Violetta was taken aback, dumbfounded, bewildered- every adjective that could come to mind. The reason for this was sitting in front of her nonchalantly flipping another page of the textbook she had lent him. He didn't even seem to notice her gaze. No matter how hard she racked her brains, what was happening felt like more than a miracle- Rahey had been studying dedicatedly for the past seven hours without a proper break.
They had started in the library at around six in the evening but it closed at eight which forced them to go to a 24-hour cafe. It was now almost one in the morning and Rahey was still pouring over her notes with utmost concentration.
She had held herself back from asking what he was doing multiple times. In the past, they had tried studying together once or twice at most and he would always leave after an hour and a half. It was expected because Rahey was a restless person with a bad attention span for long texts. Now, he was doing it with such ease, almost like a different person.
'How bad was the accident?' Violetta thought to herself as she took a sip of her coffee. She had offered to buy him a coffee too but he had refused so it was just her ordering multiple drinks and snacks so that they wouldn't get kicked out. She was on her third muffin when he finally looked up from the textbook.
"Um..." He hesitated.
'Seriously, how bad was the accident?'
"I'm sorry but I'm feeling a bit hungry."
She was taken aback again but she had been taken aback so many times that her expression seemed perfectly neutral. "Don't apologize!" She quickly said, "I should have gotten you something earlier but I didn't want to buy something you wouldn't like."
"Ah..." He nodded in an understanding manner but she felt bad nonetheless. There he was studying seriously for seven whole hours without eating anything while she was stuffing her face in front of him and daydreaming on top of it.
"What do you want?'
"Um..."
Why was he so shy? Rahey usually picked whatever he felt like without any hesitation and she had been wondering for a while why he didn't just buy anything himself. It wasn't a secret that his family was loaded and he always paid for other people but this time he seemed to be relying on her.
Violetta decided not to say anything because who knows what happened? Besides, he had just been in an accident. The least she could do was treat him to a meal.
"Um...what do you recommend?"
She was startled by his question but she was a frequent visitor at the cafe so her answer was speedy. "I think the sandwiches and iced tea are popular menu options here. There's even a combo deal going on where you can get two sandwiches with different fillings."
She pointed towards the menu which he stared at in wonderment. Was a combo deal so magical to him? A lightbulb suddenly went off in her head and she gasped, her hands flailing as she tried to cover her mouth. Luckily he was still bewitched by the menu board.
She had pieced together what had happened!
Usually people who are very confident are like that for certain reasons and in Rahey's case, that confidence must have come from his wealthy background. However, the accident and something he wasn't telling her had destroyed that confidence. Maybe his parents refused to pay for him anymore or the bills had been too shocking to him.
Either way, it made him much meeker.
As he realized he could no longer rely on his money, he turned to studying in hopes that it would help secure his future. That and him looking at combo deals as if they were magic must mean that any way to save money was appealing to him.
She clutched her heart in sympathy. He must have never looked at money saving options or deals before in his life. Was she witnessing the beginning of his new life as a broke college student whose only goal was to study?
"I think I've decided." Well at least he finally made up his mind.
***
Violetta had tagged along out of concern, sympathy and maybe even affection but she couldn't run on no sleep so she left to go home.
She was lucky that she lived with her family and that her parents were out of town because she would never have been able to accompany him if she was in the dormitories or if this had happened on a different day.
At least Rahey seemed to really enjoy the sandwiches- was it because he was so hungry? She had left her textbooks with him because he insisted but just how much was he going to study?
Sometimes she really didn't understand him.
She opened the door to her house which was all dark inside. Her sister had gone to sleep a few hours ago after Violetta reassured her that she was studying and would get back safely.
She climbed up the stairs feeling exhaustion creep up on her. When she finally flopped onto her bed, she fell asleep immediately. 'Poor Rahey...' Being the last thoughts on her mind.
***
Meanwhile on Azil's end-
'Is that guy going to sleep here?' The barista at that cafe was not paid enough to deal with such people.