The Fake Haters

19. Rings(m)

Win

Bright stops by the claw machine as I order food for us. I check the time for the nth time to know whether it's time our results roll in. Our results are going to come out online at 7 pm, and it's only five minutes away. I am stressing out big time.

Bright returns after a while, empty-handed, as I expected. I stay seated by the table and watch him.

"You didn't get anything," I say.

He sits in front of me.

"Claw machines are scams," he says.

"I agree. Once, it stole ten play coins from me. Well... it was me who kept on trying. But I didn't get anything."

"What was in it?"

"Some cute plushies and stuff."

Our ordered food rolls in, and I realise ten minutes have passed seven. We totally forgot about the results once we started talking. Bright and I take out our phones and log into our college website, where we type in our student codes.

Bright gives me his phone, and I give mine to him. We press 'enter' and see each other's results.

He has scored an A. As usual.

I look at him, and he smiles.

"It's an A," he says my results.

"You have failed," I say.

"What-"

"I was kidding. It's an A!" I exclaim.

"Omg! You had me for a moment!" he leans over and flicks my forehead.

"Oww. That hurt!"

"Serves you right for tricking me! Now give me my phone back."

"I won't. I wanna see what nasty secrets you have in this."

"Oh my god, no! You'll figure out about my secret girlfriend and my secret wife!" Bright says dramatically.

"Oh yeah? I should call your mom and say that her son is going to die. With this bread knife inside him." I hold the bread knife as a warning.

Bright holds his hands in surrender.

"I surrender in the name of my love for you."

"HahahA! What's that?" I keep the bread knife aside and laugh at his words. Bright can be so silly sometimes.

We start eating right after, and the food taste even more delicious, knowing that we've passed our exams with flying colours.

"Give me a reward for my flawless A," I say to Bright with a mouth full of food.

"Oh, yeah. I got you one," he says before digging into his pockets.

He takes out what looks like a plastic box and takes something out of it.

"I won this from the claw machine." he tosses something to me, and I catch it on time.

It's a purple plastic ring.

"A toy ring." I chuckle. I wear it on my left-hand index finger. "Thanks, love."

"Did you just call me 'love'??" Bright asks in surprise. He shows me his middle finger, where he has worn his ring. I reply with a 'duh' expression. He laughs it off and wears it identical to mine.

Cute.

The first gift my silly boyfriend gives me on our date.

"What should I give you?" I ask.