One month flew quickly; the cold winds started to fade changing it to something stormy.
With that season, everyone became lazy to go around. The brotherhood started the morning with a warm breakfast; they took the time considering their free schedule for the day.
Suren – a seminarian asked Silas, “Bro. Silas, I see you often having a talk with Stella. Are you
that close?”. Silas looked at him with eyebrows raised, “You know her? To make it clear, yes, we are friends”
he answered.
Xavier replied, “Stella’s dad is a Catholic. He donates something here when a donation drive is
being initiated by the ministry. Unfortunately, her mom has a different religion and it is she who decided what religion will be passed through her daughter”.
“We’re friends for like three weeks already yet you’re the ones who stated those facts to me” said Silas while eating his breakfast.
“Some things should be separated by barriers, Silas. You can’t always cross that thing in between you two because you don’t know what’s on the other side” Suren said.
“Just like you, you can’t expose every single detail in one sentence” Xavier added.
Silas had his mouth shut. The two are correct. He glanced at the window; it’s raining hard.
Carl, who just woke up; had his arms wide stretched in the air. “This is what you call a bed weather” he said and sat with his brothers.
Ethan entered the dining area, “Father said that the mass won’t be held today. So, take your time and I’ll see you all in the meeting room after two hours for our rosary” he said.
The four smiled as if they gained victory. Silas stepped out of the room and brought out his phone.
He contacted his family but their housekeeper was the one who answered, “Silas, you called early today,” said the other line.
Silas smirked, “Yayi, can I talk to mom?” he asked. Their housekeeper on the other line sighed,
“You know your mom’s schedule. She just got home and she’s sleeping now” she answered.
Silas leaned on the stone wall in the hallway, “Alright then. Tell them that I miss them; I’ll call again when we have another free time. Bye” he said and dropped the call.
He scrolled through his contacts and found Stella’s number.
FLASHBACK
Stella grabbed his phone; “What are you doing?” Silas asked; trying to get his phone back.
“Wait a minute. I’m adding my number” she answered. Silas sighed and made her do the thing she wants. She took a selfie and included it as a contact photo.
“Done! Call me when you need anything” she said.
Silas tapped the contact photo.
END OF FLASHBACK
“That’s cute” he said; he was going to shove his phone back
inside his pocket when his phone rang.
Stella’s name and photo popped up from the screen. He’s having double thoughts and his heart is beating fast. It’s not his first time getting a call from a girl but it feels like he’s not used to it.
He’s going to decline it when Xavier swiped the screen to the right, making the call accepted.
Xavier whispered in his ear, “Thank me later”.
“Hello?” he started. Stella’s cheerful voice is heard on the other line, “Hi Silas! Maybe we can’t meet today; see the rain outside? It’s pouring hard and it won’t be easy to go there”. Her voice feels like there is sunshine outside.
Silas chuckled, “Come on Stella, our friendship
doesn’t need an attendance, okay? Just do your things; we’ll see each other after the storm” he answered.
“By the way, should we go outside sometimes. Like eating outside, bonding outside, or anything outside the church?” Stella asked.
“Alright. Just wait for our visiting time then; no one will visit me anyway” Silas answered.
“I have your word. That’s it; good luck with your tasks today!” she said and ended the call.
Just as quickly, the blue mood of the place turned into something colorful. Silas’ smirk faded; wild thoughts went inside his head again. “Why am I feeling this way? Did she just made my day?” he asked himself.
He shrugged and went inside his room. He grabbed his notebook and wrote down the words running through his head.
'Lord this is not what I am praying for but what is this? Why do I need to meet her? Why did I
learn something about her? Why did she wanted to bond with me?'
He held down his pen and laid himself in his bed. “I can’t believe these things are happening right now” he said; being naïve and numb about their situation.
“She’s just a friend but her voice is giving me unusual feelings” he said to himself.
Two days have passed; Silas and Stella saw again each other on the bench but this time, Silas is not wearing anything that is related to the church. He’s a civilian and he doesn’t look like a seminarian.
“Wow, this is my first time seeing you wearing those clothes. I stalked you on facebook but you don’t post anything” Stella said. “What? You scanned my account?!” he asked in disbelief.
“Don’t be like that. Your account looks like an empty shell” she answered.
Silas is currently wearing his gray hoodie partnered with jeans and his under-armour shoes. “That kind of style suits you well” Stella said.
Silas looked at her clothing. She’s wearing a fancy top and a denim short with her usual white sneakers.
“You look good on that too. By the way, where are we going?” Silas answered back. Stella
smiled upon hearing Silas’ words.
“Let’s go see a movie?” she asked.
Silas answered, “Good idea, I’m a movie bud”.
The two entered the mall. Stella offered to buy the tickets but Silas removed her hand from the stall and brought out his card. “Two VIP tickets please” he said and handed in his card.
“I guess you’re wealthy” Stella said while glancing at Silas’ wallet. “What made you guess that thing?” he asked. Stella had her lip pouted; pointing on Silas’ wallet. “See those cards? A normal teenager can’t have those. You have bills but you aren’t touching them” she said.
Silas looked at his wallet, “We should spend all these today. I can’t let you pay for everything” he answered.
Stella smiled; he’s such a gentleman. Silas held the popcorn boxes and drinks while Stella handed in their tickets. They’ll be watching Five Feet Apart.
“The lead character and you are carrying the same name” Silas whispered.
“Cool, right?” Stella said while consuming her box of popcorn.
The atmosphere in the cinema started to become cold. Silas saw Stella rubbing her legs; he empathized, making him take off his jacket.
“Why are you removing it? Can’t you feel the coldness?” she asked. Without minding Stella’s words, Silas placed his hoodie on Stella’s legs making her feel warm.
“You should not wear those shorts when going outside” he said. Stella felt special at that moment; she felt butterflies in her stomach for the first time.