Dummy and Dumber

The bell rings, signalling the end of another school session. Her bag is packed, books stowed away with careful precision, making sure the textbooks don't curl around the edges. She deliberately takes her time, waiting as the class slowly empties. She risks a glance across the room and the corners of her mouth turn upwards as she sees him doing the same. Her heart flutters in her chest, like the beating of a hummingbird's wings. Her tummy knots with anticipation. He's still fumbling with the strap of his bag. Too slow, she thinks, a small smile forming on her lips.
She picks up her bag and walks out the door. He meets up with her outside. His eyes are trained on the floor as he walks towards her. He blushes and manages a shy smile when he looks up to find that she is watching him intently.
They walk side by side, saying nothing, too afraid to even breathe. She silently wishes the journey to the front gate never ends, so that they could go on forever, just the two of them.
She attempts small talk as they round the bend and head down the stairs. He answers her distractedly, but she doesn't mind. From the look on his face, she deduces that he's formulating his thoughts.
They pass so many other students enroute to their destination. Some friends, some just random schoolmates with no name.
They reach the canteen and incidentally he meets his brother. Incidentally. They start talking about the calligraphy his brother has made for their mother. She prays under her breath that his brother would go away. Good days like this never come easy. And by some miracle, his brother moves away. He falls back a step behind to walk with her. She feels relief beyond words. He turns to her.
"Have you ever heard about 1-4-3?"
She shakes her head in reply.  He looks a tad bit crestfallen.
"So you don't know what it is?" he presses.
"No. What the hell does that mean?"
"Oh, I saw it in this movie," he begins sheepishly. "The guy said it to the girl. It means I love you."
"Oh, okay." She feels strangely detached, trying to piece the information together. "Are you saying it to me?" she asks.
"Do you want me to say it to you?"
"Only if you feel that way about me. If you don't, then don't say it."
He ponders what she's said for a while. Silence. His face is conflicted with emotions. Before you know it, they've reached the gates. His mother is waiting for him in her slick black car. His brother is with her.
He looks pained. She knows this chance may never come again. He turns away and walks to the car.
A period of two years has elapsed since that afternoon. Some days it shines, on others it rains. Sometimes she thinks back on those days when the world seemed so alienated from her. She was a  living, breathing thing, but somehow through her eyes the world had taken on a shade of gray. She revisits the past now and again, sifting through events that took place and altered her life so dramatically. Sometimes this particular memory is the one that hurts the most, eventhough it seems as harmless as eating french fries with ice cream. She beats herself up whenever she thinks about it.
This time, she promises herself, things will be different.