Pie takes Education course while Kim sticks to Business Management course as mandated by her father. As much as Kim wanted to change hers, she doesn’t have any choice but to carry on not unless, she willingly likes to start from scratch and didn’t graduate at all.

“You ready, Pie?”

“Yes.” Pie nodded, pointing to the books in her arms. “Let me put these in my locker first.”

“Sure. Hand me your bag so you can place those books with no trouble.”

“Uh-h, no need Kim. I can man-----“ Pie didn’t have the time to protest as Kim cautiously slinging down the bag from Pie’s shoulder and put it on hers. “See? That’s better.” The brunette couldn’t contain the sudden warmth in her heart seeing Kim holding her things for her as if she’s her girlfriend. Wait, a girlfriend? Pie can’t believe she’s thinking these kinds of things with a person she barely knows.

After a few seconds of settling her things down, Pie took her bag from Kim and made a move to leave. “Let’s go, Kim.”

“Piiiiieeee!!” someone’s voice came from behind them.

“Fern? What’s with the running?” Pie turned around and saw her best friend practically sprinting towards them, panting heavily as if determined to catch up with them.

“Whew..I just wanna ask if you’d go Keana’s party tonight? But ….as what I can see, you seemed busy, “Princess”? Fern asked, emphasizing Kim’s endearment to Pie as soon as she spotted the tom behind her best friend’s back. Pie raised an eyebrow to Fern’s false assumption of her going out with Kim so to break the awkwardness, she stepped back to introduce the two to each other. “Fern! Hmm. By the way, Kim, this is Fern my best friend and cousin. Baifern, this is Kim.”

“Really Pie? My whole name?” Fern glared at Pie fleetingly, embarrassed of Kim’s reaction to her not so lovely name according to her.

“It’s adorable tho. Well, I’m Kim…Kimhan and nice to meet you Fern.” The tom offering a handshake to Pie’s cousin, composing herself confidently to make a good impression in front of her crush’s relative.

“You think so? Haha..nice to meet you too, cutie!” Fern complimented the tom, trying to get revenge to Pie as the latter suspiciously eyed her for flirting with Kim. So I’ll go ahead since I’m interrupting a date.”

“This isn’t a date!” Both Pie and Kim shook their head slightly, pitching in the correct label for their activity today at the same time.

“Whoa, chill guys! I’m just kidding. But you owe me details later, Pie.” Fern giggled in amusement, nudging Pie’s arm implying to fill her in on the whole date scenario. “Bye!” the tall girl waved goodbye and glanced at them once more. “…and Kimhan? You’re cool!!”

“Haha, you’re cousin is awesome! So shall we?”

====

“Wow, this is amazing, Kim! You know I always want to have one when I was younger.” Pie admitted as she parked herself in a wooden stool, with her bag placed on her lap, which is beside the sleeping mat in the tree house.

“What happened, then?”

“My dad didn’t do it. He used to say that our land in our province is only temporary. If he will build one, it will just be destroyed once we left there.” Pie started, holding back her emotions when thinking about her memories with her father. “I never got to understand why we need to leave that time. If there’s someone who owns it, then he/she must be heartless to let the people suffer for being homeless. That’s why I hate rich people. They feel like money is the answer for everything. When you have a lot of it, you can degrade poverty-stricken ones; you can manipulate people and make them believe……” she struggles to continue as she immersed herself in the time when her childhood friend broke her promise and didn’t come back to see her. “what have you said to them…”

“Is that the reason why you’re uncomfortable in…making friends around the campus?”

“Yeah, I think people like me who are friends with a company heir, young entrepreneurs, son/daughter of lawyers, doctors or any professional careers and such will just be considered as gold-diggers. Look Kim, I don’t mean to off------” the brunette ceased her disposition on powerful people

“N..No, Pie. I’m not rich. I’m just living with my Uncle because my parents can’t support me.” It’s true though that Kim’s parents are not supporting her but not in financial terms; it’s because she got kicked out for her stubbornness.

“Well, you’re Uncle must be pretty rich too for him to give you a car.”

“You can say it that way.”

“Hm..Pie?”

“Yeah?”

“I guess, you need to know that not all students in our university are not what you think they are. My friends, they are rich but they are good people. They treat everyone as equal and that makes me respect them even more.” Kim diverted the topic, not wanting to create further lies and dig down her lifestyle.

“Thanks for the concern, Kim.. So have you brought anyone here, before?”

“No, I haven’t. You’re the first one. Well, aside from Zee.” The tom confessed bluntly.

“B.But why?”

“Well, this tree house is like a sanctuary for the both of us. It’s so special. Whenever I want to go back in the old times, I come here to reminisce those happy memories I have.” Kim clarified as she lifts a hand to touch the pictures of her and Zee hanging in the wall. “Look at this Pie.” She continued, pointing to their curved names in the tree which were written inside each heart that are pierced with an arrow. “Why are there 2 spaces beside your names?” Pie questioned.

“We started our friendship here, Pie when we were younger and we sworn that one day, we will come back together to fulfill those spaces together with our special ones.” Kim smiled at the thought of that pledge.

“You have pierced our hearts with the arrow of your love, an