Laird’s POV


    I arrived at the bus stop in front of Samantha’s house. As I passed by, I saw Josh and Samantha justing out of the house. As soon as they saw me, they waved and greeted me. Josh seemed particrly excited.


    “Hey, Laird! Are you okay?” That was the first question Josh asked me.


    “Hey, Josh, Sam. Not bad,” I said, stopping my bike by the roadside without getting off.


    “Hey, I’m sorry to hear about your game this morning,” Sam approached me together with Josh.


    “Yeah, it’s okay. I’m still confident we’ll win next week,” I said confidently, contrary to my unenthusiastic gestures.


    “Good if you’re still spirited. The winter season games will be tougher,” Josh nodded.


    “Yeah, I understand.” I epted the advice from our team’s supporters graciously.


    “Did you happen to see Fene pass by here, Josh?” I asked Josh.


    “Fene? I don’t know; I just got here too. Maybe you saw her?” he asked Sam.


    “Who’s Fene?” Sam asked, confused.


    “Oh yeah, you’ve nevere to the field, so you wouldn’t know. She’s the blonde girl who often goes to her friend’s house in Block F with Laird,” Josh attempted to exin. “That girl Laird likes,” Josh added teasingly.


    “Hey! Who said I liked her?!” I grumbled at Josh to deny it, but they didn’t believe me.


    “Really? So, is she your first love? You naughty boy!” Sam teased me this time.


    “No! That’s not true! Josh is just talking nonsense.” I still denied it, even though I felt my cheeks heating up.


    “Ah, don’t pretend. If it weren’t for you being so attentive to her, how could you look for her all the way here on this slippery street?” Josh wrapped his arm around my neck while his other hand ruffled my hair.


    “Shut up! You also go to Sam’s house now. Do you like Sam?” I intentionally asked Josh to retaliate.


    After hearing the question, Josh fell silent and released me awkwardly. They both nced at each other. He cleared his throat, and I smirked, sessfully retaliating.


    “Answer it! Don’t just stay silent!” Iughed while nudging his shoulder.


    “Okay, okay, don’t fight. You two are ridiculous!” Sam pretended to scold us and intervened.


    “So, how? Did you see Fene passing by here, Sam?” I asked again.


    “Yeah, I think I saw her pass by while I was waiting for Josh. Earlier, I was sitting on the porch chair in front of the house. She was riding a pink bike, right? She looked striking, so I remember.” She provided the information.


    “Oh, yeah, she must have looked striking. I told her not to dress up like that if she didn’t want to be the joke of the town.”


    I chuckled ufortably, trying to cover up how much I regretted saying that. It was probably her first time trying to dress up on her own, and the result was a mess. She must have been disappointed to find out it didn’t impress anyone like she hoped.


    “Oh, yeah, you’re right! I wonder why she dressed up like that,” Josh confirmed andughed.


    “She dressed up like what?” Sam was still confused.


    “Yeah, she came to the field this morning wearing a dress. You should’ve taught her how to use makeup, Sam. Her lips were so red.” Joshughed again.


    “What did you say? Did shee to the field this morning?” I asked Josh with confusion.


    “Yes. Didn’t you see her?” He furrowed his brow. I shook my head.


    “Well, it’s understandable. She didn’t sell snacks anymore. She wasn’t even yelling like usual. I thought it was because she wore a skirt.” He chuckled.


    “She greeted me, but since the seats were full, she stood among the parents outside the fence. I thought there was no way she could watch the game from that position, especially since she’s shorter than the adults. Anyway, it turns out she still watched until the end of the game.” He shrugged his shoulders.N?velDrama.Org holds this content.


    “Did you guys have a fight? Howe you didn’t know she came to the field?” Josh chuckled again while I was dumbfounded.


    This was new information that I didn’t even know about. What’s more, this fact made me realize that I had been mean to her. I regretted all my words.


    “By the way, it’s not about the red lips and skirt that made her stand out,” Sam said, hesitant.


    “What do you mean?” Josh asked.


    “She stood out because of her bad biking style. The way she rode the bike was wobbly; she fell and cried,” Sam said.


    Sam then walked to the puddle on the road. Her hand pointed to the puddle, then she exined while mimicking as if she were riding a bike passing through the water puddle.


    “She passed by here, struggling to control the bike. Then, she identally rode over this puddle, fell, and got her dress wet. She got angry, stood up, and yelled.” She imitated as if she were Fene.


    “Ugh, damn annoying puddle!” She yelled. “That’s what she said.” Samughed about it.


    “You’re great at imitating her.” Josh pped andughed. “Yeah, yeah. I think she often yells like that. So it must be Fene Baxter.”


    “Ha ha. Shameless girl. How could she yell in front of someone’s house?” I forced augh and could only mutter quietly.


    Once again, this was a new fact that made my heart even more irritated. What sin had Imitted against her? I ran my hand through my hair. My eyes suddenly felt hot, and my forehead instantly felt painful.


    I bowed my head and looked at my dirty shoes. I felt like Fene had truly punished me for being a coward. It turns out she did a lot of things, and her behavior could never be predicted. She was too impulsive, but I should have read her signs from the beginning. I should have been more empathic toward her.


    “There she is!” Josh suddenly shouted and pointed into the distance.


    “Fene!” Josh called out to the girl, and I immediately turned in the same direction.


    Fene rode her bike unsteadily. Although she wasn’t skilled at riding a bike, she insisted on pedaling in a hurry. She looked very determined to pedal faster.


    I looked at her and immediately realized it as she approached us. She was crying.