[23rd December]
"That will be two dollars,"
I seized the printed photos and departed the shop with a faint sigh. I didn't even sleep a wink last night. Moreover, we were supposed to have a quiz today and I totally forgot to revise for it. I might potentially ruin Johnny's academic image so I had recorded myself on the phone reciting his notes earlier.
"Social studies is the study of people in relation to each other and their world-" I weakly nodded along as I listened to my 'podcast'. Clutching the project tightly under my arms, I crossed the snow-filled road. The cold air made it slightly impossible to breathe normally.
My phone started ringing to my surprise and I quickly picked it up, balancing the card in my arm.
"...hello?" "You sound so weak, are you okay?" at Jay's voice, I recalled the crimson lady's words. What a pain in the butt.
"Just a little sleepy, that's all." I resumed walking, already able to make out the outline of the school building behind the fogs.
"Well, I'm outside your house," Jay spoke passionately.
"What?" I paused. "Jay, I'm already on my way to school."
"Damn, I even bought breakfast. I'm going there now, don't move!" I heard shuffling noises over the phone. I sighed, kicking the thick layer with my boots.
"Jay, I'm not gonna wait under a snowstorm. Also, I need to accomplish the project with Ethel..." I trailed off when I got a whiff of a familiar strawberry scent. I whipped my head to the left and spotted the familiar pink head who had passed by me without a care.
Rikki.
He had earphones plugged in. It was futile to call for him. It would've been awkward anyway.
How can someone's back look so miserable?
My frown deepened when I remember I hadn't made up with him yet.
"Johnny? Johnny!" Jay called with a troubled tone.
"I'm here!" I blurted out and continued walking, eyes locked on the boy ahead of me.
I swore I saw Rikki looked over his shoulders for a split second.
I tried not to be loud as I kept a distance between us. "So, I'll meet you in class, alright?"
"Okay, see you in class," I hung up and stepped into the school's premises. I mutely watched as the pink head trudged through the busy hallways.
His music was so loud I could hear it from a few meters away. It was unmistakably softer when he first passed by me.
I bit my lower lip in thought of how I was going to clear things up with Rikki.
"Yo!" I let out a small shriek when Ethan suddenly pulled me into a headlock.
"Oi!" I slapped his arm, staring up to deliver him a soft glare. He let go and ruffled my hair playfully with a cheeky grin.
He was older so I let him get away with it.
"Why aren't you walking with Rikki?" Ethan nudged his chin towards Rikki who just rounded the corner to our grade.
"O-oh, I didn't notice him!" I forced a chuckle out of me.
Ouch, that made my throat dry. Did I even drink any water this morning?
Ethan raised a brow in suspicion. "Are you sure?" after some thought, he shrugged it off and silently walked next to me.
"How'd your date go with Jay?" Ethan wiggled his brows.
"I didn't know Jay was so romantic," I laughed when he gagged at the word.
"Well, Jay was the epitome of romance,"
"Then what are you the embodiment of?" I nonchalantly asked him.
"I don't know...probably witticism," I rolled my eyes at him.
"Y'know, we were nicknamed the Seven Deadly Sins," I arched a brow.
"What was I?" Ethan hummed in thought, rubbing his chin with his thumb.
"If I memorized precisely,
you were Wrath," I shrugged, it made sense.
"Jay was obviously Lust. Can you imagine Wrath and Lust dating? Me neither, but here we are," we laughed and turned the corner.
"What was the rest of you?" I inquired.
"I was Gluttony because I enjoyed food." Ethan smacked his lips.
"Nick was Pride, Silas was Greed, Dylan was Sloth and Rikki was Envy. They should all be accurate." it felt different to hear Rikki's sin representation.
"Imagine if another group of seven joins the school and be called the seven heavenly virtues."
"That would actually be kind of neat." we arrived at the classroom, Rikki instantly turning to us. He promptly looked away. Part of me was glad he sat a few seats away from me. I sighed and walked up to Ethel.
"Hey, Ethel!" he nodded in acknowledgment before turning in his seat to take a look at the pictures I brought.
"Congratulations on your relationship, by the way," I blushed and scratched my nape.
"Thank you…you knew?"
"It was the talk of the school yesterday and this morning." Ethel began cutting the pictures to paste them on the cards. I glanced at his fingers that were adorning little rings.
"You painted your nails!" I commented on his freshly painted purple nails with a gasp.
"Yeah, I thought they'd look cool." he brought his hand up with a content smile.
"They are." I grinned, glad that he was more comfortable with me now.
"I think this picture is more fitted here." I pointed to a corner on the huge card. We continued to work on the project until our homeroom teacher walked in. It was a nice distraction.
Jay ended up running late and almost got detention. As he marched towards his seat, he waved a brown reusable bag at me with a smirk on his face. I gave him a small smile. I wondered what he had bought for me.
I slightly winced when I realized that Rikki sat behind Jay. The youngest glared daggers onto Jay's back when he took a seat. I also noticed how red Rikki's eyes were and I felt terrible. He no longer stole glances my way anymore; his eyes were on his lap the entire time.
I needed to make up with him.
I still had the drive to return to him. Pursing my lips in thought, I paused when the teacher suddenly announced another group project. We had to be in a group of four this time. I made up a group in my head as the teacher discussed the objectives.
Ethan was my first choice because I needed him alongside me. Jay was my second because it would be controversial if I didn't choose him. He was also academically gifted.
I bit my lip. I should get Rikki into my group too…
"Johnny!" Dylan called with an exasperated groan.
"What?" I turned to him then back at the teacher in case he caught me. He was tending to a student's question.
"What is it?" Dylan nudged in the direction of the others.
"Group," he simply said before going to join Ethan and the twins.
Ethan was already in their group? Shit.
"We need another teammate." Jay approached me with the brown bag. Rikki silently followed behind him.
It got me thinking if he had ever told the others about his crush.
"I really wanted Ethan in our group," I muttered with a sigh before thanking Jay when he laid the bag on my desk.
"Ethan!" Jay suddenly summoned, startling me.
"Yeah?" Ethan's silvery voice responded.
"Jay, what are you doing-?"
"My boyfriend wants you in our group! Is that okay?" I became flustered as I opened and closed my mouth in shock.
Ethan pondered before traveling to us with something in his hands. "Sure! Come to think of it, I've never done group work with Johnny before. That's kind of weird." he casually wrapped an arm around Rikki. Usually, the youngest would give Ethan his boxy grin and be joking with him, but Rikki said nothing and continued to stare at the ground to Ethan's surprise.
"Rikki? You okay, bud?" Ethan brought a hand to Rikki's hair to softly ruffle it. Rikki weakly nodded, fidgeting with the drawstring of his hoodie.
"Ethan, why'd you bring a Gameboy?!" Jay hissed at the eldest when he finally had a closer look at the item in Ethan's hand.
"What? School is boring! I can play Pacman under the desk." Ethan wiggled his brows mischievously. That was the eldest for you.
"Now we need another teammate to replace Ethan," Nick grumbled when he got over. Dylan and Silas were playing some finger games at their desks.
"Ethel?" I turned to glance at him. He was still seated, doodling on his notebook. "Scratch that, he's not close with any of them."
"Maybe he'd wanna be friends. Ethel!" Nick waved Ethel over to us. I wordlessly watched. He shifted in his seat, swiftly making eye contact with me.
"y-yes?"
"Would you like to join my group?" Nick beckoned to Silas and Dylan. Ethel took a glance and hesitated on answering.
"Uh..."
"I don't think he's comfortable..." I subtly nudged Nick, noticing how Ethel's gaze lingered on Dylan. They were cousins but they were far from close.
After a while, someone let out a sigh from behind me. "I'll go to your group, Nick." Rikki volunteered, tugging on Nick's blazer.
"Oh...okay." Nick was taken aback but accepted the youngest with open arms, gently tousling Rikki's hair.
"An eye for an eye, I guess." Nick snickered before the two of them retreated to their group, causing the three of us to roll our eyes.
That was tough luck. I had planned to speak to Rikki. But on the other hand, Ethel would probably be more docile to enter our group. "Ethel!" I hollered as I beckoned him over. He joined us with a small smile on his face.
"Our group is complete!" Ethan high-fived all of us, including Ethel who was unsure at first but beamed when Ethan encouraged him.
"Yeah."
Clap!
"So, what do we have to do?" I asked while we all sat around Ethel and I's joined desks.
"Produce a weird or interesting article. A plus point if we include pictures." Ethan leaned on his backseat.
"It doesn't have to be factual news. So, we can even write about 'sightings of dragons in a molten cave' or something."
"That was so detailed! Did you plan that out beforehand?" I chortled at Jay.
The teacher had given us the entire class hour to discuss our projects so we decided to list down all the ideas that came into mind before concluding the topic afterward. Ethel suggested that we should even take the magazine pictures ourselves.
I was suddenly evoked of Rikki and his camera. I peered over to see him slouched in his seat while the others spoke about the project. I frowned. He's been so downhearted ever since.
"Psst, Johnny!" Ethan lightly booted my legs under the table. I shot him a look.
"What?"
"It's your turn to give an idea. We're going around the table." Jay was expecting for me as he tapped his pen on a piece of paper. An idea rushed through my mind and I blurted it out.
"How to get over someone that's not yours." the three of them stared at me with raised brows.
"We're here for a good time, not a long time," Ethel retorted. Jay and Ethan let out suppressed laughs. I was overjoyed to see that Ethel had warmed up to the two in a quick span of time. He even told them where he got his nails done!
"I have no concepts." I huffed, sliding down my chair in defeat.
"How about you, Ethel?" Ethan glanced at the male.
"I was thinking about 'top ten ugliest nails to ever grace your eyes'." Jay was nodding along at first but he paused to give Ethel a look.
"It's better than Johnny's, at least."
This man was seriously reaching for my soul.
"Shut up!"
One hour went by quickly and the bell rang.
"Should we meet up after school to discuss more of it?" Jay and I hummed at Ethan's suggestion. My family dinner was canceled this morning because a relative fell ill.
Ethel was a little unsure. "...I'll have to ask my guardians." we hummed understandingly and stood up to get ready for the next class.
Ethel and I would have to present soon and I could feel my heartbeat against my chest so loudly. I've never done presentations before, it was unnerving.
"Ethel, you ready?" I asked him out of nervousness. "I made a script." he held up a small booklet and I was baffled.
"What?! Oh my God, I should've done that!" I mentally cursed myself.
"You have a fifteen minutes window. That should be enough." immediately, I ripped a piece of paper from a notebook and speedily ran my pen over it. Ethel silently watched from his seat, sometimes correcting me if I ever made a grammar mistake.
"Done-!"
"Johnny."
A deep voice disrupted me. My breath caught in my throat when I glanced up to mark a red-eyed, frowning Rikki. He wasn't wearing any hoodie so it was evident to everyone he passed by that he had a bad day.
"Oh...Rikki-"
"The drive," he got to the point, sticking his hand out to me.
"R-right!" I hastened to retrieve the drive from my bag, praying that I didn't leave it at home. There was no way, I brought it to the printing shop with me.
I sighed in contentment as I stared at the drive rested between my fingers. Sitting up straight, I dropped the mini device onto Rikki's palm. Before I could even thank him, he turned around and departed the classroom with heavy steps.
"I've never spoken to him but...is he okay?" Ethel looked back and forth between me and the door Rikki had just left. I sighed exasperatingly as I shrunk in my seat.
"No, he's far from okay."