All I know is pouring rain and everything has changed

Waiting for the school bell to ring feels like forever. i don't know why but today feels especially draggy, maybe it's the hot weather, maybe it's something else that I don't really know. One thing for sure, the heat just makes me feel more lethargic and the teacher's lecture just droned on and on. I can't even… On the bright side, the end of school is in 5 minutes! 

I can see that more of my classmates become more restless as the clock is ticking closer to the time of dismissal. Especially Jimin, his desk is practically clear since 5 minutes ago, well except for the textbook because Mrs. Ki will throw a fit if she doesn't see anything on the table and no one wants a dragon spitting fire at the end  of school time. 

RRRIIIIINNNGGG

Some guys literally scrambled out of the classroom, that's including Jimin. I don't get what's the rush,  Jina is still talking with the other girls of our class and they definitely have to go home together. On a side note,  Hyerim is in the group of last bell gossipers together with Jina. A good change, I must say. Before the class outing she just simply acts civil with everyone, saying goodbye politely and all. 

It's amazing how much just one event out of the school context makes a difference. Is it normal for someone to change this much overnight?

Nope, I think it's just her. 

I sit on my table while waiting for her to finish. Not long after she notices me who pretty much does nothing but stare at her direction. 

"Ready for some coffee?" I asked. 

She blinks a few time, probably forgetting the promise she made just this morning, but then quickly nods to acknowledge my offer, packs her bag and goes straight for the door.  

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"It looks like it's going to rain" she said, breaking the silence and pointing at the grey sky as she goes. 

"Then, let's walk to faster to the cafe before it actually rains on us?" I suggest. 

With a silent agreement we brisk-walk to the cafe which is just around the corner. When we barely step into the warm cafe, it starts pouring. Judging from the darkness looming and the intensity of the rain, we'll be stuck here for quite long. But in any case, we are lucky that not a single strand of our hair is wet. 

"Hyung, one cappuccino and caramel macchiato please. Thanks!" I quickly make the order before sitting at the usual spot, Hyerim hot on my trail. 

"Woah, how can you still remember my favorite kind of coffee?" she asks.

"Well, it's not hard since I don't have coffee with that many people" I shrug. 

Not long after, Minseok hyung comes over with our coffee on his tray. Of course not forgetting to tell us to enjoy our coffee and an extra eyebrow wriggling at me. 

Quietness soon befall on Hyerim and me. This is not an awkward silence or good silence, it's just silence with rainfall and occasional sipping as the background music. 

"It was raining too when I tried my first ever cup of coffee, in particular caramel macchiato" she suddenly says out of the blue. 

"I was almost always sleepy during rainy days. One day, I was revising for an approaching exam at a friend's house and it just so happened that it started raining.  After maybe only around 15 minutes, my eyelids became too heavy for me to focus in math or whatever I was studying that time. I was and am by no means one of the brightest bulbs in the socket, so sleeping wasn't really a choice either. My friend noticed my predicament and made caramel macchiato for me.  The attention that I got makes it a precious memory, I guess. OMG. Hahah, I'm sorry if I suddenly blabber too much" she excitedly finishes off her story. 

"But, how can she just suddenly whip up a cup of caramel macchiato out of nowhere?" I mutter quietly, but it's apparently loud enough for her to hear. 

"His dad is an avid coffee lover. So his family has this fancy coffee maker at home. So yeah… Anyways, how about you? When did you start drinking your cappuccino?" she promptly diverts the conversation topic to me. 

Her question takes me back to two years ago, when something that I strongly believe became mere arbitrary, almost meaningless statement. 

It was the third month of my freshman year. It was the period where freshmen running for student council were under great scrutiny. Academic performance, behavior and every other things were nitpicked. They said it was because student councils are the representatives or faces, for the lack of better word, of the school and are expected to be busy. A fair enough reason, but it also meant that the competition for the prestigious position in the SC was awfully intense.

That day was like any typical day, The only difference was the sight that I caught when I was emptying the class dustbin at the school bin centre. A small guy named Kyungsoo was cornered by a group of seniors. I didn't know what their intentions were but when one of them raised his fist I just had to intervene. It was simply wrong to see something so wrong happen in front of your eyes when it was preventable. 

"Let him go" I told them, Kyungsoo cowers further behind me.  

"Don't go into other people's business if you don't want your pretty face ruined" he threatened me with a venom in his tone. 

I didn't budge, in fact I tried to hold the punch that he was trying to give to Kyungsoo. Then he decided to send me a blow on the cheek instead. As I was trying to put up a fight, to defend Kyungsoo and myself , a teacher appeared. Long story short, I was disqualified from the election because fighting is not supposed to be a part of a council resume. On the other hand, those seniors of ours left unscathed because of family influence in this school. For a while, I lost faith in my teachers. They are supposed to be educators who strive to teach their students, the one who teach me to stand up for the right cause. 

Kyungsoo brought me to Minseok's Hyung cafe, then an unfamiliar place to me, and buy me cappuccino to say sorry that I was disqualified because of him and also to thank me for standing up for him. It was comforting to say the least, knowing that someone trusts you when the adults don't.

"Cappuccino is basically the only kind of coffee drink that I drink until now" I say to end my story.

"That's pretty dramatic. Anyways, what happened to Kyungsoo after that? I think I haven't seen any Kyungsoo in our school so far?" she asks.

"He transferred the next term. Maybe coming back to this school brings back too much painful memory for him. He told me that the bullying had been going on for quite a while. So yeah.." 

No matter how it happened, I am actually grateful that Kyungsoo introduced me to cappuccino and this cafe that day. Cappuccino gives me a little bit of comfort that I need when I don't have anyone to turn to. After that incident, some old friends actually left me, scared that their relation to me will spoil their image in the teachers' eyes. Life is bittersweet, just like this cappuccino. 

"Hey look! There's a rainbow there!" the girl points out of the window.

I smile looking at it. Of course, just like the rainbow after the rain, there is always new hope after a tragedy, new friendships waiting to be discovered.

Author notes:

This chapter came out shorter than I expected TT. I am not very satisfied with this chapter either, I feel like there's something lacking but I just can't pinpoint it *sighpie*. Anyways, I think I'm going to try writing in 3rd person point of view for the next chapter. 

Please do leave a comment if you have any feedback :) 

Thank you for reading!