“I have to be frank with you Ara, I am a very busy person,” Krystal informed me as we sat in a secluded area of a park not too far away from school. The wooden bench was slightly covered by the long, dangling tree branches which were concealed with leaves, almost making it hard to find us if you didn’t look carefully.

I could only nod slightly, the cold beverage in my hand freezing and slightly turning into nothing but a mess of cream and mocha as the Frappuccino starts to melt slowly. Taking another sip of the sweet drink, my gaze drifted from the green straw and towards the girl in front of me, who still wore the same attire as when I saw her not too long ago.

We decided to discuss this somewhere else, as Krystal didn’t want to stay at school any longer and nearly made me run after her as we exited campus and went towards the closest Starbucks. I found it weird how she rushed so much, but I didn’t have the time to ask as she nearly disappeared again when we got our drinks and she exited the coffee shop.

Somehow we ended up here as mentioned, sitting on a bench under a bunch of leaves and tree branches. The sun was peeking through the small spots where the leaves didn’t reach out, casting a soft glow on the scenery which made it appear almost idyllic.

“Wow, I didn’t notice,” I replied sarcastically as I thought of the day’s events, and she only gave me an unreadable gaze before taking a sip of her hot coffee. Who in their right minds drink boiling hot coffee in such warm weather like this?

“Are you the president’s daughter or something?” I asked after a while, not forgetting the slight sarcasm as she only rolled her eyes.

“That would be ridiculous, although not too bad of a guess,” she replied with that same oddly polite tone of hers, nothing like what a senior in high school would sound like. It sounded more like a senior in a posh retirement home to be honest.

It became silent for a while before I coughed slightly, thinking we’d have to get to the point sooner or later. “So when are you not available to model?” I asked after a while, as she took another sip from her coffee. Krystal seemed in deep thought for a moment before replying.

“I am unable to attend Monday, Wednesday or Friday afternoons, Tuesday’s and Thursday’s I have cheerleading practice and appointments usually an hour later. On Saturday’s I usually have to be somewhere out of town to attend some events,” she began and I could nearly feel my eyes pop out of my sockets by her schedule.

“Do you even have time to breathe during your appointments?” I retorted for a moment and she looked unamused by my response, her already straight posture straightening up a bit as she sits like a princess during an important dinner. “I think it would be easier if you just said the days and times you are available,” I continued and she only sighed before continuing to speak.

“I am available most Sunday mornings and afternoons, and sometimes I can push my other engagements an hour or so later, maybe I can even leave earlier if I’m lucky,” she replied and I could only slightly shake my head in disbelief, wondering what on earth she was doing to be so busy all the time.

“I understand your confusion, Ara, but I would bore you to death if I elaborately spoke about what was keeping my busy and unavailable,” she continued with that Oxford dictionary vocabulary of hers, and for a moment I almost forgot we went to the same school again. Had she always been this formal?

I always saw her as polite and quiet, but never like this to be quite honest. If she couldn’t still see that the confusion was still evident on my face she must have been blind, and I could only blink as I tried to let that sink in.

“What’s up with the sudden change in language, Miss America?” I asked almost sounding serious, and she only gave me a look before sighing. “I’m sorry, I’m just expected to speak like this for the next six hours, so I’m just getting ready I guess,” Krystal replied after a while and the only thing I could do was nod. I didn’t really understand why she had to speak like that, but if she didn’t want to share I figured it was none of my business to pry.

Things got a bit awkward after that as we silently sipped on our drinks, the white noise of children playing and adults chatting covering us as the sun lightly blocks my vision. Silently I placed my hand up to cover my eyes slightly, the blinding sun a little too harsh as I try to think of a way to spark a conversation.

“Speaking of, I have to go soon before my driver goes looking for me,” Krystal finally broke the silence between us as she looked over at me again. “So are you available during these times?” she asked, but I got interrupted before I could even reply by her own voice. “Judging by your shocked expression I’d say you don’t have an equally as hectic schedule as I do, so I take that as a yes. A better question would be where do you live?”

I only looked at her for a moment, wanting to retort to that remark, but I figured it would be best not to as I kept my mouth shut for a second. “Just meet me by Lee’s auto shop downtown on Sunday, 10 am sharp,” I said before explaining where it was, knowing it wasn’t exactly the finest neighborhood in the city, and judging by her lack of a surprised or even disgusted reaction, she probably had never been there before. I wasn’t sure if I was supposed to laugh or cry for the fact that I’m probably taking a well-off girl to such a shady neighborhood.

This was going to be a hell of a ride, I thought to myself, as she nodded before dashing off towards a man hollering her name from a distance.

**

Sunday, somewhere around ten am, I was just around the corner to my uncle’s shop with Cherrie, my black and red motorcycle, when I was greeted by a cold glare and a not so friendly face standing right in front of the metallic gates.

“You are three minutes late,” Krystal states the moment I park and remove my helmet, sounding slightly annoyed. I could barely hear her from the rumble of the engine, something I had to get fixed soon. Baffled I could only give her an exasperated look by her sudden statement as I placed the helmet down. “I cannot keep on waiting for you and accepting your tardiness this easily,” she continues as she only walks towards the shop, me scrambling with my feet to catch up, almost forgetting my bag in the progress.

“Krystal, it’s only three minutes,” I say, adjusting the grip on my bag with all the painting materials as I walked next to her, trying to guide her in the right direction.

She looked over at me, her hair falling over the white material of her buttoned up shirt, and a pair of high wasted dark jeans coming to view as well. Her attire was very simple, although the black blazer on top made it seem much more formal than what it needed to be.

Krystal didn’t say anything, and instead she followed my way as I unlocked the slightly beat down, metal door next to the garage. Quickly I let her enter first, before following her inside, wondering how she would react. It’s a workshop so of course it won’t be anything classy, and with the years that it has been up it doesn’t look to bad, but I rarely took people here except for Kai and some other friends from different schools.

Her eyes glided through the cars displayed in the now closed garage; some were broken, some halfway fixed while others were waiting to get picked up. She still kept quiet as she studied the slightly rusty metal of the stairs, the bars and the heavy machinery that was used.

“Is this where you paint?” her voice sounded as a mix between curious and slightly confused, but at least she didn’t sound appalled by the idea, although it was not here where I was supposed to work. I shook my head lightly before walking towards the stairs by the far corner.

“No, this down here is my uncle’s workshop,” I said as we walked up the stairs. “And when I don’t spray-paint to earn money for stubborn models, I practice on my other painting skills upstairs,” I mentioned as I moved my gaze to see that Krystal nodded slightly, either not caring about the comment or she didn’t think it was meant for her. I strongly believed in the former one, but I didn’t mention it as I opened the heavy door.

Behind the metal, almost something alike of a safe type door, there is a medium sized room with a worn-out black sofa by the corner; the walls made of red bricks and decorated in posters or former projects. The easel is standing in the middle of the room, an old thing I got as a gift for a long time ago yet it is probably one of the things I cherish the most.

“I’m sorry for the mess,” I apologized slightly as there are several tubes of paint and wrappers of fast food lingering around the room. I haven’t been here for a long while as I have had no inspiration at all, and that also meant that I hadn’t really tidied up in a while as I’d been more focused on trying to paint.

Luckily, Miss Kim said that I could do my project wherever I wanted, as I couldn’t exactly have Krystal in the middle of the classroom. This also meant that I could go here instead of going to class, which would make things easier; I’d just have to work on the other details while Krystal wasn’t available.

Krystal didn’t reply to that remark either, as she hesitatingly sat down on the couch, looking around. “So what am I exactly supposed to do?” she asked after a while as I find the correct canvas and place it on the easel, and I could feel her eyes study my every move, but I try not to let it show.

“First of all, you’re going to have to change,” I said as I opened my bag to get the fresh, new paint I had just bought yet hadn’t used yet.

“Is there something wrong with my outfit?” she asked as I still got everything ready, avoiding eye contact with her.  I shook my head in response, although I’m pretty sure she couldn’t see it that well as I was slightly hidden behind the canvas.

“No, but it’s too formal,” I said before looking over at her, dark eyes meeting mine in that gaze that oddly made my heart ascend from my chest and to my throat, almost making it hard to breathe. However, I couldn’t make it visible as I simply looked away, coughing a bit to get rid of the feeling.

“You should have informed me of what to wear, if this doesn’t please you,” Krystal replied with that Oxford language of hers and I could only sigh before walking towards the closet where I kept my painting t-shirts, plus some other clothes.

I honestly hadn’t thought of what she was going to wear, but looking at her now I knew that this would be way too formal and besides too stiff for her to pose in. However, as I only had worn out or ragged, oversized t-shirts to spare I realized that this wouldn’t help either, and I had to think quickly.

My eyes scanned the closet and the clothing inside, but nothing seemed to work and I cursed myself for not thinking about this earlier.

I was about to turn around and look at her outfit again, before I nearly tripped on a black bag that I was completely sure wasn’t there a minute ago. My eyes look at the now very annoying piece of fabric as I kick it lightly to the side; however, someone doesn’t seem to like that.

“What are you doing?” Krystal asked, or actually nearly shouted as she got up and grabbed the bag from the floor, almost as if I’d kicked her baby. I give her a surprised look, wondering what could’ve been so important for her to react like that.

“It’s my practice gear,” she replied after a while as she sat down on the sofa again, as I could only follow, still not understanding how that was so important. Besides, I thought cheerleading wasn’t before Tuesday? Then why would she need that now?

“How does your uniform look like anyway?” I asked after a while of nothing, casually grabbing the bag and placing it on my lap, despite Krystal’s protests, and zipped it up only to be revealed with yet another surprise I wouldn’t have expected from a person like Krystal.