EP17

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[Arin’s POV]

 

Since its girls’ day out, we wore matching jumpsuits. We liked it so much that we had pictures taken at a photo studio in town. We went out for cakes at the cafe and had a great time.

 

It was late afternoon when we got tired.

 

Demi excused herself first since she needs to go to her weekly salon treatment at a salon somewhere in town. Dani and Chiaki had to go to a meeting back at our college since they are officers.

 

I told them I’m going to take a stroll around town for a bit. I didn’t know what to do, and I didn’t want to go home. So, I wandered around until I reached Florian’s. I had lots of cake already. But I still want some éclairs.

 

I entered the cafe and went up to the counter.

 

“A dozen éclairs...” My voice trailed off. “Seth?!”

 

“Ah. Domo, Arin-chan!” Seth was wearing the apron and uniform of the cafe.

 

“Nani? You work here?”

 

“Hai. Didnt I mention I do part time job?” he says.

 

“Yeah, well, you never said you were working here.” I tell him.

 

“Eclairs, I know.” He says. “What flavour will you have today?”

 

“Ichigo!” I say.

 

“Please wait for a bit while I pack the best éclairs just for you!” he says. He picks up a box and a tong and goes to the display to pick éclairs.

 

While waiting, my mind wandered through various things. Just then I heard a familiar voice.

 

“I can’t.”

 

I turned my head to the direction of the sound. Alexus? Oh, and that girl...

 

I could barely hear what they were talking about. Whatever it is, though, it looks something serious.

 

“Haaah. He’s here again. Do you know how many éclairs he’s been ordering? He’s like an éclair regular here.” Seth surprised me when he suddenly popped back behind the cash register.

 

“He does?”

 

“Yeah, didn’t I tell you last time?” He says. He takes my bill and starts punching my purchase.

 

“When was last time?” I ask.

 

“When it rained? When we were in Davao.” He says.

 

Huh? Did he mean when we had closure?

 

Strange thoughts suddenly filled my head as I remembered. I couldn’t quite remember everything. But he did tell me about someone who likes buying elcairs. But he said that was irrelevant.

 

“Suki.” Seth handed me the box.

 

“Eh?!”

 

“Kare wa.” He raised an eyebrow towards Alexus’ direction.

 

“Ha. Ha. Masaka.” I took the box. “Arigatou. Ja ne.”

 

“Ja ne, Arin-chan!” He says after me as I walked out of the store.

 

What was that?! Alexus doesn’t like me! I feel like my rib cage is going to burst from all this vibe. I decided to run to the residence.

 

[switch]

From: Bellona

I need help. Let’s meet at the usual place.

 

I sighed. What is it now?

 

I had nothing else to do anyway, so I got up and went to Florian’s. She was already there when I arrived.

 

“Physics?” I asked when I sat down.

 

“Yeah.”

 

While I explained to her, she would nod. She would make me repeat again and again. Then I decided to let her solve a problem on her own.

 

By the time I had finished my last éclair, she starts talking about something random “That’s weird. You weren’t fond of sweets before.”

 

Come to think of it, I don’t even know why I’m eating éclairs every time I go here. Maybe it was because Arin eats them all the time and I was always seeing it. It’s like a habit.

 

“I don’t know.” I say all of a sudden, without thinking.

 

“Huh?” Bellona laughed. “That’s weird.” She went back to her work. But, not for long, she started talking again.

 

“Look, I’m sorry.” She said.

 

“About?”

 

“I cant focus because it’s bothering me. So, I have to tell you about it.” She took a deep breath then, sighed. “I’m sorry about the sudden break up.”

 

Ah, here we go.

 

“I was just confused and frustrated with my own thoughts and I have my own ghosts too.” She continued. “But, you know, I still love you, and I miss you a lot. I don’t even know if it’s right to ask you to get back together. But I really want you back!” she was holding back her tears. “I was wrong. That time, I was wrong. But, please, let’s get back together again.”

 

She lowered her head to hide the tears that she couldn’t hold back.

 

I sighed. I am sure, I don’t want to anymore. “I’m sorry. Truth is, I just want to be friends. But, I don’t want to go back anymore.”

 

She raised her head. She looked into my eyes. Then, she smiled as she wiped her tears. “I knew you’d say that...” she said. It’s over.

 

“You can still talk to me. But if you become persistent, I will definitely have to avoid you.” I told her.

 

“Nani?!” this familiar voice cut through the dreary vibe around me. I looked at the girl in a jumpsuit and hair tied to a bun. She was standing at the counter. She was talking to this boy she was avoiding to see for a long time.

 

Looks like they finally made up; they were talking casually.

 

“Okay.” Bellona’s sobbed reply brought me back to where I was at the moment.

 

Looking at her, I wondered. Arin was rejected by Seth before. Maybe, Bellona and I can be friends like those two, too? But, knowing Bellona, it might be impossible.

 

“Haiyaku.” I tell her.

 

“Huh?” Bellona says.

 

“Hurry up, we don’t have all day.” I tell her as I pointed at her notebook.

 

“Right.” She picked up her pen and started solving again. “Recently, too, Xu... You’re spouting off weird words.”

 

“Am I?” I ask. I picked up some weird habits from Arin. “I guess it’s because my friends are mostly from overseas. So I kind of picked up some of their words and added them to my vocabulary.”

 

She would randomly talk about stuff while she was solving. I was of course, half listening.

 

While I was watching her work on her homework, Arin suddenly stormed across the room and exited the cafe. She looked like she was pissed off.

 

My eyes darted to Seth who was taking orders at the counter. He caught my eyes. Then he averted his gaze as fast as how we just shared a glance.

 

What did he do this time?

 

[snip]