Chapter four | Superficial Values

Chapter four | Superficial Values

My foot created a rhythmic beat along the wall. I hummed the song I last heard on the radio as I checked the time on my phone.

Worry slipped through my thoughts as I saw it was half-past five. A sudden dread settled in the pit of my stomach, making me bite my nail nervously.

What if he doesn't show up?

What will I do if he suddenly changes his mind?

All my thoughts came to a sudden halt as I noticed a familiar figure approach. A smile involuntarily slipped on my face, and I felt myself relax. The stiffness of my shoulder suddenly dissipated.

Soon he was standing in front of me clad in simple jeans and a pale yellow t-shirt. He quirked a dark brow in question.

"You are late," I said, narrowing my eyes towards him. "We'd decided on five-fifteen, and it's five thirty! My precious fifteen minutes are gone."

Annoyance was evident through my words, but he didn't seem to care. In response, he just rolled his eyes and shrugged his shoulders.

"Well, I was half expecting it to be a joke on your part," he mumbled under his breath.

Understanding consumed my thoughts, and soon my shoulder shook as I laughed at the statement. It was funny how both of us were self-doubting the arrangement. "Here I thought you would ditch me today," I confessed, choking with laughter.

A smile made its way on his face, making his eyes lighten. As soon as it came, it disappeared too. He squared his shoulders and pursed his lips.

"So, what now?" he said as he looked at the mall entrance.

I gave him a bland look, as he stared back just as confused. I rolled my eyes and entered the mall, not bothering to answer his query.

"Hey, you didn't answer my question!" he exclaimed as he caught up to me with long steps.

Exasperated, I turned around with a flat look. "Shopping, duh," My answer curt as I resumed walking towards the mall map.

I scanned the map, trying to find the men's apparel shops between cramped small boxes and numbers. I ignored the weird choking noise he was making at the back of his throat and concentrated on my task.

"You brought me here to shop?" he asked, sounding more and more irritated with every word.

With my eyes still focused on the map, I felt myself nod. "Yes, shopping," I muttered, not paying him much attention. "Aha!" I cried out in triumph a few seconds later.

I turned and grabbed his hand. Tugging him along, I stood in front of the elevator doors. Pressing the metal button, we stepped in as the doors slid open.

He cleared his throat, gaining my attention. I gave him a questioning look which gestured downwards. Our hands were still entwined, thanks to my vice-grip. I blushed, mortified and snatched my hand away from him.

A pale pink dusted his cheeks too, making him look cute.

I bit my lip and averted my eyes. Trying to pull a full stop on the absurd thoughts, I spoke.

"We are here to find new clothes for you."

I raised my hand as I saw him opening his mouth to interrupt. "No, nothing is wrong with your clothes except the fact that they don't make you stand out."

I gestured at his current outfit as an example. He just glared at me in response, making me grin.

As the doors slid open, I briskly walked through the rows of shops. I pointed at a particular shop and gestured for him to follow me. With sheer boredom lacing his expression, he followed me inside.

As we browsed through our third store, Elias was more than annoyed. I roamed throughout the men's section while Elias stood there leaning against a wall. Silently enduring my rambling for the past one hour. A few bags were sitting next to his legs.

"I still don't get the point, Cynthia!" Elias bemoaned. Once again, I rolled my eyes at his tantrums, even though it made me smile a bit.

I turned around with a dark gray t-shirt dangling from my arm. Our eyes battled in the staring match for a long minute. Both of us were too stubborn to back down.

Staring into his eyes, I couldn't help but notice how gorgeous they were. Pale ice shards and darker cobalt decorated those light blue irises — it was too easy to lose myself within them. A silent gasp escaped my lips, and I quickly looked away.

The air between us suddenly felt charged, making me cough awkwardly. With a small pep talk internally, I gave him a brilliant smile.

"Let's get something to eat. I am hungry," I announced cheerily. He cleared his throat and averted his eyes away from mine. Nodding quickly, he stepped out.

His long legs consumed the distance in haste as I tried to follow him around in my midget legs. He didn't even bother to wait for me as he slipped into the elevator. I could help but roll my eyes. What a gentleman!

I scanned around, looking for a familiar lanky frame with a brown mop for hair. Soon I found him right near the escalators as he awkwardly looked my way.

Leaning against the metal rail, he scratched the back of his head.

"I am craving fries and maybe a hamburger!" I said, breezing past him. I was pretty sure he was rolling his eyes at the moment as he wordlessly followed me around.

"So, what is the use of this exercise?" He emphasized the last words with a mocking look. "I thought you were going to teach me how to be a bad boy. Is being a fashionista part of the course?"

I bit into my fries as he sipped his cola. His stare was expectant as he waited for my answer.

"Your clothes are simple, and if we need to make you a bad boy, we need to dress you in something eye-catchy," I said as I picked two fries.

"So, you want me to wear a leather jacket, always? Isn't that very basic and unhygienic?" he replied, drawing a conclusion from my words.

I shook my head at his words and sipped my icy coffee. "Leather jacket is a good start, but you don't need to always wear it." I leaned back in my chair. "Have you ever noticed the way Jacob dresses?"

He nodded, and I quickly stole one of his fries. Pinning me with a glare, for stealing his food, he replied with a curt yes.

"You need to dress like him. Well, not exactly like him but inspired by him..." I trailed off, trying to find the right words to explain.

"So, I need to wear dark colors without looking like a goth guy," he supplied before he bit into his burger.

"God! No!" I groaned. "You need to take an effort to dress up. Bad boys might look like they just rolled out of the bed handsome, but in reality they spend time grooming themselves. All those hot looks are rarely natural."

Eli gave me a bored expression, taking his time to chew on the bite.

"Agree or not, appearance matters a lot in forming opinions, especially in the case of teenage high school girls," I added, "During high school, you will see that superficial value holds significant power. So, you need to look like a bad boy to become one."

Just as he opened his mouth to reply, my phone pinged with a message. Pulling the device out from my purse, I checked the new message in the cheerleading group chat.

Cheer babes: Fern: 'Party at 7, 2moro.

Smith's place.'

Just as I was about to dismiss it as a random party invitation, an idea came to my mind.

"We are going to a party tomorrow," I exclaimed as I turned my phone screen towards his face. His eyes quickly scanned over the text, reading the words. His eyebrows scrunched together in confusion.

"Well, I am not invited," he mumbled as I pulled my phone back. I paused between typing my text and then resumed quickly. The sudden urge to sigh in exasperation was prominent.

"Nobody cares about the invitation, Eli. Trust me, half of the students there will be uninvited."

He shrugged his shoulders, trying to look nonchalant even though he was far from it. "I don't want to. I have to study tomorrow."

I groaned in annoyance and glared at him. Intelligently enough, he avoided my eyes altogether.

"So, you need to study on the second day of high school, oh such a believable excuse. You are seriously such an anti-social nerd," I muttered, flipping my hair behind my shoulder. "Here I am trying to help you and all you are doing is ruining my hard-work."

Suddenly he narrowed his eyes and matched my glare. "At least, unlike you and most of your air-headed girls, I know what two plus two is," he hissed in response. "And it wasn't me who came begging for your help. I can manage very well on my own."

He clenched his jaw as I bit my tongue hard, trying not to spit the harsh words out. I could feel the faint metallic taste of blood on my tongue. Taking a calming breath, I closed my eyes.

Calm down, Cyn. You have been called worse. Easy, nothing new. He was just defending himself.

Our anger was like a bubble, short lived. We both sighed and looked at each other with apologetic eyes.

"I am sorry for calling you anti-social, it was judgemental of me," I whispered.

"Me too. I am sorry, it was wrong on my part. I am sure you know what two plus two is," he apologized, ending it with a joke.

I cracked a short-lived smile and nodded. Leaning forward, I gave his a stern look.

"If we want this arrangement to work, then we need to be civil with each other. So, deal, no catfights till we reach our goal?"

He chuckled and shook the hand I extended.

"Okay." His voice was calmer than before.

"Well... Let's end this here for today," I declared, getting up from my chair. Eli just shrugged in response and followed my lead.

We approached the mall exit, making me turn my head around. "I'll try bearing you for longer next time,"

He smiled at me, making me smile too. "I'll try my best too."