Yeah, like a flower waiting to bloom.  I just think you need that strength to push those petals out from your bud.  Or are you just shy, afraid of being courted by flamboyant bees who would try to steal your honey?”

Annelise laughed, but she didn’t answer him.  She doesn’t know how to answer him.  She was not used to flirtatious conversation like what she just had.  Instead she walked to the other side of the little shop, where another rows of flowers in a tiny pot were arranged on a wooden bench.  Each of it was tagged with a ‘$2’ sign, indicating it was for sell.

“Pick one; I’ll buy it for you.  You know, as a welcome gift”, Annelise offered to buy a pot of flower for Henry.  Henry declined her offer.

“It’s not my thing.  Never suit me anyway” he plucked a sky blue aster from the third pot.  “But if I give you this, would you accept it?”

A single blue sky aster presented to her, from someone she barely knew, was it a love talisman or a good luck charm?  Anne hesitated a little; she tried to open up her mind, telling herself Henry is not signifying anything, just a friendly gesture, and that she was silly for thinking that Henry has a thing for her.   She was about to say yes, when Amanda rushed into the shop, and frantically called out her name.

She turned around, and saw Amanda wasn’t alone; she was with Keller, and Alex.

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Alex hugged Annelise so tightly, like he hasn’t seen her for years.  

“Let me go, please” Annelise was suffocating.  And she was not comfortable being bear hugged in front of Henry like she was a missing kid.

Meanwhile Amanda confronted Henry. “Henry, what are you doing? I thought you took Annelise and run away from us!  We were so worried!”

Alex tried to strike a punch on Henry’s face, but Keller hold him from behind.  “No!” Annelise shouted.  She stood in between the angry Alex and Henry.

“No Alex, it wasn’t Henry. It was me.  I’m the one who dragged Henry here, not him” Henry was surprised that Annelise lied to her brother to protect him.

“I switched off my cell because I don’t want to confront you” Annelise sling her arm around her chest, “I’m just afraid you’ll be mad at me.  I’m not ready to face you yet”.

She bowed her head down.  Henry put his hand on her shoulder, trying to comfort her. Annelise already started to sob.  Alex hated Henry even more.  

“Get in the car”, short and concise order from Alex to Annelise.  He grabbed her hand and yanked her out from the shop, leaving Amanda, Keller and Henry in the shop.  Amanda was shaken of seeing how futile Alex was when she accused Henry of snatching away Annelise.  

Keller nudged her elbow, urging her to apologize to Henry.  Henry was staring blankly at the door, with the blue aster still in his hand.  

“I’m sorry, Henry.  I didn’t mean that” Amanda tried to apologize.   

Henry smiled a little, “Geschweige denn.  Just a little miscommunication, I guess”

“Ok, why don’t we just go another place and….” before Amanda even finished her sentence, Keller clutched her arm.  

“No Amanda, you need to go home and feed Kaleb now. And I will drive you home” Amanda wanted to protest but Keller already dragged her to the door.  

Henry waved at Amanda as she half shouted ‘goodbye’ and ‘see you tomorrow’ to him.  His smile disappeared completely as he stood alone in the shop.  He twiddled the stem of aster between his fingers.  He wondered if Alex didn’t burst in will Amanda be accepting it. Is it too early for them? Maybe he should offer her an ivy or arbor vitae first.  His mother’s favourite pastime was gardening; they had a backyard filled with flowers back in Wolfburg.  During the time he was forced to help his mother dig a hole to plant new seeds of flowers, his mother told him about the certain meaning of flowers. How certain flowers symbolizes something special.  He doubted it that Annelise didn’t know.

And he wondered if his brother will ever allowed her to see him again tomorrow.  

He picked up the pot of blooming sky blue aster, his favourite colour.  An old lady walked out from a back room of the shop, and stood by him.  “Can I help you, young man?”

Henry made up his mind. “ Ja.  I would like to buy this please”.

annehuda

sky blue aster, symbol of love talisman, good luck, patience and daintiness.

purple=ungu

quite nice..

annehuda

quite nice..
purple=ungu Post at 30-7-2011 22:08

    thank you

HARY

Nice one anne! Harap you terus post n3 banyak2 ye....;)

annehuda

Reply 51# HARY


    thank u

annehuda

awak ada bakat menulis.. teruskan dengan bakat awak... boleh di gilap lagi...
girlphg Post at 15-7-2011 23:09

    thank u

annehuda

ahhhh...come on!...janganlah reveal terlalu cepat pasal blood relation tu kat post ni....d ...
kambeng_masam Post at 30-7-2011 17:52

    sbnrnye citer ni i ade publish kt laman web lg satu....

kt situ i ade tulis bab lain pasal asal usul heroin

btw thanks

kambeng_masam

sbnrnye citer ni i ade publish kt laman web lg satu....

kt situ i ade tulis bab lain pa ...
annehuda Post at 5-8-2011 09:25

    good luck on your writing! citer n penulisan pun mmg best!

hotmum

bagi la blog u yg lagi satu tu .. teringin nak baca gak .. pleees .. hehehhe .. seronok baca cerita ni .. best best ...

syaiful

wow... tak sangka annehuda sangat berbakat
thumbs up splendid works by far
goodluck for your writing... who knows nanti leh jadi cm JK Rowlings...

annehuda

wow... tak sangka annehuda sangat berbakat
thumbs up splendid works by far
goodluck for y ...
syaiful Post at 6-8-2011 18:35

    eh encik syaiful wat pe kt thread ni?

oh segannye saye.....

syaiful

Reply 58# annehuda

biase orang kan blogwalking, ku thread walking... hehenk segan watper, bakat & hasil kerja yg berkualiti harus dipuji selayaknye kan

annehuda

CHAPTER TEN
It was the first time for Amanda, riding in a same car with Keller. In Keller’s car to be exact. Annelise and Alex already left them hastily and she had no choice but to follow him home.   She felt awkward, but she still can’t help but to ask him this one question that lingered on her mind once she got a voicemail from a number unknown to her.

“Where did you get my number?”

Keller wasn’t in the mood to talk, but he doesn’t want to ignore her completely.

“I met your mom last Wednesday” Keller answered her coolly.

“What???!!! And she gave you my number?” Amanda’s exclamation was nothing sort of ecstatic.

“Well, yeah. She invited me in, she made me this wicked fritters.  I don’t know what it called, crochets or something.  Something from mashed potatoes.”

“That’s crocche!”

“Yeah, crocche.  Told her I love it, I do, really and she invited me to dinner. Full Italian course dinner.  Minus the wine though”

Amanda felt like jumping out from the running car.  She was so ashamed of her unabashed mother.  “Please tell me you didn’t promise her that?”

“Oh please….” Keller hissed.  “Don’t be so dramatic, Amanda.  Of course I didn’t promise her that”

Keller steered the car calmly to the left, heading to Amanda’s house.

“But I promised her I’ll take you out to dinner someday”

Amanda pretended that she didn’t hear that.  She stayed silent, and looked over the window, acting like she’s enjoying the panoramic view of the streets that she passed everyday.  No way, no way, no way, she thought, he didn’t just say that.
Keller tapped his fingers on the steering wheel, as if he was waiting for feedback from the always witty Amanda.

“Hey what were you doing with Alex? I mean when I called you I didn’t expect Alex will tag along” Amanda deliberately changed the subject of their conversation.

“We were at school, about to go home” Keller answered her disinterestedly.  

“That’s all?” Amanda’s attempt to keep the conversations going only irked Keller more.

“Yeah, we were in the locker room, after practices, talking “and he remembered what he talked with Alex that evening.  And he remembered how disturbingly protective Alex was towards his younger sister.  Put those two together, and any simple minded person would be able to sort it out.  He heaved out a faint smile, but obvious enough for Amanda to realize.

“Why are you smiling?” she asked.

“I wish I could tell you, Amanda.  I really do.  It just, some things are best left unknown”   He glanced at Amanda.  She was wearing a big question mark on her face, and it amused him to know that he has annoyed her.

“But I tell you everything, didn’t I? And I kept all your secrets, everything you wished me to conceal.  Why must you keep this one from me?”

Keller was aware of that.  And deep inside he knew he can trust this girl.  But playing this game of secret was much more fun for him.  Amanda kept on pleading him; she was persuasive to the point of clutching on his arm jacket and wobbled him a bit.  Alas they reached Amanda’s house, but the pleading didn’t stop, and Keller remained immovable.  

“So not fair”, Amanda pouted.  Keller thought that was cute.  And he almost gave in.  

“Someday, okay. Just not now” Keller tried so hard to put on a firm face, when all along he just wanted to giggle like a tickled child.  

“I’m so not telling you anything, ever!” Amanda’s stepped out from his car.  She purposely slammed the door as hard as she could as her sign of protest.  But Keller just shrugged it off.  He got a feeling her determination won’t last forever.

“Hey Amanda!” Amanda was half way to her front gate when Keller called her from his car.

“Send my regard to your mom.  Tell her I’m looking forward for that Robo Tita”

“It’s Ribollita you idiot!”  and she stormed off, not looking back anymore.

He laughed it off.  Wait till I teach you some Gaelic, Mandy.