Chapter 2 Cecile Grayson

“ Some people could brighten up the day without having to do anything at all. ”

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- Joel -

The deserted hallways never ceased to remind me of my pain which hadn't stopped since the very moment I watched her breathe her last.

Life, they say, is beautiful, but mine has lost its meaning ever since I lost her.

“ Look around you and see the beauty of life. ” Her voice still rings in my ears. I looked around and couldn't see anything, probably because I'd lost the ability to see when I lost her.

“ Sierra, won't you go to the party? ” I heard giggles behind me, and it hurt me to realize that they've all moved on, everyone in school. It's almost like she never left and no one misses her.

But how could they? I can literally feel her presence everywhere I go.

In the deserted hallways, I feel her presence looming all over. In the music room, I can hear her singing along to the tunes.

At the cafeteria, I can hear her voice as she happily chats with her best friends. How could they forget? How?

I didn't realize when I got to class until I received a pat on the back.

“ Stella? ” I formed a smile, seeing the longing in her dark eyes.

If one thing, I know she understood my pain as she could relate well with it.

“ Joel. ” Her voice was filled with so much understanding that I felt my heart ache. “ Yes? ”

“ She'll want us to move on, you know. ” My heart tightened at her words. Jemmy would want that too.

“ Yeah. ”

“ It's hard, I know. ”

“ Yeah. ”

“ But we'll be fine. ” I nodded with a smile. “ Yeah. ”

“ Take care, Joel. ”

I nodded off at her as she went to her table, and I did the same as the math teacher made his way into the class.

“ Master Joel? ” I looked up from the mud house I was painting to stare at the health prefect, Andrew.

“ Yes? ”

“ The principal calls for you. ” I nodded. “ Thank you. ”

On my way to the principal's office, I found myself constantly pondering why I was being summoned by the principal. I'd never been summoned by any teacher, not to talk of the principal. So I wonder why. I've always been on my best behavior, partly because my scholarship was at stake but also because that's who I am.

“ Whoosh. ” The impact came too fast, as I wasn't able to prepare myself for it as I crash-landed with the personnel on me. “ Ouch. ” I couldn't help letting out as my back hit the ground and the weight fell on my chest.

“ Pain. ” Coming back to my senses, that was the first thing I experienced.

My eyes fluttered open slowly, wavy black ebony hair, which covered half of her face was the first thing that caught my attention.

Jemmy?

I caught sight of the well-manicured nails which were almost just as Jemmy's.

“ Oh boy. ” The personnel raised her heads up. Oh no, her eyes.

It felt like time stopped as our eyes locked. How could it be? Jemmy?

Could I be hallucinating or what?

How could someone look so much like another person? If I hadn't known better then I would have thought she was the latter's sister.

But that's impossible, right?

Jemmy's younger sister didn't look anything like her, though her younger brother was a carbon copy of her.

“ Am I dreaming? ” I thought to myself, staring at the girl who still had her eyes locked on me. She was staring at me with such intensity that I wondered if we’d met her before. But I will remember if we had, right?

And at last, the girl lifted herself from me and I stood up finally. “ You should be more careful. ” I said, still unable to look away from her. It seemed like my eyes had been completely glued to hers as I just couldn't.

“ Hm. Thank you. ” Her voice was soft, her face completely flushed.

Soft? Jemmy? How could it be? I stared at the girl in front of me who bore a huge resemblance to Jemmy.

Am I being played with? Just when I'm slowly recovering from my grief, I was being greeted by a girl who looked exactly like my lost love.

How cruel is this actually?

“ You are welcome. Take care. ” I found my voice at long last and turned around to leave.

“ Wait. ” I was frozen in shock when her palm made contact with my wrists. “ What's it? ” I turned towards her, trying to keep my anger at bay. Why was I annoyed? I wondered.

“ Thank you once again for helping me. I am Cecile Grayson. ” She said with a smile, stretching her palms towards me.

“ It's my pleasure. I am Joel Maverick. ” I took her palm reluctantly, obviously trying not to be rude.

I almost retracted my palm the moment the connection was made, her palm was as soft as Jemmy's. What's going on actually? I wondered.

“ You've got a very beautiful name, Joel. ”

“ Yeah. Thank you. ” I replied, staring dumbly at her.

“ See you around, Joel. ” She smiled at me.

“ Same here. ” I replied, finally walking away.

I was late for the principal's office.

I just hope he doesn't get angry because of this.

Well, whatever.

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A/N: Hehehehe. What do you think, guys?