When I was done with cleaning, I decided to take a break before I resumed my project.
I stared at the incomplete robot, trying to remember the problems I had with it initially, which were affecting me now, but it was all to no avail.
"I should've taken notes, haa…"
I complained to no one, it was all my fault really. Writing was too much of a hassle, but typing was inefficient.
I stood up from my seat and walked towards the robot, hoping to recall any thing else whilst fiddling with it, when my gaze fell on my phone, and my thoughts shifted to my aunt, then my friends.
'Come to think of it, it has been a while since I last came online…'
I picked the phone up and just stared at it. Common sense told me I was busy, and I could just go visit them as I used to whenever I wasn't busy.
But I was in a good mood and what mattered is that I kept my good mood, good.
With that thought in mind, I opened the messaging app and searched for our group chat.
"I can't find it…", I muttered in frustration, then suddenly realized I had muted the group earlier on, since I couldn't turn my phone off.
"Haa… these guys would definitely be the end of me."
I mumbled out in relief as I read through the chats.
As it turned out, they were planning a dinner reunion in a nearby restaurant.
Hm, that's not bad.
The odd one _Alright it's all set. 7pm, don't be late or you'll be the one footing the bill._
The rowdy one _←Hey hey, you work there can't you treat us?_
The arrogant one _Forget about the treat, is there a discount or something? Like a friends or workers discount?_
The nice one _So what if I work there? Do I own the place? ಠಿ_ಠ _
The odd one _Ooh are you going to foot the bill?_
The arrogant one _If this young master is in a good mood why not?_
I swept my gaze over their most recent chats and laughed once more at our nicknames. They all reflected a part of our personality both online and offline.
The person who sent out the last reply, laughed cheekily as he read the chats, but just then he paused when he saw something.
_The silent one is typing…_
"No way, that nerd's online?!", Derrick jumped up and patiently waited for Sil to send his message out.
It had been a while since he saw or spoke to Sil and he was a little angry at himself because of their last meeting, where he caused a pointless argument.
It was only after their fallout he came to his senses and realized Sil wasn't purposely ignoring them. He was really busy, so busy it seemed suspicious.
Hence he investigated and found out what was really going on. Afterwards, he called off the bet with Ronald, and asked him to invite Sil out so they could "accidentally" meet and he would apologize.
Alas, Sil declined and he hadn't seen him anywhere on campus. Be it his lab, workshop, class or dorm.
Whenever he had time to look for him, he could never find him in any of the places he was familiar with or sure he'd be at. And he never picked up the damn phone for some reason.
Unbeknownst to him, he always missed Sil because of their clashing schedules. And his constant trips to his favorite cafe during his leisure time, made it even more impossible for him to find him any where on campus.
Just as his patience reached its climax, Sil sent out a message.
_Can I come too?_
'What? He's asking for an invite… no that's not it, he wants to hang out with us? By seven!?'
Derrick found it absurd that Sil had time to spare and wondered if he was just forcing himself to hang out with them.
But he didn't want to jump to conclusions, so he instantly replied the moment he saw his message.
_Don't you have evening classes by seven, what are you looking for outside?!_
But in his hurry, his reply came off as rude due to his disbelief.
Sil stared unfeelingly at the reply Derrick sent out. He didn't know how to feel.
But he somewhat felt awful that his aunt was somehow right.
'They really don't want me around anymore…'
As that thought came to mind, he mindlessly began to type.
_It's okay, I do have classes by Seven. Bye. |_
He stared at his message and wondered if he should send it out.
'But I'm supposed to try a little harder right?'
The thought passed through his mind as he stared at the text.
Just like how hard Ronald had tried to maintain their friendship back in high school.
Put in a little more effort, don't give up… and don't back down, is something he learned from his aunt and his friends.
And something he witnessed in How to find the female lead, it was Valeria who did that.
Despite her villainess identity, she was a well fleshed out character he would have respected, if she didn't constantly go against Anya and try to kill her, or cause her to make a death deserving mistake.
But she never backed down even when they all doubted her sanity, abandoned her due to her stubborn resolve in going against the saintess, or turned their backs on her.
She never gave up even when, Miranda, her friend and the former saintess, was captured in her stead and was in a trial whose possible verdict was death, all because she took the fall for her plots.
She disregarded her sacrifice and still went on with her stupidity.
He sometimes wondered why she tried so hard and just what she aimed to achieve that required so many sacrifices, but he never got an answer because the author went on an hiatus.
However, she was admirable yet pitiful at the same time.
Her resolve was admirable but her situation, pitiful.
But in the end her actions inspired him not to give up.
Gathering his resolve, Sil made a decision as his hands moved speedily on the keypad.
Clack clack clack clack
He tapped the backspace button rapidly till the words disappeared, and rewrote it all again.
But this time it was his selfish thoughts, not his thoughts of disappointment and sadness.
_So what? Do I need to attend all my classes?_
They didn't want him around, however he wanted to be around. They should just suck it up!
With his experience as a computer analyst, he typed several times faster than all the members of the group who wanted to respond and dissuade him from not coming or to scold Derrick for his arrogant rejection.
And immediately he sent the message out they responded in turn.