Author: Aaliah Nguyen

Alice has a crush on a boy, but not just any boy! This boy that Alice has a crush on isn’t like any other boy you’d imagine. He was tall, handsome, intelligent, sporty, kind-hearted, and giving. Okay, so maybe he’s sort of like those fantasy boys in those fictional romance novels that you see many teenage girls read, but that boy isn’t like any other boy that you would see walking on the streets. Alice has a crush on Kai Chen, the most beautiful and most handsome human being to ever walk the earth. That dazzling, award-winning smile can make any girl’s knees go weak. 

“How can Kai be such a beautiful human being?” Alice thinks to herself, staring at Kai from afar. 

The way his hair was swept back, his white teeth shining underneath the fluorescent lights of the cafeteria, the sound of his laughter entrancing Alice.

“Are you paying any attention to me?” Stephanie asks, pulling Alice out of her wandering thoughts. 

“Sorry, what?” Alice asks, blinking at Stephanie owlishly. 

“I was right,” sighed Stephanie, shaking her head. 

“Right about what?” Alice asks slowly, looking at Stephanie quizzically. 

“That you were too busy staring at Kai Chen that you drowned every noise out,” Cassandra spoke up. Alice’s face and the tip of her ears turn completely red at Cassandra’s comment. 

“I… I was not staring at Kai, okay?” Alice mumbles; her face feels hot under her friend’s gazes. 

“You have a crush on Kai Chen, don’t you?” Stephanie asks, giving Alice a teasing smile as she gently nudges Alice’s ribs. 

“Isn’t it obvious?” Cassandra deadpans, Stephanie ignores Cassandra’s comment. 

“I do not have a crush on Kai, okay?” Alice denies it, crossing her arms over her chest with a light huff. 

“I call bullshit on that.” Stephanie rolls her eyes. 

“It’s true! I don’t have a crush on Kai,” mumbles Alice, subconsciously glancing at Kai from the corners of her eyes.

“You are such a bad liar, Alice!” Stephanie scoffs, rolling her eyes. 

“You keep taking not-so-subtle glances at Kai, and we can all see that,” Stephanie says, leaning back in her seat and watching Alice begin to stutter out a lie. 

“Come on, Alice. What’s there to be ashamed of?” Cassandra asks softly, looking at Alice with a gentle gaze. 

“You have a crush on Kai, and there’s no problem with it at all.” Said Cassandra, smiling at Alice. 

“Fine, yes, I like Kai,” Alice admits. 

“And how long have you liked him, Alice?” Stephanie asks, playing with her hair absentmindedly. 

“I don’t know.” She shrugs her shoulders.

“A while now, I guess,” Alice replies. 

“Interesting,” Stephanie says slowly, stroking her chin slowly with her eyes slowly squinting. 

“You’re not going to tell Kai, are you?” Alice asks cautiously. 

“Maybe I will,” said Stephanie. 

“Maybe I won’t,” Stephanie says slowly. 

“You don’t have a thing for Kai, do you?” Cassandra asks, looking at Stephanie suspiciously. 

“Gross, no.” Stephanie scoffs; she fakes a gag dramatically. 

“I don’t like or see Kai that way. I think he suits Alice; he’s not my type at all,” said Stephanie, brushing Cassandra off.

“I have this strange feeling that you’re going to be up to no good,” Cassandra mutters, shaking her head. 

“What, do you not trust me with Alice’s precious little secret of her having a crush on the school’s hottie, Kai Chen?” Stephanie asks, giving Cassandra a side-eye. 

“No offense, but not really.” Replied Cassandra. 

“Fair enough.” Stephanie huffs. Stephanie got up from her seat and walked out of the cafeteria. Cassandra and Alice watch Stephanie saunter off. 

“I have a feeling that Stephanie is up to no good,” Cassandra mutters, glancing over to where Alice sat. 

“Unfortunately, so do I.” Sighed Alice, shaking her head. A pit gradually forms in Alice’s gut, making Alice shift in her seat anxiously. Something doesn’t feel right at all, and it has everything to do with Stephanie.

-(Time Skip)-

These past few days, Alice couldn’t help but get this uneasy feeling whenever she sees Stephanie or whenever Stephanie is in sight whenever Kai is in the same room as the three of them. For some odd reason, Alice has this feeling where she shouldn’t have trusted Stephanie with her secret about her having a crush on Kai. 

“What are you up to, Stephanie?” Alice questions Stephanie, pulling her to the side. 

“Up to what, Alice? I’m not up to something.” Stephanie says, feigning innocence. 

“Stephanie, stop lying. I know that you’re up to something.” Alice says calmly. 

“Ali, I’m not up to something, alright? Stop being so paranoid!” Stephanie hisses. She yanked her arms from Alice’s grasp and walked off. Stephanie was definitely up to something, and Alice didn’t like the uneasy feeling at all.

Alice sat in the classroom, staring off into space. The uneasy feeling that Alice feels in her gut just wouldn’t go away, making it nearly unbearable for Alice to breathe. 

“She’s definitely up to something.” Alice thinks to herself, gnawing on the insides of her cheeks. 

“But what if Stephanie isn’t up to something at all? What if it’s all just in my head? I’m probably just overthinking it like I always do.” Alice questions herself quietly, looking around the classroom. Alice raised her hands, the teacher looked up from the book and saw Alice’s raised hand. 

“Yes, Alice?” The teacher said. 

“May I go to the restroom?” Alice asks anxiously; the teacher nods his head. 

Alice sighed in relief and got up from her seat. Walking in the corridors of the school building, Alice stopped in her tracks when she heard a familiar voice. 

“So, sports, huh?” Alice peeks her head from the corner, immediately spotting Stephanie speaking to Kai. 

“What kind of sports do you play? Basketball, football, volleyball, swimming, lacrosse?” Stephanie asks, leaning closer to Kai while twirling her platinum blonde hair between her index finger. 

“I actually play lots of sports,” Kai answers, smiling at Stephanie. 

“Oh wow.” Stephanie whispers. 

“You’re a very sporty guy, aren’t you?” Stephanie coos, her hands reached up to brush her hands against his arms lightly. 

All Alice could see was red the minute she saw Stephanie touch Kai. 

“Stephanie!” Alice hollers, approaching both Stephanie and Kai. 

Stephanie froze in her spot and closed her eyes, letting out a slow exhale. 

“This little brat.” Stephanie cursed underneath her breath, ignoring the questioning look Kai was giving her. Stephanie turns around to face Alice. 

“Alice, sweetie! What a coincidence to see you here!” Stephanie says, giving Alice a fake smile. 

“Can I speak to you privately?” Alice asks, her heart racing in her chest. 

All Alice could see was red; Stephanie lied right to her face about not having any interest in Kai at all, and now look at her! Stephanie was all over Kai in the hall, and Alice witnessed it with her very own eyes. 

“Sure, I guess,” Stephanie says passively with a shrug, following after Alice to the other end of the hallway where no one can eavesdrop on the both of them. 

“What the fuck was that, Stephanie?!” Alice hissed. 

“What the heck was what, Alice?” Stephanie asks, feigning innocence once again. Just like how she always does. 

“You told Cassandra and me that you have zero interest in Kai at all and that he wasn’t your type!” Alice began, her hands balled into fists.

“Yes, and?” Stephanie raised an eyebrow at Alice, her arms crossed over her chest. 

“If you have no interest in Kai at all, then why were you all over him?” Alice demanded. Stephanie rolled her eyes. 

“For someone that’s not interested, you sure do like to touch almost every surface of that person’s body, whom you’re not interested in at all,” Alice grumbles. 

“What if my feelings changed, huh? Have you ever thought of that?” Stephanie asks, clenching her jaws tightly. 

“Oh, so your feelings for Kai changed within a few days? Interesting.” Alice spats bitterly. 

“Listen, Alice; you’re not the only girl in school to have a crush on Kai Chen, alright?” Alice rolls her eyes. 

“You literally told Cassandra and me that Kai wasn’t your type in the cafeteria a few days ago, but he’s suddenly your type a few days later?” Alice asks. 

“Alice, people’s preferences change!” Stephanie exclaims angrily. 

“Yes, but not within a few days!” Alice shot back. 

Silence fell over between Alice and Stephanie, tension was high, and it was thick enough to cut it with a knife. Alice wanted to scream; she wanted to throw insults at Stephanie! Heck, Alice wanted to do nothing but put her hands on Stephanie and strangle her for making a move on Kai days after claiming that she has absolutely zero interest in the guy. But of course, Stephanie had to be nothing but a lying bitch. 

“Cassandra was right,” Alice mutters bitterly. 

Alice’s angry exterior soon dissolved. A frown forms on Alice’s face; her heart is still racing in her chest at the mere sight of Stephanie getting touchy with the boy Alice had a crush on. 

“I thought you were my friend, Stephanie. Friends don’t do these things to each other.” Alice whispers, frowning at Stephanie. 

“Who said I was your friend in the first place? I was never your friend.” Said Stephanie in a mocking tone, smirking at Alice while crossing her arms over her chest with a satisfied huff. 

“You’re unbelievable,” Alice grumbles, shaking her head. 

“You’re nothing but a wolf in sheep’s clothing, a serpent, and you’re two-faced,” Alice claims. 

“I shouldn’t have trusted you.” Alice chuckles bitterly. 

“I’m stupid for trusting someone like you,” Alice whispered; Alice turned around and walked off.