Ena enters her room first while you clean the dishes. You also want to prepare hot sweet tea to drink while she talks. You enter her room bringing a box of tissue, two glasses of hot sweet tea, and some cookies you bought a few days ago.
"Oh hey! You're here", said Ena enthusiastically. You smile at her and sit at her study chair while Ena sits on her bed. "So... Feel free to complain or cry to me, I'm open", you say to her. She replies, "You can also tell me anything that's on your mind, Rie, tonight, we share all our burdens that has been on our mind, okay?"
"Okay", you said.
"So, the reason why I've been so stressed about this whole thing, to the point I'm skipping school... Is because...", Ena sighs, "I really, really, want to be good, I don't want to disappoint the people I'm commissioning. But like, I'm so confused, no matter how much I draw, it will never be good enough for me", said Ena.
"...I understand, as an artist myself, I sometimes think that my drawings are always so bad, even if my friends say it's not. You see, Ena, at high school, there was this one person in my grade that drew so well, she inspired me to start drawing. Sometimes, I get jealous of her, she's so talented, I always do my best, I believed my drawings were better, but she still got much more recognition. I tried everything. She gets better grades, her art even got into the school exhibition, mine didn't somehow. When people compliment her, I feel so much jealousy towards her", You say.
Ena looked away for a few seconds, they say, "Honestly, same, I know I'm an attention seeker, but what can I do about it? You're older than me, so you know more about these stuff", she chuckles, "Deep inside, I want everyone to recognize me as an amazing artist, but I know I have to try harder than this to achieve that".
You eat one cookie while listening to her, "Yeah I get it, but that doesn't mean you have to overwork yourself, you gotta enjoy your life before university", you say.
"I get it but, you know what, I'll just tell you a little story about when I was in middle school", Ena says, "I had loved art since I was little, and I loved it even more in middle school, I drew all day and loved it. One day, I showed it to my dad... you know what he said? 'You don't have enough talent to become a famous artist', It's ridiculous, he literally killed all my self-esteem, I want to prove my dad, that I have what it takes to be a good artist", She says.
You hand her a cookie and say, "Well, I think that you shouldn't care about what other people say about your art, after all, it's your art, what right do they have to say that your art is bad? Only you have the right to say if it's good or bad. So, don't ever think your art is bad, okay? Just remember that there are still so many people who love your art".
You watch as she nibbles her cookie like a hamster, and she lets out a tear. After a few seconds, she starts to cry even more. You give her a tissue and lend her a shoulder while she's crying.
Ena stops sobbing for a second to say, "Thank you, although I don't know if I can actually apply that to my daily life, but I will try to remember it whenever I feel down".
You look at the clock and realized that it was 1am, "Hey Ena, don't you have a meeting with nightcord?", you ask. Ena looks at the clock, "Oh yea! I almost forgot", she chuckles. You get up from the bed and say, "Alright, I guess I'll get going". "Thank you for tonight, Rie", replied Ena.
╰▽*)╯❁◡'❁
Ena opened her laptop to talk to nightcord. When she opened it, there was no call going on, so Ena was confused. Then, she went to read the messages that they sent.
"Hello everyone... Sorry I cannot call with you all today, I need to focus on studying for finals", sent by Mafuyu at 12.14 a.m. Ena looked at a message under it.
"Guys, I'm currently very sick, the fever hasn't been going down, so I gotta sleep, goodnight, guys", sent by Kanade at 12.16 a.m.
Ena suddenly got pinged, it was from Mizuki, she had just sent her a message from direct messages. "Heyyy @Enanan, quick! We gotta discuss the MV, come call me rn", sent by Mizuki just now.
Ena quickly answered Mizuki's call.
Joining....
Connecting....
Audio available!
Connecting voice...
Voice connected!
"Heeyyy Ena, how're you doing tonight?", asked Mizuki with a smile on her face. "Amazing", Ena chuckled.
"Ena, have you finished all the art required for this MV? I've just been finding the right typography for the song", said Mizuki. "I'm almost done with the art, I just need a few more, I'll send you the finished one right now so you can get to editing", replied Ena.
"Hmm... These are great! I think this MV is going to be a little bit hard since it's a very fast song", said Mizuki, "It's okay though! I'm sure I can do it. Ena, you don't need to rush on the drawing, you need to focus on finals too", continued Mizuki.
Ena stopped drawing on her tablet for a second and said, "You have finals too Mizuki", Ena chuckles, "Make sure you study as well. We need to catch up on the deadline of this MV".
Mizuki laughed, "You really think I'm gonna study? I don't care 'bout my score, it's finee Ena, I got this!"
ヾωo*: .｡. o .｡.:*☆
A few hours later, after lots of discussion between Mizuki and Ena, it was finally time for them to call it a night.
"Ena, are you going to go to the mall with me tomorrow?" asked Mizuki. "Of course, I am, the usual mall, right?", asked Ena, "Oh! Can I let my roommate join too?".
"Yeaaa duhh, the more the merrier!! Have she agreed though?", asked Mizuki enthusiastically. "Well, No, I haven't asked her yet, I'll ask her then tell you her answer", replied Ena. "Good night, Mizuki, sweet dreams", and then they end the call.
You hear a knock on the door from Ena, you let her in. Ena just stayed in front of your door and say, "Rieee, do you want to come with me and Mizuki to the mall tomorrow? Oh, at 6p.m. so you don't need to worry about your university schedule."
"Sure! I'll come with you guys", you reply.
After that, you, and Ena both get a good night's rest, ready for tomorrow.
☆*: . o▽≦o .｡.:*☆╹ლ
The next day, you wake up at 6.am. with only 3 hours of sleep. You take a bath, wear your clothes, and tie your short hair to the back. You tidy your bangs and wear your bow, now you look good! Ena is still asleep, obviously, so you leave the apartment quietly.
You went to the train station to get a ticket, you entered the train first and quickly fell asleep. The train ride usually only takes 30 minutes, but it was enough time for you to close your eyes and rest. Just as you were about to fall asleep, you wake up because you feel a presence that suddenly sits next to you.
"Ah! Sorry, did I wake you up? I didn't mean to, sorry", the voice said.
You were still half awake when you heard the voice, you rub your eyes, and you can see clearly again. The guy had his ruffled hair, thin black glasses, he's wearing a black shirt... Wait a minute, he looks familiar, isn't he... YOUR CRUSH???
When you realize this fact, you cannot help but turn PINK AT SPOT.
"Oh, hi Yuuki, haha what a coincidence, haha... ", you look away awkwardly.
"It's nice meeting you Rie! Well, you're going to university too, right? Wanna sit next to each other in the lecture?", he says enthusiastically, "My friends all get different lectures today... So, I'm lonely", he continued.
"I'd love to!", you say excitedly. Uhm, maybe that was too enthusiastic, Rie....
30 minutes pass by like a flash when you're sitting next to him. Now you two are walking together to university. This feels like a dream! What if it is? You try to pinch yourself. Ouch, it hurt, so it isn't a dream. Well, it was awkward, but you enjoyed your time together walking to university with him.
Just as he says, he sits next to you in the room. In the end, you couldn't focus on the lecture at all, you were looking at his soft eyes staring at the teacher. Even though you two are close, you still can't help but be awkward around him.
The lecture ended, and he bid his farewell. You were sad that this moment was over but were happy that this could be a memorable day.
~To Be Continued~