Ling Dang strolled casually along the boulevard outside the school towards home, enjoying the chilly afternoon breeze brushing against his face. Autumn was nearly over and the ground was littered with red and yellow maple leaves. On the sidewalk, people were buried deeply within their winter coats and thick woollen scarves, some even wearing cute beanies.
"Hey Ling Dang, wait up!" a playful female voice rang out from behind.
Ling Dang stopped in his tracks then slowly turned around to face the gorgeous Asian girl wearing a girls' uniform running towards him.
The girl had long, pitch black hair tied neatly into a bun. Her skin was as clear and smooth as a piece of translucent white jade. Her face was beautiful as if it were sculpted out by a professional sculptor on par with Michelangelo, giving her a vibe of cute elegance. Her eyes sparkled brightly, mirroring the beauty of her face. She was half a head shorter than Ling Dang, but her posture and body exerted an aura of maturity and grace uncommon for her age.
"Sis" Ling Dang spoke in a much softer tone than when talking to his other classmates.
"Gee, you left without me noticing at all!" the girl ran up to him panting, supporting her arms on her knees as she took giant breaths of air. Ling Dang stared at her patiently, his previously tense and cold looking face easing up a little.
It took half a minute for her to calm down, before she lifted her head and looked at the boy's face carefully.
"Where are you going now?" she asked cautiously.
"Home" he murmured, a malicious glint flashing across his eyes momentarily before they returned to their usual cold aloofness.
"Shouldn't you be heading home as well? Your parents would want to celebrate your graduation with you" Ling Dang asked, unsure of how to make conversation with this girl before him.
"Oh, so you know that we graduated" she replied angrily. "You know we just graduated but you're not even celebrating? Our high school lives just finished, you know? We might never see the others other again!"
"There's nothing to celebrate. It's not like I particularly enjoyed high school anyways" Ling Dang shrugged, not wanting to continue on the topic.
"Yes, yes I know. Mr Ling Dang, the true "genius" of our Zigoat Academy. You don't want to have any connections with anyone else here in the future." the girl chuckled lightly.
"You know quite a few girls in my class have a crush on you? They tell me 'Wow that Ling Dang from the accelerated class is so cool and mysterious. I've never seen him speak more than a word to anyone except you, Hazel. Tell us, what's he like' " she grinned.
"Well, what did you say?" Ling Dang looked at his only friend in these six long years curiously.
"What did you want me to say?" she laughed.
Ling Dang looked down to the ground, a hint of embarrassment creeping into his heart. Hazel watched at his face closely. His eyelashes flickered slightly as he turned his gaze back to her. The afternoon sunlight reflecting off his black eyes seemed to make them sparkle, as a feeling of closeness enveloped Hazel, rooting her to the ground.
Her heartbeat unconsciously sped up slightly when she saw his cold yet gentle expression. A tinge of pink appeared on his pale cheeks, making his face appear more lively than usual.
"Hey, you're embarrassed!" she laughed happily.
"No I'm not" Ling Dang refuted, once again shifting his focus to the ground.
"Don't worry, I would never say anything bad. After all, you're my brother!" Hazel winked playfully.
An imperceptible sense of pain brushed her heart as she uttered the word "brother".
"Still, looking back at our experiences these six years, it's true that you haven't interacted much with our classmates. Everyone's bonded, developed and destroyed friendships, had fun, laughed and cried..." she sighed emotionally.
"We were all so close with each other. You were the only one who didn't want to join in on our big family."
"I have you sis, I don't need any other connections with those people" Ling Dang replied casually.
"You stubborn little brat" Hazel smiled brightly.
Only in front of Hazel would Ling Dang relax slightly. She wasn't really his sister, but a close childhood friend he met when his parents were still around. They weren't blood related to each other, but he felt closer to Hazel than anyone else in his life. After his parents disappeared, Hazel became his only mental pillar of support he had left. All these years, she had quietly supported him, consoling him whenever his guilt and hatred became too heavy for him to bear alone and guiding him back from the brink of insanity. Thanks to Hazel, he could somewhat cope with his painful life and live somewhat peacefully under the same roof as his family members.
"Parents? Who needs useless parents like them" he spoke quietly, a hint of ruthlessness and loathing projected in his voice.
"Family? Sis Hazel's my only family."
"Hm, did you say something?"
"No, nothing" he lied as he averted her gaze nervously. The carefree atmosphere between them turned slightly awkward.
In front of Hazel, he couldn't hide his true feelings and emotions. He couldn't hide his hatred and detestation and she would never ask him to abandon these feelings nor try to console him either, for which Ling Dang was always thankful for. She just quietly listened. Every time. No judgement, no pity, no sympathy. That was her way of supporting him. They knew each other too well, better than a lot of blood siblings.
"Well, well! Just your luck I found you before you went home!" she exclaimed, breaking the tension instantly.
"Do you want to go get some ice cream? Your curfew's not until 8 right? We just graduated high school and I know you don't want to celebrate, but I do and I just so happened to be alone! All my friends left me to go to that restaurant near our school so I have no one to celebrate with. Feel pity for me okay?" Hazel pouted.
"Come on, let's go to our usual place. Treat your big sister to some ice cream will you? Your big sister really needs to be cheered up seeing that she completely flunked that last exam! Argh, why can't you share some of your intelligence with me, little Dang? You don't want to excel at school anyways so just give me your smartness okay" she commanded in a bossy but cute manner.
"Nobody would believe a pretty and mature looking girl like you would be here teasing me, an innocent little junior who is two years younger than you. Where's your maturity gone, sis?" Ling Dang tried his best to put on an innocent face, which make Hazel burst out in laughter.
"Alright alright, I'll stop. Let's go get ice cream" she smiled.
Ling Dang let out a slight chuckle, then nodded obediently. The two headed in the direction of a local cafe close to both of their homes. Under the setting afternoon sun, their silhouettes on the ground bobbled up and down as the last remaining leaves of autumn twirled around in the air before landing silently on the ground.