CHAPTER FOURTEEN
SCHOOL TIME AGAIN
It was a very short holiday. Michael was out of the country for medical checkups with his cardiologist and PCP. He spent almost all of his holiday there in a private room with his doctors always around him. But that didn't stop their friendship. They called each other every day, and whenever he was in the country for any business meeting, he would make time to spend with his friends before traveling out again.
His father and Miss Hena were so happy that Michael was beginning to find happiness again. Michael would also complain to Kelvin and Sylvester about how Odelia was so consistent in making sure she called him every day. He never rejected her calls because somehow she genuinely cared about him. He even had to tell her the truth one time about being in a hospital after she caught sight of one of his doctors during a video call session. He told her he was in a hospital but didn't give her all the details.
Not long after, the holidays were over, and everyone resumed their classes.
* * * *
A week after resumption, Michael was in class during their free time when a junior student walked up to him.
"Excuse me, Michael" he called his attention.
Michael stopped what he was doing to look up at him.
"Some guys are out there. They want to meet with you. Your homeroom teacher gave me this permission pass to give to you," he said and handed Michael a paper that had the school's stamp on it.
"Okay, thanks" Michael collects the paper. The boy walks out.
"Who is it?" Kelvin asked.
"I don't know" Michael shrugged. "I'll be back," he said, walking out.
* * * *
Michael was already down the stairs when he came face to face with Michelle who was playfully chased by one of their classmates. She bumped into Michael.
"I'm so sorry" she quickly apologized.
Michael stared at her without replying. He only nodded his head. Michelle let out a sigh of relief and turned around to eye the boy who was after her.
Michael got to the last stair and turned around. He almost ran when he looked at the hallway and saw his best friends from his former school. It was Maxwell, Peter, Williams, and another unfamiliar guy. The guys were tall and handsome. A few students who passed by the hallway stared at them in wonder. The girls giggled past. Shockingly, these boys weren't even looking at any of them. They were walking to meet up with Michael who was trying so hard to take gentle strides towards them.
When they met, they wrapped Michael into a very tight embrace.
"Michael!!!" Maxwell hugged him more tightly.
When they all disengaged, they exchanged pleasantries.
"Oh! My! I've missed you guys so much" Michael said.
"Yeah! We've missed you too. It was a huge one on us when we heard you've transferred," Peter said, holding Michael's hand.
"I'm so sorry, guys. Miss Hena was able to convince my dad" Michael explained.
"It's fine now. Hope this new school is treating you well?" Maxwell asked immediately. He was peering into Michael's face as if he was expecting any kind of fault.
"Oh! Yes! I've made new friends too" Michael said and looked at the unfamiliar guy with them.
"That's Michael. He's the new guy in our class. He came in immediately after you'd transferred,' Williams explained.
"He has the same name as me. Oh! Welcome, Michael" Michael hugged him again instead of giving him a handshake.
Williams looked out to the other side of the school through the windows.
"You know...I think it's really cool here"
Hands in his pockets, Michael looked out too.
"Yeah! It was hard to adjust properly at first" he smiles.
"You even cover your hair now. Every time?" Peter asked. Michael nodded.
Maxwell walks closer to him. " I've missed running my hands in it. Well...remember what we will be doing today?" He asked looking at Michael. He was almost the same height as him and the most handsome of the other boys.
"W...what?" Michael asked back, unsure.
"You've forgotten so soon" Maxwell frowned. "It's our party tonight. It's the last party before your surgery time"
"That's true!" Michael exclaimed, nodding gently. "Okay, I'll be there. What time is it?"
"By nine," Peter replied, and Michael nodded again. Looking behind him, he saw Kelvin, Sylvester, and Michelle. He squinted his eyes a little when he saw what was going on.
Sylvester had his hands crossed against Michelle's neck as if he was trying to strangle her while Michelle was playfully pretending to choke. Kelvin just had a lazy smile on his face as he watched them.
Michael shook his head, "Michelle and being too playful" he sighed. They got to the end of the stairs and Michael called out to them.
"Your friends?" The other Michael asked when Michael had called them.
"Yeah!" Michael nodded.
While they were walking towards them, Michael introduced the three of them to the boys.
"That's Kelvin, Sylvester, and Michelle." he smiled when he called her name. Maxwell saw him smile when he mentioned her name.
When they got to where the boys stood, Michelle greeted them, bowing her head slightly. "Good afternoon"
Kelvin and Sylvester chorused their greeting like it was planned.
"They're my best friends in my former school. This is Maxwell, Peter, Williams, and my namesake, Micheal," he introduced, pointing at each of them. He winked at Michelle, which made her smile, but she stopped when her eyes darted to where Maxwell stood. He had a weird gaze fixed on her like he was saying, "Who the heck is this?" with his eyes.
They exchanged small handshakes but Maxwell refused to shake hands with Michelle. He only glared at her. Well, Michelle glared back. That somehow amused others.
"You're very pretty, Mich-elle" the other Michael said softly.
Michael paused. Others too.
"Thank you" she smiled at him.
"She's pretty, yeah. But she's small. I don't like small girls" Maxwell said, pouting slightly as he glared at her with hands in his pockets. Michelle sneered at him.
"Hope you see the sky forever, Mr. Maxwell" she replied, eyeing him.
Others were trying so hard not to laugh.
"Mmmmph!" Maxwell scoffed, looking away. "Michael, it's time for us to go"
"Okay. Where's your car?" Michael asked.
"At the car park towards the gate," Peter said.
"I'll see you guys off to the gate," Michael told them.
"Can you walk that much distance?" Maxwell asked with a concerned look on his face.
Michael nodded. "Yes, I can. Let's go"
The boys said their goodbyes to Kelvin, Sylvester, and Michelle before they walked out. But not without Maxwell giving Michelle a look that screamed, "Get the hell out!!!". Michelle tilted her head up at him. He put his hand alongside Michael's left hand that was inside his pocket, while saying it loudly for everyone to hear, "I don't like her"
"Why?! You're disturbing Michael," Williams said, running his fingers through Maxwell's hair.
Turning towards the window and watching the five of them walk towards the car park.
"These guys visuals...wow!" Michelle said in awe.
Sylvester sighs, "Thank God they aren't in our school. There will be so much drama every day"
Kelvin and Michelle laugh.
"But then-that Maxwell. He's very familiar. Right, Kelvin?" Sylvester asked.
Kelvin gave a half smile, "Yeah! The painting"
Sylvester smacked his fingers, "Yes! That's true"
"What painting?" Michelle asked and looked at them.
They didn't tell Michelle that Michael had painted her. They kept that between themselves.
Sylvester wanted to talk but Kelvin quickly put in.
"The day we went to visit Michael, he showed us paintings of the boys. He didn't tell us their names. We just noticed that one of the paintings was Maxwell," Kelvin said, looking straight.
"You know..." Michelle said looking at him. "Whenever you lie, you don't look at me directly. But it's fine if you don't want to tell me"
"But I..." Kelvin started turning to look at her but Sylvester shook his head.
Michelle looks at her wristwatch, "What is taking Michael so long? Hope he hasn't fainted again?" She asked, worried.
"Oh! No! That shouldn't happen" Sylvester shook his head.
"Let's go wait for him in class," Kelvin suggested, and they walked back to class.
About an hour later, Michael came back to the class and walked to his seat. He had a small smile on his face.
"Michael!" Michelle called softly when she saw him. Michael smiled at her.
"What took you so long?" Kelvin asked.
"I just spent more time with them before they left. Especially Maxwell. He can be a handful sometimes"
"Okay," Kelvin nodded.
Immediately, Odelia ran up to him. "Michael," she called out, holding his hands.
"What is it, Odelia?" He was slightly irritated.
"I want to eat lunch with you today, please!" She gave him a puppy look.
"Odelia...I..."
She interrupts him, "Please—Michael" she blinks twice.
Rolling his eyes, "Okay!" He muttered.
"Let's go now!" she said loudly as she walked out with him, deliberately putting her arms in his own.
Others stared in amazement at her guts.