Chemistry of Love

Chapter 26

Sana's POV

Detention Day 1

My eyes honed in on Tzuyu's brown orbs. She looked equally as surprised as I was to see each other here.

I instinctively reached up to touch the large white surgical cloth plaster that covered my cheek, feeling a slight ache with the light touch of my fingers.

Tzuyu, upon witnessing my actions, shifted her eyes away from mine and towards the window, peering out of the window and into the scenery. An emotionless look sported on her face.

I sighed inwardly. She was still the same even after the fight.

Realising that it wasn't just Tzuyu and I in the class, I quickly cleared my throat before introducing myself again and telling the students to continue their work.

I shouldn't have agreed to Ms Shin's pleas to take over her detention duty for the week, even though she had to take emergency leave to settle family matters.

It was my fault that I was too much of a people-pleaser. I could never turn down a request.

I couldn't even ask Mina or Momo to help me cover the detention shifts. Mina was busy preparing examination questions for an upcoming examination with the English department while Momo was assisting the baseball coach in both coaching and coming up with strategies for their upcoming match against a rival school.

I didn't know how to face Tzuyu after the incident. I didn't know how to talk to her. The Tzuyu then was someone consumed by rage, she was impulsive and violent. A vast difference from the Tzuyu I had grown accustomed to over our tutoring sessions together, the caring yet kind soul that cherished her friends dearly.

I reached up to touch my covered cheek again, feeling the rough cloth texture covering my fading bruise. The pain had subsided tremendously over the days I was stuck at home, placed on recovery. The school had forced me into staying home to let my bruise heal despite my insistent protests, but they reasoned that students witnessing the huge coloured bruise on my cheek might grow concerned that I was facing abuse of some sort. 

In this case, the plaster wasn't used for its intended purpose, of protecting open wounds. Instead, it served its purpose as a cover-up to hide the fading bruise on my face. The plaster wasn't my first option, I tried hiding the bruise using concealer but the bruising was still a nasty shade of purplish blue that was visible through layers and layers of concealer. Over time, the bruise had shrunk in size, finally allowing me to use a decently larger-sized plaster to cover it up.

During the time I spent recuperating at home, a part of me wished that the caring and kind Tzuyu I knew would reach out to me and check on my well-being. Even a simple 'Hope you're doing well' would have sufficed.

Perhaps Tzuyu was too far off the deep end to be rescued. 

No, I wasn't going to give up on her.

I peered over at Tzuyu again, who was busy flipping through pages of her textbook, with her notebook at her side, filled with notes in her handwriting.

This was going to be a long week.

...

Tzuyu's POV 

Detention Day 2

"Tzu, just apologise to Ms Minatozaki. I'm sure she'll forgive you after giving you a long lecture"

"I can't Chae. I'm too embarrassed to face her"

"Would you rather continue to be embarrassed and let her think you don't regret your actions, or sincerely apologise and  get all that guilt off your conscience"