Our beloved youth

11: His apology?

"Kevin alone wasn't enough that this jeans is troubling me!" Elina muttered, struggling to pull on her jeans. She jumped and tugged until they fit snugly.

"Finally! Done!" She glanced at the clock and sighed with relief. "If I don't hurry, Kevin will have another reason to say mean things." She grabbed her comb and started untangling her hair, wincing as she did so.

"Ouch, ouch!" She slowed down, eventually finishing her hair. She tied it into a ponytail, applied some lip balm, and took one last look in the mirror. She was wearing a purple knitted crop top with jeans.

Heading downstairs, Elina saw her sister Sia on the phone.

"Fine!! I will do it for you!!" Sia hung up quickly, looking flustered as Elina approached. "What was that?" Elina asked, heading to the shoe rack.

"Just usual stuff. You tell me, where are you going?" Sia folded her arms, watching Elina put on her shoes.

"Project discussion at Jefferey's Café," Elina replied, grabbing her bus card from the drawer.

"Don't be late," Sia reminded her.

"By the way, where are Mom and Dad?" Elina asked.

"They're on a welcome trip for Dad's new company. They'll be back next week!" Sia's excitement was contagious.

"So that means..."

"It will be just us!" they both exclaimed, laughing together.

"Okay, I'll get going. Girls' dinner tonight!" Elina said, heading out the door.

"Bye!" Sia called after her, already dialing a number on her phone.

_______________________________

Elina entered the café and scanned the room, spotting Kevin already seated and glaring at her.

What's his problem now?

Elina scoffed but noticed Kevin signaling her to check the time. She glanced at her watch—it read 6:00 PM. Rolling her eyes, she clutched her bag and walked over to him.

"Do you realize you're half an hour late?" Kevin remarked, sipping his drink and raising his eyebrows.

Elina's jaw dropped. How could someone lie so blatantly? "Excuse me? I'm right on time. You told me to come at 6:00. Look!" She showed him her watch. Kevin peeked at it, then leaned back with an uninterested look.

"If you check the time on your phone, that would be better. I know you won't believe me if I say your watch is half an hour slow," Kevin said, shrugging.

Elina's eyes widened for two reasons:

He could talk this much? And with such ease?How could her watch be half an hour slow? 

She checked her phone and gasped—she really was late. Slowly, she looked at Kevin, who was waiting for her to respond. She struggled to find words. "So- so what? Huh?" She turned away, then sat down in front of Kevin, who watched her amusedly.

"You should be happy that I stayed away from you anyway," she said, rolling her eyes. Kevin sighed, realizing what was going on.

"Okay," he said.

WHAT?! Just an OKAY?

I thought he would apologize this time.

Just then, the waiter came to take their order. "Ma'am, what would you like to order?" he asked Elina.

"I'll have a Mocha Frappe," she replied with a smile. The waiter noted it down and turned to Kevin. "And sir, would you like something else or a refill of your black coffee?" he asked.