ᖇ4Y : ᔕᗩTEᒪᒪITE

ᴠ

"Vi, give me a piece of paper. I need to talk to you."

My sister tilts her head, perplexed by my request. Still, she tears a page from the middle of her homework notebook and hands it to me along with a pen. Having just returned from my part-time dishwashing job, I still have enough energy to engage in this conversation. I settle on our bed and draw a circle on the paper using her pen.

Vi leans closer, curious. "What's that? A meatball?"

"A meatball? Seriously? No, this represents the time period we're living in."

"A-ha. A time period. What's next?"

Switching to a red pen, I draw another circle on top of the first. "I feel like the world has seen this scenario countless times before."

"That’s crazy! You’re the only one in the world who can turn back time. Maybe you’ve done it so many times it’s messing with your head. No worries, sis! By the way, did you manage to save Phi Four today? How did it go? Was she cool or at least nice to you?"

"Come on! Give me a break! This is serious!" I sigh deeply. Maybe this déjà vu effect really is a side effect of time reversal. Vi might be on to something. "Nice to me? No way. She’s just as mean as everyone says."

"Mean, huh? Like what?"

"She even pulled a pizza order scam! She’s not just wicked; she’s wickedly good at it!"

"Don’t judge a book by its cover, sis."

"Hmmm. Why don’t you go talk to her yourself? Her personality is anything but eco-friendly." I pause, then add, "Only her deep eyes are slightly alluring. That’s all."

"Maybe she’s had a rough past. That’s why she acts that way."

"Screw it! I bet she’s been getting on people’s nerves and earning loads of hate. You better look at your sketch again. Are you sure it’s really her?"

"It’s definitely her. Otherwise, how would I know she’d break her leg today?"

"......." True enough.

"But she didn’t break her leg, did she? You helped her, didn’t you? Now spill it—what happened?"

In the end, I couldn’t resist my sister’s persistence and told her everything about Phi Four. I also mentioned that Phi Four decided not to start the race as a way to make up for the pizza incident. I assume this means we’re no longer indebted to each other. Vi, however, finds the story romantic.

Romantic?

Standing in tears before a stranger, begging her not to race… and that’s romantic? How did I not see it before?

Later, as I wait for my lovely personal chef—Vi—to finish preparing dinner, my Facebook timeline floods with pictures and captions reporting how Phi Four stood still at the starting line. The post is shared by Kawee, and it’s gaining attention. Both students and outsiders are adding heated comments, criticizing Phi Four for even attempting to race.

Somehow, their words sting me, maybe because I was the one who begged her.

[She’s gone insane! I heard her yelling at the audience in the grandstands too. She probably wanted to slap the athletes like before!]

That comment makes me furrow my brows. Actually, there are many comments like it.

[I thought she only picked fights with volleyball players. Now she’s after runners too?]

[Why hasn’t the university banned her yet? I saw that clip. She’s a real gangster! A walking black hole!]

A clip?