Immature Mistakes | mj.q✓

Twenty-Five

The next morning, Ava woke up to make breakfast before going to school. She wasn’t all that better, but she couldn’t neglect her responsibilities for the second time. Evelyn was already mad at her, and she didn’t want to get on Michael’s bad side.

As she fried the eggs for breakfast, she heard Michael coming down the stairs whistling. She ignored him and continued to focus on the eggs, knowing that there were times Michael and her would not even greet each other “good morning”. He had days where he didn’t feel like talking, and some few days where he actually felt like talking.

Michael stopped and started looking for some papers which were haphazardly spread on the dining table.

‘So you’re in love with this boy?’ Michael suddenly asked.

Ava was overwhelmed by the question at first and decided to stay silent.

‘Just be honest, I won’t judge you for it.’ he assured her in a sincere tone.

‘I don’t know.’ she finally answered, still facing the stove.

‘I tend to think if someone says they don’t know whether they’re in love or not, chances are high they are.’ he told her with a small witty smile.

‘I always thought you’d be mad if I liked someone.’

‘No, no,’ he dismissed her, ‘it’s natural. Go ahead and date him if you want to actually, but chances are high things won’t work out. That’s just how life goes. But at least it gives you some memories you can hold forever.’

This could have been the first time Ava felt like her father was actually human, but she actually enjoyed having a conversation like this. She didn’t know if she was going too far, but she decided to ask a question which she normally wouldn’t dare to ask.

‘Were you in love with the lady on the photo?’ she suddenly asked.

‘Which photo?’ Michael raised his eyebrow in surprise.

Ava gritted her teeth, not sure if she was prying or it was appropriate. ‘Some Chinese lady on the photo that you broke when you were drunk. It seemed a bit…’

‘Oh her,’ he cut Ava. ‘Yeah I was.’ he nodded. ‘And yes she meant the world to me, but it didn’t work. She left. Like I said, that’s how life goes.’

‘Oh,’ Ava briefly answered and served the scrambled egg in a white plate. ‘Well, breakfast is ready dad.’ she put the plate on the table.

‘You might wanna grab your rain coat today, looks like it will rain.’ Michael commented, going through the papers on the table once more. ‘I’ll be out this afternoon to evening running some errands and when I return I want to find that you’ve cooked supper.’ 

‘Okay.’ Ava answered and disappeared up the stairs.

…

‘Hey Ava,’ Steve said to her as he walked over in the hallways that morning. ‘I heard you and Jiaqi aren’t comfortable working with each other anymore?’

‘Oh,’ she answered in a bit of disappointment. ‘Right. Who told you that?’

‘Jiaqi.’ Steve answered. ‘Is it okay if I switch your counselor to Chengxin?’

‘I’m fine. Jiaqi already did a good job.’ she forced a smile. ‘I don’t think I’ll be causing trouble again.’

‘Good to hear.’ Steve told her then walked away.
What Steve had said had managed to make her feel worse. Even though she didn’t want to completely believe it, she understood that Jiaqi was serious about ending their friendship despite the note he had given her.