It was May 25, 2022. It was the week before Summer Break. Bianca had made it through a whole year without any prejudice between students, to teachers, to any other hostile being.

But it’s not over yet. Bianca had one more event to attend to. Actually, two.

The first one was the photo competition!

“Bianca!” Bahiyyih shouted from afar.

She suddenly turned around and Bahiyyih stood right in front of her.

“Guess what!” Bahiyyih shouted.

“What?” said Bianca.

“Namjoon got married during the weekend and, for their honeymoon, they are attending the Arts Night Awards at the end of the school year, which is on June 3.”

“On a Friday, right?”

“Yup!”

Bianca was shocked.

It’s on the same evening as Jake’s violin performance at the violin competition! I promised I’d be there! What am I going to do?!?!

Bianca stammered.

“So…on the 3rd, it is?”

“Yup!”

 

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The next thing was the violin competition.

Just before she was informed of the Arts Night Awards, Jake met up with her after school.

“Bianca,” he said, “My mum bought four tickets for you, your mum, Bahiyyih and Jungwon to attend the violin competition next Friday. On the third!”

“Really?”

“Yup!”

Bianca smiled with glee.

But currently, she frowned, as she found out that the two events, the one she was participating in and the one she was invited to, were on the exact same day. What frustrated her the most was letting down her own big crush and future boyfriend and her best friend.

I have to find a way to attend both. The big question is how to juggle it all together.

The next day at school, Bianca went to the photography club after school. At the same time, it was the rehearsal for the competition.

She saw Bahiyyih and Jungwon, saying, “I can’t make it for today’s meeting, I have a family emergency. Seems to me that they need me for ‘moral support’.”

“Go on right ahead,” said Jungwon, “We were just going to begin setting up shop for our awards show at the little theater anyways, so not much help is needed.”

“Thank you!” said Bianca, rushing out with her school supplies and backpack.

She dashed her way to the big concert hall in the middle of the city and snuck inside just in time for the rehearsal to begin. Jake was rehearsing both Zigeunerweisen and Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso. The way he played made her swoon off of her seat.

She woke up hearing the loud high notes from Jake’s small caramel brown instrument that happened to have a tall stick and horse hair. But she couldn’t contain focus.

She then collapsed…and had yet another dream. But this dream was much more short-lived than her previous one about her wedding with Jake and then trying on all of those white-veiled ball gowns.

She awoke and found herself laying on her mother’s shoulder. On the other side were Bahiyyih and Jungwon. They looked dressed up as if they were already a married couple. Bianca suddenly winced with embarrassment.

Are they married now? What’s going on? I fell asleep again, didn't I?

And then, she couldn’t stop admiring Jake’s playing. She couldn’t even stop remembering the time she ran into him as he was practicing the selected piece at the national park and then snapping vexatious (to her) photos of him and then keeping printed out versions of them in her diary.

She swooned and swooned. When that particular note was hit, she collapsed again. And soon enough, she was back at the auditorium.

Bahiyyih, Jake, and Jungwon surrounded her as she laid there like a dead corpse.

“Bianca,” said Jake, softly, “Bianca! Wake up!”

Bianca could not wake up. She was in a deep sleep. And all she wanted was for people to understand it was a lot difficult to juggle one thing and another at a time.

“Bianca!” Jake shouted.

Eventually, she slowly woke up.

“What happened,” she yawned, “What time is it?”

The students looked with outrage.

“What are you doing here? You said you had a family emergency! You lied to your own best friend?”

Bianca sat up and said, “I’m sorry, you guys. Jake invited us to the music competition in the evening, and then I remembered that it was on the same day as the Arts Night Awards. It saddened me, so I kept trying to figure out how I could be at two places at once. And then, after dreaming about the performance, I realized it was not possible. As a matter of fact, it doesn’t exist at all!”

“Bianca,” said Jake, “I would have totally gone to your awards night. But I could not miss the opportunity to be in something I want to do.”

“It’s the same thing for me,” said Bahiyyih, “If me and Jungwon could have gone, then we would have video- taped it and sent it to you.”

Bianca frowned and then set out for home.

 

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A month later, it was the day right before the art competition. Bianca laid in her bed and tossed and turned. She was sadden