He smiled at me. He's the one walking toward me. He's the one joking with me. He is the one in my dream. He is present in my tears. He is the one I love more than the stars in the sky. Could it be replaced with someone whose presence is like a lie?
I asked Leslie to clean up some of the plastic porridge and dirty bowls on my desk. My face is really pale this morning because I'm lazy to make cereal for breakfast, I chose to bring some chocolate and milk cookies that I will eat between classes this morning. The air is quite cold after last night's rain in Paris, I wore a short white skirt made of thin lace with irregular layers of transparent organza along the calf and a pale blue camisole top and sapphire blue ankle boots.
After putting cookies and milk into the paper bag, I immediately left the room and ran to campus, Arielle had already left because she said she had to borrow a book for the Design Essence course, luckily Arielle was kind enough to lend me a book too after I said I fainted yesterday afternoon. The weather is quite cloudy, it looks like it will rain again today, I regret that I didn't bring a jacket or scarf to protect my body from this cold air.
When I arrived at the class located next to the theater room, Arielle was already sitting in the first row at the very front holding a paper cup filled with warm chocolate, for me. I jogged a little while putting on a touched face which made Arielle laugh.
The class ended right at lunchtime and my cookies weren't touched in the slightest because this class required all the attention I had, we decided to just eat together in the cafeteria due to my bad mood. The cafeteria is always crowded every hour, especially during lunchtime, Arielle and I sat in the far-right row close to the garden that limits the cafeteria to the parking area.
The raindrops had been falling all this time, Arielle was going to line up to get her lunch when Gallant and Tom appeared waving and sat across from me.
"How are you, Aubrey? Nethan said you were sick," said Gallant while eating the choco bar in his hand.
Tom put his hand on my forehead. "Have you taken your medicine yet?" he asked.
A punch landed on Tom's arm, I turned and saw Arielle staring intently at Tom. "Don't touch her carelessly, wash your hands first."
"I swear, my hands are clean," Tom answered while stroking the arm that was hit by Arielle.
"You two know each other?" I asked curiously.
"He's my high school friend." said Arielle, "My ex-girlfriend," said Tom, almost at the same time which finally made Arielle glare once more.
I just nodded understandingly, then opened a small box containing some cookies that I brought and milk. I offered them but only Tom took it because Gallant and Arielle were still busy with their respective meals.
From a distance, I saw El walking while holding a man who turned out to be Jeffyin. El waved at me, walked over to our seats, then lightly smacked Gallant and Tom on the head before sitting down next to me. Jeffyin sat right across from me, between Gallant and Tom, I didn't dare look him in the eye.
Last night suddenly my body temperature rose, Jeffyin put a cold cloth on my head and fell asleep on the edge of the bed, but when I opened my eyes in the morning, he was gone.
Today Jeffyin wore long jeans and a thin black t-shirt covered with a white leather jacket, his hair was neatly tied. "Intentionally not wearing a jacket for fear of ruining today's concept or completely forgetting it?"
I finally looked at the blonde guy who just grumbled, he stood up, took off his jacket, and put it on my shoulder. "Sorry for just showing up, I back to campus as soon as possible after getting this porridge," he said as he took out a plastic bowl and a small thermos from a red paper bag with gold Chinese writing on it.
Jeffyin took the box of cookies in front of me and exchanged it for porridge and something like still hot tea, I adjusted the position of the jacket and answered his question "I completely forgot."
"That's okay" he replied curtly then opened the lid of the bowl and started scooping the porridge out of it, blowing it a few times before pointing the spoon at my mouth.
It seemed that Jeffyin had forgotten about his friends' presence and was too focused on the porridge, "You're just like Aubrey's mother." said Gallant, giving Jeffyin a silly look.
"Or rather like a nanny," said Tom, and they both laughed with satisfaction.
"You guys shut up and just continue eating, don't disturb my business." Jeffyin didn't let go of his eyes on the porridge bowl.
I don't know why his answer and that look on his face bothered me so much, now he seemed so far away. his eyes are still not looking at me. El moved his foot and accidentally hit my leg, she was too busy with her cellphone that make me forgot she was next to me because she had not made a sound, suddenly I felt someone's hand gently ruffling my hair from behind which obviously made me turn around, I saw Nethan standing right behind me, he smiled then put his hand on my forehead then down to my neck.
"Hey! Nethan, you know what? Now Traynor is Aubrey's personal babysitter! Look at all the food he brings and the way he treats Aubrey, really like a nanny." Gallant explained at length to Nethan.
Then they discussed something I didn't pay much attention to, Nethan's hand still on the top of my head when Jeffyin pointed the umpteenth spoon to my mouth.
"Traynor, Fanette will be here in a minute." El finally spoke. Jeffyin just nodded his head and typed something on his phone.
Nethan's hand took a small thermos in front of me, opened it, and poured a little tea into the lid. I accepted the tea that Nethan gave me, blew it for a while then drank it slowly, it tasted like tea mixed with ginseng, ginger, and various other types that I don't know, but the taste was still acceptable to my tongue and that's when the blue hair girl appeared.
It felt like everyone's attention in the cafeteria was on him, including me. I even forgot to breathe and blinked. She stood at the end of our table, smiled briefly at the others then looked down at me blankly.
"Wait a minute, this is the last one," said Jeffyin then pointed the last spoon to my mouth.
Jeffyin put the empty porridge bowl into the paper bag, "Finish all the tea, I still have class. I will also finish the milk and cookies." Jeffyin held my cookie box and paper bag string in his left hand and stood up to leave.
I looked into Jeffyin's blue eyes and nodded slowly, Jeffyin tilted his head slightly and gripped my fingers, feeling his grip on mine really strong. "Smile at me Rain, even if it's hard," he said then said goodbye to the others and left.
"Don't forget, tonight and all week Darrell will be playing," shouted Nathan. I saw Jeffyin put his hand on Fanette's waist and they left. "11 o'clock, don't forget." said Nethan to all the occupants of this table. They all nodded at the same time. "You have to come Arielle." this time Nethan said it while looking into Arielle's eyes and then left us.
"How could this girl come," Tom muttered to himself. Arielle ignored him.
"Fanette is Jeffyin's lover?" I ventured to ask.
"No," Gallant replied curtly.
"Then?" I asked wanting to know more.
"The two of them spent high school together. It was Fanette who comforted Jeffyin when his girlfriend left him for London. They were very close, but not lovers." El explained.
I was just nodding trying to understand when an incoming message rang on my phone.
[Ur future BAE!!] I think I like you, Rain
Message from Jeffyin, don't ask, he put the number on my phone by himself.