Chapter 1

915 28 9
                                    


Sleep is best when you want to sleep. When being reminded of this phrase at 4:00 am while scrolling through a fresh set of memes, it makes you think you're not so insane for staying up so late. It's only normal to think that you should sleep only when you feel like sleeping. Then suddenly remembering a five page essay that's due in the morning, all hope is lost.

As he finally scribbled the concluding statement to the nonsense he had in front of him, the sleep deprived boy figured it was time he finally got some rest. He reminded himself the assignment was given to him a week prior. Why did he wait so long to do it? It's because doing homework is best when you want to do it. He lets out a yawn. Oh, the sweet, sweet slumber he craves so much right now. Where was this craving at 4:00 am?

Something he has done various times in the past is calculating how much time he has to sleep. Sleep is very precious to him so he needs every bit he can get. He looks over to the clock on his bedside table, ready to calculate how much sleep he'd get if he fell asleep exactly at this moment. As he started crunching numbers in his head, he realized he only had twenty minutes before his first class starts.

"God dammit," he let out a groggily mumble, vowing to never stay up again, even though he knows he's full of lies. No matter how many times his motto misleads him, he's still going to sleep when he wants to sleep. Taking a quick glance in the mirror, he figured he looked decent enough and headed out, grabbing his backpack on the way out.

To be fair, the boy didn't need to do much to fix his appearance. He never actually tried to dress to impress yet he would still manage to catch people's attention. His friends claim that he's just naturally handsome, but he believes he's only average-looking. "Your worst look is still better than my best look," a close friend, Chan, once told him, to which he wholeheartedly disagreed. He'd be willing to say Chan was one of the top ten most attractive people he'd ever met.

He was wearing an oversized white sweater that he had bought by accident. The tag said it was a medium when it was actually an extra large. Even though he thought the mix up was a nightmare, his friends claim he pulls it off well. To accompany the sweater, he also had on a pair of black skinny jeans he wore the day before. That night, he hadn't bothered to change into pajamas and figured he would fix himself in the morning, which unfortunately didn't get to happen. His golden hair was slightly curled due to the bed head, but was fluffy and soft, still having the ability to run fingers through it. Jisung, another friend, had always said it's his most charming point as he played around with the loose strands.

Jogging down far too many hallways to count, he pulled out his phone to check the time. Seven minutes late. He took it as a victory, considering it could be worse. He stopped in front of the classroom door and took a deep breath. Opening the door quietly, he bowed shyly making all the females, and some males, in the classroom squeal at his cuteness. All except one student, near the window, who rolled his eyes at his friend's "fashionably-late" appearance.

"Sorry I'm late," he mumbled as he scanned the classroom to see his teacher shooing him off to his desk. Benefits in times like these involve being in good relationships with your teachers. Normally, they would call you out in class or give you detention, but this particular boy easily got away with stuff like this. Rushing over to his seat, he sat beside his friend.

"Where have you been, Felix?" Jisung tried to whisper, but failing due of the lack of knowledge of an inside voice. The teacher sent daggers at the duo before continuing to write on the board. Felix hasn't been here for more than a minute and Jisung has already made the teacher upset with him. Must be a new record.

"I was having a party downtown, doing shots and snorting cocaine," Felix lied, in a completely serious tone with a hint of sarcasm if you looked for it. It was times like these when any stranger would actually believe him, but for Jisung, that wasn't the case.

"I wouldn't believe that for a second, you're too pure. You were probably looking at memes all night again."

Half-true.

"I was actually finishing the essay that's due today," Felix responded nonchalantly, bracing himself for the predictable outburst that he already knows he'll receive from his friend.

"That's due today?!" Jisung even stood up as he exclaimed, grabbing the eyes of every person in the room. Unlike Felix, Jisung didn't mind being the center of attention in a group of strangers. He was an open person and would let anyone see his true colors. Although Felix was more reserved around the public, he could act more like himself around people he's comfortable with.

Felix just nodded as a reply when Jisung began to get scolded by the teacher and some classmates as well. This happened every day, sometimes multiple times a day. When will they learn that there's nothing you can do about Jisung's personality and just accept it?

Teachers have walked up to Felix before, claiming that Jisung is a bad influence on him. Saying that their personalities are just so different, one might influence the other. When Felix grabbed the attention of the class, everyone cooed at him. When Jisung did, everyone scolded him. Little do they know Felix isn't as different from Jisung as one might think.

Letting out the umpteenth yawn of the morning, Felix debated the benefits of sleeping during the lecture. It wouldn't be the first time he slept during a lecture and it certainly wouldn't be the last. However, for some reason, he felt the need to stay alert.

Jisung sat down again, after promising to be on his best behavior, before he started gossiping to his friend, "So you missed some new kid joining our class. I need to befriend him, he looked as if he was challenging me."

Felix chuckled, "Okay so now you'll be willing to befriend someone who challenges you?" Jisung was truly one of a kind. It's hard to know what he thinks of people. In one case a few days ago, someone gave Jisung the same challenging stare, to which he called out and prepared to fight the stranger. Now he wants to befriend someone for it? Felix never knew what went on in his friend's head.

"Only this guy," was the response, "He seems like a good challenge for me, I'm not wasting my time on nothing."

Although Felix didn't really care about Jisung's relationships with strangers, he certainly did love gossip and would probably find a way to include himself one way or another, "So who is this guy?"

Jisung pointed at a kid sitting in the back corner of the classroom. He was wearing all black from head to toe. "His name is Changbin." Felix looked over at the new kid. Changbin wasn't paying much attention to what the teacher was saying. They already covered this lesson at his old school. To make it look like he was taking notes, Changbin doodled in his notebook.

Felix looked back over at Jisung. "How are you going to befriend him? He seems a little standoffish." Felix asked. Just by looking at the kid he could tell Jisung would have a difficulty befriending him.

Jisung chuckled softly, "Do you have no faith in me, Felix?" Felix rolled his eyes in response. "Oh come on. You really think I won't be able to do it?" Jisung asked with fake hurt.

Felix shook his head. "No, it's not that. It's ju-" Felix couldn't finish his sentence before Jisung interrupted him. "Let's make a bet," he started. "If I can get him to be my friend in one week, then you have to do my homework for the rest of the semester. And if I don't succeed then...I don't know you decide what happens if I don't succeed."

Felix thought it over. "Fine. It's a deal," Felix said with a sigh. Jisung grabbed Felix's hand and shook it quickly.

"There, now it's official and you can't back out." Felix was going to respond, but the teacher stopped him before he could even open his mouth.

"Do you two need to be separated?" The teacher said. The entire class starred over at Felix and Jisung. A couple of kids snickered softly.

Jisung looked down at his desk for a split second before looking up again. "Sorry. I swear it won't happen again."

Felix kept his head down. His cheeks were red from embarrassment. He should be used to the attention by now with being Jisung's friend and all. The teacher ignored Jisung's apology and went back to doing what teachers do best, teach.

Felix faced the front of the classroom and tried to focus on what the teacher was saying. He could feel his eyelids getting heavier. 'Sleep is the best when you want sleep,' Felix thought before resting his head on the desk and falling asleep.

One Week [Under Reconstruction]Where stories live. Discover now