MICHEAL URADA
"*huff*...*huff*...aghhhh"
I was out of breath in almost no time. My legs hurt, my stomach cramped and my eyes were so blurry I couldn't even properly see the ground below. Every breath hurt. Even though I had been hunched over for nearly 3 minutes.
Ahhh, I had gotten too carried away in setting up this new routine. Dang, it! Nobody told me just running could be this painful! It was all because of that bastard Septhtis! He made it all sound so promising, but now I felt more discouraged than ever.
As I made my way towards the side of the road and collapsed on short grass, my thoughts strayed back to that time on the last day of the winter trip, When that bastard convinced me into this suicidal resolution.
*************
The snow lightly touched the glass window. I blankly watched it while trying to find a comfortable position on my chair for me and my blanket.
"Here's the milkshake, my queen."
I quietly took the hot chocolate from Septhis hand. I had gotten far too used to his weird antics to react to that. Although, I do still wonder how he can say all those absurd things with a straight face.
"So, where are Charles and the others?" I asked.
From the corner of my eyes, I could see that Septhis had laid himself across the sofa on my right side. But he was still managing to sip from his cup of hot chocolate at the same time. A grand feat only someone as lazy as him could achieve.
"They went to the farewell party in the Ristorante club just like the rest of the students." Sephtis answered.
"And just left us here?? Damn. Charles always gets to spend time alone with the girls!" I said, partially disgusted, partially jealous.
"I mean, personally, I would rather be here, all cozy and warm, than drinking stupidly in that sweaty crowd. We did enough of that yesterday." Sephtis lazily replied.
I do have to agree with him that it was cozy. Maybe it was because I hadn't had anything to drink or eat since morning, but the hot chocolate also tasted heavenly. And after last night, I had learned the tough lesson that drinking just wasn't for me. I couldn't even remember much about last night, but it definitely wasn't a pleasant experience. In fact, since morning today, I had just been sick, over and over, with a bursting headache.
It must be because of my poor health that they left without me. But still.... the things I would give to be in Charles's position.
"Yeah, fuck them." I said to Sephtis as I raised my glass of hot chocolate. He raised his glass in response and we sipped our hot chocolate in a chorus of 'Cheers.'
"Welp, This is the last day of the winter vacation. And after this, we will meet directly at the new year's."
"Yeah, at the opening ceremony."
"You know what? Let's have our own little farewell while the other's out."Sephtis suggested suddenly.
"If you are talking about a party, then count me out." I am well familiar with Sephtis's antics. And I refuse to fall prey to one of his 'for fun' disastrous plans.
"No, No, nothing like that. I was thinking more along the lines of a heartfelt conversation about the future. Perhaps making a new year's resolution or two."
"That....." seems quite sensible. I couldn't say the last words out loud cause my mouth couldn't keep up with my thoughts after the shock I had received from Sephtis's words. Unlike usual, Sephtis had actually said something thoughtful.
"Actually, the party plan doesn't sound too bad, though."
And he was back to normal.
But since it was one of the few times that Sephtis had made more sense than usual, I honestly thought about it. About the future, about what I want, about what I wanted to say...
"Well, if it's possible, I do want to work on something for the future." I spoke as I thought back to the countless times Charles had talked about how much work he puts in for his future.
"Wise words." Sephtis sipped on his cup.
"You know, this makes me remember about the time when we had that conversation at your party. I think back to what you said, and my condition isn't all bad. Maybe I can start putting in some work, and then maybe I can change too..." I trailed off at the end and spoke the last words so softly that I doubt Sephtis even heard me.
But nevertheless, he flashed a smile at me.
"There you have your new year's resolution! Putting in some work. For starters, how about starting those runs like Charles always talks about. It certainly seems to have helped him a lot."
I laughed as I remembered the sight of Charles proudly boasting and, at the same time, lecturing us about the benefits of running.
"Yeah, I will do that. And what about you? What's your new year's resolution?"
"Welp, My resolution is to make sure that you keep yours." Sephtis answered , running a hand through his hair.
"So you are just planning to laze around this year, too?" I asked with a sigh.
"Hey, Cheers to your new running routine!" Sephtis ignored the truth and just raised his cup. I gave a resigned chuckle and raised my cup too.
And that was how the idea of having an evening run was set in stone.
*************
That was a stupid fucking idea, Sephtis!
I venomously cursed Sephtis for putting this accursed idea in my head as I lay collapsed on the soft grass. After a few minutes of battling with the urge to just sleep then and there, I finally prevailed and sat up. With my head cleared up a bit, I swore to never do something as humiliating as this again.
"Excuse me, Are you alright?"A voice that sounded positively angelic drifted across my ears. I swirled my head around to look at the girl standing a few steps away from me. I hadn't noticed her approaching. But as she stood there with a slightly concerned look on her face, it felt as if my world had frozen over.
She had long lustrous black hair which seemed to gleam on a stary night. She had tied it up in a nice ponytail that was neither short nor long. She wore a casual black jacket which suited well with her light skin. A set of prominent brown eyes were staring in my direction with a slight furrow of her brows. And for what felt like a long time, I was transfixed by them.
"Y-yes, Of course!" The little bit of pride left inside me prompted me to quickly jump to my feet in the face of such a pretty girl. But just like always, I managed to embarrass myself by letting out an unusually high-pitched voice. And if that wasn't enough, my unsteady balance as I stood up almost caused me to fall down again. I felt heat creeping up to my face and, I wanted nothing more than to bury myself in the ground.
Like a coward, I quickly opted to retreat from here as fast as possible and bowed to her.
"Thanks for your concern!"
I cringed as soon as I said those words. Why did I shout out those words as a soldier does at his superiors! And is 'thanks for concern' even a term? Does anyone even say that?!
"No problem. By the way, I am a first-year ....and I don't think I have seen you before. Are you perhaps a Senior?"
I didn't expect a reply. Not at all. In fact, I had straightened my back and was in the process of turning and running in the other direction when those words made me freeze up. I turned my head towards her as my mind quickly churned up an answer for her.
"Ah, Yes! I am a Senior. My name is Micheal Urada, Second Year."
Since my face was facing hers, I could see her show a small smile as I introduced myself.
"Nice to meet you. I am Mysa Agustine."
And then my mind blanked. I mindlessly bowed once again as I muttered back, "Nice to meet you!". But this time, my actions weren't filled with nervousness but respect. And then, when I raised my head to once again meet her eyes, I realized that I had nothing to talk about.
Well, there was one common topic that I could've brought up. One friend of mine who shared the same surname as hers but... there were too many that could go wrong. So ultimately, an awkward silence settled between us. And no matter how much I wanted to break it, I just couldn't.
"Hmm, it's my first time meeting a senior here, so I got a bit curious. But I wouldn't want to take much of your time. See you next time!" Mysa Agustine bid farewell, leaving me dazed on the spot.
"I guess she runs here too..." I murmured to myself as I watched her jogging away. Somehow, even after making a fool of myself, I felt strangely glad that I had met her today. Almost like I had accomplished something.
I walked back towards the direction of the dorm as various thoughts bombarded my head. I thought back to her smile, how nice she had been to me even though she had such high status. I couldn't help but feel like there was something there. And then I began imagining situations where I could actually talk to her. Like, how tomorrow perhaps we could coincidently meet again and maybe I could talk to her about our shared interest in running.
Lost in my own world, I didn't notice that I was halfway across to the dorm. As I came to that realization, I saw a very familiar figure standing a few feet away from me, Holding two cans in his hands, with the trademark cheeky smile plastered across his face.
"Congratulations!" Sephtis excitedly exclaimed as he pressed the chilled can to my neck. I, in return, hurled back curses as I slapped his hands away.
Apparently, this was his way of cheering me on for my new year's resolution. I frankly wanted to tell him all about how much that stupid idea of his made me suffer, but since something good did come out of it, I held myself back.
Since it was getting a bit late and the dorm curfew was at 9, we talked little as we drank the cold grape juice that he had brought. I decided against telling him about the against other Agustine that I had encountered. The politics of the Royal family get quite dirty, and I didn't want to get into it.
So we just talked about the classes until he dropped me off at the dorms before going back towards his private quarters.