Tia chose the japanese restaurant that she and her mom used dine to.
She ordered her usual bento set and her favorite matcha parfait.
Ian looked at her skeptically then asked.
"Tian-Tian, did something happened back there?"
He notice Tia was spacing out on their way to the resto and her choosing her comfort food added to his suspicion.
Tia just shook her head then gave him a warm smile.
"What are you talking about, I'm fine."
She said. Trying to sound reassuring enough. She couldn't possibly tell Ian about who that guy they had bumped into was.
While waiting for their food Tia's thoughts drifted back to when she was in high school.
Since TP was two years older than her, she already graduated when Tia was in her fourth year.
Tia would spend most of her free time alone.
The girls in her school all envy and despised her while the guys, have some sort of an "unspoken rule."
They treated Tia as a flower on a high peak (¹)
They thought they can only admire her from afar and no one should dare to monopolized their goddess.
Even the popular and famous guys in her school didn't dare to pursue her.
Added by the fact that her mom was diagnose with cancer and Tia had to joggle back and forth between the school and the hospital Tia had a hard time making friends let alone join a school club.
Her homeroom teacher notice her lack of extra curricular activities and so she asked for Tia in their counseling room.
"Ms. Kim, I admire and praise you for your academical achievements. Your grades has always been consistent and top notch ever since your freshmen year.
However, if you wish to graduate as the top student you need to be part of atleast one school club.
You have to understand that in the final grading, we will add extra curricular activities in the grading system. It will be such a shame if you end up ranking down due to that reason."
Her teacher explained to her. Tia was also aware of this grading system by the school.
And she was also eager to make her mom proud of her so she decided to join one school organization.
She chose the Art club since she has a knack for drawing and also its a low maintenance club.
The rule is you really don't have to attend club meetings everyday, as long as you submit an artwork in a weekly basis its fine.
Also, the club president is quite understanding of her situation. His name is Brandon Zhou.
He's a handsome but timid guy and came from a family of a business tycoon.
He could've been one of the popular males in school but due to his introverted and nerdy aura, the girls stayed away from him.
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(1)"Flower on a high peak" - It means, "something out of one's reach". Some things are beautiful to look at, but realistically, there is no way you can get them. The object might be something that you want very much but can't have.