Chapter 05.

Albert


A middle-aged man walks in not long after the bell rings, carrying a dark brown briefcase and piles of papers.
Judging from all these, I bet he is the lecturer.

And I am right.

"Good afternoon, everyone. Welcome to my class." He claps his hand three times, drawing students' attention in the room as if to announce that he is here. "My name is Sam, short for Samrach. I'll be in charge of Social Studies. For those who are interested in social work in the future, this will be a fascinating subject. We'll learn about how the world works, how to be environmentally friendly, and how to get more about the current society. As for the details, you'll know when I hand you copies of the outlines. But before we get to that, how about getting to know each other first?"

"That's a great idea, lecturer. We also want to get to know you. Are you married?" asks a girl in a see-through blouse in which the buttons are left unbuttoned till the third one.

The whole class goes boo at her question. The guys are cheering while some of the girls are giggling shyly. However, my full attention is on one person only. And she shows no reaction whatsoever.

Mr. Sam shakes his head and lifts his left hand, revealing a golden band on his ring finger. "Yes, I am. My son is turning two next month, by the way."

"Oh, that's too bad." The same girl who asks the question pouts.

"Now, everyone. Back to business. It's time for you all to make a brief self-introduction." Mr. Sam trails off and picks up a folder where he opens it and does a quick scan. "There are only twenty-three of you. I don't think it will take much time. Let's get started here." He points at the first guy in my row.

I watch as my classmates stand up and introduce themselves one by one until it is my turn. I don't get why we have to stand, but I'll just follow them since it is what everyone does.

"Hello, everyone. My name is Albert Stanley. But call me Al. I'm from San Francisco, but due to my dad's job, I've been moving between the US and the UK, so my English is somehow a bit of both. I know I might be an alien to you, but I'll try my best to fit in. It is also inevitable for a foreigner like me to make mistakes as I don't know much about your local culture, but I'll try to learn about it. So, for the time being, please be forgiving. Thank you." I am about to sit back down when the girl from before interrupts me.

"Wait, Al. Is that all? You haven't even mentioned if you have a girlfriend or not."

"Cindy!" A pretty girl next to her hits her shoulder lightly. "What's with you today?"

So, that sexy girl is named Cindy. I see. I think to myself.

With a tone that I've always succeeded in getting a girl's heart, I reply, "I'm single and available."

"Perfect. So am I." Cindy wriggles her eyebrows at me. "Hobbies?"

I smile at her straightforwardness. "Playing soccer. You know, it's what the Brits call football. Also," I direct my eyes away from the sexy girl towards my target. "I love to read. So even during my running practice every morning, I listen to audiobooks instead of music."

Just like I have intended, I finally get her attention. The ghostly girl turns to look at me with a surprised countenance.

"Awesome! You're just like my best friend here! She is a bookworm." A cute girl yells at me, pointing at the ghostly girl.

"Oh, really? She likes reading, too?" I feign ignorance. "That's nice. How about we spend some time reading together?"

"That's...hmm,"

I can no longer hear anything except muffling sounds, for the ghostly girl is clamping her best friend's lips shut with her hands, preventing any more words from escaping.

"I don't know about football, but I know a few footballers. I see them on tv. Let's say we have the same common interest then," says Cindy, trying to get my attention back. But, when I turn to her, she bats her eyelashes at me, clearly showing a sign of open flirting.

I want to reciprocate the action, but Mr. Sam cuts me off.

"Okay. That's enough, Al. Thank you. Next, please."

I sit down and look at Cindy, wanting to know if her invitation is still open. However, I am met with a pair of hazel brown eyes instead. They belong to the girl who hit Cindy lightly on the shoulder not long ago.

When she catches me looking, the thin cherry red lips stretch to the sides, producing an angelic smile. She nods as if to say hello before directing her eyes to look at Phil, who is standing up and introducing himself.

The way she dresses and the makeup she wears is not as sexy as Cindy's. However, her beauty is dazzling. It is like she has her own charm.

One can tell she is the precious diamond amongst all gems.

She is totally my type, I think to myself. Still, in contradiction to my thought, my eyes keep wandering to the same person I first met today.

The ghostly girl.

One at a time, students get up and introduce themselves shortly. It doesn't take long before it is time for her row to do so. I am eagerly waiting for her turn to learn her name. Nevertheless, when she stands up, someone averts my attention.

"Al, I have something important to tell you," says Phil.

Seriously, dude. Now? I groan inwardly. Though I hate that he interrupts me at the worst moment, I don't want to be rude at our first meeting. I mean, I seem to already leave a bad impression on one person. I don't want to accumulate the list on the first day.

"What is it?" I turn to him.

"Well, I…"

I frown at his hesitation. "You what?"

"I just want to say that I love Cindy."

My frowns deepen at the unexpected words. "If you love her, you should tell her. So why are you telling me?"

Phil scratches the back of his head like a child. His mouth opens and closes like a fish in the water. "I...I just...I don't have the courage to confess to her."

"Phil, if you love the girl, you have to get the girl. If you wait for courage to come to you, someone will snatch her away."

"You don't understand. Cindy never glances my way. I put on quite an effort just to become her friend. I'm afraid if I confess now, I'll even lose that friendship."

"Well, you never know until you try. How are you so sure that she doesn't think of you the way you think of her?"

"I'm quite sure because she doesn't stop looking at you."

Ouch. So this is the reason he tells me. It seems he is trying to declare 'back off from my girl.' I think to myself. Well, don't worry, dude. Although I find Cindy sexy, the one who gets my attention isn't her.

"Everyone is looking at me because I'm the only foreigner here. Besides, if you're worried about me stealing your future girlfriend, you can rest assured. I don't feel that way about her."

Phil widens his eyes in surprise at my bluntness.

"So, whatever you're afraid of happening, it won't happen," I reassure him again, earning myself a pat on the shoulder.

"I like you, Al. I think we're going to be best friends."

No, thank you. I'm okay with just being a classmate. I swallow the words to the back of my head. I nod at him and turn my attention back to the students' self-introduction to see that the ghostly girl has already finished.

Sadly, I didn't get to know her name. But there is nothing to worry about. I have a lot of methods up my sleeve. Finding a girl's name is a piece of cake for someone like me.

And I am committed to getting my result before the end of the day.


<TO BE CONTINUED>

P.S: Thank you for reading this far. If you are interested in more, please find the rest of the story on DREAME app. (D-R-E-A-M-E). The app is available to download on Apple Store and Google Play.