The snow was melting… The cold, bitter season's gone. Spring's finally blooming…
Jewel looked out the window, and then she put her hand on the cold window. She breathed on it to make a fog. Jewel carefully drew a heart on her window, and then the fog disappeared along with her heart. "If only my feelings for Josh will disappear too." Jewel flipped her long black hair and then left the room as she slipped on her white jacket.
Disclaimer: I do not own Hamtaro
"Man, no one's coming to the book store these days…." Sandy said as she stared out the shop window. "And, I'm pretty tired after all that practicing yesterday night."
"Sandy! Make your leg higher!" Pashmina coached.
"Twirl your ribbon more gracefully!"
"Don't look so stiff!"
"Pashmina's so strict sometimes. Everything has to be perfect." Sandy said as she laid her head down on the counter. "I'm sure no one's going to mind if I nap a little…
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Jewel looked up at the clear blue sky then she covered herself from the blinding sun. "It's bright." Jewel kept on walking the empty street. As she looked at the store windows, something caught her eye. "It's Sandy!" Jewel beamed.
Jewel entered the empty bookstore, only to find Sandy sleeping on her job. She walked over to her. "Sandy? Are you awake?" Jewel asked to the sleeping Sandy.
"Huh? Who's there?" Sandy asked with one eye opened. Then she suddenly stood up and shouted, "Jewel! Hi! What are you doing here?" Sandy squealed.
"I was just wandering around the neighborhood. Are you still on your shift when no one's here?" Jewel asked.
"Yeah, I'm on a double shift, I covering for Twinkle, she said she had to go somewhere." Sandy explained.
"Oh, are you friendly with her?"
"I guess, I talked to her once in a while. Here, I'll take this shift off early if you wanna hang out."
"No, it's okay!" Jewel said as she smiled. "I had to go somewhere anyway." Jewel started to leave.
"Okay, bye Jewel! Make sure to come see me in my competition!" Sandy smiled back.
"Sure!" Jewel then left the bookstore. As she left, Jewel bumped into someone. "Sorry."
"Jewel? Is that you?" A familiar voice asked.
Jewel looked up with her soft pink eyes and it started to twinkle. "Maxwell! How are you?"
Maxwell smiled. "I'm fine, what about you, Jewel?"
"I'm great! Are you here to go to the bookstore?" Jewel asked.
"Yeah."
"Maxwell!" A voice called.
Maxwell turned around. "Josh! What took you so long?"
"Sorry bro, I was getting some food." Josh said as he showed Maxwell a hamburger wrapper. Then Josh turned his head and smiled. "Hey Jewel."
Jewel looked down and blushed. "Hi."
"I'm going to go see Sandy. I'll see you guys later." Maxwell said as he walked off.
Josh turned back to Jewel, who was leaning against the street lamp. "Jewel, do you want to go out someplace?" Josh asked, unsurely.
"Uh…" Jewel started. "He's only asking me because I'm his friends. That's right, it's a friend thing." Jewel thought to herself. "Sure! Why not!" Jewel said with a bright smile.
Josh blushed as Jewel smiled at him. "I never noticed how pretty Jewel is. Her beautiful black hair stands out of the snow. It seems like she's the tiny brink of light in this cold neighborhood." Josh thought. "Okay, where do you want to go?"
Jewel thought for a moment and then smiled. "There's this one place I want to go to before anywhere else! Let's go!" Jewel started to run.
Josh blushed and frowned. "I'm not starting to like her, of course not; the only one I truly love is Bijou."
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Maxwell entered the small bookstore and looked around. He saw Sandy gently sleeping on the counter and walked toward her.
"Sandy" Maxwell whispered to Sandy's ear. "Sandy? Are you awake?" Then Maxwell gave a slight kiss on Sandy's cheek.
Sandy suddenly woke up and turned bright red. "Maxwell! What are you doing here?"
Maxwell smiled, "I just dropped by. What were you doing sleeping on your job?"
"I… uh… I'm just tired, that's all." Sandy said.
"Okay then. When does your shift end?" Maxwell asked.
Sandy glance at her watch. "Oops, I should've closed the store half an hour ago." Sandy quickly took her name tag off and grabbed her light jacket. "Let's go!"
Maxwell followed Sandy as she locked the door. "It's a little chilly out here." Maxwell said.
"Yeah, it was sunny this morning." Sandy said as she shivered. Suddenly she felt warmth around her neck.
"Here, I'll give this to you." Maxwell said as he slipped his scarf onto Sandy. "I don't want you to become sick again."
Sandy lightly blushed. "Thank you." She adjusted the scarf Maxwell had given her. "Did you knit this?"
"Of course not!" Maxwell laughed. "My mother made it for me when I was five. I can't believe I kept that old thing." Maxwell said as he walked away.
Sandy ran to his side. "Your mother? The one that left you?" Sandy asked quietly.
"Yeah." Maxwell replied.
"Maxwell?" Sandy called for him as she stopped walking.
"Yeah?" Maxwell asked as he turned around.
"What happened to your mother after she left you?" Sandy asked as her head was down. "You don't have to answer."
Maxwell took a deep breath and then smiled gently at Sandy. "She passed away."
Sandy's eyes suddenly widened.
"She died because she overworked. She never gave herself any sleep and ate only a little. But what I regret is that I never seen her after she left me. I only saw her grave."
"How can he say things like that without hesitating? If that happened to me, I wouldn't tell anyone…" Sandy thought.
"Sandy? Are you okay?" Maxwell asked.
"Yeah, I'm fine!" Sandy said as she beamed and ran toward Maxwell. "Hey! Are you coming to my gymnastics competition tomorrow?"
"Of course!"
Even though Maxwell has gone through a lot of challenges, he's always thinking positively most of the time… I envy him for that, but I also like him for that. He's the one that always comforts and protects me… He smiles at me so gently and with care. He loved me in the past, and I didn't even know… and now he's here right next to me, it almost seems like… we were meant for each other, and I actually believe that's true…
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"Good luck Sandy." Bijou said to her friend. It was the day of Sandy's gymnastics competition and everyone was cheering on for Sandy.
"Thanks Bijou. I'm so glad that all of you guys are here!" Sandy exclaimed. As Sandy laughed with her friends she heard someone call for her. As she turned around a big smile covered her face. "Mom!"
"Sandy!" Mrs. Torahamu said as she hugged her daughter. "How are you doing?"
"I'm doing great! Hey Stan!" Sandy said as she went and hugged her twin brother.
"How's my little sister doing? It's been awhile since you did gymnastics."
"I know!"
"Well Sandy, you better get going, you should at least warm up." Sandy's mother told her daughter.
"Okay!" Sandy hurried and ran to the locker room and took out her ribbon and hoop. Suddenly and white envelope with gold letters fell out of her locker. "Huh?"
Sandy picked up the envelope and examined it. "Oh yeah! I met Josh on the way to practice my routine the other day and he handed me this letter!"
"I found this under all of Maxwell's old stuff." Josh explained. "It's the last letter he wrote to you before he lost his memory."
"Thank you." Sandy said as she received the letter. Sandy quickly put it away in her bag and smiled. "I have to go practice now. See you later, Josh!"
Sandy tore open the envelope and read the letter. After she was done, Sandy clutched the letter tightly and smiled.
"What are you holding?" A girl's voice said. "Let me see that!"
"Twinkle! Hey give me back my letter!" Sandy exclaimed.
Twinkle read the envelope and returned it to Sandy. "It's love letter, huh? From your boyfriend?" Twinkle asked.
"Yeah… an old friend." Sandy explained. "The competition's going to start soon huh?"
"Yeah." Twinkle said as she looked around. "A lot of the girls here are our age. I expected them to be older."
"Really?" Sandy said as she started to stretch her legs. "Why did you need me to cover your shift the other day? You told me you were going to tell me today!"
Twinkle giggled a little and then blushed. "Okay, my boyfriend, asked me to marry him! I can't believe it! It was so romantic." Twinkle said as she held herself.
"The PSAA Rythmetic Gymnastics is starting now." The announcer said. "The first routine the gymnasts are going to perform is the rope routine!"
"Oh, we better get going." Sandy said as she walked off. She looked around at the audience hoping to find him.
(A/N: The italics is the actually letter)
Sandy,
The very first time I met you was back in preschool, I first met you in front of the school, where you were crying and holding your pain. From that moment on, I wanted to hold and protect you…
"The next talented gymnast that will perform is Sandy Torahamu!" The announcer announced.
Sandy took a deep breath and went to the center of the gym. She held her position for a second and then raised her rope.
I couldn't help but notice you and I couldn't keep myself from looking at your beautiful eyes. The warmth in your eyes always eased my pain. Your smiled that you gave me was cheerful but caring. It was real genuine smile, not a fake one at all.
"The judges score Sandy's routine with an 8.9! A very good performance Sandy." The announcer said into her mike. "Now please welcome Twinkle Star for her performance!"
Sandy was watching at her rival's performance. "Her movements are so graceful… I wonder if I'll be able to beat her…"
"The judges score Twinkle with a 9.2, which places her in third place so far!"
"Try beating that, Sandy." Twinkle said as she walked pass by.
At first, all I could do was hand you a bandage and you gave me one of your smiles on me. You were very cute back then, each time I saw you, I knew my face turned red. Even after several years, you still remembered who I was and still remembered my name. Maxwell, when you said it, I felt the attention I wanted from you.
"Sandy ends up with a 9.3! That puts her in fifth place, where Twinkle still holds fourth place!"
Sandy, I love you. I want to hold you tight in my arms and I want to be with you…. I wanted to tell you that for the longest time, only to cover myself with my coward ness. You may have someone else in your heart, but I will be here waiting and with my arms wide open when you come to me. I promise you. I love you.
Maxwell
"This is the last routine for tonight folks! Please give it for Sandy with her ribbon routine. She will need to get a 9.7 or higher to beat Twinkle's total score of 46.4 to win this competition!" The announcer said.
Sandy walked to the middle of the gymand scanned the crowd. She found her mother and Stan, then she saw her two best friends. "He's not here, is he?" Sandy closed her eyes to start her routine and then opened them again. Right in the middle of the audience was the special someone she was looking for. "Maxwell!"
Maxwell was giving all his support to Sandy in the crowd. He gave her a warm smile and then waved a little. "Sandy's so beautiful out there. She's really showing her real talent…. Gymnastics not modeling…"
"Maxwell's here… and that's all I need to win this competition!" Sandy yelled in her mind. Sandy started off by twirling her long red ribbon in the air and then leaped. "I forgot about him for five years now. And I still didn't know until a couple of days ago…" Sandy put her leg high in the air, as Pashmina had taught her. Then twirled the ribbon above her head and she walked around for awhile.
"I started my new memories with you. The good and the bad. But they're still precious memories of you…" She waved the ribbon around and then did a small summersault as she let the ribbon flows behind her. "All I want now is to be with you… I don't want to be alone and I also don't want to forget about you again. I don't deserve someone like you." Sandy threw the ribbon up above her head and then leaped into the air to catch it. "But, I couldn't help myself from falling in love with you." Sandy smiled has she grabbed the ribbon and the light glistened in her eyes. She landed perfectly on her feet then slid down into a split. "I love you. I love you Maxwell."
"The judges scored Sandy's performance with a 9.9 which means, that makes her our winner of this year's competition! Congratulations Sandy!"
Sandy stood with amazement and couldn't believe her ears. "I won!" She screamed.
"Sandy! Great job!" Mrs. Torahamu said as she hugged her daughter.
"Thanks mom." Sandy hugged her mother gently and looked up. There was Maxwell leaning against the wall. Sandy smiled at him and he smiled back then he left. "Thank you Maxwell, for always being there when I need you…"
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"I can't believe you're going to leave us and go to college!" Sandy complained to Josh.
"I couldn't help it," Josh said as he smiled. "But I'll be back as soon as I graduate."
"You have to come real soon!" Pashmina added.
"Yeah…" Bijou said.
Josh smiled at his old love and then turned around to get his luggage into the car. "Well, you guys better get going to the meeting with the Pure Swans."
"Okay. Bye Josh. Be safe." Sandy said as she hugged her friend.
"Bye!" Josh waved to the three girls. "Maybe I'll find someone else." Josh said to himself as he saw Bijou leave. "She's still the one that I love." Josh put his luggage into the car and then a slip of paper fell out. He grabbed it and it read:
Josh, please meet me at the park. This is important. Signed Jewel
"I wonder what she needs me for." Josh closed the trunk of his car then headed toward the park.
Jewel was sitting on a bench as the wind blew in her face. She tucked her black hair behind her ear as she waited. "Maybe he didn't get my message…"
"Hey…" Josh said as he came behind Jewel. "You said you had something important to tell me."
Jewel stood up and looked into Josh's sapphire eyes. Then she took a deep breath and gave Josh a serious look. "I'm only going to say this once."
"Okay."
"I-I-I'm in love with you!" Jewel screamed. Her cheeks turned red of the embarrassment. "I don't mind if you don't have feelings for me, but please just don't go. Please…" Jewel managed to say. Her voice was getting shaky the more she talked.
Josh was stunned of what Jewel had told him. He looked away from Jewel's attractive eyes with concern. "I do like you, but…" Josh stumbled. "I'm sorry…"
Jewel had tears rolling down her cheeks, just like when she learned that Josh liked Bijou. "Why?" Jewel finally asked.
"My only true love is still Bijou. And I can't stop that feeling still." Josh explained. "That's why I'm going to go to college and take my mind elsewhere. Please forgive me."
Jewel couldn't stop the tears. "I-I…"
"But!" Josh yelled as he walked toward Jewel. "When I come back in a few years, will you give me another chance?" Josh said as he held Jewel's soft face. "I'll definitely come back." Then Josh leaned in and gave a small kiss on Jewel's dry lips. The Josh left.
Jewel held herself as she saw her love go. Then she blushed lightly and touched her lips. "Of course I'll give you another chance." Jewel whispered as she smiled. "I'll always love you Josh."
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BRING BRING
"Hello?" Sandy answered her phone.
"Hello? This is Tyler Boone, one of the judges on last night's competition."
"Oh! Hello! Is there something I can help you with?"
"Will you come by my office today? I have some very good news for you."
"Okay, I'll be there in about thirty minutes."
"Great, bye."
Sandy hung up her phone and lied down in bed. "I wonder what the judge needs me for…" Sandy quickly dressed and headed out the door.
Sandy knocked on the door to see if the Mr. Boone was there. She heard a 'come in' and went inside. "Hello." Sandy said.
"Hi, please sit down. I'm Tyler Boone like I said. I'm brought you here for a special purpose."
"Yes."
"After yesterday's competition, we were surprised how talented you are Sandy. Your grace and poise with the ribbon and ball."
"Thank you." Sandy whispered. "Why is he saying all this?"
"There's a professional coach who wants to coach you. She wants you to travel to Europe to train with her."
"What?" Sandy literally yelled. "But, I…"
"Please let us know by tomorrow Sandy. If you don't take the job, we're going to ask someone else." The judge said. "You may leave."
Sandy left the office and walked outside. "I can't leave my friends or Maxwell. But… this is what I've always wanted… to be a pro-gymnast." Sandy stared at the clear blue sky. "I hate choices; but life isn't what it is without them. Life has choices…"
There you have it! Chapter 12 of Life has Choices! It's finally down to the important choice Sandy's had to make. The title, the summary has come down to this part of the story! I'd like to thank everyone who read and reviewed my last chapter. I expect maybe 2 more chapters until the story's over. Until then, please wait patiently for my next chapter :)