Aidan leaned against his car, his feet aching from exhaustion and his head feeling like it might explode any moment as the scorching sun tortured him. He hadn't eaten since yesterday because of all the meetings, and then he had to wake up early to pick up his father and his father's friend from the airport. That cruel man didn't even let Aidan take a breath and he ordered him to pick up his friend's daughter. Aidan knew she had been in L City for three years, and he had been there for five. But they had never met. When she shifted there for her studies, Uncle William didn't bother Aidan because, at that time, the two friends were not on speaking terms.
Aidan's eyes searched for the fat, arrogant, and rude girl. Before anyone could judge him, it was exactly how her father described her. A bunch of female students cheered from behind, trying to grab his attention, but he couldn't lose focus. Male students appeared to be kind of envious for some reason. One of them walked up to him and asked, "Hey, buddy, looking for your girlfriend?" Aidan had no answer for his nonsense, so he just nodded and continued to search for her.
"It seems like you are blocked," the student laughed sympathetically. He pulled out a sheet of paper and a marker and handed them to Aidan. "Write her name; once she knows you are here like this, she will run here." This was kind of a good idea, but how many people would know her? How long would it take for the news to reach her? Aidan had no other way, either. They didn't give him her number. As soon as he uncapped the pen and pointed it at the blank sheet of paper, a certain issue frustrated him further. Her name. He didn't remember her name.
Suddenly, he remembered that his eldest sister used to be her friend; she must remember her name. He wasted no time and called her.
"What do you want?" She answered in her usual tone.
"What is Uncle William's daughter's name?" Aidan cut to the chase, knowing she had no time for him ever since she got married and moved to another country.
"Raven Rain," she said, and just then her toddler started yelling. She stopped her child and asked, "Why are you asking?" She sounded suspicious; why wouldn't she be? She didn't know that the two friends had reconciled.
"I will explain later." Aidan hung up; he could not hear her kid yelling anymore. He wrote in capitals and stood there again with the name sign this time. For some reason, strange memories flooded his mind.
"I don't drink tea."
"Will you teach me how to drive?"
"It's better to keep my mouth shut; the more I speak, the more they will hate me."
"A good cup of tea for the mister here."
"I dare not watch horror movies; I will die of fear."
"Oh, you will watch with me? Promise? Then I will try."
"The blanket of moonlight gives me warmth; this cold breeze feels like nothing."
"You can help me once, but I have to help myself forever; it's better that I carry these."
He could not remember the face, but the voice was clear to him. It resonated in his ears as if he were listening to a recording from the past. Her voice wasn't sweet but rather hoarse and deep. It wasn't pleasant, but surprisingly, it sounded soothing for some reason.
As Aidan blinked into reality, he found a strange, short girl wearing a blue gown and a scarf wrapped around her neck. Her tote bag looked so heavy that it appeared it would tear anytime soon. Her big black specs and ragged shoes made her look like a poor teenager.
"You are looking for Raven Rain?" she asked, straightening her back and fixing her specs.
"Hmph…" Aidan nodded and looked away, looking for the person who should have come running, as the young student said.
"What is your relationship with her?" she folded her arms and asked.
"He is her boyfriend!" the young lad from earlier yelled as he grabbed his soda and left the store nearby, where a bunch of students had gathered.
"Boyfriend?" Her eyes widened in surprise; she looked like one of those girls who perhaps mocked Raven for being overweight.
"I am her husband; why do you care?" Aidan spoke sharply, not paying attention to her. She appeared to be struck by lightning, but before she could speak, the same group of people gathered by the store called her, "Master, hurry up; we have our classes."
The short girl gave Aidan a disgusted look and walked away. Indeed, she belonged to that bunch of bullies. What a bad day it was! Why was this raven rain taking so long? Meanwhile, he was waiting; he could not help but overhear the conversation between Shorty and her friends, not because he wanted to, but because they were being too loud.
She began to hand out files to the students who were at the first table and said, "You guys have potential. I have edited it, and this time, the professor will surely accept your play."
Then, she proceeded to a girl and said, "Blunder, a huge blunder; were you sleeping when you wrote the essay? Or did you want me to write the whole thing?"
"You know I am not very good," the girl pursed her lips and said.
"50$," Shorty placed her hand forward; the girl chuckled, placed the cash, and left. Shorty slipped the notes into the pockets of her tote bag and turned to another girl. "Yours was comparatively better; I didn't have to make many changes. Good job." She handed her another file.
"Hey, Rav, what have you done?" A girl with blonde hair rushed to her and asked, throwing a bound bunch of papers, "Professor Sara..." She mumbled, holding her breath, and together with her, the other students held air.
"What? Professor Sara…?" Shorty asked, raising her eyes, placing her hand on her waist, and casually leaning against the table.
"Yeah, she cried. What heartbreaking stuff did you write?" she asked, and a tiny smile appeared on her face; however, Shorty's bright smile vanished, and she turned to the table, facing it only an inch away.
"Read it and you will know." She straightened her back and began to walk away. She appeared to be serious, but the students going through their files and chatting with their friends didn't notice.
However, before she could leave, a fresher blocked her way and asked, showing her a piece of paper, "What do you think of this poem?" It seemed they knew each other well, unlike her friends from before.
"Hmph, it's good. I will talk to Richard and get you on the list of writers for this month's anthology." She said this, appearing to be impressed. Seeing her face change so quickly, Aidan concluded that she was good at pretending.
"Richard? I heard he is the coldest of all editors. Will he accept something from the science department?" the student asked. Before she could speak, the blonde girl jumped into the conversation and said, "Don't you know, Raven is Richard's melting point. He can even publish your book under his publishing company if she asks."
It seemed like Richard was her boyfriend. For some reason, Aidan felt a kind of disappointment. He didn't know why he expected her to be single. He must have gone crazy from starvation.
"Don't exaggerate. And you... don't say this. I am from the business department, yet I hold a good position in the club. Our club is fair to everyone." Raven said.
"Raven, what do you think of my first chapter?" Another lad approached her.
She began to scan the document. Wait…did he? Aidan flipped the sheet and read the name 'Raven Rain'. The student called her.
Aidan walked up to her, and meanwhile, she was engrossed in the content along with her friends. He stood behind her and cleared his throat.
"Raven Rain," he called her name.
"Wait a minute," she said, and Aidan's anger reached the peak of the mountains. Not because she ignored him, but because this Shorty was the person for whom he had been waiting for the past few hours. She saw her name, but unlike the young lad who gave him the idea, she didn't run to him.
Besides, so many of her acquaintances passed by and yet none of them told Aidan that she was standing right there. How odd the kids are these days!
"Raven, how is it?" The guy was eager to know her opinion. "Masterpiece! Keep it up, and you can get there." She encouraged him and stepped forward to leave after handing him the papers back.
"Raven Rain!" Aidan growled. She spoke, "I am busy this weekend; is it an essay?" She turned and asked, but then her eyes froze upon seeing him, crumbling the paper of her name.
"You all go ahead," she said to her friends in a nice tone. "Are you okay?" the blonde girl asked, worried as if Aidan would eat her friend.
"I am completely fine," Raven said, giggling.
"Do you know this person? Should I call Richard?" the annoying blonde girl questioned.
"Selena. Leave." Raven's voice was straight and clear. Reluctantly, the three people left her. Aidan glanced behind his back and noticed that the other students had already left for their classes.
Aidan breathed a sigh of relief; he could talk normally and directly with her. She turned to him and asked, "What's your problem?"
"Is your college illiterate? Can't they even read your name here? I have been standing for so long," Aidan began to complain.
"You wrote in Mandarin." Raven folded her arms and threw her words like a bowling ball.
"Um..I…thought…" Aidan stammered, unable to explain himself. Why in the world would he do that? He must have lost his mind for real this time. He should stop his classes.
"Your father is in the city, and he wants me to pick you up." He regained his composure, seeing no response from her, and informed her.
"You could have said that. Why make a fuss?" she replied as she headed to the car and sat in the front passenger seat. She was so weird. Aidan still felt like he had the wrong person. Uncle William was one of the most well-known wealthy investors. How could his daughter be dressed like that? Why was she doing work to earn petty cash?