It's one of those days again, the weather is sunny but not too much, the kind of weather that makes people feel at ease and energized. But that doesn't apply to Tzuyu, in days like these she just want to curl up on her bed with a book or a movie on her phone and waste the rest of her day. Unfortunately for her, being a high school student doesn't allow her to do that. It it lunchtime and she is now sitting on the bench at the secluded corner of the school's garden, her favorite spot in the whole school, with a sandwich on her right hand and the Literature textbook on the other. It's not that she doesn't like eating with the girls, but the quiet and peaceful atmosphere of the corner always helps her concentrate better, especially when it's only two weeks until the final exams of her first school year. At first, no one actually knows about the spot but after a week of her suddenly disappearing somewhere, Nayeon and Jisoo quickly discover Tzuyu's precious hiding place from the world. She is reading through her notes on one of the short stories in the textbook while munching on her ham and egg sandwich and she doesn't enjoy this at all. She never lives up to their teacher's expectation in the subject. Sure, she knows and understands the meaning of the stories and poems but she can't find a good way to express that through writing. Sometimes she wonders how Jisoo does all that so effortlessly. She looks up from the book when she hears the small sound of footsteps approaching.
"Hi there. Mind if I join you?" Nayeon smiles, showing her bunny teeth. She has a few books on her arms and a lunchbox. Tzuyu quickly scoots over to make room for Nayeon.
"Sorry to disturb your alone time. But I'm ditched by the others, I don't wanna eat alone." Nayeon slowly opens her lunchbox and starts digging in.
"Where are the others?" Tzuyu asks, still keeping her attention on the textbook.
"Well, you know Momo and Mina, they always spend their lunch break together. But this is new, Lisa took Rosie out for a coffee." It would be a lie if Tzuyu and Nayeon say they aren't a little bit jealous of Momo. It's been 5 months since Momo confessed to Mina and they are still attached by the hip, they are that kind of couple that will probably get married later on and grow old together or something like that. Rosie is a whole different story. She is one of the girls that doesn't actually have a crush on anyone. She and Lisa have a 'Tom and Jerry' kind of friendship and they never went further than holding hands, not even flirting, although they grab a coffee together at least once a week.
Tzuyu sighs heavily and puts the book down, these short stories are giving her a headache. She glances over to Nayeon's lunch box and sees the most delicious spaghetti she's ever seen. Nayeon quickly meets Tzuyu's gaze and she holds the fork to Tzuyu's mouth. "Here, try some." Tzuyu mutters a small 'thank you' and takes a bite. She is genuinely surprised, the food tastes even better than it looks.
"Good, hmm?" Nayeon speaks up, interrupting Tzuyu's thoughts.
"It's awesome, where did you get it?"
"Jeonggie made it." Nayeon says with a small smile, her bottom lip between her teeth and a light shade of pink on her cheek. Then she quickly shakes her head and turns back to her food, her face full of emotions.
"Are you going to tell her?" It doesn't take Tzuyu long to know what Nayeon's thinking. Nayeon just shakes her head lightly, her hands unconsciously play with the food.
"It's killing me, Tzuyu. I think she kinda has an idea already but I don't want to ruin what we have. Maybe she doesn't want me to say it as well. I mean I'd rather stay like this than say it and lose her in the progress." Nayeon sighs and finishes her food. "A lunch box every Tuesday is enough to make me happy."
"I don't know if this helps or anything but I'm just gonna say it anyways. You two look good together. You understand each other, you always have fun with each other, I mean the only thing missing is that you two don't call each other girlfriends."
Nayeon chuckles and shrugs. "Maybe, I don't know. If it happens, it happens. If it feels right, I'll take the leap. How about you?"
Tzuyu shakes her head. "What about me?"
Nayeon nods and hugs Tzuyu tightly. "Oh, another reason I come here is to tell you that we don't have classes this afternoon, we can't leave school, but you know. I'll leave you to it. Call me if you need anything okay?" Nayeon squeezes Tzuyu in one more hugs then turns away.
Tzuyu is again left alone with her thoughts. Nayeon has been her friends long enough to know her mental defense mechanism. The classic 'What about me?' question is her way to say 'There's nothing I want to share.'. In reality, she has quite a few things on her mind. Momo and Mina's relationship is five months old means that it's been that same amount of time since she and Sana had that moment in the arcade. That moment still hasn't got out of her head. They hangout with each other a few more times after that and Tzuyu always has a blast when she's with the bubbly Sana. They never mention the arcade or Mark during their time together. Tzuyu always drops Sana home, they always share a glance that lasts longer than it should, Tzuyu always waits for Sana to go inside then leaves and the process repeats when they meet at Mr. Kwon's math class. Tzuyu knows that it's unhealthy to keep her emotions to herself but what can she do, her friends are either happy in their relationship or having trouble themselves. She sighs again and closes her eyes, trying to enjoy the rest of her break.
Meanwhile, at the coffee shop across the street. Lisa and Rosie are sitting together in a booth in the corner of the shop. Rosie is helping Lisa revising Math for the upcoming tests. "So, that's how you solve it. Go on, try doing the next few problems. I'll go buy something to eat."
"Sure." Lisa forces a smile and pretend to holds up her pen. She doesn't actually have that much of a problem with Math. She can totally do the easier problems and she doesn't care about the more difficult ones, she's not Mina or Seungwan after all. She wants to spend time with Rosie and possibly ask her out. Oh, who is she kidding? The whole class knows that she and Rosie go out together at least once every week, but they never consider those as dates, just two friends grabbing a coffee. Rosie returns to the table a few minutes later with a muffin on her hand. She takes Lisa's notebook and checks.
"Not bad, you got this pretty quick. We can move on to the next one." Rosie once again starts talking about the Math problems and solving a few examples. Lisa doesn't pay much attention to those things. Instead she is looking at Rosie's face, how it is being lit up by the sun rays going through the windows, how Rosie frowns a little when she concentrates, how her hand clutches the pen a bit too tight, the sweet Aussie accent that she has grown fond of and the small smile she sees whenever Rosie finishes solving a problem. When it's her turn to solve the problem again, she looks up at Rosie. "Chaeng-ah, can we make a bet?"
Rosie chuckles and looks at Lisa. "What do you mean? What kind of bet?"
"I mean a bet like if I got an 8 in this Math test, I get to take you out." Lisa hesitantly says, avoiding Rosie's gaze. Rosie, however, is completely confused. "What? We go out all the time, every week Lalisa."
Lisa sighs and corrects herself. "I mean like I take you out on a date."
"A friendly date." Rosie repeats, still keeping a neutral expression.
Lisa can't believe her ears, she was about to ask if Rosie is okay but then she remembers who she is talking to. "No, Chaeng. I mean a romantic date, I want to try if this works or not. If it didn't work, perhaps, we could just be friends, I don't know, what do you think?"
"Okay." Rosie answers simply and immediately.
"That's it. You're okay with it?" Lisa is once again surprised.
"Yeah. I know you too well now Lisa, a date would be completely fine."
"So I can hold your hands and hug you and possibly kiss you goodbye and all that." Lisa excitedly says, eyes light up with excitement.
"Hold your horses, Lalisa. You have to get a 10." Rosie smirks internally but keeps a straight face outside.
"What? Wae? I'm not Mina. Just an 8, please." Lisa whines like a baby and shakes Rosie's arm.
"Okay, I'll meet you in the middle. A 9, that's the best I can do. Do we have a deal?" Rosie holds our her hand and Lisa happily takes it. The Thai immediately bolts out of the coffee shop while Rosie calls after her. "Where are you going?"
"Finding Mina, I need her help, I'm getting you on that date Chaeng." Lisa doesn't even turn around and keeps walking towards the school.
Rosie shakes her head, smiling at her best friend and does a little victory dance in her seat. She sips her coffee slowly, satisfied with the sweetness of the drink. On the table, two packets of sugar are unopened, it isn't the coffee Rosie is tasting, it's Lisa's smile she's thinking of.
The school bell rings, signalling the end of a tiring school day. The girls quickly pack their bags and leave. Tzuyu is walking towards the school gate when someone pats her on the shoulder. "Hey Tzuyu, can you help me give this back to Nayeon? I have to run." Jeongyeon hands her a hairpin, quickly says thanks and runs off into the crowd. Tzuyu is confused as to what just happened when Nayeon and Rosie appear right behind her. "Oh hey bunny, is this yours?"
Nayeon smiles when she sees the hairpin. "Yeah, lucky you found it, I lost it at the garden this afternoon when I had lunch with you."
Tzuyu nods slowly, she doesn't tell Nayeon that it was Jeongyeon who found the pin. It doesn't take her long to connect the dots. She rubs her face and mutters to herself. "You'd better treat her right, Yoo Jeongyeon."
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A/N: I'm back. I hope you are still looking forward to the story and I hope you enjoy this chapter.
Have a nice day, readers.