Past Present Future [BL - SaifahZon]

Chapter 10

p r e s e n t

After grading some papers during his free period, Zon gathered his things and moved towards the staff room. The school was still plunged into silence, since classes were yet to be finished. It was minutes before the bell. His footsteps echoed in the corridor; tip-tap against the floor. Those fleeting moments were always oddly relaxing; only him and a hush within the walls that were usually filled with quite a literal pandemonium.

When he entered the room, there was no one inside as well and he had to say, that was what he had actually hoped for. Feeling his eyelids becoming even heavier, he slumped on the chair and leaned backwards. He barely had any rest at night, so the soft hum of the air conditioner became a lullaby to his tired mind. If only his neighbours could have waited just one more day and threw a party on Friday, like normal people do!

His mind was slowly drifting away, the ticking of the wall clock strangely matching his steady breathing...He was already on the verge of dwam, when, bang, the door suddenly busted open. He jolted, startled to the core.

"Oh, sorry!" Pear looked at him apologetically. "Did I scare you?"

"It's okay," he replied curtly, but his heart was still pounding like crazy. Was it really that loud or was it only in his head? He cleared his throat and adjusted the sit. Hopefully he was looking in a somewhat presentable way, and not like someone who had just almost died of a heart attack.

The girl sat next to him and opened her bag. After a few seconds of rummaging through inside it, she took out a few ginger candies and gave them to him. "I thought I had the coffee ones, but maybe those will help you," she said with a smile.

Zon looked at the worn out packaging with some dose of doubt, but thanked her nonetheless. Possibly months in the bag couldn't change the taste much, could it? He put the candy in his mouth and picked up his phone. Once again silence descended in the room, each of them occupied with their own stuff and thoughts. One thing he truly liked about Pear was that she rarely pushed him into meaningless conversations, especially when he was clearly not in the mood.

And his sleepiness had to be more than obvious.

Suddenly there was a ping of her phone and a heavy sigh. The silence was broken again and knowing it couldn't be a good sign, Zon locked his gaze on his phone. He truly tried his best not to show any sign of curiosity and blend in the background. 'I'm not here, I'm not here, I'm here,' he repeated in his mind like it was a spell of invisibility.

Unfortunately, it did not work as Pear looked at him anyway. "Do you have plans for today?"

"Well..." he hesitated. In a flash, he regretted his decision to even come anywhere near the staff room and cursed himself for not staying in the classroom. All he ever wanted was to pass out and sleep until the next afternoon, unbothered by anything in this world.

Apparently it was not meant to be.

"My boyfriend and I broke up and all my girlfriends are busy today," she explained. "I really, really need someone to go out and drink with me. Please?" She looked at him with those big eyes and begged, as if it was going to convince him.

Well, she wasn't entirely wrong as he felt his inner resistance slowly cracking up as soon as their looks crossed.

"I will ask some other people from work, I just need to forget. Please. Please, please, please," she begged a bit longer, not aware he was already going to give up.

He let out a heavy sigh and tightened his lips. "Okay. Alright. But not for long. I need to wake up early tomorrow."

She beamed at him with gratitude, her sadness vanished as if it was never there. "Great! I will text you the location, when I book the place. Is 6:30 alright for you?"