The Moon Hiding at Dawn

Chapter 9: The Sun and its Warmth

It's now September. A cool breeze swimming through everywhere and anywhere, whispering songs of the calm. Spirits of weariness embracing everything that come its way. A delivery of constant temptation to spend the day not spending it.

Naturally, I would succumb to temptation with ease. Yet here I am, dragged by Kallen to one of her errands. We just had the rest of August as a break, mostly spent on finalizing finances and getting more sleep. Not that we had anything else to do but to take a break. Looking back, we should not have taken those days for granted and genuinely used it for rest.

Well, back when we were kids, when you're done with your tasks early, you get to spend the rest of the time playing around and even get a bonus reward if you've done it great. Reality is hardly any similar. Tell your boss you're done with your work early and chances are that he'll pile more work along your way.

Nothing different, again, in this school for that matter. Not a surprise considering we weren't allowed to graduate on the end of our third year.

Here we are, now dumped with another task of organizing a club fair.

Two things. Why are there so much leisure activities instead of classes? Lenient people are bound to fail if they aren't so keen about it. I get the point of trying to balance-out the environment and aura that the school has but it's much more troublesome. I do remember skipping all non-academic events the previous years and I'm fairly confident that the other nine did as well. Also, why is the admin roughhousing our class into doing its projects? Might as well run the whole school at this point. Which will be more of a hassle so I'd say nevermind. I also hate that this is looking like charity work on our side since we aren't even compensated. Not even with a single coin. I guess we could be corrupt with our funds but it's too risky in our position.

So with things out of my control, I'm stuck in a bench in front of a tent rental office waiting for Kallen to finish her business, cold September winds trying to beat me unconscious. Not that it actually would considering the noise from the traffic combined with the couples in the cafe just beside the office.

I feel bothered by the couples in the cafe. I mean, I couldn't hear them making any noise. Just that the sight of smiles flirting with each other and the irritating scent of romance is reeking until this very bench I'm sitting at.

I know myself though. And I know that I'm bothered not by the concept of romance but of its absence in my life. I won't blame them for not wanting a distrusting introvert though. I'm tired of being used 'til burning point by others. Might as well prioritize myself rather than have them reduce me to cinders. Then again, human relationship, whether romantic or not, revolve around the concept of use and utility. You don't really hang around with people just for the heck of it. It always has a use and goal regardless if obvious or underlying.

I let out a sigh. If only someone genuinely wants to be with me and not because of what I have or what I can do. Hard to find these days since only an idiot would not look at utility. Who knows though? Maybe that person I'm looking for is someone standing in front of me. Kallen for instance...

Wait...

When did she get in front of me??

She smiled at me "Why the long stare? Fell in love with me?"

"Not in a million years. I was just lost in thought and did not notice you." A pathetic excuse for someone trying so hard to stop blushing. She didn't seem to notice though. Good.

"Well why don't you do that somewhere where we can grab food? All those bargaining made me hungry." She said.

I agreed and, either from coincidence or convenience, we ended up in the cafe I was staring at while waiting for her. I'd rather that it fall on the latter knowing that there is logical significance to the choice rather than putting in some factor of fate or destiny at play with the former.