Forevermore - a story collection

Mayor problems - B.C.

Mom: the meeting will take longer than expected. Leftovers are in the fridge but you can also grab yourself something on the way home. Love you!

Am I surprised that the upcoming mayoral elections are requiring the entire 24 hours of each day my mother has? No.

But as an only daughter who considers her mother her best friend, I do miss her dearly as of late.

"Hey, everything alright?", Hyunjin, a close friend of mine, asked me and my gaze snapped back to him. We were standing on the campus sidewalk after walking out of the modern poetry class together.

"Yes, it was just a message from my mom that she will come home later", I explained with a small smile that certainly did not reach my eyes.

Hyunjin and are both juniors at the University of Deaburn, the very same city that I was born and grew up in. My major had been literature from the very beginning as I still chase the dream of becoming an author. Hyunjin started as a literature student as well but changed majors after he was cast as an actor back when we were freshmen. Now he is a theatre and dramatic arts student, but some classes thankfully still do overlap so we get to see each other.

And worthy enough to mention, we can't forget the others of our friend group: Anneliese, Flynn, Matteo and Letia.

"She seems very busy lately with the upcoming election- watch out!", Hyunjin's arm suddenly pulled me aside and caught me off guard that I ended up crashing into him. Two clumsy pairs of feet and lost balance, he lost his balance and fell to the ground as a wooshing sound past us so quickly, it made me wonder if I imagined it. If the wind wouldn't hit me, I would have brushed it off. Instead, my head snapped towards the direction and I spotted the back of a guy skating down the campus on his skateboard. Even with the distance, I knew exactly who it was:

Bangchan, is one, if not even the most popular fratboys of the entire university. As a senior, he was older. Is he handsome? Sure. Is he athletic? Very much. Is he also a huge jerk and the son of my mom's competition for the elections? You guessed it.

I turned my gaze back at Hyunjin and extended my hand to him to help him back up. "No thank you for saving your life?", he joked as he brushed off the nonexistent dirt of his baggy jeans. "What would I do without you, Hyunjin?", I sighed dramatically as we continued to walk. "Thank you so much for saving me from you know who". I gave him a sincere smile.

"Speaking of him, are you attending the party this weekend?", he asked.
"Changbin's?"

Hyunjin nodded.
"I don't know if that is the right place for me to be", I muttered under my breath.
Truth be told: I rather be anywhere other than a house packed with drunk students grinding on each other. Like a bookstore. A library. My own room. The cinema. The dance studio.

"I respect your love for books because I share the passion but I am sure that you can miss out on one Saturday with your book boyfriends to join a friend", he pointed out for which he earned nothing more than a raised brow.

"I know you want to attend the party because Letia will be there with the other girls"

On the mention of Letia, who he has the biggest crush on since the moment he had met her aka freshman year, his cheeks began to flush. Exposing him.

Instead of protesting or denying the undeniable truth, he admitted his defeat:

"That vobvious?"
"That obvious", I confirmed and let the idea of attending the party run in my mind for another couple of seconds. "Alright, if I manage to persuade Matteo and Anneliese to join us, I'm coming"

And that's how a couple of days and an entire fashion crisis later, I ended up sipping my semi-good cocktail while watching Hyunjin and Letia dance on the small dance floor in the garden of Changbin's parent's mansion. It was no house, the place could be considered a palace simply from its size.