Rising Stars

XIII - Finding Love

"She was so flawed. So perfectly flawed. So perfectly flawed for me.

- Atticus

March 20th, 2020

As it turned out, COVID-19 caused more complications than the entire world expected. Ever since last month, it felt like the entire world stopped; stopped working, stopped moving, stopped turning.

It was like everyone on the planet had collectively taken a deep breath, and was now holding it in.

Everything closed. Every mall, every restaurant, nearly every grocery store, and every business that wasn't essential, and it put everyone who worked in those businesses out of a job, including Seraphine and me.

Xayah and Rakan texted every employee as soon as news of the lockdown became public that the Vastaya would be closed until further notice. While I was initially worried about whether or not the Vastaya would open again, they assured us that they would survive the lockdown. After all, it was a successful business. And the decision to move into a smaller building paid off apparently.

And that wasn't even the kicker.

When UCLA closed and moved all of its courses online, I knew just how bad the virus was. They were even going so far as to kick people out of their dorms, which was unheard of because of how much those students were paying to live on campus.

Part of me understood why the college chose to do that. It was for safety, for the sake of public health and security. But another part of me was infuriated. Those students were paying to live on campus, and the fact that UCLA just kicked them out like a tenant with an overdue bill was trashy. More than that, I was angry because I still needed to pay the full-price for a class when it was going to be entirely through the internet, an inexcusably cheaper learning platform than in-person classes.

But there wasn't much I could do about it.

At the end of the day, the Board of Directors called the shots. And I was fairly certain that even if the entire student body sent them angry letters, they still wouldn't change a damn thing.

I let out a frustrated sigh, and Seraphine looked up from her notebook, her head tilted slightly to the side and her pink hair cocooned in a large towel turban. "Something wrong?" She asked.

"Just thinking about how stupid online classes are," I explained, deciding to spare her from my exhausting train of thought.

"Do you think we'll even be able to have a real graduation this year?" Sera asked, glancing back down at her notebook. "It... It would really suck if we didn't have one."

"I sure as hell hope we have one." I clicked my tongue.

Ever since we were forced to stay home, Sera and I have been calling on a consistent basis. Nearly every day, actually.

On the contrary, I hadn't gotten the chance to talk to Lux as much as I wanted to. With school and extracurriculars starting to pick up for her, I think the last thing she needed was me constantly bothering her with messages. I figured letting her initiate the conversation would be best.

It wasn't like I had all the free time in the world either. Online classes were proving more difficult than in-person classes, and between that and working on the EP, helping Eunkyung study, and looking for work wherever and whenever I could. The stimulus checks and our savings would momentarily block the tidal wave of bills that were piling up, but once those ran dry, then I'd have a lot more to worry about than just school and music.

"Jae?"

"Sorry," I replied. "A lot on my mind."

She set down her pencil. "Do you wanna talk about it?"