Chapter 2: two
It wasn't long before Luke responded to my genius response with yet another response that left me racking my brain for something to say.
'Can I get your number?'
There were only four possible responses to his question - yes, no, I'll think about it, and on one condition. My answer was yes but then something stopped me. I wanted to know why he was only attempting to get in touch with me now. Like I said before, we had been neighbors for a long time.
Had he been trying to come up with a plan to speak with me since I never left the house? Or had he been waiting for me to leave the house but then realised he would grow old doing so?
I just wanted to know.
'Why now? We've been neighbours for seven years:('
I began to worry when he did not respond immediately. I had seen him in his room a couple of times, wondering why he was ignoring the note. I thought about "double-texting" him but I did not want to come off as too clingy or annoying. And so I distracted myself with more schoolwork until the sun went down.
As much as I did not want to admit it, the whole thing of Luke not responding was bothering me.
***
That night, as I was about to jump into bed, feedback from somewhere in the neighborhood sent me stumbling back with both hands closing my ears.
I headed for the window and drew my grey curtains open before sliding my window open.
"You never leave the house," came a loud voice that I didn't particularly recognise. It was Luke, leaning on his window frame with a microphone in his right hand. "That's why I never asked. Plus I'm shy."
My mouth was agape with no words leaving it. It was my first time properly hearing Luke's voice. It was also my first time having a proper conversation with the male species. And this time, by proper conversation, I meant verbally.
He kept his gaze transfixed on me and I began to worry about the Adventure Time pyjamas I had on. I didn't have to worry about my hair looking like a mess because I didn't have any hair on my head.
"Um... okay," I replied, blushing just the slightest bit.
"What was that?" He spoke into the mic.
For someone who claimed to be shy, he was not acting like it.
"I said okay!" I shouted. "Cool beans! I get it! Goodnight now!"
"Does this mean I'll get your number?"
"Hey! Shut the hell up!" The grumpy, old woman from across the street shouted from her patio. Her name was Karen and that should say a lot about her character already. No one in the neighborhood really liked her. Not even her own cat, Leslie, liked her. If I had a penny for the number of times the poor cat attempted to escape, I would own Bill Gates.
"Y-yeah!" I said ignoring her. Karen dragged a cigar that I had not noticed in her hands before and puffed out five circles. She shot me a sly look and headed back inside her crumbling house.
My gaze drifted back to Luke who was grinning. I smiled at him and wondered why all this was happening to me. Was the Universe getting bored of watching my life?
"See you tomorrow then! I have an idea on how you can give it to me!" He exclaimed with excitement, before waving goodbye and closing his window.
I did the same and spent the rest of the night tossing and turning in my bed, unable to stop replaying the events that had just occured.
***
Isn't it funny how you can easily click with someone you do not know? I mean, I had never spoken to Luke as much as I had been doing for the past two days and yet I was already comfortable around him.
"Jasmine!" Luke shouted, pulling me out of my trance. "Focus."
"This is stupid," I sighed to myself, thinking of the cookies I could have been eating at the moment.
I wrote down my phone number (for the fifteenth time that day) and rolled it up into a ball. All I had to do was aim for Luke's window from where I was and hope the paper got in. This was all his idea by the way.
"Why are we doing this?" I inquired as I kissed the paper and wished it luck. "You could have just gone downstairs and asked me to throw it down."
"No," he shook his head. "You have to learn to find adventure in every little thing."
Adventure this. Adventure that. Adventure everything.
Using my left hand to hold onto the window frame, I pulled back and squinted my eyes. From afar, his window seemed like an open shot but when the paper went flying out my window, my aim was driven by the wind to either the ground or the walls.
After a couple of deep breaths, I threw the paper and immediately closed my eyes. It was silent for a while before I heard a loud screech coming from Luke's window.
"I did it," I breathed with relief, shouting a bit louder the second time. "I did it!"
"Yes queen!" Luke pointed at me and stood tall. "You did it."
I felt happy. And annoyed. But mostly happy. The silly little made-up adventure Luke had convinced me to do had actually made me feel pure joy.
"Well, let me go spam your phone then," Luke said casually.
Another smile lit my face as I closed my window. As my mind was about to drift to paradise where Luke and I were already married, my stomach began to grumble.
"Right. Food."
"Jasmine wait!" Luke yelled before I could walk away. "The paper has cancelled out calculus equations."
The paper I meant to throw sat on my bed right next to a bunch of papers I had scrunched up earlier with my Calculus corrections. I sighed, knowing that the next couple of minutes were going to feel longer.
And I was right.
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
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