"They sell coffee here, not their dignity!"
Rewind to five hours before this. Seori was giving Krystelle some pointers on how to go about the complex equations the teacher had left as a class activity.
"Ugh, I have so much homework to complete. That annoyingly long history report and now mathematics."
Qinyi groaned while facing Seori and Krystelle.
"Well, if you have two important tasks before you, start with the biggest, hardest and most important task first. Then the other one will seem like a piece of cake."
Krystelle and Qinyi acknowledged the brain box that is Seori for the fourth time that day, she just seemed like a treasure chest dispersing infinite knowledge.
"Thanks, I guess history it is."
Qinyi muttered nonchalantly before reaching for her history textbook.
"Don't worry, I'll help you."
"Really! Thanks so much, Seori!"
Krystelle laughed at how quickly Qinyi's demeanor had brightened up just because her idol had decided to lend a hand. Seori could tell that she had the most vibrant personality amongst them all.
Seori had already formed the habit of setting her priorities straight and being able to overcome procrastination. She'd found out that getting on with your most important tasks was just a mental and physical skill, and it's not really as complicated as people assumed it was. But what troubled her was the fact that Qinyi's assignments were always half done or piled up whenever she comes to school. What could be hindering her from getting it done at home?
***
Seori shut her locker, her head swiveled to the left as she wanted to proceed to the laboratory for their biology class. Her gaze fell on the guy standing two feet from her, he regarded her with so much confidence like she knew him.
Is he another not-so-secret admirer or just some stalker? She thought.
"You are...?"
He smiled under her scrutinizing eyes.
"You can't recognize me? It's me, Nate."
His tone filled his surprise but in a good way. Seori's eyes broadened. This is her seatmate? Him?
"What! Did you stick your head in a vat of acid?"
He had an overgrown mesh of curls bleached curls, partly brown, partly gold. He'd gotten them shortened into a crew cut instead.
"What? I thought you'll like this style."
Seori actually thought that–wait...
"What do you mean I'll like this style? You can't be serious if you're still trying to hit on me, I already made myself crystal clear yesterday that I'm not interested in you."
He laughed awkwardly and ran a hand through his hand, ruffling up the neatly trimmed edges.
"Those words have never stopped me before and they're not gonna stop me now."
"Ha, I thought you were going after Qinyi but now that there's a new pretty girl in class you wanna shoot your shot."
"How did you know that I was-"
"It doesn't matter how I know, I'm glad she rejected all your advances because in the end boys are all just after a pretty face, you didn't have any real feelings for her."
Seori turned immediately after she concluded her sentence, partially sprinting off in the laboratory's direction, she'd almost exposed herself after receiving the last reports of the background checks of her classmates yesterday night at the party.
"But I still don't want to give up on you."
He sighed.
"Damnit, I wasted fifty bucks on this haircut."
***
Jimin placed her hand in his and gently stroked it with his thumb.
"I thought you'll be more understanding."
Krystelle scowled at him and removed her hand from his.
"Understanding?"
She scoffed and draped her arms backwards over her shoulders. He tilted his head with one raised eyebrow to question her motion. She rolled her eyes, unhooked the heart-shaped pendant necklace, and slapped it into his open palm that once held on to her arm.
"What is the meaning of this?"
"Jimin, let's break up."
Jimin's amused countenance melted away in an instant.
"What?"
He stopped leaning on the wall behind him and straightened himself so that she had to take a step backwards and look up to meet his eyes.
"I want us to end our relationship, Jimin. I'm tired of you not having the decency to add me to your busy schedule, I'm your girlfriend but you put a lot of things before our relationship, I can't keep putting up with that."
Jimin looked at the pendant and rubbed the encrusted edges with his thumb.
"But I don't want to break up with you."
"Why not?"
Krystelle laughed. He must be joking.
"Because you're important to me."
"Im-Important to you? Ha! Don't make me laugh. If someone's important to you, you will put them first in almost everything but it seems like even your biology textbook has more value than me in your life right now. If I'm important to you, you should have demonstrated that through your actions a long time ago."
Jimin's eyebrows inclined inwardly and he took a step closer to her. They still have a few minutes before their lunch break would be over.
"Krystelle, I thought you've stopped judging people based on their actions and what you think they should do for you."
She scoffed.
"Really, Jimin? Really? Is that what you think this is about? Fine then, I don't care what flaws you throw in my face this time, if you think I'm at fault then it's all the more reason that we should end things. Oh, I almost forgot."
She peeled off the matching phone pouches they bought together last month and added them to the pendant in his left hand.
"Are you being serious Krystelle? I'm sorry that I brought that up, okay? Why are you freaking out about this? It's just a field trip."
Jimin felt a pang in his chest when she returned the cloud-themed phone pouch. He doesn't usually care which one he uses, that is, if he even decides to use one but he kept this particular one on his phone because she liked it.
"You were already so busy with football practice, volunteering at the animal shelter, and several other clubs. You kept cancelling our dates and we only hang out during weekends in the first place, even with all that you joined the student council and now you want me to understand why you won't be able to hang out with me for the next two weeks because of a stupid retreat for a leadership training I couldn't care less about?"
Jimin's shoulders drooped when little beads of tears pricked her sinuses, he reached out a hand to wipe the teardrop that fell out of it but she pushed his hands away. This was the reason she'd been pushing back their breakup. He's so gentle sometimes that she would assume that he's not doing all of this on purpose. Maybe he was really exhausted from all the extracurricular activities and he couldn't afford to date later on but not anymore, this attitude had been playing on repeat for the last couple of months and she's finally seen through his innocent facade.
"I'm sorry but there's barely any time left to hangout, especially with midterms coming up soon and-"
"So let's break up. I want to date someone who has time for me, focus on getting the perfect form for your college application, you can work yourself to death because I really don't care, I'm not going to remind you to rest or take care of yourself anymore, just do whatever you want without me in it bye, Jimin."
She tried to convey her emotions in her words but the sentences kept getting jumbled up together at the tip of her tongue.
"Krystelle!"
His fingers encircled her right arm before she pulled open the door to the unused classroom.
"Jimin, I've already made up my mind."
She avoided his eyes, it'll be easier for her to carry through with her decision if she doesn't make eye contact with him.
"It's for the best now, you can just focus on yourself."
to be continued...