"Why did you bring her here?" Cathy yelled at Ryan. Her face was green with envy. "I told you a week ago that we would go shopping and you went ahead to bring a stranger," Cathy screamed hysterically.
Ryan stared at her in unbelief. He couldn't believe his ears."What do you mean by that?" he asked calmly.
She gave him the death stare "I don't like her" she said with a straight face.
She was talking about me. Ryan began to prance about. "She's like my little sister and why are you talking like that?" he asked, still prancing.
The sky began to blacken. Rain was gathering. "Let's go back to the car," he said.
"Fine," she said loudly.
They got back to the car and met me sitting on the bonnet of the car. Ryan rushed to where I sat and jumped on the bonnet, sitting down., "How are you feeling now?" he asked, completely ignoring the fact that Cathy had followed him back.
I gave a loud sigh. "Can I speak alone with Cathy?" I asked.
"Why?" he asked. "I just want to talk with her" came my reply. He respected my opinion, got down from the bonnet, and walked away.
Cathy was leaning against a pole a few meters from the car. I walked up to her expecting the worst and she didn't betray my expectations.
She rolled her eyes so cruelly at me that I felt a tingling of embarrassment. "Finish what you started," I said, motivating myself.
The rain came drizzling down "What do you want" she asked looking me in the eye.
"I'm sorry but have I done something wrong to you?" I questioned her.
"The fact that you exist makes me want to puke each time".
"What have I done?"
"You really wanna know?" she said sarcastically "Fine I'll tell you".
I took a deep breath awaiting the worst possible outcome. "Go ahead," I said in the calmest tone I could have ever mustered at that moment.
"You want to steal Ryan away from me right?" she asked. A flash of lightning struck.
I what? Was she being serious right now? So the cause of our enmity was Ryan? I looked at her in pity. "You hate me because of Ryan?" I asked, wanting to be double-sure that I interpreted what she said correctly.
"I've known Ryan longer than you and he deserves to be with no one else but me"
"What makes you think I'm going out with him?"
"He drops you off and picks you up. That's something Ryan does for only me"
"But-"
"I love him and I'll go to any length for him," she said as the tears started gushing out of her eyes.
I couldn't believe that she was in college. She was acting childish but it was clear to me that she loved and adored Ryan. That was something commendable. I took out a kerchief from the pocket of my skirt and wiped her tear-stained eyes dry. I then proceeded to give her a big hug. She deserved it. "I don't know what to say but it's ok".
Still, in my arms, she said, "Peradventure Ryan falls in love with you. I want you to treasure him. I know he can never return my feelings but from the bottom of my heart I want only the best for him" she cried "I don't want to ever see him hurt. He means a lot to me".
The rain was pouring in torrents by now. We stood there together. Enjoying the peaceful calm of the sky water. We hugged for over twenty minutes. When I am sure she felt better she pulled away and gave me a pat on my hair. "Thank you," she said and began walking towards the car. I followed behind her, taking short strides.
Ryan looked at us in confusion "Don't ask" I said as we got into talking range. If only he knew he was the cause of our disagreement.
I got into the back seat. Letting Cathy stay in the passenger seat. She ignited a conversation and I just let them be. They spoke at length. So, that's how I became friends with Cathy. She's a good person and friend. Rumors have it to date she hasn't confessed to Ryan. And I respect that.
Later that day I gave Mia the gist of everything that had happened. Modifying it in a way that Cathy still retained her self-respect.
The midterms came and to be honest, they were so simple. I can't say the same for Mia because she came to my desk sniffing.
It was obvious she was going to retake the test. That meant till then she had to stay behind to attend remedial classes. What a poor soul. I find it weird I had some degree of pity for her.
A week later the overall scoresheet was posted on the bulletin board. I went ahead to check my ranking overall. My name was in the first place. As it should be. I badly wanted to ace the exams for Kyoto University.
This was my goal now.
"Can I attend cram school?" I asked Ryan one fateful morning on our way to our various destinations.
He shook his head "Your work will suffer"
"I could take the night shifts," I said.
"What about your beauty sleep beside your grades are already good enough".
A call came in. It was from Akayuki. My older sister. She was panting heavily, I thought something bad had happened. "Yuki, I just won a scholarship," she screamed.
I let out a high-pitched scream too "Really?" I asked. I was so proud of my sister.
"It takes effect from next semester" she continued and I was just nodding my head like an agama lizard. "I'm so happy"
"I'm so happy too," I said.
We spoke for a while and by the time we were done, Ryan had gotten to my school. We didn't talk about cram school anymore. I sat down and reasoned the situation myself. There was no way it was going to work. Guess I'd just have to stick with the regular reading timetable that still allowed me to have moments of sleep.
Lest I forget to say. My relationship with Cathy got better. Some days we would just sit and have long talks. She and Max had been born abroad at almost the same time. Their mothers were the best of friends.
Mrs. Entley, Cathy's mom, decided to start life afresh so she came to Japan. Ryan's mom thought it was a good idea and asked if Ryan could accompany them.
Cathy's mom agreed and here they were. No wonder Ryan lived close to them.
I also understood how Cathy came to fall in love with Ryan. It was clear to me.
Her conversations mainly centered on Ryan.
It was always Ryan, Ryan said. Ryan did. Ryan ate. Ryan bought it. Everything she said concerned Ryan. She was obsessed with him. And I never got tired of listening to her. When she's not jealous she's an angelic being.
"So I heard you want to come to Kyoto University," she said in one of her very rare "Not Ryan" conversations.
I smiled "Yes, I'm going to take the exams exactly a year from now".
She gave me a pat on my head. "I'm rooting for you," she said with a wide smile "In case you encounter any problems. Feel free to reach out to me. A problem half shared is a problem half solved".
Those words alone boosted my morale by a trillion XP.
After the third semester, I transferred to the closest school in the neighborhood. I didn't make any new friends. That wasn't my primary objective.
For the next year, I studied and studied. Reviewed and reviewed. Vocalized and vocalized. I did everything in my power to ensure that I got into Kyoto University.
During this period, Cathy became my tutor. She gave me time hacks to use in the exams as we would be given tough questions and very little time to answer them. She taught me how to write my kanji neater and clearer. She taught me a lot of things.
The day for the exam drew nearer and nearer. I wasn't scared but I was nervous. Ryan and Cathy escorted me to the hall where my fate was going to be decided.
I sat for the exams and the paper sheets were passed around facing down on the desk. As soon as we were told to begin, I flipped the paper over. Lo and behold. The questions were mostly those Cathy and I had revised and reviewed together.
My pencil went tick-tick on the paper. It glided gracefully. It was almost as if Cathy was in the hall with me pointing out the answers.
We were soon done and passed the sheets back. We were then escorted out of the hall. I ran and jumped on Cathy immediately after I saw her. She wrapped her arms around me. "Now we just wait for the results," she said.
Ryan treated us to a first-class meal. He was so sure I had passed. In fact, we all were so sure without a doubt I had passed. We went to the mall, game center, and other interesting places. "I owe you a gift once you become a College student," Cathy promised me.
By the time we got home, Ryan and I were exhausted. We dropped Cathy off at the convenience store. Mrs. Entley gave me a big hug.
I had my bath and lay on my bed. Now, I just await the results.
Mia also had her college exams at the same time as I did. I was worried for her. I pray she passed. And in shining colors too.