As she turned to leave, she noticed her classmates peeking from the second-floor window, their faces quickly averted when they realized they'd been caught. The embarrassing scene only added to Yuna's frustration, making her wish she could erase the entire day from her memory.
Meanwhile, Kaida, still standing under the presence of the falling flowers of the cherry blossom tree, felt a pang of hurt from Yuna's harsh words, but she silently departed, her feelings remaining unspoken.
- - -
Yuna bursts back into class, her friends swarming around her like curious bees.
"Who was that?" Layla asked, her eyes sparkling with intrigue. Lucy started to ask, "Is he your—" but Yuna cut her off, her expression confused. "He?"
"It was a girl, not a guy! You dimwit, Lucy!" Ana corrected, her voice laced with amusement.
Lucy's eyes widened in surprise, her cheeks flushing slightly.
"Makes me question my own sexuality!" Samantha joked.
Kae, the bespectacled friend, asked the question on everyone's mind: "Why did you need a caretaker, Yuna?"
"She's not my caretaker..." Sighing she began to explain "...she's just a housekeeper hired by my mom to take care of the house while my parents are away."
"So, like a maid? Someone to clean up and manage the house?" Layla rephrased.
Yuna hesitated, never having thought of it that way, and nodded reluctantly, "Yeah, something like that."
Just then, the school bell rang, signaling the end of the break.
"What's the next period? I left my phone at home and I can't remember the timetable." Lucy asked.
"Biology, duh! Don't you remember Mrs. Johnson's lecture on photosynthesis last week?" Ana replied
Yuna then realized "We have a biology assignment due today, don't we?"
"Yeah, haven't you submitted yours?" Ana asked, looking at Yuna with a hint of surprise and confusion. The others turned to gaze at Yuna, their expressions equally puzzled. They had all submitted their assignments first thing in the morning, proudly handing them over to Mrs. Johnson as they walked into class. They couldn't understand why Yuna would still be worrying about submitting hers.
Yuna's face flushed slightly as she realized her mistake. "Oh, no, I... uh... I must have forgotten," she stammered, trying to come up with a plausible excuse. But her friends knew her too well. They could tell when she was trying to cover up her own forgetfulness.
"Forgotten?" Lucy repeated, her voice laced with disbelief.
"How could you forget something that costs some of my midterms grade, Yuna? You're always so on top of things."
"I don't know, okay? I just got distracted, I guess." Yuna shrugged, feeling a twinge of embarrassment.
Her friends exchanged knowing glances, but mercifully didn't tease her further. Instead, they offered words of encouragement and support.