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━ DECEMBER, 2022 ━
ISABELLE
✧
THE BUZZING IN the cafeteria reduces to nothing more than a static noise in my head as Rhea continues to speak, using too many hand gestures ─ a telltale sign she was tensed, since the Rhea Miller I knew since grade two wasn't so easily perturbed. That, and the way her long term boyfriend Chris Archibald kept holding on to her knee so tight I was afraid the pressure would break it. But I knew better ─ he was a great guy and his simple gesture of support was enough to tell me that Rhea wasn't wrong when she fell in love with him at first sight.
"So . . . do you agree? Wait, were you even listening?" She asks me, the disconcerted look in her eyes reverting back to calm as she awaits an answer.
"Yeah, of course I was" I half-lie, because irrespective of how my mental health conditions were, I was certain I would never catch a break from the zoning out phase. But the good thing was, I had somehow managed to not zone out when the blonde head before me had been speaking on her actual point of discussion and thankfully, neither her or her boyfriend were observant enough to see my eyes staring into blank space.
"Alright then, what do you think? Will you help me? Yes or yes?" She jokes, taking the last sip from her tall glass of virgin mojito.
"No promises. I'm gonna try talking to him but I still don't get it Rhea ─ why do you even think he'd listen to me in the first place? He is his own person and even though I barely know anything about him, any dumb person can tell that he is not the kind of man who can be convinced easily." I exhale softly, leaning back against my chair as the breezy dusk finally gives way to a moonless night. The reminder app on my phone sends a quick notification which lights up the small screen ─ Org. Chem. assignment due next week ─ it read. It wasn't the only thing that was due though; the pressure from GRL was increasing at log phase and given the fact that Jeremiah Greyson was way too caught up with his senior year project and the NYU film festival where he was the student representative from Yale, all the things that he had been micromanaging so far had been unexpectedly transferred to my plate of responsibilities. And even coffee was unable to give me enough energy to cope up with it.
"Because he talks about you like ─" Rhea pauses mid sentence, as if she suddenly realized that completing what she was about to say would only make the situation worse. But it was too late. The moment the phrase 'he talks about you' reaches my ears, the insane drumming against my ribcage makes an unexpected return and I'm left with a dry mouth, unable to shake the thought out of my head. If what she said was true . . .
"Like?" Chris raises an eyebrow, speaking for the first time in a while. He looked pretty interested and I would have to lie if I said I wasn't glad he asked.
