Your Memories Stay With Me

Chapter 5: His Jealousy

One week before the start of his freshman year in college, James found himself standing in front of a bookstore at the mall near his university, holding a phone in his right ear.

"Yes, Mom, I've submitted all of my admission requirements. I'm just going to go and buy something, and then I'll immediately go back home," James said on the phone with his mother.

"Do you want me to tell dad to come and get you?" His mom asked over the line.

"No, it's fine. I'll just take a taxi on the way home," he replied.

"Hmmm, make sure to stay safe always, okay?" the voice on the line said in a soft voice.

"Yes, I will. See you soon," James responded before saying his goodbye and hanging up the phone.

After putting his phone in his front pocket, James went inside the bookstore, going straight to the end of the aisle where different art materials could be found. He picked up a bottle of white acrylic paint and scanned the different sizes of paint brushes.

"Dude, your mom's going to kill you if she finds out you rescheduled your flight." A loud voice followed by a series of laughter came behind James, causing him to take a look at the group of friends, dissatisfied with their nonchalant attitude towards their surroundings.

"I just moved it by a few days; what's so wrong about it?" the bronze-skinned youth wearing a simple black shirt paired with denim jeans and black shoes said, playfully smacking the back of his friend's head.

"If there's nothing wrong with it, then why have you been ignoring your mom's calls?" a pale-skinned guy sarcastically asked, mocking the other, causing yet another loud laughter from their two other friends while the bronze-skinned guy just frowned.

James shakes his head before taking back his gaze and grabbing a set of brushes. He was about to take the things he needed to the check-out counter when his back collided with something, causing him to drop the bottle of paint, breaking it to pieces.

" Shit, what the hell?" an irritated voice echoes in the air, making him look at the bronze-skinned youth who is looking down on his shoes that have been painted with white spots from the paint that is scattered on the floor.

"When decent people make mistakes, they apologize for them, not curse out loud," James said, emphasizing his words as he sharply looked at the youth in front of him.

"What—" the bronze-skinned guy looked up with his brows meeting in the middle, irritated with the state of his shoes. He was about to say something but stopped as soon as his eyes met those sharp eyes looking at him with displeasure. The youth in black couldn't help but gulp as he scanned James' face.

"What happened here?" store personnel intervened, and James took his sharp gaze off of the guy he collided with.