Mei POV
My Sunday morning started out the same way as yesterday's. I woke up, got ready, ate breakfast with Mom, and then headed out for the library.
This time, though, instead of going alone, I was meeting up with some of my friends. I'd promised them I'd hang out with them once summer started, and since Hoshino was at work today, I didn't have any more reason to put it off. Not like I was doing that on purpose.
Once I got there, I found an open table and helped myself to it. After taking out a notebook, textbook, and pencil case from my bag, I sent a text to the group chat letting my friends know where to find me.
They didn't keep me waiting too long, as about five minutes later, they arrived at the table.
One of them—Yang—had short brown hair that barely touched her shoulders, and wore a rather feisty scowl. The other one—Kiana—had extremely long purple hair, a single strand of it running straight down the center of her face. Her hands were folded in front of her lap, and her head was dipped just slightly lower than usual.
Just as I was about to greet them, Yang basically threw herself—and her things—into the seat in front of me and let out a loud groan, burying her face in her arms.
I blinked, then turned to Kiana. "Did something happen?"
Kiana let out a loud, deflating sigh. "Yes… It's about her boyfriend—again. She wouldn't stop complaining about it the whole way here."
At the mention of her boyfriend, Yang's whole body twitched, and her head snapped up, revealing an ugly crease in her brow.
"You won't believe what he did, Mei!"
"What happened?" I asked gently. "It's not every day that you get this mad."
"That's a lie," Kiana cut in flatly.
Yang shot her a piercing glare. "Oh, shut the hell up! Just let a girl complain!"
Kiana's head lowered even more. "Yes, ma'am…"
Dejected, Kiana made her way to the seat beside me and put in her earbuds, clearly unwilling to sit through Yang's complaint a second time.
"Anyway," Yang said, turning her attention back to me. "You know how our three-month-iversary was a week ago, right?"
I didn't, but I nodded anyway. "Yeah, what about it?"
"Well, guess what? He stood me up! And for his childhood best friend at that! I'd also like to add—she's a girl!!!"
While it sounded bad at first, there was still too much I didn't know. So before forming an opinion about it, I asked, "And why did he do that?"
That question seemed to tick her off even more, her trembling fists clenching into balls.
"BECAUSE SHE NEEDED HELP WITH SOME HOMEWORK! WHO THE HELL NEEDS HELP WITH SUMMER HOMEWORK??? JUST SEARCH UP THE ANSWERS!"
I placed a hand to my chin, slowly digesting what she'd just said. To be honest, I didn't completely understand why she was so mad. It was much easier to ask for help from someone you trusted more than from the internet. And sometimes the internet was just wrong.
Furthermore, it wasn't like they'd been dating that long. Expecting him to choose her over someone he'd known his whole life was unrealistic.
Still, what I did understand was that the boyfriend should be there for his girlfriend, and that it was wrong to choose another girl over her.
And Yang was also clearly frustrated about this. So, there was really only one thing I could say.
"Hmm, that doesn't sound right to me," I said after—to her—was a few seconds of thought. "Why would he choose her over you? And when it was your three-month anniversary."
"THAT'S WHAT I'M SAYING! I KNEW YOU'D UNDERSTAND, MEI!"
Kiana, who had remained silent the whole time, calmly pulled out an earbud and said in a somewhat subdued, yet expressionless voice:
"Yang, I can hear you through my earphones."
Yang raised an annoyed eyebrow. "Okay? So what? Why are you telling me this?"
Instead of answering, Kiana just sighed and glanced around. Yang did too—and that was when she realized where we were. We were in the library, and it had gone completely silent. More silent than usual. There was no doubt everyone had just heard every word.
Her face flushed red, but she quickly covered it with her hands and ducked down under the table, hiding from the countless stares.
"Ughhh, I'm so embarrassed…"
Kiana gave her one small, agreeing nod. "You should be. I think I'd die of embarrassment if I were you, honestly."
I let out a small giggle, then leaned across the table and gently patted Yang's head. "It's okay, Yang. If it makes you feel better, I like this part about you! There's nothing to be sad about."
Yang slowly lifted her head, revealing her watery, tear-stricken eyes.
"Really…?"
"Of course! I wouldn't be here hanging out with you if I didn't."
Suddenly, Yang shot up and threw her arms around me, pulling me into a tight, smothering hug.
"This is why I love you, Mei! I don't know what I'd do if I got stuck with just Kiana!"
I laughed, carefully pulling myself back. "It's no problem, Yang. But you shouldn't talk about Kiana like that. You know she gets her feelings hurt easily."
We both turned to Kiana. She was scrolling through her phone, leaning back lazily in her chair. Even though we'd been staring for a while, she didn't look up, as if she hadn't even noticed.
Yang's face crunched in mild disgust. "...You're telling me this is the girl who gets her feelings hurt? I don't believe you."
I couldn't blame her. Seeing Kiana like this, it was hard to believe she was that kind of person. Except, if you paid close enough attention, you'd notice she hadn't blinked once.
Yang continued staring for a bit longer before letting out a loud, resigned sigh. She leaned over to Kiana and waved a hand, her expression softening a little.
"Heyyyyy, earth to Kiana, are you listening?"
Kiana's shoulders gave a small jerk, as if she'd just been woken up, before she looked up from her phone.
"Hm? Are you done talking about your boy problems yet?"
Yang clicked her tongue in irritation, her face creasing once again. "Ugh, never mind! Forget it! I can't believe I was even worried about you."
Annoyed, Yang dropped back to her seat and crossed her arms.
"Anyway, Mei, what do you think I should do?"
"Hmm," I turned to Kiana, pulling her into the conversation. "What did you tell her to do?"
She paused, her brain lagging a step behind, then shrugged. "I said I didn't know. I've never dealt with anything like that. I'd just break up with him."
Yang scoffed. "Your answer really shows why you're single. You can't just break up over every little fight. You're going to fight with your partner at one point."
"...Except you fight with everyone," Kiana muttered, looking away.
Yang's eyes narrowed. "What was that?"
Kiana's posture snapped straight. "...Nothing."
While the two of them bickered, I'd come to some kind of conclusion about what she should do. It was a basic answer, and one that—from what I'd seen—didn't do anything. But I believed that for Yang, it might be different.
I cleared my throat, bringing their attention back to me.
"Anyway, I think you should just… talk it out with him."
"I tried that! But we just ended up fighting!"
I paused, looking her in the eye. Yang met my gaze. And with every second she held it, her body seemed to sink further into her seat, until she broke eye contact and looked down.
I didn't say much. Neither did Kiana. We both remained silent as we let Yang sort through her thoughts.
Eventually, she sighed. "Yeah… you're right. I should just talk to him. Not yell, not scream. Just… talk."
The moment Yang got the last of it out, our table was engulfed by silence. It wasn't stale or uncomfortable; it was just… necessary. She probably had a lot on her mind right now, like what she was going to say and what she wanted to say, so I let her sit in her thoughts.
As if on cue, my phone suddenly vibrated. I picked it up from the table and turned on the screen. The instant I saw the notification, my heart palpitated, and my blood surged with warmth, filling my head.
It was currently 11 a.m., and it was a text from Hoshino. Which meant he was on his break—and that I'd only have thirty minutes to talk to him.
With the timer already running, I hurriedly opened our messages and typed out my reply. He read my message instantly, causing the warmth to intensify. His reply came shortly after. We kept exchanging texts like that until I heard Yang's voice in the background.
"You know, for someone who's single, you give pretty good advice, Mei. It's almost like you've been in a hundred relationships before."