Free The Corner by Shaine Lake

shoulder and proceeded to settle
down into the seat beside me . I found it unbelievable
that he would actually sit with me. For a few minutes, the grey
matter in my head was swirling wildly, unable to process any
information. I felt my heart, which was pumping blood at full
force, being pulled up to my throat, blocking my air passageway and
pressing on my vocal cords.
    Did I smell alright? Did my
behaviour seem normal? Any remnants of my breakfast stuck between
my teeth? Did he know that I was nervous? Would he have the
impression that I was a creep?
    I dared not move, much less say
anything. The idea of abandoning my plan crossed my mind. But as a
friend, what had I done for Mandy? For my sake, she had carried the
burden of withholding the truth from our classmates. I was grateful
to Kelly too, but she had done the same thing because of Mandy, not
me. I hardened my resolve to step out of my comfort zone.
    I squeaked, “Hi.”
    Anton was just staring ahead,
not responding to my greeting.
    Did he ignore me on purpose? One
more try … and after that, I would avoid taking the same bus as
him.
    “Hi,” I blurted with a voice
that was a few decibels higher than usual.
    He turned to regard me with a
seemingly puzzled expression. His bright, blue eyes, the soft dark
blond hair … I found him to be better-looking up close. His name
“Anton Thorne” was embroidered across the top of his shirt pocket.
The heat was rushing to my cheeks. I wanted so much to look away so
that he couldn’t see that I was blushing.
    “I saw you once in the gymnasium
…” That was like the only topic I could talk about. I couldn’t be
telling him that I had been observing him for a while already,
right?
    “So?” His voice was smooth and
calm, but I could feel the hostility in it.
    I bowed down my head. “You were
really good on the high bar.” I was contemplating whether to look
up to check out his reactions to my words.
    “When?” He sure sounded
wary.
    Clasping my hands, I began to
rub my thumbs against each other. The frequency of the motion was
getting higher as I got more nervous. “Two weeks ago.”
    “Monday or Thursday?”
    I found it odd that he would ask
that question since my school’s gymnastics team didn’t have any
practice on Monday. So the answer was obvious. “Thursday. We had
practice on that day also.”
    His voice and facial expressions
softened as he replied, “Oh. That one was quite okay. I wasn’t in
my best form. Didn’t pull off a clean execution of the flip. I
neglected to keep my anchor arm straight during the half-turn
swing. Made an early tap when doing the back giant.”
    He was so critical of himself.
Maybe that was why he could perform well in his studies, sports,
and probably music too. “To a novice like me, your routine looks
perfect …” Maybe “novice” was the wrong word to use in my case.
    I stole a peek at him and saw
that he still had that nonchalant look. Was it because he didn’t
really care for compliments, or his heavy lidded eyes had brought
about that impression?
    “You’re a first year student,
right? With more practices, you’ll learn to know what to look out
for.”
    When he mentioned that, I felt
kind of ashamed that I didn’t tough it out. “I dropped out after
the first lesson,” I confessed.
    He shrugged. “Not
surprising.”
    I was taken aback by his brutal
frankness. But then again, I wouldn’t feel comfortable if he tried
to console me since it might feel strange and inappropriate, given
that he had just known me. “Yeah, after that fall … it’s obvious
that I’m not—”
    “What fall?” He tilted his head
to an angle where I could catch a glimpse of his face even though I
was looking down at my hands.
    “I fell off the vault on my
first lesson. Everyone present knew about it.”
    After a snort, he chirped, “I
didn’t. Was aware that there was a commotion, but it was none of my
concern.”
    “Oh …” I just realized that I
had let slipped the