In Love With a Fool

By Divino Batista

“Has it ever crossed your mind to fall in love with the very boy you promised to unite with another person?”

That is exactly what happened to Ana Clara – the protagonist of this story. Ana Clara was in the same class at school as this boy. However, she had no longer courage to talk to the heartthrob of this story after realizing she was madly, wholeheartedly, hopelessly in love with him.

And, on top of that: even though he could be her PRINCE CHARMING, Ana Clara had vowed to find another princess to fill his heart with love.

After finding out that her gift for ‘Finding’ and ‘Matching’ soulmates was just a fraud, she decided to destroy that relationship with hopes to win the heart of that fool guy with whom she was in love.

• Language: English
• Publisher: BadPress
• Release date: Feb 28, 2017
• ISBN: 9781507175156

Book preview

Has it ever crossed your mind to fall in love with the very boy you promised to unite with another person?

That is exactly what happened to Ana Clara – the protagonist of this story. Ana Clara was in the same class at school as this boy. However, she had no longer courage to talk to the heartthrob of this story after realizing she was madly, wholeheartedly, hopelessly in love with him.

And, on top of that: even though he could be her PRINCE CHARMING, Ana Clara had vowed to find another princess to fill his heart with love.

After finding out that her gift for ‘Finding’ and ‘Matching’ soulmates was just a fraud, she decided to destroy that relationship with hopes to win the heart of that fool guy with whom she was in love.

» Preface «

I didn’t know why, but, out of the blue, I felt like my life was turning upside down. One minute, I had all I could wish for, the next, I was going through things I could never have imagined. And then, how could I explain such a situation if I couldn’t even understand what was going on with me?

My situation may even sound a bit jumbled, as I did not yet explain the facts. Maybe a little retrospective could help unveil the reason for such weirdness... Okay, let’s start:

First, I met a guy who studies on the same grade as me, and for a short while, oddly enough, we became best friends. All right, no problem so far, as he was all a girl could wish for, dream of, want to win... But the real truth is that I could not get near him anymore.

Was it love?

No, I was not in love whatsoever. Though, it would have been a privilege being in love with an Adonis like him...

But by my own doing my cousin became his main target, and with whom he was madly in love.

Tragic?

Don't tell me!

But the fact is that it was all my idea.

Believe it or not, in the beginning, I wanted to see the two together, but then, I don’t know, I thought it was weird, odd, surreal.

The worse part? Yes, here comes the problem! Realizing that I was madly, wholeheartedly, hopelessly in love with him, despite all I had planned, after all I had done to help my cousin, I was the one falling in love with him.

I even dreamed about him, can you believe it?

To make matters worse, it was impossible to stay away from him. On one side, my cousin kept asking me to talk to him, which was only possible when I brought him home, and by doing so, I was obliged to see him too. And, on the other side, as I said before, he was in my class at school and even enjoyed sitting by my side.

Can you imagine such cruelty from the Gods towards such an ordinary person like me?

It was not right!

However... wait a second; now it seems I made this story even more jumbled, and this is not helping me at all.

All right, let’s go back to square one...

HOW IT ALL STARTED.

» Simply unhappy «

A week ago, I was spending my vacations at my grandparents’ farm, but, when I knew classes would start again, I finally went back home for good. And there was a second reason; my cousin was madly desperate because I had promised her I would only leave on one condition: returning soon.

My arrival, two days before my b-day, brought me many joys, as well as kisses and hugs that I gladly received. My cousin was the first who came forward to hug me and, at the same time dragged me by the arms towards our room.

As usual, she wanted to hear the adventures I lived while I was on the farm. But there was no way I could have lived an adventure surrounded by an immensity of trees and even more trees (which I’d rather refer to as #thewoods). So, I reported that the only fun in that place was to be able to watch – over and over again – the Twilight movie, which I foolishly idolized. And hence, sometimes, I searched the small forest surrounding the farm looking for an Edward – or a Jacob.

After a lot of blah-blah about these and other unexciting news, the days passed by and, finally, the day of my birthday had come.

There was no party, there was no cake, and mostly, there were no gifts.

Not because my family did not like me, they loved me, but the truth is nobody remembered this so special day.

It’s Okay; and I didn’t even care. I wasn’t that desperate. But that does not mean it relieved my inner pain either. It is sad spending your birthday surrounded by so many people who love you, without even getting kisses and hugs on the day of your birthday. Or mere ‘CONGRATULATIONS’.

For this reason, I locked myself in the room during the whole afternoon like a prisoner is locked in a cell, and watched my favorite movies. And because I haven’t got any gift, I decided to give myself a DVD, which I longed to watch for a very long time: New Moon. I was already used to pretending the small screen of my laptop was a huge movie screen. During the time I was on the farm, my only fun was to watch my movies (and I am pretty sure that this was the only reason for keeping me alive during all that time there).

My eyes were already on the verge of shedding tears, as I vaguely stepped into a state of emotive crying for the scene in which Edward Cullen breaks up with Bella Swan to protect her when Nanda (this is the name of my cousin of whom I talked so much) came to speak to me...

— Ana Clara? — the door was cracked open when my cousin came into the room uninvited, startling me.

I don’t know whether it was the movie scene or because I still resented my family for forgetting that THAT DAY was my birthday, I ended up staring at her, half trying to disguise the sadness I had in my eyes at that moment.

— What are you doing tonight? — Nanda proceeded, now right by my side. I noticed that my laptop screen attracted her eyes.

— NOTHING...I guess!  — I lied. I’d rather spend my birthday alone than remind them that that was a very important day.

— Some friends from my class at school invited me to a celebration. — she stopped watching the scene in which Bella nearly loses herself in the woods looking for Edward. — Do you... want to come with me?

Anything was better than spending my birthday alone, even though I still refused to tell.

— I do! — I said, still looking at my laptop — And...at what time are we going to this celebration? — I wanted to know, as at that precise moment I was quite busy.

— At four thirty p.m... — continued Nanda, looking at her watch. — We can go earlier, if you like. Then we can walk around...What do you think?

I was forced to look what time it was, but this time on my laptop. It was 2:00 p.m., which meant I had two more hours to watch my movie.

— I think it is not a bad idea. — I had paused the movie at the scene where Bella started behaving strangely due to Edward’s absence, dully screaming in her sleep. Surely, because she dreamed of her beloved Cullen. That also made me remember some special moments I shared with my father. — I need to clear up my mind.

Or even better, I needed to find my Edward.

But I didn’t tell her that, of course.

— All right, then, I’ll be back at three thirty. — When I looked back, Nanda was almost out of the room.

— And...where are you going? — I wanted to know. After all, I still hoped to have a companion for the movie. Even though my selfish side still claimed for loneliness.

— My mother decided to buy some blouses at the store and asked me to go with her. And I am already late. — I heard Nanda say before vanishing behind the door.

At that moment, I even thought that those blouses could be my SECRET birthday GIFT. That nobody had forgotten my big day. That all was planned, detail by detail, and...that Nanda must not have revealed anything to me.

But, as the hours passed, I finally found out that the blouses were a request by Miss Cecília (our snobbish neighbor, who doesn’t leave anything out when she drops a bombshell about somebody’s life). The real truth was that all had indeed forgotten that THAT DAY I left 15 behind and turned 16.

• • •

When the clock hand finally reached four o’clock, Nanda and I left the house. That is to say, just when Edward asked Bella to be his girlfriend in front of Jacob, at the end of the movie, and at that very moment, I felt a strong desire to create my own love triangle. I was pretty sure it would be impossible, though. It’s not that I don’t like dating, but in the past years my only interest was putting couples together. In other words, I already considered myself a ‘Cupid’ (though a bit clumsy, I admit).

Anyway, it felt comfortable walking around, wandering aimlessly. It helped me to think about what was going on, and, although it seemed impossible to believe, I forgot about my birthday.

The afternoon was radiant. The sun rays seemed to take away all my sorrows, leaving a huge space for fun. As if it was possible to have a good time in the middle of a grove, surrounded by countless trees.

—  Oh, no! It can’t be! It is not possible. I mean, it is possible.

When Nanda looked at her watch, she noticed we were both LATE.

— What now? — I said.

— What now? — Nanda stared at me as if I was speaking Chinese — Now, we must run.

And so we did it.

We ran until we got to the marked spot, hoping to arrive in time to prevent someone from noticing our delay. We went breathless after this false marathon, and then, decided to stop a while to catch our breath before making our TRIUNPHAL entry.

— Ready? — Nanda asked worriedly.

— Always! — I answered confidently.

Before walking into the party, we checked our outfits. No race could spoil that celebration, let alone our outfits. As soon as we came in, Nanda’s school friends came to greet her.

— Hi, Nanda! — said a girl in a pink dress.

— You came at last... — replied another girl in a dress, but this time, the dress was red. — We thought you wouldn’t make it.

— It is true, Luciana! Nathalie and I were planning to bet on which of us were right.

Luciana looked towards Nathalie waiting for confirmation, but she only opened her mouth to say:

— Hi! — Nathalie greeted.

Luciana rolled her eyes as Nathalie challenged her.

— Hi! — I said, trying to be friendly.

As far as I noticed, the friendly atmosphere among the girls there was becoming fishy. It seemed like all that friendship was just a front (or to make them look like good citizens). And that was precisely the reason why I introduced myself, even knowing that all of them could ignore me.

— Geez, sorry girls! — Nanda interrupted — This is Ana Clara, my cousin, sister, and sometimes mother, about whom I’ve told you so much.

— Welcome, Ana Clara! — All answered at once, in a chorus. That really surprised me.

Seconds later, we were introduced to all the people there. There were not as many people as expected, or at least, as I expected. It certainly was the birthday of some of the girls there. That just reminded me of my own 16th birthday, and at that very moment, I should have a party just like that.

I should be celebrating one more year of life.

Obviously.

And because of that, the celebration became super annoying, and I could hardly wait for the time to leave. I made my mind that if I stayed there any longer, I could no longer hold back the tears that insisted on pouring out bit by bit. So, I told Nanda I was not feeling comfortable there, and would like to go back home as soon as possible. However, Nanda didn’t seem to like the idea very much, as everybody kept on asking my cousin why I was leaving the party that way.

— Hey, Nanda? — asked the red-haired girl — Why is your cousin leaving?

I didn’t want to explain, it wouldn’t be necessary, so I gave a simple answer instead:

— I am not feeling well! — I lied.

At least, that was one of my best skills. Actually, it was the only way to escape without a trace. I didn’t want to remind anyone it was my birthday too, even though I could have made my birthday the subject of the first day of school, as classes would start the next day. But