Before I Sprouted

(2) Not Eating Much?

This chapter contains depictions of restricted eating. Viewer discretion is advised.

6:50 AM at The International Student's Dormitory
Ray

"股阳光，醒醒!" (Gu Yangguang, Wake up!) My body shakes violently. I open my eyes and see my classmate, Hannah Li shaking me. "李瑷菡, 什么？！" (Li Aihan, What?!) I yell. She shows me the time on her phone. Shit. I jump out of bed."谢谢!" I yell to her as she walks out of the room. Hannah Li is from Nanchang, Jiangxi too. She's very quiet and doesn't talk much, but we bonded over being from the same city. She always looks out for me and she's like an older sister to me. I look around my room and notice the paper of Rose's poem is lying on my bed. I stuff it into my desk drawer and get ready for school. I still feel awkward after last night at Rose's house. I still want to talk with him, but I need to keep it a secret that I have one of his poems. Today isn't one of our tutoring days, so I'm not expecting to see Rose much.

At lunch, I sit with my classmate, Jeremiah Albert. Today he came to school with his hair all braided into a ponytail.

"Jeremiah, I like your hair! It's all braided!"

"Thanks, bud, it's called cornrows. I just got it done yesterday for my birthday. My boy did me right! Look how fly I look!" He smiles and pivots his head.

"Oh yeah! Happy birthday! Can I touch it? It looks so... interesting!"

Jeremiah leans forward. "Thanks, and of course, man."

Jeremiah is also an interesting person. He has blue eyes and dark skin. He told me that his family originated from Ghana. After feeling his hair, I look around the cafeteria for Rose. I see him sitting with a blonde-haired kid. "I'm going to be right back," I tell Jeremiah. I get up and walk towards Rose. My heart starts to race. Shit, will he still be mad at me from last night? I tap Rose's shoulder,

"H-hi Rose," I mutter. He turns around.

"Oh, hi Ray." He says. I sit down next to Rose.

"Oh shit, you're the freshie that Rose is tutoring. If I slip you $5 will you go buy him a slice of pizza?" The blonde kid jokes. I look over to Rose and he looks annoyed. I just smile a little bit. "By the way, I'm Finn. Nice to finally meet you!" I smile and nod at him.

"So, Rose, how have you been today?" He turns to me and rests his head in his hand. His eyes. His green eyes stare at me again. He shrugs.

"Good, I guess. I just want to go home. I'm very tired."

"Good thing we have 2 more classes left today."

Finn points to Rose, "I hope he makes it. The last class we had was religion, and this boy's eyes were having a difficult time staying open."

"Jesus Christ, Finn," Rose mutters under his breath.

I chuckle. "Rose, you didn't sleep enough last night?"

"I guess not." He looks away.

"Why not? Has school been stressful? Hard time sleeping?"

He starts to clench his fists, "Ray, I don't know! Just Stop!" Rose shouts at me. It startles me.

"Dude, chill!" Finn tells Rose. Rose gets up and storms off. My ears and face feel hot.

"Sorry, his mood hasn't been the greatest lately. He's been acting like that with me too."

"I-is he, okay?"

"I mean... He hasn't been eating much. I think he's been stressed out lately, too," He sighs and shakes his head. "Look man, don't take it to heart."