You exist in winter

Part 12: You're the one who changed me

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The whole night, I stayed up revising, only finally lying down at 2 a.m. My body was on the bed, but my mind was tangled in formulas until exhaustion pulled me into sleep around 3 a.m. No complaints, though—that's the life of a student. The next morning, after grabbing breakfast at the convenience store like always, I took my usual path to school. Spring had quietly slipped by, and the path I walked every day no longer had falling leaves but was lined with vibrant flowers blooming on both sides of the street.

When I arrived at class, I stowed my bag in my locker, set up my supplies on the desk, and waited for the proctor's instructions. I suddenly remembered that Jay hadn't arrived yet.

"Did he oversleep?" I wondered. 

"Today's important. If he's late, it's game over!"

Just as the thought crossed my mind, Jay dashed into the classroom.

"Sorry, sir, I was late because of traffic," he panted.

Seeing him out of breath, it was clear he'd rushed to get here.

"Take your seat," the teacher said,

 "You're lucky I haven't handed out the exam papers yet."

"Thank you, sir."

Jay went to his assigned seat and sat down. I wanted to ask him why he was late, but since the exam was about to start, I pushed the thought aside and focused on the task at hand. The proctor passed out the exams and returned to his seat.

"You may begin!"

The familiar sound of pages turning filled the room. I concentrated on my work, occasionally glancing over at Jay before quickly looking back at my paper. When the exam ended, the teacher collected our tests and dismissed us. I immediately went over to Jay.

"Why were you late earlier? Is Yulia alright?"

Jay scratched the back of his head and replied, "No, it's nothing like that. I just stayed up too late revising and overslept. Luckily, Yulia woke me up, or I might've missed the whole exam."

I sighed in relief and laughed, "Funny, I never thought you'd end up being saved by someone who's sick. I always figured it'd be the other way around."

Jay laughed and nudged me, "Anyway, the exam's over. Want to go out and celebrate?"

I thought for a moment. "But what about Yulia?"

"She's fine—she's at the hospital, so don't worry."

He continued, "Come on, we just finished the test. Let's unwind a bit!"

I laughed, "You're right. Alright, I'll drop off some food for Yulia first, then we can go."

Jay clapped me on the shoulder, "That's the spirit!"

With that, Jay headed home, and I went to buy some food for Yulia. We agreed to meet at a pub near the school once I was done. I carried the food and headed to Yulia's room as usual. I didn't knock, just slowly opened the door in case she was asleep. I peeked inside and saw Yulia sleeping on the bed. Quietly, I approached, set the food down by her bedside with a sticky note attached, and slipped out of the room.

I walked home along the familiar road, remembering the first time I met Yulia. Back then, snow blanketed the streets, and I was just drifting, living without purpose or desire. Each day had felt as colorless as a monochrome painting. But now, the path I walked felt different. I had changed so much, and it was all thanks to you.