Prologue

Sophia sits cross legged at her desk tapping her foot along with her iPod. She runs her fingers through her hair and clips in a heart-shaped pin. Sophia pulls out a ripped and crumpled piece of paper with words on it and reads it over like she does every morning. Sophia looks across to the empty desk beside her and wonders how he is doing. Mike sits at his new desk in his new school and looks around. He turns up the volume to his music as all the desks around him begin to fill. Unconsciously, he wonders how she was doing.

Once school ends, Sophia sets out on the street they always took. She looks at the posters hugging the glistening windows of colorful barber shops and longs for a haircut. But she restrains herself, she has to keep her hair the same way he likes it… just in case they were to meet again. Sophia stops in front of an ice cream store and pauses to count her money. She never bought anything unless she could pay for him too – in case he was there. As she walks in her broken heart remembers the trouble he went through to bring her here. Sophia orders a vanilla ice cream cone and looks around hoping to see him, but he isn’t there. “Will he ever come back?”

One block away Mike is getting his hair cut so that she wouldn’t see his bone-skinny body and dying heart. He run his fingers across his short-short hair and proceeds to go home. After a few steps an ice cream shop catches Mike’s attention. He looks at the menu and is about to order a vanilla like how they always did but got a chocolate instead. Mike looks around for a brown haired girl eating a vanilla ice cream cone. “Will she ever be back?”

As Sophia finishes her ice cream she looks up one last time for him but saw no one. Felling sad, she walks down the street to notice a clothing store they had once visited. She searches for a long time until she found the exact outfit she is wearing on a skinny tall mannequin. She pushes past the many moms buying the same outfit and manages to brag all the clothing in the right size. Sophia spends the rest of her money and buys the outfit; hoping that if she should miss him in the streets, at least he would notice her.

Mike really hates the chocolate ice cream and endes up throwing it out before he finishes it. He strolls down the street and enters a clothing store that she hates. Unwillingly, he buys the worst looking outfit he could find. And as he left his eyes slyly flutters around for a skinny girl wearing a cute blue t-shirt with a white heart design and white short jeans.

Sophia stands at the bus stop at the end of her street. A boy wearing a green shirt, neon yellow pants and a red cap walks next to her. Cringing, she manages to follow him onto the bus. Mike looks at the girl following him on the bus and his heart stops. Restraining himself from saying anything, he finds two empty seats on the bus. Sophia looks around the bus and notices that the only available seat is next to the eccentrically dressed boy. She hesitantly sits down next to him and they simultaneously take out their iPods. The conversation between the two ends there and Sophia decides to turn around so that she doesn’t face him. Mike couldn’t help to notice that the white cupid arrow, which was attached to her heart-shaped pin, is now gone. Sophia feels that he is watching her so she suddenly turns to face him. Mike’s heart quakes as his eyes catch a glimpse of her caramel brown ones; quickly he hides his face in the shadows of his cap. Ignoring this, Sophia gets off the bus at the next stop and he follows her.

As Sophia walks to a small villa building, the sky cries like the first night she spent with him. She rings for room 331 but no one answers. Slowly, Sophia takes out her phone and dials a number that she knows by heart. After a few seconds she realizes that the number is no longer available. Heartbroken, she turns around to walk home as the heavens cry in misery… as if they can read her heart.

Mike trudges through the pouring rain as he follows her to his old apartment. Mike smiles as he watches her trying to contact him. When she turns around, Mike accidentally startles her and hands her a note. Confused, she takes the note. Mike slowly goes his separate way with a heart broken like shattered glass.

As soon as he leaves, Sophia reads the two sided note. In the dim street lights she can make out, “Even thought I love you, I can’t love you. Even thought I hate you, I can’t forget you. Even though you broke my heart, I still want you back. The only thing that leaves me now is tears and stupid actions. I can’t live without you.” She flips over the note and finds the other half of her crumpled piece of paper. Her heart pounds against her chest as she drops her umbrella in shock and runs after him.

Mike sits on a wet bench waiting for the rain to wash away his troubles; waiting for the sky’s falling tears to hide his. As he got up to leave, she comes running to him.

Sophia stops a few feet behind him to catch her breath. Her scared heart shouts unsaid words at him. As he begins to walk out of her life a second time, Sophia’s lips can’t take it anymore. Sophia calls out Mike’s name, “I’m sorry, let’s start again!"

CD Memories

Jay placed a CD into the CD player but as soon as he pressed play, the CD flew back out at him. He rubbed his head which made Jen laugh happily. She picks out another CD for him and holds it out, gently she puts the CD in and a soft tune plays. They lean back on a white sofa and think about the time they’ve spent together.

Jen remembers the first time they met in that bright little dance studio. Jay was dancing a funny-cheap looking dance that made her laugh. He moon-walked next to her and her friends and leaned into her, he took a sniff of her warm vanilla aroma and smiled. “Hi, you smell good” was their first exchange in words. Jen had laughed even louder and took out some lotion; she walked by him while he was still dancing and wiped some lotion on his face. Feeling a bit alarmed Jay didn’t know what to do, but he didn’t want to embarrass her so he rubbed the lotion towards his nose and inhaled loudly. “Ah… thanks. What’s your name?” The music had stopped by now and Jen smiled, “Jen, Jen Kim. You are?” Jay bowed formally and Jen tried to hide her laughter with her hand, Jay stood up again and held out his hand for hers, “My name is Jay Lee dear lady. And might I say that today is a fine day isn’t it?” Jen giggled and took his hand; they danced through the night… even when their friends had left, even when the lights had turned out, even as the sun was rising. They danced until they couldn’t breathe anymore, and when they weren’t dancing they were trying to talk. They danced until Jen fell asleep from exhaustion. Jen remembered looking at the video the security camera had caught of Jay fixing her hair and putting her head against his shoulder. She smiled at the thought and her memories trailed to their first date.

Their first date had appeared by accident. Jen and Jay had been on their way to the dance studio when all of the sudden it started pouring. Jay pulled Jen into a green house as lightning began to light to sky. They ended up spending a night there. Jay showed Jen his funny way of watering flowers and Jen showed him the correct way, they played tag and made rainbows with the sprays of water and dim light; they ended up eating dinner there and once they had enough to play they began dancing again. If only they could relive that night, if only they could dance under the shelter of a green house again. Tearing up, Jen moved to the next memory.

After the rain shower, Jay had invited Jen to his house. She remembered following him though the fresh smelling dew and slipping on the grass, but instead of going to his home he took a detour and took her to a coffee shop. This was where their first official date began; Jay had ordered her coffee and his eyes never left hers. They had been so nervous that morning, Jen almost threw up her coffee because she absent mindedly put too many cubes of sugar in it. Jay on the other hand had forgotten to put sugar in it, so they mixed the two drinks and made wonderful coffee. Jen’s hand moved along with her memories as she poured her coffee into a big cup and he did too.

The taste of the successful cup of coffee lasted until Jay pulled her into his bathroom and set her on a stool. Curious she watched him rush around getting ready for something. When he finished he stood up with his hands behind his back and asked Jen to open her mouth. Smiling, she opened her mouth and looked innocently at him. He smiled back at her and began brushing her teeth. Surprised, she closed her mouth on the toothbrush and looked at him confused. He prompted her to open her mouth again and she did; he continues to brush her teeth and in the end helped her rinse too. He imitated how someone should rinse and gargle water but Jen had drunk too much water to do that so she swallowed it. Jay looked alarmed at first but laughed with her when she wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. Jay smiled lovingly and ruffled her hair with a white towel. Jen smiled reached up and touched his hand; outside of her memories, the song she played was about to end and she reached up to touch her hair. The song ended and the whole room became silent. Jen slowly opened her red, puffy eyes and looked beside her. Jay who is sitting next to her slowly disappears as Jen tries to touch him. Crying harder she grabs a piece of parchment colored paper and rereads Jay’s death certificate. If only they had more time.