It Is Just Different

I find myself rolling my eyes at the scene. This whole gathering and calling out names aren’t my thing. Seeing who gets which presents from whom doesn’t sit well with me. I am not sure why I don’t enjoy it. ‘Maybe because you’ve never received any gift before.’ I shake my head as if to deny the fact.

Seeing me shaking my head out of the blue, Cecilia comes close to me and whispers near my ears, “Excited to see from whom you will get a chocolate?”

I mentally roll my eyes at her. She doesn’t need to whisper. It isn’t like others will hear her anyway. After all, we are in the lecture hall, which, at the moment, is quite noisy by the roaring of the exhilarating students. I push her away as I say rather loud, “No, I want this to end as soon as possible!”  

Cecilia laughs hysterically. “Awwn, Jenna can’t wait to receive a gift. Everyone!!! Jenna can’t wait….”

“Shhh, shut up.” I quickly cover her mouth with my hands.

“What? You just shouted out loud,” Cecilia says, her voice is muffled by my hands still covering her mouth.

I glare at her. “But you’re saying nonsense.” Cecilia moves her eyebrows up and down, teasing me and probably trying to get a reaction out of me. I let go of my hands from her mouth, saying, “I am serious, Cecilia. I want this to start and end quickly. I have to finish my math homework exactly at 4 p.m. before the library closes.”

This time, she rolls her eyes and gives me the are-you-serious look. I sigh. I knows that she and I are going to rebuke each other, and this cycle will not end till the sky turns dark.

I wait for her retort, but instead, she is busy drooling over something. Her eyes sparkle as she looks at the entrance of the hall.

‘There they come,’ I say internally.

Five figures, three girls and two boys, enter the hall in all their glory. They're heading towards the stage that lies at the very front of the lecture hall. Their strides make me wonder if they think themselves as the While House members. The hands of the three girls wrap around the pink baskets. Even from afar, I could see chocolate boxes with folded papers tied at their backs. Behind the girls, the two boys are waving their hands at the students. It is no surprise for me that the Student Council will take a lead in everything which sounds absolutely ridiculous, like this celebration of Valentine's Day.

“Hello everyone, I’m Jonathan and I’m here with the other council members,” Jonathan says, using the mike. His voice is deep and clear, making the whole hall fall silent. The teachers scoff at that. Sitting not far away from them, I can hear our Science Teacher, Mr. Simon, says, “They don’t pay attention to me even when I am holding a stick. But look at them now. Their attention is completely on him.” All the teachers agree with him as they nod their heads in amusement. Ms. Violet, our English teacher, lets out a knowing laugh at his remark.

“As you all know, today is Valentine's Day. So HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!” Jonathan raises his voice at the end, like an announcer of Got Talent. And all the students make a loud sound, “HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!!!” The boys bang their hands on the desks, not caring if their hands cause any damages to school facilities. It is their sign of showing anticipation. The girls nearly jump up from their chairs as they scream on top of their lungs. If someone passes by the hall, he might think that a wild party is being held inside.

“Like every year, we hold a special event on Feb 14,” Jonathan keeps saying while the other council members are preparing for the soon-to-happen event behind him. “Last week, we announced on our website that anyone could come to us and give the name of someone they are in love with, and tell us which presents they want to give.”

He points toward the plush toys and sickly-cute boxes laid on the floor of the stage as he says, “These are the gifts especially given by the givers. Apart from those, every receiver will receive chocolate. And a Paper, in which, the feelings for him or her are written.”

At that, the boys cheer while the girls pretend like they don’t like the ‘Paper’ part. Cecilia squeals at me as she says, “Omg! Jenna, this will be the best day of my life.”

I want to roll my eyes at everyone including Cecilia, but for the sake of my eyeballs, I suppress it. I said sarcastically, “Yay. What an unforgettable day.”

Cecilia doesn’t seem to care my sarcasm because she says, "Yes! Today will be unforgettable both for me and you. Who says we won’t get any chocolate, right?”

I force a smile and she grins. Her grin is so wide that the tips of her lips are reaching her ears.

“There is an exception in this year’s Valentine's day,” Jonathan continues as he walks around on the stage. He is definitely talking like a TED speaker, but it is giving me a headache to watch him moving from side to side. “In the previous years, the council members call out the names and read the papers. But this year, we will call out the names, of course. But the papers will be read by the givers themselves!” Like before, Jonathan raises his voice at the end of his speech.

The boys shout and the girls yell. It is quite annoying. "They gave their crush's name to the Student Council, but they're acting like they don’t want to read the papers themselves when they are the ones that wrote their feeling down on the papers. Damn people!" I cursed I inwardly.

Everyone is still in their personal chaos while Jonathan approaches the three girls with the pink baskets at the back of the stage. His friend is standing at the front roll of the students. In his hands is the camera ready to record everything that is going to take place.

“Ahem.” With a single cough and Jonathan gets everyone’s attention. I whisper to Cecilia, "If only they pay their attention to the lectures like right now, I am sure our school will score No.1 of all the best schools in the world." This time, Cecilia rolls her eyes.

Scanning the crowd with a smile on his face, Jonathan picks up a random chocolate box, then slowly and carefully, he separates the paper from it. The paper’s rustling sound can be heard through the mike he is holding. Having read the paper, Jonathan places the mike near his mouth. His eyes hold amusement as he says quite softly, “It is written, 'To My Dear Rachel'.”

The cheering and clapping coming from the students, especially from boys, pierce through the four walls. The boys are already calling out his friend, who has given the gift to Rachel, while the girls are congratulating the girl named Rachel. By the time my eyes get to its normal position after rolling out of annoyance, Rachel and Steven are already on the stage.

After Rachel takes the chocolate bar and a Penguin plush toy with her expression so proud, Steven makes himself ready to read through the mike what he has written for her. They’re acting like Romeo and Juliet, except that what is written in the paper sounds noting like Shakespeare’s play. For my ears, what Steven has written sounds like a copy and a craft from Google.

“I wonder who will be the next?” says Jonathan while his other hand is reaching out to the chocolate bars in one of the baskets. I see Cecilia squealing as she clasps her hands as if praying to the Love Angels to grant her one wish she has been having for a long time. I hope she doesn’t feel dejected by the end of this whole stupid event. As I look around my surrounding, I realize that Cecilia isn’t the only one who is expecting chocolate from some fancy boys. 

“If you want a chocolate so much, I can buy you one when the school is over,” I say to Cecilia.

“You're so sweet, Jenna, but it is different, you know. Even if the gift is the same, the feeling is different depending on the person who gives the gift.”

“Does it mean that I’m no one?” 

“No, it isn’t like that. I know you love me and I love you too. But you’re my friend.”

 “So?” I ask her, raising my eyebrows. I don’t really catch what she is trying to say. If I give her the present she wants, why would it be different when she receives the same gift from the others?

“Well,” she pauses, probably not knowing how to explain what she wants to say. “I don’t know, Jenna. It is just different. I think it is like I want something that feels different."

“What?” 

“Just forget it. Please, stay with me till the end of the event. You love me, right?” Cecilia says as she bats her eyelashes and looks at me with puppy eyes.

I sigh. Today is going to be a long, long day.