Searching for Love, Found Wealth

Chloe came to sit besides me. Rueben smiled at her but she didn’t smile back. I stared at her for a while hoping she’d meet my gaze but she didn’t.

“Should I get you burger?” Rueben asked when he saw her not eating anything.

Her face lit up, “Sure. Thanks”. A hopeless foodie.

“Won’t you ask what we talked about?” Chloe nudged me when Reuben left to get her food.

I gave her a questioning look since I can’t talk with my mouth full of food.

“Well, people did give me weird stares when they saw me talking with Cara. I guess you don’t care about her at all” Chloe chucked.

I chuckled along with her but I didn’t see her talking with Chloe.

Whatever was with her taking to people she had bad blood with? Earlier was Jennifer, now Cara? I’d try my best not to ask.

We went back for our agric class. The teacher had paired us up for a project.

Things happened fast and I got paired up with J-twins. Both. Like seriously. Chloe was with Sheena and Chris.

Reuben smiled at me from his team table. It was a painful smile. I’d prefer him to them though. Jacob wasn’t even meeting my gaze.

I write down all the requirements for the soil sample we’d be getting. We were then to make a table. Indicating it’s type, texture, and blah blah.

I have a feeling this project would be more of me though. I’d try to drag them along even.

We could get lots if sandy soil from our school environment but clayey and loamy soil could be a bit of a problem.

“Let’s go to the old timber house. Clay and Loam is there” Jacob suggested when I had asked. He smiled as Jasper glared at him.

“That place is haunted. Who’d go with you?” Jasper sighed, massaging his temples.

Haunted? Why would anyone even go if it’s haunted.

“Cos I usually go there” Jacob answered me. I didn’t know I had spoken out loud.

I gave a nod. I wasn’t doing anything with ghosts or spirits. I already had a kidnapper on my tail. Thank you!

“Someone has to go with me. It’s a class project” Jacob smirked. Jasper turned away with a frown.

“We can find somewhere else…”.

“There’s no where else really. This isn’t the first time we’ve had such project. Unless you go to the stream uptown, no other place”.

Surely everyone would go to the stream uptown, it wasn’t wrong if we tagged along.

“Then you pay tourist fee just to collect mud?” Jacob face slammed when I seemed to approve of the stream uptown.

“You want your twin to die of fear and shock? Cos you’re gonna scare me at the timber house. I’m not going” Jasper said with finality.

Jacob didn’t seem moved and turned to me. It felt like he didn’t expect his brother to come but me.

“Sorry sir. But I can die too. We’d go uptown, even if only me” I ticked the box of mud and sandy soil.

Jacob didn’t remove that nasty smirk from his face and it made me worried on what next he’d be planning.

Loamy soil could be gotten from farm sites. I seemed to know a few. And sieve and net for our practical would be bought tomorrow.

I’m glad we have a whole week for this. The agric teacher said we’d spend eight minutes each explaining what we learnt. It was a good one, I was excited.

“So we’d go to stream when? Come back when? Let Jasper handle the theory, he’s a brain Jacob reminded of the project.

“Why? Can we go and come back from the stream in one day?” I asked back.

He shook his head. His smirk returning after it finally left earlier, “It’s almost two days journey”.

And I have to be at home to protect from kidnap. I was pretty useless for this project.

“I can’t go out. It’s not safe for me”.

“We’d leave in the night. Come back in one hour” Jacob shrugged.

“You mean to the timber house? Why’d you want me there so bad?” I rolled my eyes.

He tapped my shoulders and walked faster, leaving me to catch up with Jasper and Reuben.

What if this dude is the kidnapper? No, I shook the thought off.

Maybe I’ll be safe if Jacob, the once upon a time bad boy, would be there with me. I just hope I won’t be in for surprises.

Or sneaking up on. Cos, the hell, I’d shout. Bless the nights.

“Kiera, guess what?” Chloe jumped on me from behind. She nearly tore my hoodie as she held herself from slipping.

She had a book in her hand upwards, “I just found my book I used for this project in grade 10. I’d just copy and paste” she snickered.

I sighed, “How is that helping me? I am not in your team”.

“Oh, true” she pouted, making me laugh.

“Well, you have fun people there. Sheena and Chris. And Chris seems like he’s getting along with academics” I added.

She snapped her fingers, “I guess so too. He was willing to help table everything down and paid my tickets to go to the stream uptown and even offered me movie tickets so we’d watch documentaries of soil particles. He’s really into his academics” Chloe rapped as if realization dawned on her.

To me, majority of what she said Chris did seemed more like he was asking Chloe on a date.

He did wink saying he had an inspiration for his good grades. Maybe. Just maybe it’s Chloe.

But miss love expert was never good at finding her own love admirers only others’.

Sheena joined us as we walked towards the exit. I began complaining about the ‘trip to the timber house’ I’d be having with Jacob. I had to whine to someone.

Sheena likened it to me watching a scary movie with Jacob. She added that I could fling myself on him if as little as a roach cross my path.

I’d love to be dramatic but not with a bad boy like Jacob. So things won’t look weird or complicated.

“I would advice not to go at all. Why is Jacob taking you there? IS HE PSYCHO AGAIN?” Chloe balled her fists.

I tapped her head, “Chill. The dude’s psycho well hasn’t he ever been?”.Contentt bel0ngs to N0ve/lDrâ/ma.O(r)g!

“Well, it’s different that he’s dragging you cos timber house is a graveyard, everyone knows that. A real graveyard!” Chloe ticked my head harshly.