AN: A typical cliché wherein Karina is the campus heartthrob and Winter is a total loser.

 

—

 

Do you know those typical high school rom-com movies where the campus loser falls in love with the most popular kid?

 

That’s me.

 

I’m the loser.

 

Well, if you ask my best friend, she’ll say no. She’ll tell you a hundred reasons why I’m not a loser.

 

I will never tell her that I never really believed her.

 

I don’t have to. I can see it every day in the mirror, with my frizzy hair, huge eyeglasses, different colored rubbers on my braces, and my fringe that covers half of my eyes that I kinda look like I don’t have eyebrows.

 

Phew.

And as you have noticed, I keep on rambling too.

 

If grades are the indication of how popular a person should be…

 

I still wouldn’t be popular.

 

I think my teachers are so tired of face palming themselves whenever they hand me my test papers—if not D, then C+. It’s not my fault, the letters are dancing and the numbers are swirling in front of me. So I fail almost every subject, except art and music.

 

If grades are the indication of how popular a person should be…

 

She’d still be popular.

 

Beauty, body, and brains.

 

She’s got it all.

 

Whenever she walks, everyone stops. Whenever she talks, everyone listens.

It’s like she’s got this magnetic pull that draws every single breathing living thing (if I can vouch for non-living things, I think they’re feeling the same way, too) to just pause and look at her.

 

Including me.

 

And my best friend.

Well, Ningning is not really looking at her per se, but on her friend Yeji.

 

You see, Ningning has had this big fat crush on Yeji ever since middle school when she handed her A+ test paper as instructed by the teacher.

 

Ningning is a genius. She'd be Top 2 at almost everything. 

 

Top 1 of course is taken by the most popular, most beautiful, and iest person on campus—Yu Karina.

 

I didn't really have a crush on her before. I never had a crush on anyone at all, but let me tell you the story of how I have fallen head over heels with the most popular girl in town.

 

It all started when my teacher, Bae Irene had woken up on the wrong side of the bed one morning.

 

She was shooting daggers on everyone in the room (I think most was directed to me but I can't be sure) when she handed our midterm results.

 

I'm top 2 this time—from the bottom.

 

I shrunk in my seat because Teacher Bae was sending me icy glares and I don't know if I should run away or not. 

 

Teacher Bae thinks she can solve this problem by partnering me with the smartest person in the room. If she's thinking straight, I'm top 2 from the bottom so I should have been partnered with Ningning, but who's complaining?

 

"I'd like you to find your partners and sit with them for the rest of this semester. All projects and activities, you have to do with them. For the obvious reasons, I'm hoping you can help your partners increase their grades by next semester." She said, looking at the smart kids in the room.

 

I was busy fiddling with the cap of my pen when I felt my new seatmate nudging me, looking at Teacher Bae.

 

"Do you understand, Miss Kim?"  

 

"Understand what?" I asked before I even had a chance to think. 

 

This I think is the wrong answer because she's throwing daggers at me again and my seatmate sighed in disappointment. 

"I'll work with her, Miss Bae." I heard Karina say, earning a nod from Miss Bae. 

 

I went back to fiddling the cap of my pen, waiting for the time to pass by. 

 

Karina was talking about something that I do not understand, so imagine my confusion when she grabbed my phone and typed something on it, laughing because—why don't you have a password here, Winter?

 

I tell her that I tend to forget my password so I don't put one, and she just nodded in return.

 

That Friday night, I received a text from a contact called "Yu Jimin" saying we have tutorial sessions on Saturday at the local library.

 

I was confused at first because I don't recall having a classmate named Yu Jimin, but then when I squinted hard I saw the picture was Karina and realized it's probably her. 

 

I quickly replied a short "OK." and went back to playing my guitar. 

 

Saturday came and I was busy playing the piano when my phone buzzed, signaling someone was calling. 

 

I answered it right away, not bothered looking at who's calling.

 

"Are you forgetting something, Winter?" the voice asked.

 

"I don't think so." I answered.

 

"Do you want to think it again?"

 

"Uh, I really don't know. If I'm forgetting something, I wouldn't really know because I forgot." I answered honestly.

 

There was a sigh on the phone before a low voice came on again.

 

"Winter, we're supposed to meet up today, at the local library. For tutoring session." The voice said and that's when I remembered I'm supposed to meet Karina today.

 

"Oh." 

 

"Yeah. OH." Karina said.

 

"I'm sorry, I forgot."

 

"Yeah, I got the idea."

 

"...."

 

"Well then are you coming or not?"

 

"Oh. Oh! Yeah, yeah, give me ten minutes and I'll be there."

 

 

Being me I guess comes with a lot of disadvantages. 

I don't have a proper perception of time. 

 

Karina was looking at me like I killed a goat when I arrived, stumbling with my cookies and milk in my blue hello kitty lunch box. 

 

"You said ten minutes." Karina said.

 

"I—"

 

"It's been two hours, Winter. I've been waiting for you for two hours." she said in a loud voice.

 

"I'm sorry..." I murmured, a bit afraid of being yelled at.

 

Karina looks at me and looked shocked with what she saw, backing up and leaning on the backrest of the chair instead. 

 

"Sorry. What do you have there?" She said instead, in her normal voice.

 

"Milk and cookies." I answered.

 

"Can I have some?" She said, smiling.

 

"No, I got these for myself." I answered again.

 

"It's bad not to share, Winter." Karina tsk-tsked.

 

I felt guilty and opened my lunch box, offering her one cookie and one box of milk. I still got 4 cookies for me and another box of milk so I figured I should be fine.

 

"Why, thank you, Winter." Karina said in a sweet voice. "Shall we start our lesson then?"

 

And that's the day I've fallen in love with Karina. 

 

I lost a cookie and a box of milk, but I finally have fallen in love.

 

After that, I started leaving notes on Karina's locker to let her know of my admiration.

 

I would sign my letters with a neat "From: Winter, locker 0101" underneath, so she can send me back her answers in my locker too.

 

The very first locker note I sent her was a success. 

 

Well, a bit of a success as it came back to me with her answer, though not what I had expected. 

She still answered, so I'm fine with that.

 

 

Deer Dear Karina,

 

I like  I just want to told you I appreciate