❝HOLDONTOTHISLULLABY❞

“The time is six a.m., the time is six a.m., the time is—”

“Yes... it is.”

The time was, indeed, 06:00 a.m., and the day for the district-wide math test had come to beat the living daylights out of every student's brain.  The little sleepy Vickie was worried, but not about herself.  She was worried about what Jinki's test results would come out to be.  If he got a grade lower than 70%, he would be retained.  The worst thing was, he was in his last year.  Vickie wouldn't be able to swallow the fact that she would be moving on to life while her best friend was still in college.

“Just close your eyes, the sun is going down.  You'll be alright, no one can hurt you now.  Come, morning light.  You and I'll be safe and sound.  Ooh, ooh, ooh...”

Vickie picked up the clothes on the vanity table after she was done drying herself from the shower.  The aftermath of her clothes was black skinny jeans wrapped around her legs, a gray tank top on her upper torso, a pleather jacket, and a gray studded belt to finish her outfit.  She tied her hair high up behind her head to have herself fully ready.

“Don't you dare look out your window, darling, everything's on fire.  The war outside our door keeps raging on.”

Before Vickie exited her room, she folded her blanket and laid it on her bed.  She swung her backpack with one arm and wore it, walking to the door and outside her room.

The girls' dormitory was on the right “upper” corner of the campus.  Vickie turned to the right, where a long hallway of the dormitory's other rooms could be found.  She turned right and went down the spiral staircase.  Vickie ended up at the heart of the campus, where the Reflecting Pool stood, spitting out the most bluish water in the campus.

Right by the end of the staircase was a thick alpine currant bush planted in a large-sized cement block vase.  Vickie made sure no one was around before she walked to the shrub and, silently, grabbed her guitar tuner and a small screw driver out of the bush, carefully stuffing the guitar tuner and the driver into the secret pocket of her backpack.  Even though the campus found the Code of Conduct useless, they were still hot about sharp things that glimmered in the sunlight.  

And the deal about the guitar tuner was that she was the only one who had one in her school.  Guitar tuners were certainly expensive—expensive enough that you could have a Yamaha guitar in exchange of Vic's tuner.  Good thing, Vickie had one when her father—a musician himself—gave his tuner to her as her eighteenth birthday present.  Everyone at school thought she had the tuner in her room, so stuffing the tuner into the bush was smart, Vickie had long thought.  The screw driver was actually for the tuner, because the tuner's on-and-off button didn't work.  Vickie had to screw in through th tuner's on-and-off button so the tuner would work.

“What are you stuffing in there, Night Matinee?”

Vickie gasped the loudest that she almost dropped the screw driver to the floor.  It was Jinki, so she felt comfortable about who it was.  In fact, she felt too comfortable that she slapped Jinki's shoulder really loudly that it echoed throughout the heart of the campus.

Jinki gave Vickie a disgusted look.  “That hurt!  Goodness, good thing you're a girl or else—”

“Or else?”  Vickie raised one of her eyebrows dangerously.  It didn't look dangerous for Jinki, however.  He thought it was cute.

Vickie chuckled.  “Come on, we'll be late for the assembly.”

“Hey, Vickie?”  Jinki said with a low voice.

Vic turned around.  “Yes?”

Jinki pulled out a pile of paper from his backpack.  “Here are your test papers.”

“Thank you.”  Vickie smiled and went back to Jinki.  She placed her arm around his neck, walking towards the assembly hall.  Jinki had his head low, protecting his red, blushing face from Vickie. 

“Hey, Night Matinee!”

“Night Matinee, is that your boyfriend?”

“Morning, Night-Mat!”

Jinki suddenly snorted.  “They call you ‘Night-Mat’ now, too?”

“Oh, my gosh, Jinki.”

Jinki cackled again.  “Sorry.”

Vickie and Jinki finally reached the Assembly Hall, where a huge tarpauline was hung over massive “The Assembly Hall” iron plaque.

Vickie began reading the tarpauline.  “‘The Annual District-Wide Arithmetic Examination is finally here.  The students are required to enter the Assembly Hall for  the instructions about the examination.’”

“What's so exciting about a math test?  It's just a test.”  Jinki complained, not caring about what was written on the tarpauline poster.

“No.  If people don't pass this, they'll have to repeat this school year.”  Vickie said, still having her eyes on the poster.

Jinki stared at Vickie.  “Are you serious?”

“Of course.  I don't plan on repeating this school year and spend another year being called ‘Night Matinee’.”  Vickie her lips before she dragged Jinki with her inside the Assembly Hall.  What Jinki, on the other hand, thought of Vickie her lips was... surreal, as to put it in an easy way.

Vickie quickly found the Hall's section for fourth year collegiates.  She held Jinki's hand until they reached the ‘H-through-N’ row.  

They stopped right when they got there, then Vickie patted Jinki's shoulder saying “Good luck.”  Vickie walked up and found the ‘O-through-T’ row.  She strolled through the row until she found the seat which had ‘Song, Vickie’ on it.  Vic sat down and looked to where Jinki was.  Jinki was looking up at her, of course.  He raised a 'thumbs-up' at her, to which Vickie replied with the same sign.

The speakers in the Hall produced a noise as if someone was tapping a microphone, and someone was.  The campus dean, Mr. Hong Dae Jang, was already at his proper place, laying his speech on the podium.  The last students rushed inside after they heard the speakers.

Principal Jang began his speech.  “Students, co-principals, professors, and staff, I welcome you to the Forty-Fifth District-Wide Arithmetic Examination Assembly.”

The dean waited for an applause from the audience, and the audience clapped—some with sincerity, and most because the applause was expected.

Principal Jang raised his hand and the crowd stopped the applause.  He continued his speech, as if the speech was new.  Jang delivered practically the same words to the last year's graduating students.  His speeches only had two modes: normal and graduation.  Whenever graduation day rolls around, he just rephrases and tweaks his district-wide math test speech so that it could become a “Congratulations, students, for surviving years of staying here at this campus!  May you all prosper after this program, and we wish you the best” speech.

Jang finally finished his recycled speech.  The students clapped one more time and stood up, ready to leave the horrendous Hall.  Jinki waited by the Hall's grand doors for Vickie to come out.  About two minutes passed and a lady in black exited the doors, looking for somebody.

“Vickie!”  Jinki called out to the lady in black.

The lady turned around, and of course it was Vickie.  “Jinki, come!”

Jinki walked past the rushing students and to Vickie, who had a clutched left hand.  Vickie patiently waited for Jinki, who appeared in front of her in no time.

“Here, take this”—Vickie grabbed Jinki's right hand, placing a little violet rose pin on his palm—“That's a good luck charm; you can keep it.”

Jinki observed the pin.  It seemed familiar to him.  Suddenly he remembered and held his hand out to Vickie.  “I can't take this.  This is the same pin your brother gave to you before he—”

“No, it's okay.”  Vickie closed Jinki's hand, securing the pin inside.  “I trust you.  And my brother passed this test when he had that with him so I think you would pass if you have that with you, too.”

“Oh, Vickie.”  Jinki weakened and quickly held Vickie in a tight embrace.  His brain processed very fast and he realized he was hugging Vickie.  He didn't let go, though.

Vickie ended the embrace.  She placed her left hand on Jinki's right shoulder.  “Do your best, okay?”

“I will.  Do your best, too, okay?”  Jinki replied.  Vickie nodded and caught Jinki in an embrace again.  Jinki thought he might die if there was going to be another hug after that.

The duo parted ways: Vickie to her homeroom, and Jinki to his own homeroom.  While Vickie began her way to her homeroom, she had in her mind nothing but comfort that somehow, the pin would work on her best friend.  Jinki thought differently, however.  All he had in mind were the two hugs he gave and received, and the faith and trust Vickie had in him.

Jinki whispered to himself, “Is this what Heaven feels like?”

UPDATE:  HALF OF THIS STORY WAS ADDED TODAY (8-23-2012) BECAUSE I DIDN'T  COMPLETE IT YESTERDAY.

SO THE "LULLABY" IN THE CHAPTER TITLE IS THE PIN. GET IT? HEHEHE.

THANK YOU GUYS FOR READING!