S E N I O R   Y E A R

[High School]

One afternoon, Kaila was yet again swallowed by her school work. Being a senior never made her life easy like she thought or at least hoped it would. It has been almost 4 years of her non-stop studying and doing extra-curricular for school. Being a freshman , I didn’t know being a senior would even more. Even though she was irritated as hell and just wanted to crawl under the bed and die there, she can’t. For in a matter of weeks, she wouldn’t have to deal with all of this anymore. She’s going to leave that hell hole soon -- she’s graduating. And the thought of togas and graduation caps gave her enough boost to continue what’s she was doing.

The girl was busy studying for her Chemistry subject when the doorbell rang. She tried to ignore it thinking there are other people in the house who could open the door for whoever that was. She was engrossed inside her study bubble when the sound of a screeching chair nearby made her attention falter for a bit. “What the…” Kaila mumbles irritated, not bothering to look at the source of the sound as she was really concentrating on studying the numbers and letters written on the paper she was holding.

“What’s up, U.S. girl?” said the voice that she would recognize whenever wherever. Kaila’s heart then started beating faster. Breathe. Ugh. Reluctantly tearing her eyes off from her notes, she slowly looks up.

“Oh. Jackson. Hi.” Kaila responds to the boy with a soft smile. “Can you not call me U.S. girl, though? It gives me goose bumps. I haven’t even graduated yet.” The girl then added with an awkward pout of her lips. Jackson ended up chuckling making Kaila show an irritated face.

 “Why not? I mean. You’re gonna go to the University of Seoul soon. THE University of Seoul. That’s some real . Like, damn. A lot of people are dying to go to that school. It’s like the Disneyland of all amusement parks. Plus, I’m proud that I know a U.S. girl.” Jackson sported an all-knowing-smile with matching wiggling of eyebrows making the girl seated across from him blush.

 “Pffft. Still, don’t call me that. I feel the pressure already. Why are you here anyway?” Kaila responded trying to hide the giddy smile that was about to form.

 “I’m here to visit you, of course.” The boy answered a matter-of-factly. And with a teasing smile he then added “Can I not do that?”

Oh Christ. Breathe, Kaila. Breathe. After a good 3 seconds or so the girl said “No. So, go away.”

Her statement just earned her yet again another teasing laugh from the boy. Jackson is clearly amused seeing the girl trying to ignore him and could burn holes through the paper she was trying so hard to stare at. Before Jackson could say another thing, Kaila said “My brother is inside the boy’s room. Go there so you can stop bothering me. ‘Kinda busy here.” She was then gesturing to the tons of paper surrounding her.

“Don’t worry, we’re gonna leave anyways. Can you get him for me, please?” Jackson responded while batting his eyelashes to the younger.

“Jackson. The boy’s room is like a few steps away from where you’re seated.” Kaila responded as if she was annoyed but in reality, who was she kidding. She can’t help but be amused seeing Jackson sporting his version of the puppy dog eyes.

The boy just stared at her and shrugged his shoulders, smiling.

“Ugh. Fine.” Kaila resigned and marched towards the boy’s room which her brother Jr. and cousins Jay and Thunder are occupying.

After knocking on the door for three times the girl said “Hyung, you’re annoying best friend is here.” The door then cracks open revealing Jr.’s messy hair. “Yeah. Okay. I’ll be out in a few. Thanks.” Jr. said quite in a rush and then closes the door again.

“I heard that. Annoying huh? And I still can’t understand why you call Jr. ‘Hyung’. Are you not a girl?” Jackson said jokingly before Kaila was even seated.

“You were supposed to hear that. And yes, I am not a girl.” The latter answered with a snicker.

The reason why Kaila does not call her older brother or cousins “Oppa” is because they stayed in the States for quite a while so they adapted the culture there. It wasn’t a bother to their parents because with or without honorifics, family is family and since it was what their family got used to, they didn’t mind it as much. Plus, calling someone oppa just weirds her out, she doesn’t even know why. Probably because she feels like it’s too girly or whatever since in the states there’s no distinct honorific being used for older male and females. So she resorted to calling them “Hyung”. Good thing nobody’s complaining.

“Can I be the one you call oppa instead? Since you don’t call Jinyoung that or any of your older cousins.” Jackson questioned with the signature wiggle of his eyebrows.

God! Eck. This boy is so frustrating. Kaila thinks to herself, though she cannot ignore the butterflies fleeting inside her stomach and the slight burning sensation she feels on her cheeks.

“No. In your dreams. I tried calling you Hyung before but—“ the girl answered when she got cut off by an almost whining Jackson.

“I don’t like it~”

“Exactly. See? You don’t like it. So we’ll have to settle with just Jackson then.” Kaila showed a victorious smile knowing that the boy couldn’t reason on her anymore.

Letting his cheeks touch the wooden surface of the table, with a sigh escaping from his lips, Jackson said “You’re impossible. Your brother is much easier to deal with”.

Kaila couldn’t help but chuckle. How adorable can he get?

Since there’s no sign of Jackson talking anytime soon, Kaila decided that she should be the one to initiate. She could go back to studying, but hell who was she kidding. Talking to Jackson was definitely more appealing than those jumbled letters and numbers written on her paper. Then, she was reminded of something. Should I ask him? Do I have the right to? I mean. He is my brother’s best friend after all. They’re close friends. So indirectly, Jackson is my close friend too.

“Uhh, Jackson? Can I… uh, ask you something?” Kaila hesitantly asked.

“Shoot” Jackson answered without moving an inch, cheeks still in contact with the table.

“Okay. Uhh. I heard that you stopped going to school?” The girl suddenly felt like she was intruding but kept still and waited for the boy in front of her to answer.

Finally lifting his head, Jackson placed his chin on top of his right hand as if in thought and stared at Kaila’s innocent face. Her eyebrows were furrowed and she was biting on her lower lip; an obvious sign that she was feeling uncomfortable at the moment.

“Yeah. School isn’t really for me.” Jackson answered nonchalantly while placing both of his hands on the back of his neck while looking at the ceiling with a goofy smile plastered on his face, it’s as if not going to school is not a big deal. It is. Come on, even though 85% of the student population hates school, they still do it because having a diploma means you’ll get a job, having a job means being able to survive.

All serious emotions gone. As if the mentioned boy threw ice cold water at Kaila waking her senses. It’s Jackson after all. When was he ever serious?

“Of course. A lazy like you would say that.” Kaila can’t help but roll her eyes teasingly.

“And of course a judgmental smart like you would say that.” Jackson retorted, smirking at the former.

Ooh, burn. She was about to answer back when her brother suddenly appeared.

“Let’s go, man.” Jr. said while clutching on to Jackson’s shirt sleeve.

As the boys were about to go down the stairs, Jr. looked back and bid his sister good bye.

“Ei, Kaila. We’re gonna go now. Tell mom not to wait for me. I’ll be coming home a little late. I’ll just text Thunder to open the gates for me or whatever.” The smiling Jr. waved at his sister then finally descended the staircase.

“Okaaaaay.” Kaila shouted out hoping the latter heard her. Great. After distracting me, the least thing you could do is to say goodbye. Pfft. The girl grumbled to herself as she let herself be into the world of Chemistry again which she momentarily left because of a certain boy’s annoying presence. In which she really didn’t mind.

Ever since Kaila met Jackson that night, she knew she felt something for the boy. Though she didn’t acknowledge it at first. It took her a few years and a few tons of other boy crushes, to finally admit to herself that she did in fact, like Jackson. Plus the latter’s every-single-day visit to their house just encouraged Kaila’s feelings to develop. Their house was jam packed with people almost every day because all of Jr.’s and the other cousins’ friends often visits the house. There’s even a joke that the Park’s home is an orphanage for they provide food and shelter a.k.a sleepovers. But mostly Jr.’s, Jay’s and Thunder’s friends are the ones who frequent sleepovers.

In the span of 4 years, no one could actually still call Jackson and Kaila friends. Even the latter couldn’t. Because honestly they rarely talk to each other, well directly anyway. For years their conversation- if you could even call it that- only happens during group chats when all of the cousins plus some other friends gather together and just talk. But up until recently, Jackson has finally seen the light according to Kaila. Jackson says “hi” to her, he talks to her (directly this time), he jokes around her, and those other stuff that he didn’t bother doing for the past years. Now that their relationship has gone from just nodding to actually saying hi, gave Kaila a string of hope... maybe liking Jackson isn’t that bad after all.

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Sorry for the short update. I got busy with school already. :( Comment/ Subscribe! More fluff to be included-hopefully- next chapter. :3

Awooou~

WolfGirl