ADOPTED BY HEART
"Okay everyone, we need to discuss something," the professor suddenly announced as soon as he entered the room.
Yuki suddenly rushed to the seat next to her bestfriend, Mina.
"Starting the day after tomorrow, all of you will be adopted or assigned to different students. It will last a total of one week. You will need to attend the classes of your assigned adoptive parents. You will also need to go where they go and stay with them from the minute you step in our school and until the classes end. All of you will need to make a journal of everything that happened to you and to your adoptive parent from day 1 until day 7. Write down all the things that you will experience, good and bad. All of you will be subjected in a new environment, since you will be attending other classes, and you will be mingling with people that you are not familiar with. We believe the feeling will be quite the same. So please remember to take down notes. I want to read your journals and reports after the one week is over. And remember while you're in school, you are not allowed to mingle with your own friends for the whole one week period. You must stay with your adoptive parents from the start and until the end of classes."
Yuki was shocked. "Huh? This is really crazy," she suddenly thought to herself. "I am being adopted," somehow she couldn't help but smile like crazy. "Wonder who will be adopting me…. Gosh, poor girl or guy!" she suddenly laughed which made some of the other students look at her with fear.
************ DAY 1
Yuki slowly entered her new classroom. She sighed. She was just given a classroom number by her professor and she didn't even get the name of who her adoptive parent. The only thing she knew was that she was assigned to a graduating student. Somehow she was now starting to feel uneasy.
As soon as she entered the room, the noisy class quickly became silent. Everyone in class looked at her with cold stares.
"Sit here," a male voice said. And then he lifted his things out of the seat next to his.
Yuki nervously approached the guy, and was about to say thank you when she froze and her mouth almost dropped to the floor.
The guy who offered her a seat was no other than Michael Carlton, one of the most popular guys in school. The two of them had been schoolmates since grade school. And he had been her secret crush for more than six years. Her heart quickly started to pound very hard.
"I said sit," he repeated as he signaled her to sit.
Yuki quickly followed and was feeling very weak. She didn't know what she was supposed to do next. She felt very nervous and very shy all of a sudden.
"Hey Michael, you have a pretty good catch there… Maybe you would like to share or maybe trade?" one of the boys in class said as a joke which made the other boys in class laugh out loud.
Michael looked at his classmates with a glare. "Hands off! And I don't want to repeat myself..." he said with a warning tone in his voice.
Yuki just watched and listened as if she was a small child without any freedom to speak. Now she was starting to realize how hard it is to be a new environment.
The whole day passed by quickly with Yuki just following Michael wherever he went. It was obvious he didn't like her. He didn't even bother to ask her name as well. And somehow she couldn't find the strength to talk to him either.
***********DAY 2
Yuki was feeling more uneasy now. She could feel the cold and angry stares that all the female students in class were throwing at her. And the worst part was she didn't even have anyone to talk to. She was like a frozen statue from the start and until the end of the class.
It was already lunch time and she was eating all alone at the end of the table where Michael was sitting with his friends. Somehow she wanted to cry. She felt so alone. She was starting to miss Mina badly. Before she was always the one who would be the center of attention, and she would always be the one to make new students cry. But now it changed. It was just the second day but everything was really starting to affect her.
Now she was starting to realize how hard it was for the girls that she used to bully in her class.
************DAY 3
Yuki was already feeling numb and immune to all the harsh words she was hearing from all the girls in the class. She had already been warned by her professor not to cause any problem or she would fail her all her classes.
"I thought they said that this Yuki is supposed to be a headache. How come she's so nice now?" a boy asked.
"Well sometimes it can't be helped… There are people who really love to pretend," a female student said as she suddenly bumped into Yuki's chair. "Ooppss… sorry am I disturbing you?" she asked with a wicked smile on her face.
Yuki just lowered her eyes and shook her head. She knew she needed to bear everything. She didn't want to fail the class just because of her temper.
"Get lost Sarah! She's not doing anything to you. So why don't you just leave her alone or better yet… why don't all of you just leave her alone?" a male voice suddenly said.
Yuki glanced at the direction where the voice came from and was surprised at who she saw. It was Michael. A happy feeling quickly filled her heart. He was defending her… A smile unexpectedly appeared on her lips.
Some of the girls pouted and some of them sighed.
"We were just playing around," one of the girls uttered.
"Then find somebody else to play with. She's supposed to be my responsibility. So just leave her alone… I wouldn't want my grades to be affected if something bad happens to her… " Michael added.
***Boom…. Somehow reality hit Yuki straight in the face. "Hello, Earth calling Yuki…. You're needed back down…." Somehow Yuki could hear the imaginary voice mocking her….
************DAY 4
It was time for gym class.
Yuki was feeling better that morning. Just three more days and her nightmare would be over. And the real reason why she was feeling cheerful is because she was finally able to chat with Mina the night before… And it seems she wasn't the only one having a hard time. Mina was also being treated coldly by the person who adopted her. But as they continued to share their experiences they started to realize the difficulty and the lessons that they could get from such experiences. And before their call was over, they had managed to finish all their reports for the first day up until the third day.
"Hey watch out!" a shout came too late…
Yuki was already hit by a volley ball straight in the face. She quickly cried out in pain. She closed her eyes tightly, and started to cry out in pain again. Somehow her whole face was hurting especially her nose.
"Yuki," Michael called out with concern. And within seconds she was already being rushed to the school clinic.
The day ended with Yuki being taken home by her parents. And while she was going home… all she could think of was that she didn't even get the chance to thank the person who helped her. And then she laughed a bit…. Funny thing is… she never realized that someone would even help her after all the bad things she had done to so many people.
***********DAY 5
Yuki felt ashamed to go to class. It was like she was beaten up or something. She had a bruise on the left side of her face and her nose was kind of swollen… But she was still thankful that nothing was broken. The impact of the ball was still light considering of what she got.
A loud explosion of laughter broke out as soon as Yuki entered the room. Everyone found it very funny to see Yuki.
Yuki, on the other hand, felt small. Somehow she wanted to just turn back and to never return. She didn't care about her grade anymore. She could always take another class next year, she thought.
She was about to leave when a hand quickly landed on her shoulders and made her turn back.
"And where do you think you're going? The class is this way," Michael said as he guided her back into the classroom.
Everyone in the room stopped laughing as soon as they saw Michael.
"Didn't I tell you guys to leave her alone?" Michael shouted angrily. "If you want to pick on somebody, just pick on me instead…. I would be more than willing to play with you guys," he said with a glare of anger in his eyes.
Yuki felt like she was suddenly lifted from hell back into heaven. She wasn't alone after all. And even though she already knew why Michael was being kind to her… It was enough for her. At least, he was kind to her but not because of the reason she was hoping for.
***********DAY 6
The whole day was filled with lectures and exams that Yuki didn't even notice it was already end of the class. Somehow she was very thankful, but a part of her was saying something else. She didn't like the idea of being far from Michael. After being with him for the last few days, her feelings for him had somehow grown more serious.
She sighed heavily and she started to walk out of school…
Tomorrow will be the last day… The day that will end my fantasy, she thought….
************DAY 7
The last day of Yuki's adoption went by quickly. Lectures and discussions took most of their time and during the breaks, she sat on her usual spot and pretended that she was reading even though she was really trying to steal glances at Michael. This was going to be her last day to be with him. During the whole time that she knew him…. She had never gathered up the courage to even introduce herself to him. They had been schoolmates for years and somehow this was the only time that he took notice of her. She felt sad… She was making the last entry in her report.
"It's kinda sad. After being thrown into an unknown world, and then finally learning how to survive, I am being pulled out again. This time there will be no turning back. The world that I have learned to adapt to for the last few days have made me realize so many things. And during my stay in this new world, I have found something very valuable. I never thought that being alone can sometimes make you see a lot of things. Before the things I thought were right have now turned out to be wrong. And just when I thought I was special, it is then I finally realize that I am not so different after all. And now the end is here, why can't I say goodbye? Maybe because of what I have found. It's silly… but I would really like to stay in this new world. But I guess good things must always come to an end. So all I can do now is accept this reality."
Yuki had already finished her last entry in her journal when she realized someone was watching her.
"Congratulations… for finishing your class activity without any problems," Michael uttered.
"Oh, thanks," she replied.
"By the way, I think you're supposed to get this from me," he said as he gave her a piece of paper. It was a report regarding their activity together.
"Thanks again," Yuki uttered. Somehow she felt so ashamed of herself. Now she knew she wasn't worthy to be in front of the only guy she had treasured for so many years. "I… I need to go now."
"Wait," Michael quickly said as he grabbed her by the hand. "You're still not done yet. You're supposed to give something back to me," he added.
"Huh? What else do I need to do?" Yuki asked as she tried hard to think of what else she had forgotten. She became more confused as Michael came closer and closer. "I am sorry. But Mr. Smith didn't say anything about giving back something to you. Can I ask what it is?"
"Your heart," Michael replied with a low voice.
"What?" Yuki asked with a trembling voice. She couldn't believe what she just heard.
"Honestly the very first time I learned about this activity, I immediately signed up and specifically asked that I be paired up with you. Do you know how long I have been trying to make you notice me? Ever since we were little, you have always acted more like a male than a female. I wanted to make friends with you but you always surrounded yourself with your friends that somehow I can't find the chance and the courage to do it. And as we started to grow up, you changed. I thought I could make myself forget about you and just settle with some other girl. But I was wrong. You're still the one my heart is searching for. And I realized that during the activity. I acted coldly towards you because I wanted to provoke you and make you see your mistakes. But in the process, it also made me realized that no matter what I do, I can never deny the fact that I am in love with you… I don't expect you to believe the things I am saying right now. But I am willing to spend every minute of every day in proving myself to you. Do you think you can accept this poor lost guy that needs someone to adopt him? I promise… you will never regret it," Michael said as he stared deep into Yuki's eyes.
Yuki felt her heart was already dancing in joy. "If I accept your offer, I am afraid I have one condition…"
"Condition?" Michael asked with worry.
Yuki smiled. "Once I adopt you, you will need to stay with me… forever."
Michael laughed and smiled sweetly at Yuki. "You know, once you adopt me… I will surely be beside you forever…. and ever…"
Journal last entry:
"Sometimes just when you thought things have already ended, it is when things open up and you realize that everything is just starting."