Uggh. I haven't been well these days.
Oh, and I won't be online next Monday to Friday, due to a camp the school organised for my level.
----------
“Melody! Wait up!”
I heard footsteps approaching me and could identify the voice as belonging to a Peyton, but which one?
His clothes were a dead giveaway. Nathan tended to wear preppy but stylish outfits. He was wearing a shirt under his light blue sweater vest, and matching long white pants.
“H-hi Nathan,” I felt a light blush creep up my face for no reason.
“I’m glad I caught you,” He flashed me one of those beautiful smiles of his. I didn’t know how to reply to his statement, so I kept quiet.
At that moment, I realised how alike we were in how we dressed today. I was in a shirt, vest and long pants as well. I also noticed how dashing he looked.
I felt my cheeks burn many shades darker.
“I was hoping you would join me and the others during lunch today.” He stared into my eyes for a moment, and quickly dropped his gaze to the floor. “We could discuss the Home Economics project before we start our Biology one tomorrow.”
Shocked, my books tumbled out of my arms and landed in a messy pile on the floor. I hastily bent down to pick them up, my face now bright enough to be seen from space. Automatically, Nathan reached down to help me with my books and I would quickly move my hand away when his hand brushed against mine.
Straightening myself, I brushed the loose curls away from my face, and smoothed out my shirt, my head tilted down so that he wouldn’t see how furiously I was blushing.
“Thanks,” I murmured, my eyes still trained on the floor.
“No problem,” He grinned, then asked hopefully, “So will you come?”
Nodding, I mumbled, so softly that I was surprised that he had even heard me. “Yes,”
“Great, I’ll see you for lunch then!” His green eyes lit up, voice so ecstatic as if I had just accepted a date from him. “I’ve got to get back to the others.”
By the others, he must have meant his brothers and Helen. The four of them looked inseparable, frequently seen traversing around the hallways together.
He waved enthusiastically at me, his wavy, dirty blonde hair swishing slightly as he walked off with an added spring in his step.
I stood in the middle of the empty hallway watching his retreating figure, clutching onto my books for dear life as my heart thumped loudly.
***
“Oh my goodness, really?”
“Yes,” The senior tapped her foot impatiently, jabbing a glittery manicured finger in the direction of a door. “Go and talk to Eleanor in the Editorial office. She’ll brief you.”
“Thanks,” I mumbled timidly at her not-so-friendly tone. I knocked on the door, no response. I tried again and got the same results.
“Don’t bother, Eleanor’s so deaf sometimes that she might as well not have ears.” The senior droned on in a mundane tone.
I opened the door and walked in. The first thing that registered in my mind was how messy the room was, with papers chucked haphazardly all over the place. A pixie-like girl was sitting behind the desk, with short spiky hair a bit like Helen’s and sharp blue eyes. Earphones plugged to a striking red IPod were stuffed in her ears, and the girl was tapping her pen on the table rhythmically, staring intently at the computer screen in front of her.
Right smack in the middle of the table, a silvery metal sign displayed her name in big, black letters. Eleanor Puckley, Chief Editor
I cleared my throat, “Umm… Miss Puckley?” Her head continued to face the screen, bobbing up and down to the music she was listening to.
I raised my voice, “Miss Puck-“
“Cause I’m burnin’ up, burnin’ up for you BABEEEEEHHH!!!”
I squeaked in surprise at her sudden outburst, retreating a few steps back. She still didn’t notice me.
I shuffled to the front of her table, but here eyes were still firmly glued onto the screen. “Miss Puckley, I’m Melo-“
“I kissed a girl and I liked it!” She sang in an off-key voice as I tried not to choke from my own saliva, once again taken by surprise.
Leaning over, I gently tapped on her shoulder, hoping to finally catch her attention. “Miss Pu-“
“Who’s there?! I know karate!” She swung away from her computer, her fists poised and ready to strike. Her head swung around, looking for the ‘intruder’, until her eyes eventually focused in on me.
“Oh,” Her arms dropped and she removed her earphones. “Sorry, the Jonas Brothers are seriously hot and Katy Perry’s song always gets me in the groove.”
I nodded, but did not really understand what she was saying.
“Miss Puckley, I’m-“
“Eurgh, please don’t call me Miss Puckley. I’m a student just like ya!” She cringed at how I addressed her.
“Erm, Eleanor, I’m M-melody. I was told to come in here by one of the seniors. I’m sorry I didn’t knock, but she said you’re so deaf that-“
“Aha! I see you’ve met Penelope Desmund and her acid tongue. She wanted to be a cheerleader but her parents wanted her to do something more… educational, Instead of flinging pom-poms around in tight uniforms. She calls us the ‘nerd herd’.”
“Oh,” I replied, “Uhh, I’m Melody Keyes and-“
“Ah, our new Advice Columnist! We no longer use the Aunty Agony nickname since the last girl practically threw a tantrum in the middle of my office, demanding that the nickname be flexible. Will ‘MM’ be fine with you?”
“S-sure,” I stammered, “But what-“
“Does it stand for? Why, Miss Melody, of course! Anyway, we have a locker assigned to the advice columnist for students to slot their questions in.”
“When do I check for-“
“Oh no, no, no, Miss Keyes. You do not collect the mail, you give the advice. Yvette, my Deputy Chief Editor has the key to the locker. Penelope will be in charge of getting the key, collecting the mail and making sure that all of them are passed to you. Understand?”
“O-okay,”
“Good.” Eleanor clapped her hands together, “So every week, we’ll print an average of seven pieces of advice for your column, depending on the length. Of course, they’ll have to be approved by me first. I don’t want half-hearted or useless advice.”
“So when do I hand them to you?”
“Printing day is on Monday, so Friday would be best. I’ll spend the weekend collating everything. Good thing this is a weekly paper.”
“Umm, so do I write in an informal format or-“
“Whatever you choose.” She answered in a perky voice, but I detected a slight impatience in her tone. “As long as you remember: They don’t only want your sympathy, they want your help. So don’t go yapping away about how sorry you feel for them without advising them on how to cope or solve their problem.”
“Is there anything else I should know?” I asked timidly.
“Nope, you’re all set. There’s still about half an hour left. This week’s mail has been collected, so go through them and pass me five answered mails before you go for lunch. We can start a week early.”
“Where do I go?”
She pointed out of her office and turned to face her computer again. “Ask Penelope for the mail, you can borrow her desk. Now if there’s nothing else, I insist you leave me to my work. Being Chief Editor isn’t easy.”
I scurried out of the room, catching a glimpse of her ‘work’, which looked suspiciously like a game of Pac Man.
***
Oh my God. Nate Peyton was talking to me, and smiling for once!
“Hello Melody. I believe we haven’t been properly acquainted, have we?”
I froze, staring stupidly at him. Say something! “Umm…no. Hi,” I mumbled shyly, a slight colour adding to my cheeks.
“I apologise for not properly introducing myself earlier. Well, I’m Nate, and I’m the oldest and brightest of the Peyton triplets.”
“Hey!” Nathan interjected, “You’re not the brightest.”
“Grades aren’t everything, little bro.” He drawled, patting his brother’s head like an owner patting his puppy. “So how come I haven’t seen you in junior high before?”
“She’s changed quite a lot since then.” Nathaniel glanced fondly at me, grinning goofily. “But she’s still as awesome as ever.”
“Thanks,” I permitted myself to give Nathaniel a small, but appreciative smile.
“So what are your interests?” Nate asked, neglecting his food. His bright green eyes were still opaque, as if guarded, but there was an unusual softness in them.
“Umm, I like writing,” Nate’s eyes widened slightly, “I also like drawing.” Helen and Nathan’s eyes widened as well. Nathaniel’s eyes were perpetually wide with interest. Though I couldn’t see what was so fascinating about me.
“Nathan and I like to draw too!” Helen exclaimed happily, hugging me. “Cool!”
“Oh,” I bit on my baked chicken, “I thought Nathan’s interest was playing drums.”
Nathan chuckled heartily, “I have more than one interest. Music’s a given in the Peyton family. We all play one instrument or another.”
“Do you play any instruments, Melody?” Nate asked.
“Well…” I hesitated, uncomfortable with telling them about my piano. I still remembered when I was around nine, a group of classmates asked me to play them a tune to prove that I knew how to play the piano. I performed ‘Mary had a little lamb’ and to my dismay, they called me lame for only knowing that song. It destroyed my confidence in my playing. “… I play some piano.”
“Really?” Nathaniel beamed, sweeping away the lock of hair that fell to his face, “That’s awesome!”
“What instruments do Mr and Mrs Peyton play?”
“The piano,” Nathan replied,
“And violin, respectively.” Nate added.
“I learn some violin from my mom, but I’m not very good. I’ll stick to melody writing.” Nathaniel sighed.
“I always wanted to play the piano!” Helen chirped, stuffing a few fries in her mouth. “May’e yoo c’uld teach me s’meday.”
“I’m not that good,” I mumbled shyly.
“What grade are you?” Nathaniel enquired, sticking his fork into a piece of gooseberry pie.
“I don’t have a grade.” I could feel the heat flash in my cheeks.
“Oh,”
“So what shall we do for our Home Economics project?” Nathan asked, taking a gulp of his grape juice.
“Burrito!” Nathaniel exclaimed eagerly. “We could put in vegetables, minced beef and cheese. That should be quite balanced. I’ll cook!”
“Not a bad idea, bro.” Nathan tapped his chin thoughtfully, “We could do that, but absolutely no way are you cooking. I don’t want my green vegetables to turn black. You don’t touch anything that has to do with fire.”
“Fine. What do you think, Melody?”
“Huh?” I threw Nathaniel a puzzled glance. “Oh, umm…a burrito doesn’t sound like such a bad idea, we could-“
“Sup, pretty lady?” A jock, with the signature athletic jacket, strode purposefully up to our table, waggling his eyebrows at me.
“Oh great, “ I heard Helen mutter.
“Umm… h-hi?” I looked at him uncertainly. He was running his hand through his midnight black hair, flashing me this really creepy grin.
“Fuller,” Nathan greeted curtly. Nate was frowning slightly, while Nathaniel and Helen looked utterly displeased.
“Peyton, my man. What’s shakin’?” He drawled, not looking at Nathan, gaze pinned on me.
“Nothing much. What’re you doing here?”
“I was gonna ask this lovely young woman out on a date. What say you, Mel?”
I had never met this person before, how was I supposed to go out with him?
“Why don’t you beat it, Simon? Melody isn’t your plaything.” Helen sighed exasperatedly. “Go find some other shiny toy to amuse yourself with.”
“Who asked you, Keeane?” Simon spat, “You’re just Trey’s plaything too!”
Helen looked as if she had been slapped.
I knew that Trey was Helen’s boyfriend, but that was about it. Even so, he didn’t have a right to insult Helen. Anger flared up inside of me abruptly.
“Who do you think you are?” I snapped, glaring at the jock, “Don’t talk to Helen that way! Just leave us alone!”
“Helen is not Trey’s plaything, Fuller.” Nathan spoke in a cold voice, his eyes hard. “Please do not insult her.”
“It’s true!” Simon sneered, folding his arms. “Shelby says that Trey’s just using her to get what he wants, then he’ll leave her for Shelby.”
“Shelby,” Nate snarled, “Is a shallow, lying witch. And you, are stupid enough to believe her.”
“I highly suggest that you-“ Nathaniel commented, in an emotionless voice.
“Crawl back under the rock which you came from,” Nate growled. I was rather taken aback at Nate’s sudden liveliness, compared to his usual emotionless or bored expressions.
Simon turned to face me, “What about our date?”
Nathan sighed, “Do you need to make your rejection official, Fuller?”
“What date?” I glowered at him.
“Whatever, you’re not that hot anyway.” Simon smirked, sauntering away.
I scanned the cafeteria and thankfully, not many people were looking. One table of people was looking at us. Shelby and the Ashleys were watching us, jeering, with the exception of Ashleigh.
She was frowning very slightly and our eyes met. I smiled tentatively at my Biology project teammate. She did not smile back, but bowed her head a little, as if to acknowledge me, before turning away. Then, Shelby rose up from her seat and flounced out of the cafeteria.
“Are you okay, Helen?” Nathaniel placed an arm around her waist, looking concerned.
“Yup,” Helen grinned, so cheery sounding that it almost seemed false. “I’ve just got to go to the ladies to-“
“Powder your nose?” Nate offered.
A look passed between them and Helen smiled, “Yeah, to powder my nose.”
After Helen exited the cafeteria, the triplets turned to face me. “That was really cool of you to stand up for Helen. Thanks.” Nathan smiled warmly at me. Don’t blush, please don’t blush…
“Mmhmm, these rumours have been dogging Helen for a while now. It’s making us worried.” Nathaniel murmured, twirling his straw absentmindedly.
“OH! I’m supposed to meet Jared in five minutes!” Nathan groaned suddenly, calling our principal by his first name as dictated. “I’ve got to leave now.”
Flashing me another one of those charming smiles, he stood up with his tray of half-eaten food. “I’ll catch you guys later.” Then, he left.
It was only then did I realise that I had been holding my breath since her first spoke after Helen left. Again, I blushed.
Admit it, Melody. You’ve got a crush on Nathan Peyton.
I did not see that coming! Melody and Nathan... hmm... Well, that was an extremely interesting chapter. I must admit I was sad to see no romance, but that's okay. Seeing Melody and Nathan together was so sweet. They really are a good couple, but I feel so bad for Nathaniel. How could she be so blind to his love. 
