“Start anew and make new memories. A memory full of happiness and sadness will forever be special in our hearts for it makes who we are today.”

As I enter the gates of my alma mater, it did cross my mind that this will be the last time I enter these gates as a student. Time flies so fast and I really don’t like it. I just can’t imagine my classmates and me to be working and having children. It is definitely a no-no. Oh, why am I being so dramatic?

“Xia! Would you please lower down the volume of your iPod? Seriously, I can hear it.” My friend, Krystal said. It is a habit of mine to put on the volume of my iPod so high but I can still their voices. I took one side of the earphones and looked at her. “You know that I got used to this. No worries, I can still here you. Let’s just go to our room. We might be thrown to detention on our first day.”

We passed by the corridors full of new faces. I forgot. Seniors and freshmen have the same building and the sophomores and juniors have another building. “Seniors, our goddess is here.” I laughed with the sudden introduction. Well, that statement was not heard by everyone. “Goddess? Seriously? I thought we were over that?” I replied. It’s not that I don’t want to be called a goddess; it is just the reason behind the ‘goddess’.

“Don’t want to be called a goddess? Or should I say, ‘strong-willed’ goddess?” Why is it a big deal for them that a person, specifically a female, is a strong-willed one? Is it that unusual for girls to be strong? Or maybe, they stereotype girls as a weak-hearted being. I don’t think so. One of the things I hate is stereotyping. Why would you judge people in general if every person has their own flaws? “Oh, you did not just say that. It’s not a big deal Yoongi. By the way, do you want to join us later? It’s been a while since we all hangout. We should celebrate our first day as seniors.” He agreed and we proceeded to our classes before we get scolded.

Hours passed and our professor dismissed us which marks the end of our first day. We don’t really have anything to do so we decided to have a celebration just like we planned earlier. We went to the most well-known resto-bar at our area. We have access to this place all because of Krystal since she is the daughter or should I say heiress to Jung Enterprises.

"How was your first day as seniors?” Yoongi asked with a very curious face. He is naturally like that. Call him weird but it’s in his nature. I have never thought of myself being a senior and here we are talking about reality, we as a senior.

“Our class was full of boredom. Why did we have that guy as our professor? You guys are so lucky! Our all-time favorite teacher is your adviser. Why is life so unfair?” Yoongi complained. He is the mouth of our group. He never stops talking especially when he complains or whenever he rants unless you tell him to. “Well, our class…isn’t complete. There is this person who didn’t attend our class. That’s weird though. This is the first time in my whole life that our class isn’t complete on the first day. He maybe a new student but I don’t care at all. Our class was so fun and Miss Song gave lots of inspirational message to us.” Krystal was looking through her phone while talking. I bet she’s having a conversation with her mother again. She’s really close to them but sadly, they’re out of the country.

I stood from my seat to have our orders. Even though this resto-bar belongs to Krystal’s family, she doesn’t use her name for priorities. She wants everything to be fair. But life is unfair, she knows. As I walk to the cashier, one of the employees accidentally bumped me and spilled the coffee all over my clothes and all eyes were on me. “I’m so sorry ma’am.” The employee said. “It’s fine. Just…” before I have finished my sentence, Krystal butted in. “Mister, you should be aware of your surroundings, she is a customer here and you should not be so careless and spill drinks on customers unless you did that purposely.

“No, I didn’t ma’am.” I tried to hold Krystal back since she was really mad of that employee. She has the power to scold that poor guy because she partly owns this place. “Krystal, just let it be. After all, it was an accident. Just let me talk to him right after I change my clothes. Okay?” She nodded and I took my bag with me to the restroom. It is such a relief that I had brought my extra clothes with me. I walked to the office here in the resto-bar and saw the employee who spilled the coffee earlier. I stood by the window as he sat on the chair. “I’m s-sorry.” He said nervously. I faced him and gave him a warm smile. I am not the type of person who keeps grudges. Though people say I’m a strong-willed girl, I still have a heart of course. “It’s fine. Don’t worry, I’ll talk to her. It’s an accident anyway. Don’t think too much about it. Anyway, I’m Xia Kyra Lim. You are?” I asked him and had my hand out.

“I’m Jeon Jungkook Kale, thanks.” By looking at him I know that he is around my age. Why is he working at such age? Base on his looks, he doesn’t seem like a guy who can’t afford anything. “I bet you’re 18?” He was surprised with my question. Maybe, he didn’t expect that I would know his age. He nodded and curiosity hit me. “If I may ask some questions, where do you study and why are you working? And I know you’re not a shy type of person. You face says it all.” I chuckled with that thought. Why was he being shy? Was it because of the incident earlier?

“I study at RZ High. I work because of personal reasons. Um, I’ll be leaving first. Customers are waiting. Again, I’m sorry.” “Oh, sure, nice meeting you Kale.” As he left the room, I saw his eyes widened and it wondered my why. Wait, did he just say he studies at RZ High? He must be a senior since he’s around my age. B-but, I didn’t even see that person this morning. Or maybe… “Krystal! You actually scolded your employee? How could you?” I told her and she plainly replied. “What’s the matter? There’s nothing wrong with that. I’m the employer and he is the employee!” I literally put my palm on my face. Just because it is an employer-employee relationship, it doesn’t mean she can scold him anytime she wants.

“Can’t you see? He is around our age and he studies at our school. He must be the person who didn’t attend class a while ago.” Krystal kept quiet for a moment and went somewhere while the others left. Since I had no other choice, I left the place and strolled around our subdivision. I just like the weather today. It isn’t cold neither it is hot. I am not a person who keeps everything to herself. I know I am not that type of girl who dreams of men every time they space out. I have read a novel the past week and until now, I have not recovered from that story. Why would a girl suffer for the guy? It’s insane! The guy doesn’t love her anyway. Why would you do such stupid thing for such stupid reason? I do believe in love but everything has its limits. You don’t go force yourself to continue when it is the end. Everything might have their own twists and turns but eventually it will all come to an end. So why bother when you know there are other things that can change you? Why don’t you try new things for a change? You wouldn’t live a life if the word ‘change’ isn’t in your dictionary.

“Mom, I’m home.” I entered our gates shouting. I know my mom would be in the garden since I know she’s from work. I went straight to my room and turned my laptop on. I opened my blog and decided to type another blog post.

People see me as a person who is so bitter when it comes to love. I don’t think that you have a right to call me bitter. Every person has their own perspective of what love is. It is what they believe in. Most people think alike when love is the subject matter. Hopeless romantic is the least description you can describe me as. Love may be a great thing but you should know that consequences will haunt you. In every decision you make, consequences will never be missing. It will forever be present. People make my so-called ‘bitterness’ a big deal. Why would they mind a person who they do not like? I am not bitter with love. It’s just that I know I can face my fears and accept challenges that will enter my life. Why was I entitled a ‘strong-willed goddess’? It is because I face everything I need to face. I don’t hide from anything. I know there’ll be a rainbow after a rain so why do I need to keep myself when I know that there is something good that is waiting for me at the path I choose? It may be a wrong way but it may contain the right thing. I know I am not like the other girls but at least I have imperfections that complete my identity.

I turned my laptop off as I yawned. I looked at my clock and it is already past 8. I just missed dinner. I walked to the dining room and no one was there. It hit me. My parents again left. They are so busy with the company that even a day, I can’t be with them. Why is life so unfair? I, being a different person when it comes to love have nothing to do with my parents. It is just plainly my perspective. I have read stories with the main lead being a hopeless romantic or a total hater and watched movies or series that has a rich-poor relationship couple. I just don’t get it. Can’t they make it more realistic? I am not a hater; I am actually a fan of those but I just can’t get through it. A realistic love story would be much better.

I went out to the yard for a while for some air. I’m alone at home and that’s why I have been spacing out. “What was that? Is anyone there?” For a second, I thought someone might be out there. I opened the gate and saw a bruised guy. As few seconds passed by, I clearly saw the face of the person. “Kale?” He looked at where was I and he was totally in shock. Maybe, he didn’t expect that I would be living here. But what was he doing in this area? He must be someone who owns a company ‘because that’s the main reason why this subdivision was built, business people. “Kyra?” I was honestly surprised with what he called me. No one has ever called me Kyra. “What are you doing here? It’s nine in the evening and you have bruises. What happened?” He shook his head and was about to leave until I called him again. “Kale! Why won’t you stay here for a while? Let’s heal those bruises.” He shrugged and entered our house. He sat on the couch in the living room while I took a cold pack of ice from the freezer.

"Ah! That hurts.” “It’s normal when you’re bruised. You have to bear the pain, mister!” He looked at me and his eyes looked like he has lots of questions to ask so I asked him. “Will you ask something? Because it looks like it.”

"Why did you call me Kale?” I stopped for a while. “Why shouldn’t I call you Kale? It is your name.”

“No one has ever called me Kale.” Really? So people call him Jungkook? Kale is much easier to pronounce; why would people choose Jungkook as his call name? “Well, it’s because that is what I like. The name Kale seems unique. Haha!” That doesn’t even make any sense, Xia. “Why did you call me Kyra then? No one has ever called me that too. It has always been Xia.”

“It’s because Kyra seems to be a comfortable name. It is way better than Xia.” That moment stopped me because my head ached. “Are you alright? Are you sick?” Jungkook asked. “I don’t know. My head just suddenly ached. Maybe it’s just for spacing out earlier.” “Oh, alright. I won’t bother you anymore. You better go to sleep. We still have classes tomorrow. By the way, I heard your conversation with your friends earlier and yes, I’m the absentee this morning. Bye!” Then he left. So it was really him. I’m such a fail. Why was I not sure of that when it was too obvious?

The next day, I came to school earlier than usual. I don’t know. There is just this sudden feeling of excitement. I entered our room and it was totally spacious. No one was inside our room but there is a bag, beside my place? That place was vacant yesterday? How would someone take that seat when our homeroom teacher has the seat plan that we had yesterday? Oh, how could I forget? That Jeon Jungkook Kale guy could be in that seat! “Hey, thinking about me?” I screamed as I heard a voice behind me. I faced that person and shouted. “Are you insane? Why are you appearing out of nowhere?” “But what I said was true right? You were wondering why would there be such bag on the vacant seat and it hit you that I was the absentee yesterday. Haha! That’s nice” And he messed my hair up. I ignored him and rested my head on the desk.

“Xia!” I heard Krystal’s voice so I stood from my place and went to hers. “You were with Jungkook all along?” She whispered. Will she just ask me that? If it’s a yes, I would totally ignore her. “No, I wasn’t. It just happened to be that we were the first two persons in this room.” Krystal shrugged as I gave her a blunt answer. I was not in the mood to talk about that guy. He is a complete stranger anyway except, he is my classmate.

“Okay class, I’m going to give you a project that is to be completed for the whole semester. You are going to work in pairs. So, you are to work with this person for a semester. Okay? Here are the pairs.” Miss Song was mentioning names of our classmates until everyone was called except for me and… “Miss Lim and Mr. Jeon.” What? I barely even know him. How is this supposed to be?

Lunch time came and my friends and I went to the cafeteria and sat on our usual spot. “What do you like?” Yoongi asked. Well, anything is fine for us so he went to buy our lunch. I don’t really get why people makes us three a big deal. Just because… I have not finished my sentence because all the students, specifically girls, in the cafeteria screamed like there was an artist inside the campus. “Xia, look behind you.” I wondered with what Krystal said and I was really surprised when I looked behind me. “What are you doing here?”

“Got a problem with that?”

"Honestly, I don’t have but they do. This would be a big deal to the girls behind you." He sat beside me and had his lunch with us. “Don’t you have any friends?” I questioned him. “They aren’t here yet.” What does he mean by ‘yet’? Why in the world do I think of him? It doesn’t make any sense. I barely even know him.

“Hey guys! Oh, you’re here. Anyway, here’s your food.” Yoongi was surprised with Kale’s presence. No one has ever seated with us. The atmosphere is awkward but Krystal here is trying to break that awkward silence. “Oh, Jungkook, I’m sorry for scolding you. I just didn’t expect the reaction of Xia. She is a clean freak and it was always expected of her to shout at a person when those things happen.” Krystal said, laughing off the awkwardness.

“Hey, have you heard of the new student? They’re two and they both came to school today. They really are handsome! Kya~ I just can’t. They both look like models.” Whispers inside the cafeteria created the noise. Two new students? One is Kale, yeah I know. But who is the other guy? Then I heard squeals which made me look at the door of the cafeteria. What I didn’t know is that I accidentally let go of the drink I was holding. “Xia.” I just stared at the person who mentioned my name blankly. I watch him walking toward me. “Xia, how are you? It’s been a long time! Have you been hiding all these time?” Is he seriously asking me that? “Oh, great! I have been much better. So what brought you here?” I asked with a genuine smile which made his blank face. Was he surprise with my aura? I am not the old Xia anymore.

“Well, you know, I transferred here. I am going to finish my high school life with you.”

“What?”

“Nothing. I got to go. I have things to finish. Bye! See you later.” He left, leaving me speechless.

“Xia, what was that?”

“He is just someone I used to know.”

“Oh, by the way, let me tell you, your drink is all over your clothes.”