"Huh. For once, you actually know what to do." Sir Pasas smirked.

Janelle let herself smile a little. "Uh, t-thanks--"

"From below an elementary kid, you are now at their level." the teacher finished off before sauntering off to another student, "Yah, Salceda! Who told you to open up Solitaire?!"

Janelle hissed silently after her teacher, face twitching. She didn't voice out her rude comments though because even if she dislikes him, he's still her teacher. And not to mention that he's pratically the one to introduce her to Sehun.

"Wah. Looks like Oh Sehun is making a good job. You actually learned something!" Joy jibes Janelle on the side.

"You make it sound like I can't learn on my own." Janelle clucked her tongue, mood rising after hearing Sehun's name. "What have you been up to anyway? I haven't seen you yesterday after the tutorials."

Joy was silent for a minute, fidgeting with her fingers before purposely looking at everything but Janelle. "I was...I kind of went on a... date... with Chen... yesterday...?"

It took Janelle almost a minute to process that information. And then she promptly burst out a loud 'what?!' that had her other classmates staring at her in surprise and also has Sir Pasas yelling a 'be quiet, you brats!' at the two of them.

"What?!" Janelle reiterated, now silently. "Have you lost your mind?"

Joy pouted, "Hey, if you give Chen a chance, he's actually cool."

"Yeah, right. What did he do? Did he threaten you so you would go out on a date with him?"

"Of course not!" Joy shook her head. "We just... well... we just wanted to try things out... and it was fun enough that I agreed to going out with him again..." she added with a small voice as she took in the look on Janelle's face which was akin to horror. "Don't give me that look, you make it seem like I'm dating a serial killer."

"Oh please!" Janelle made an exagerrated shivering action.

"What?"

"Please don't use the word 'date' with you and that troll's name in one sentence. It's giving me the creeps!" Janelle lashed out. "Honestly? You had a date with him? And going again for another time? Have you fried your brain cells or something?!"

"Yah! It's better than just ogling someone, drooling after him and making a complete fool out of yourself in front of him!" Joy defended.

"I do not! Don't even go to that!" Janelle hissed.

"Whatever, Ja." Joy sighs. "I just told you because I thought I should let you know."

Janelle was silent for a few minutes, regretting the way she had overreacted. It's just she didn't even imagine Joy actually even considering going out with Chen of all people. Her friend and Chen were like cats and dogs, always bickering and making stupid bets. She had never seen this coming.

"I'm sorry." Janelle says after a while. "I was just surprised."

"It's fine. I expected as much."

"But if you like him... I think I'm going to be okay with it too. But I'm telling you, if he as much as--"

"He won't." Joy reassured. "Just give him a chance."

"Fine." Janelle relented, mood picking up when the class came to an end. Why not when she was to meet up with Sehun once again for tutorials? 

Even so, she couldn't help but to feel something weird about the prospect of Joy dating Chen. It just felt so weird.

The weird feelings she had been having the whole week was really not without reason, because when she decided to follow Joy and Chen that weekend, she met up with Tao who was doing the same. Needless to say, it was one of the most stressing days she's ever had.

The night after following Chen and Joy around was spent with Tao actually sending her home, home being the dorm she was living in with Joy. The taxi's engine died a couple of blocks before they even reached the old building so they had to walk. Janelle would give it to Tao, he paid the fare like a gentleman would, and made bsure she arrived home safe.

It's just that the way he talks animatedly like a kid as he fusses over the stuffed panda is so not gentlemanly. But she endured it until she was at the front gate where se had to all but kick Tao off so he would go home.

"So this is why you ditched the extra tutorials today? To go out to an amusement park?"

Janelle let out a loud yelp at the sudden surprise of hearing someone. It took her a moment to realize the familiar tone, "Sehun? What are you doing here?"

Sehun let out a scoff, stepping closer and all but slamming a couple of worksheets onto Janelle's hands. He stalked off towards a black car just as silently before driving away without as much as a backward glance.

Janelle blinked after the car, not comprehending what had happened. She looked at the papers in her hands and realized that they were worksheets on the latest project her teacher had been drilling them on computer class. 

And that she was supposed to meet up with Sehun at a nearby cafe for a tutorial since the school library was closed on weekends. It was the first time they would have had met up elsewhere for a tutorial, and Janelle was excited of course. Meeting outside of school meant that at least Sehun was acknowledging her not just someone he tutors but above it, maybe near the point where it was safe to say that they were somewhat friends.

But Janelle had promptly forgot about it because of Joy's date.

"Oh my... I need to explain. I need to apologize." she sighs, mentally promising to buy Sehun two bottles of tea instead of one to show how sincere she was with the apology.

But Sehun didn't show up on their next tutorials.

Janelle doesn't get why Sehun would not even let her explain, or ac t so harshly even. She knew she was at fault, but it didn't mean she gets to ditched just like that. Just when she thought Sehun was not someone who could be so petty.

Even so, her heart kinds of breaks when she saw the empty library table in the next tutorials after that first time Sehun ditched her.