The Boy From Everywhere

Ch. 10: The Schedule

"Here. You can see my schedule in that piece of paper. I'm giving it to you so you know where to find me when you need to."

"Huh? But I didn't say anything?"

"It's kinda for me, too, to be honest... It would be nice to see you when I'm working. Especially when I'm working the night shift at the convenience store. I'm sure you know why I really need you during those times."

"... I guess, I do."

"Please come on those days. If you can, that is! You can just go and sleep there, if you want. I just need someone to join me-"

"Yeah, I understand... I'll be coming on those days then."

"Really? Cool!"

That was the last conversation I had with Eli that night at the library. Truth be told, I was definitely glad to hear that he was willing to have me over. Of course, I was coming to visit him on his job at the convenience store tonight. With the piece of paper with his schedule that he gave me four days ago, I waited for my last class to be finished, almost impatiently, so I can finally go home, do my chores, and wait for midnight to arrive so I can escape again.

The bell rang at the end of classes eventually, and a sigh of relief came out of me as I looked at the classroom beginning to empty. Then my gaze fell back on the piece of paper in my hands. It was slightly crumpled, more crumpled at the sides due to the improper way I was holding it, to be honest, and Eli's rushed writing contributed quite a lot to making it look messy. I sighed, looking at it, almost smiling at how the messiness reminded me of him, and then a thought occurred to me.

My expression slowly fell as my eyes went on to focus on the days and time of Eli's jobs. My fingers ran over them as I assessed them, counting the hours, and the days. He had one for every single day, but the time he had between them were barely...

"Not enough for a good rest."

Come to think of it, just why exactly did Eli have so many jobs?

~•~

"Oh? You came!"

I did. Of course, I did.

"Of course. After all, what would you do without me being all alone here at night?" I teased, a sly smile spreading across my face and a nervous one spreading across Eli's ashis hand made its way to the back of his head.

"Well, I mean, you didn't really have to come then if you didn't actually want to..."

"Who said I didn't want to?"

"Eh?" He paused in response, and his eyes widened before he quickly looked towards me. A frown formed on my face before he could even voice his thoughts out. "Then–"

"I came as a friend! Just why the hell do you keep thinking I have a crush on you?!"

He pursed his lips as he looked away while giving his reason."Well, technically, you were the one who went after me first..."

"Says the one who pretty much begged for me to be here tonight."

"You have to understand, it was a need!" He was already almost fake-crying at this point, and I gave him a second of a judging stare before I just sighed and shook my head.

Eventually, I made my way to the tables again, placing my bag on it and taking my journal out. I didn't have any homework to do today, after all, so I might as well do a little update while I have the time.

And yet, it didn't take long before someone eventually got curious.

"Whatcha writing over there?" Eli asked, and I immediately felt his curious gaze on my shoulder upon hearing his voice.

My eyes widened when I came back to reality, and I lifted my head before turning around and looking towards Eli.

To be fair, I wasn't even actually sure what to write. Today hadn't been so eventful, which I guess was also a good thing, but really, all I had written was just the date and a small intro. I thought I really didn't have anything else to write, and then I saw Eli.

Right. I almost forgot to ask.

"Hey, Eli?" I asked, eventually turning until I was fully facing him. He raised his brows as he looked back at me curiously. "Can I ask just why exactly you have so many jobs? I mean, you still are a student, right?"

His curious expression remained for a moment, almost as if my question puzzled him, and then his lower lip twitched, and I couldn't exactly be sure what that meant. The next thing he did, however, was to smile widely and reiterate his question from before. "I asked you first, though? What exactly are you writing? I'll give you my answer once I'm sure you're not actually keeping an account all about me~"

"That's not what it is! I already told you!" I ended up snapping, before I realized that I did, and my expression slowly fell while I noticed that Eli's playful expression had only intensified. My expression immediately turned into an unimpressed one right after. "That's not what I'm writing about. And I'd show you just what exactly is in my journal, but they're a bit too private, and we're not that close yet."

"Then how can I be sure your journal isn't full of my name, then?" This time, it looked like he was actually serious about his question, and I just sighed in defeat before glaring at him.

"My journal isn't full of your name because someone else's name is exactly what fills most of the pages in my journal," I replied, my frown further being intensified by the thought of my aunt's name written multiple times in my anger in the pages.

Eli, however, seemed to interpret my words another way. Or rather, the same way from his point of view, if you looked at it that way. With wide eyes, he looked at me as if he had just been betrayed. "There's another guy??"

"You never had a chance, shut up!"

Ah, seriously, this kid and his crazy antics! How does his brain even work??