Their Parallel Universe ✓

Chapter 06

Two pairs of eyes stare at him curiously as he marches on the campus pathway in a grumpy mood. Ignoring them, Poll keeps on silently fuming while remembering how another weekend was ruined because of a certain jerk who thinks he is all that.

Two weekends. Eujae Castillo has already messed up Poll's two weekends in a row. As if the weekdays spent in University aren't enough, does he have to ruin the weekends too? Granted, they have not seen each other for a couple of days, but it doesn't mean Poll suddenly wants to run into him in random places, much less on their days off from school. And why is that jerk always in a place where Poll is anyway? What's his deal?

"Someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed." Risa points out while they're walking, and turns to Tem, a confused expression on her face. "So... what happened?"

Tem heaves a sigh, pushing her eyeglasses up, as she shakes her head. "Honestly? I have long given up on trying to understand him. He has been like that since Saturday after we went to the mall with Cloud. Earlier that day, he was screaming in his room one minute and the next he was grinning like an idiot. He was also like that the other weekend. Though I think it's easy to guess the reason why he's gotten his panties in a twist again."

"Can you, guys, stop talking about me like I am not here to hear you?" Poll scowls at his twin sister and his friend. "And I don't fucking wear panties, Tem." He is already upset and these women are not helping him feel better at all.

"Sure, sure. Then you can go away somewhere you won't hear us so we can keep talking about you and I can ask Tem privately if your claim about not wearing panties is true," Risa replies, unfazed by her friend's crankiness, and then sighs when Poll pulls a face. "Alright. I understand, jeez. Stop taking it out on us, Poll. So except for avoiding you for the whole week, what did Eujae do this time?"

Poll gives Risa a look, his eyes drawing a question mark.

As if reading his mind, Risa rolls her eyes and explains, "How can I tell? We can tell. C'mon, Poll, how long do you think we've known each other? It literally has been since we were in diapers, right? I may not be your twin sister but even I know. Aside from having an artist's block, what else, or in this case, who else can make you this frustrated?" She looks him in the eye when he doesn't say anything. "Or am I wrong?"

Their childhood friend isn't wrong. As a matter of fact, those are exactly the two things that have been driving him up the wall since Saturday. When they got home from the mall that day, Poll went straight to his mini art studio next to his room and grabbed his materials in the hope that painting would distract him and help him forget about the encounter with that jerk. Regrettably, the opposite happened.

Poll found himself unable to focus on his work because he was too distracted as he kept remembering the thing with Eujae. His dull mood killed his artistic muse and it extended the following day. As a result, he ended up throwing his paintbrush in disgruntlement and cursing Eujae in his mind until he was satisfied.

On the upside, he had a good conversation with Gaele but that was the only good thing that happened on his weekend. It made him wish again to have more people like Gaele around him in lieu of some good-for-nothings like those who are specifically named Eujae Nigel.

"Let's get this straight first, Risa, I'm not frustrated that the jerk has been avoiding me, if that's what you're trying to imply," Poll says, his frown never leaving his face.

"Then what's the problem?"

"Well, I did run into that jerk at the mall–"

Poll ignores his twin sister when she mutters, "Why am not surprised?"

"–and he had the nerve to act like the conceited bastard that he is, pretending like he could have cared less about my existence."

Lifting a brow, Tem interprets, "So he ignored you."