"I really do like Angie man", Jayden blurted out in frustration to his best friend Mike after so many failed attempt to get Angie's attention.
He continued: "I don't understand why she won't even look at me, I mean look at me man, I'm hot".
"Maybe it's because you got bad breath, Mike said with a straight face".
"Wait for real"? Jayden asked in shock as he cupped his hands and blew air into it, perceiving it to be certain he's not been suffocating Angie with mouth odor.
Mike watched in amusement and couldn't hold unto his laughter. He videoed Jayden briefly and threatened to post it on the school's blog.
Jayden, not wanting to be embarrassed some more, had to bribe Mike with his bus fare back home.
At the close of school, Jayden was taking a walk home and sweating profusely from the scorching sun, then a car driving on high speed, suddenly breaks as it approached Jayden.
Peem! peem! peem!!!!!
A loud honk startled Jayden which made him run into the lawn by the pedestrian walkway.
From where he was taking cover from the lunatic driver, he peeped and saw Angie come out from the car and walked towards his hide-out.
Angie couldn't help but laugh at the embarrassing run Jayden did, while she felt bad from startling him, she still found it amusing but had to apologize.
"Hey! Common, it's just a honk, my car doesn't have teeth, and I'm no monster, you can come out from your hiding now". Angie said to Jayden as she laughed uncontrollably.
Jayden was too embarrassed to come out from his hideout, as the first time Angie took notice of him, it has to be in an embarrassing situation.
Acting like the coolest kid on the block, Jayden adjusted his clothing, cleared his throat and faked laughter to wave off the embarrassing moment he just had.
"You really got me there Princess, you know us charming men need to protect our handsomeness as we are fast becoming extinct". Jayden said to Angie
"Is that so?" Angie replied laughing and extending a hand for a handshake.
"Hi, I'm Angie", she said with a stunning smile.
"Jayden, is the name that I go by".
"Pleasure meeting you Jayden, so do you live around? I could give you a ride". Angie suggested as her eyes traced the sweat marks on Jayden's long sleeve.
"You look like you'd really need it", she continued with another smile.
But Jayden wasn't paying attention as he was transfixed. What he has been dying for all school year is finally materializing on a platter.
" Finally, Angie is talking to me", he squealed in his head like a little girl.
"Hello, earth to Jayden", Angie said as she snapped her fingers to his face.
"Uh?", Jayden said in lost as he managed to reach reality. "Oh! sure he stuttered, I really would need a ride".
As they walked to the car, Angel said to Jayden, "you are that gentleman always hanging around Mike right?, The one with the guitar?"
Jayden was too flabbergasted to say a word. All these while he hung out with Mike and his crew, he had thought Angie wasn't paying any attention to him.
"Maybe you'd play for me sometime", Angie said keenly as they got into the car.
The rest of the ride was fun filled as Angie had a good laugh and bounded with Jayden.
As time went by, Angie and Jayden became a pair, two peas in a pod. But what they had wasn't defined.
Thus, Jayden decided to take the bull by the horn. He was in a studio recording with Mike and had invited Angie.
After he was done with his song, he asked Angie to be his girl.
There was this unexplained shock on Angie's face as she removed her headphone and dashed out of the studio.
Jayden dropped his guitar, took off his headphone and ran after Angie, but he met her reversing and zooming off.
As he stood there bumped and gloomy, Mike came out, held his shoulder and told him, "you blew it man".
"Not every girl like surprises". Mike concluded.
For the rest of the term, Angie did well to avoid Jayden as he never saw her in school, and he couldn't approach any of her friends as they never liked him because they felt he was a low life.
One evening, as Jayden was home having a quiet time since the Angie episode, his phone rang.
"Hello, Jayden?" Mike called out distressed.
"Hey bro what's wrong?" Jayden asked as he sat up from his rest state.
"We are currently at the hospital man, it's terrible." "Angie needs you", Mike added.
As Jayden heard hospital, his heart sank. He rushed out of his room like a raving lunatic. But his father stopped him, calling out to him as he wrapped his hands around him while holding on to his chest. "Jayden what's wrong?" The father asked as his mother watched in panic.
"Angie!" Jayden yelled as he broke down in tears.
The father managed to calm him down.
When calm, Jayden narrated to his parents how he had received a call from Mike concerning Angie, and how he's headed to the hospital to see her.
The father looked at him, asked him to hold on as he handed him his car keys saying, "this will get you there faster".
At the hospital, Jayden was greeted by Angie's family. He was surprised how they all welcomed him like they knew him.
Angie's sister went, "Angie won't stop talking about you".
"Where is she?" Jayden asked with so much concern as he was led to Angie's sick bed.
He could barely recognize her as she was looking so frail, old, and worn out.
Then he said to her: "So this is why you've been away and I thought you were avoiding me".
This made Jayden cry uncontrollably. "Why didn't no one tell me, he questioned?"
"Because we didn't want you crying like a Sisi," Angie joked sounding weak as they both had a good laugh.
"You going to be ok Angie," we'd go through this and overcome it together. Jayden said with so much hope.
Keeping through to his words, Jayden did stay by Angie's side. Seeing that Angie's health worsen, Jayden told his parents he's taking a break from school, so he can be dedicated fully to taking care of her. As much as they disapproved, they couldn't stop his decision.
One night as Jayden was fast asleep at one end of Angie's sick room, Angie woke up with so much energy, calling out to Jayden and screaming, "I am healed, I am ok Jayden, the pains are gone." "God healed me, it's a miracle", she added in excitement.
Jayden jolted up and rushed to Angie's side as she requested for water.
He was so excited and kept thanking God for such an unexpected miracle. But as he returned with the water, trying to engage Angie in a Chit chat, He noticed she wasn't responsive anymore, and the heart monitor was flat.
He called out to the Doctor and his team, but there was nothing they could do as Angie was gone.
Jayden yelled as he called out to Angie with so much pain for dashing his hope and leading him on.
"You were supposed to fight Angie, I had so much faith in you." Jayden yelled some more as tears came pouring and he became violent.
The medical team tried their best to console him, telling him it was a lost cause, as Angie was never going to come out from her condition.
They could only manage it but that would be torture and more pain for Angie. "She's in a better place now", the Doctor concluded, as he tried so hard with his team to calm Jayden.
With tears in his eyes, Jayden looked at the doctor and responded, "her better place is with me and she let me down."
