𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐢𝐭 𝐠𝐞𝐭𝐬 𝐜𝐨𝐥𝐝

𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐢'𝐦 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐧 𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐚 𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐥𝐲

𝐢'𝐦 𝐡𝐨𝐩𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮'𝐫𝐞 𝐠𝐨𝐧𝐧𝐚 𝐩𝐮𝐭 𝐚 𝐜𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐧 𝐦𝐞

                                                  

I didn’t talk to Irene Bae again until two months after that. The only sign that showed that incident happened was only the subtlest hint of a nod we shared when we passed by each other on the hall. Not like there weren’t many times I ducked my head and pretended not to see her just to avoid doing it, but otherwise, it was almost like it never happened at all.

Part of me was happy because I knew being recognized by Irene Bae meant being recognized by more people that I couldn’t bother to have. But another part of me was also a little bit disappointed. It was cool that she didn’t want to be seen being acquainted with me in public, but the least she could do was pay me a visit on one of my favorite corners on the library when school was out, wasn’t it? Not like it would be so hard for her to do considering I often found her in the library after school, playing on her phone, and leaving hurriedly after half an hour.

I should know my paths were going to cross with Irene Bae again. That she wouldn’t be this easy to shake off and it was just a matter of time before she came to me for the second time.

-

Sitting on my favorite corner of the library for lunch, I pulled out my lunch box Mom had prepared. I didn’t understand why people would rather sit on the school’s cafeteria along with the noise having an intensity level worse than the city’s traffic on busy hours and bad air ventilation when they could sit on the air-conditioned library in comfort.

I was going to take a bite of my sandwich when Irene Bae suddenly plopped herself down on the chair across from mine. Putting my sandwich down, I raised an eyebrow at her in question. Thankfully, she understood.

“Wanna grab a bite somewhere else?” she offered with a confident smile that clearly said she hadn’t considered my refusal at all.

“You’re not eating with your crew today?”

She shrugged. “I feel like going out to eat with you today.”

Since I only stared at her skeptically in response, she groaned and dropped her head on her crossed hands on the table.

“I know I haven’t talked to you much lately, and it might sound like I’m using you whenever I please-”

I scoffed, but she continued, having the nerve to ignore me. “But I’ve really been thinking about what you said and what I knew about you for a long time and I decided you might like your small bubble better than to have me around you. I know I’m not exactly the most… indiscernible person in this school.”

She left me speechless. More speechless than I usually was, at least. And here I thought she had been avoiding me because she didn’t want to be seen hanging around some loser.

“I thought you just didn’t wanna be seen with me,” I confessed.

Irene Bae scrunched her eyebrows and looked at me as if what I had just said was the most ridiculous thing she had ever heard.

“Why would I not wanna be seen with you?” she wondered out loud.

I shrugged. “Because I’m a loser who doesn’t have any friends?”