Ava felt a bit angry at herself as she sat down on her bed that evening. It seemed for sure that her crush on Jiaqi had returned, and she wasn't sure if she wanted that to happen. She had always had a crush on him, but crushing on him while he was a good boy made her feel stupid.
As she sat there going through photos in her gallery, the screen of her phone changed to a phone call. She read the contact then answered the phone.
'Hey Janine, what's up? Long time.' She answered.
Just then, her sister entered the room with a laundry basket that had her clothes in it. She had heard Ava's salutation to Janine before she had entered, and she was surprised more than anyone to hear Ava talking to Janine. As far as Evelyn knew, Ava and Janine were never friends while Janine attended the high school.
'What? – No.' Ava continued to speak on the phone. 'Yeah thanks. Goodnight.' she concluded and put her cellphone on the bed.
'What was that conversation about!?' Evelyn asked curiously, almost pryingly.
'Oh it was just Janine asking about some stuff.' Ava dismissed her and continued to go through her gallery.
'Hmm,' Evelyn replied suspiciously and sat down on her bed. But she didn't have time to really care about what Ava was talking with Janine about, at least not that time. She was more interested in waiting for the music video release of her favorite K-pop band.
"Hey goodnight," Jiaqi's message popped up at the top of her screen.
Ava slightly smiled to herself, but she didn't reply. She didn't want to confirm to herself that she once again had a crush on him, even though she knew she did. She simply swiped the message away.
...
On Monday, Ava sat with Jiaqi at lunch. This time he didn't have to remind her, but she already had a feeling that they would sit together. It was soon becoming a daily experience for them.
'I can't believe Jiaqi went as low as to sit with that girl!' Yaowen spoke bitterly. 'What a jerk.'
'I know right, it's better to sit alone than to sit with her.' Yaxuan commented next.
'Well he's only sitting with her because he's her counselor,' Chengxin felt like he had to clarify the matter, and he turned to them. 'Actually, he's doing a good job.'
'Do you think he can change anyone when he himself is just putting it out as an act? I mean we only have 4 months until we graduate, I guess I would also want to make a good last impression too.' Haoxiang commented. 'Especially considering the fact that I almost killed someone. He doesn't want to be known for that when he gets to college.'
'That oddly makes sense,' Junlin agreed.
But Chengxin had a feeling that it wasn't an act, he was too dedicated.
Evelyn walked over to the pair of Jiaqi and Ava with her tray. She smiled at the two of them, and they both looked at her with surprise, although Jiaqi managed to smile back at her a while later.
'I'm sorry to interrupt but I really need someone to talk to.' She looked directly at Jiaqi.
'Oh but I'm not your counselor,' he told her calmly. 'Chengxin is. Tell him to help you out.'
'Chengxin doesn't help anyone,' Evelyn looked in his direction and rolled her eyes.
'Then I told you to tell Steve to switch your counselor. Cause I also don't think it's fair on you to...'
'Please...I don't think there's anyone who does a good job like you.' she pleaded. 'I mean look at what you're doing for Ava, she's happier and a bit nicer.'
Jiaqi turned to Ava and smiled. 'Well you didn't tell me you're changing.'
'So?' Evelyn continued. 'Please Jiaqi.'
'Fine. I'm very open to helping people anyway.' he shrugged.
'So, Ava, would you please excuse us?' she finally turned to her sister with an innocent look.
Ava glared at her instead.
'Come on Ava, she probably has something personal to say.' Jiaqi assured her.
Ava consequently nodded. 'Fine.' she got up from the seat and went to another almost empty table with her tray.
Evelyn quickly took Ava's spot and sat next to Jiaqi with her tray.
'Yep, I'm listening.' he told her.
'My life is a mess,' she said immediately. 'My dad is mean and my mean sister is his favorite, it's like I'm always under fire in that house. I just don't feel loved.'
'I thought you had friends. They're not real friends?' Jiaqi asked her.
'Hmm, not really. Not like the ones you can open up to and stuff.' she answered rather honestly.
'Well coming from a dysfunctional family sucks. The good news is you don't have to be dysfunctional as well. I think when you don't like your family, it should be an example of who you don't want to be in future and right now. But you're not a very good kid either, you lied about Ava's homework.'
She frowned. 'You don't get it. It was revenge, Ava does some terrible stuff at home too. So I just had to hit back when I could.'
'If you hit back, then you're becoming who you don't want to be.'
Evelyn looked at him intently, trying to force tears out of her eyes. She had done this before once in a school drama, it didn't have to be that hard for her. In only a few seconds, she had managed to make her eyes wet.
'Are you okay?' Jiaqi asked her with concern.
'Just that,' the first fake tear came out of her eye, 'you're right. I didn't want to be a bad person, I want to be a good person. But Ava and my father pushed me to be a terrible person.'
'It's okay. You have enough time to change.' he assured her.
Evelyn leaned her face on his shoulder and started full-on crying, not loud enough for people to hear but Jiaqi could feel her tears. He awkwardly started to pat her back, wanting to make her feel better. He felt a bit angry at Chengxin for not handling Evelyn when he had to, leaving her turning to Jiaqi.
Ava watched from the other table, slightly jealous at their contact but forcing herself to understand. She was just hoping that Evelyn now hadn't stopped crushing on Chengxin and wanted Jiaqi instead.
'It's okay,' Jiaqi continued to comfort her.
'Thank you Jiaqi. Can I have your number so I can call you when I'm sad too?' Evelyn answered once she had removed her face from Jiaqi's shoulder, wiping her tears.
'Oh...sure.' Jiaqi agreed.
...
Jiaqi had returned home that afternoon from school, and he walked into the house. At first he thought it was empty, but he heard voices in the kitchen that belonged to his parents.
'Right now I wish more than anything that you would have gone to that man, what was his name again?' Mr. Ma's angry voice boomed in the kitchen. 'Then maybe we wouldn't be in this mess!'
'Then why did you fight for me and ruin my life!?' Mrs. Ma shot back. 'You're a waste of time, and really if I had known as well, I would have stayed with him rather than you.'
'In a pitiful poor family? Yes that's what you deserved.'
Jiaqi shook his head to himself, tired of the conversation. He walked into the kitchen, exposing himself completely. This was the second time Jiaqi had found them arguing after his suicide attempt, and he was sure there was many moments which he had missed.
'Guys.' Jiaqi spoke. 'If you're tired of each other, I already told you just divorce. Don't stay together because of me. What you're doing isn't only affecting you guys, it's affecting me too.'
'It was a simple argument okay?' Mr. Ma tried to calm him down.
'A simple argument where you had to bring up past lovers?' Jiaqi face palmed.
The two parents looked at each other shamefully, realizing that Jiaqi had heard something which he wasn't supposed to.
'I'd rather have you guys apart than have you fighting like this.' Jiaqi left the kitchen and walked towards the stairs, wanting to get into his room.
Sometimes he wished he had someone to talk to too. He had his own issues, but as a counselor, he had to focus on helping Ava rather than venting to her. Once he got into his room, he jumped on his bed and tried to sleep.