Chapter 5
Chapter 5
Marcus looked with satisfaction at the summit setup-
There were tents, string lights, flowers, balloons, and ribbons everywhere.
He’d even had his roommates bring guitars up the mountain to play during the confession.
Marcus’s friends gathered around him, impressed:
“Damn, Marcus! This confession’s so romantic–your childhood sweetheart’s gonna be blown away!”
Marcus seemed to imagine my moved expression and smiled smugly.
He’d promised me a proper confession when I got to college.
I’d gotten through senior year fantasizing about this moment–but he had no idea I’d given up.
“No choice, we had some fights recently. She’s really pissed, so I gotta pull out all the stops to surprise her.”
A roommate said, “Dude, don’t act like you’re suffering! Your childhood sweetheart might be a little dramatic, but she’s gorgeous!”
“For real! You never told us campus goddess Joy Sinclair was your childhood sweetheart! You should’ve introduced us ages ago!”
Marcus’s eyes flashed with pride.
After the welcome party, I’d become famous.
On the campus forum, I’d won the beauty contest by a landslide.
Tons of guys were asking for my contact info.
But I’d been giving him the cold shoulder lately, and he was worried about getting replaced while he was busy with lab work
So he’d planned this elaborate confession to record and post online, marking his territory.
He’d even had his dad propose to my parents.
He was confident I’d show up.
But by 6 PM, I was nowhere to be seen. Anxiety crept in.
“She’s here, she’s here!”
Marcus relaxed.
He signaled for his friends to start playing, straightened his clothes, picked up the flowers, and put on his best smile.
A girl approached blindfolded, wearing the dress he recognized, led by a friend.
But as she got closer, Marcus froze.
His friend, thinking he was just nervous, pushed the girl into his arms while everyone cheered.
Marcus snapped out of it and tried to push her away. “What the hell are you doing here!”
But she hugged him tighter and whispered, “Marcus, don’t push me away!”
“Joy said she hates you and won’t come.”
“But you still have me, Marcus. I really love you–let’s be together!”
Marcus shoved her away hard. “NO WAY! You’re lying!”
3.7%
Chapter 5
“Everyone STOP?”
His anxiety surged again. His Joy couldn’t possibly hate himd
Chelsea fell to the ground, her blindfold slipping off. Everyone realized something was wrong and we quat
Marcus frantically found his phone and saw my messages,
I’m at the base of the mountain. Where are you?]
Followed by over a dozen missed calls.
Panic completely took over.
His hands wouldn’t stop shaking
Suddenly he grabbed Chelsea, his voice dark
“TALK! What happened? I told you to bring her here?
“Why didn’t she come? Why are YOU wearing that dress!
Chelsea’s eyes flickered as she covered her face, crying
“She really didn’t want to come. She even slapped me and told me to get lost. I couldn’t bear seeing you heartbroken, so I pretended to be her…”
There was indeed a faint handprint on Chelsea’s face. People started whispering
Marcus didn’t believe it. He dropped the flowers and ran down the mountain.
Despite the shouting behind him, he didn’t slow down for a second.
I’d called him over and over–even he could tell something was wrong
He rushed to my dorm building, begging the security guard to find me.
Seeing how frantic he was, she asked, “What’s the student’s name? What major? Which room?”
Marcus quickly said, “Joy Sinclair, pre–med freshman, room….” He stopped short.
He suddenly realized that because he’d only walked Chelsea to her dorm on orientation day…
He’d never walked me to mine, so he had no idea which room I lived in.
The guard looked at Marcus suspiciously. “You don’t know the room number? At least tell me which class she’s in
Marcus was stumped.
His heart felt like it was being squeezed by an invisible hand. Why didn’t he know any of this?
Something was slipping completely out of his control.
Marcus still managed to get someone to look up my class and room number.
But the security guard said there was no such person in the building.
He went crazy trying to rush inside. “That’s impossible! My Joy’s gotta be in there! I need to find her!”
Security dragged him away.
His parents called after hearing what happened.
Marcus reluctantly joined his advisor’s research group.
