Ready to Fall

Chapter 10 Some guys have all the luck

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Alone in a crowd on a bus after work and I'm dreaming.

The guy next to me has a girl in his arms.

My arms are empty.

How does it feel when the girl next to you says she loves you?

It seems so unfair when there's love everywhere, but there's none for me.

-'Some guys have all the luck' by Rod Stewart-

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One week and three days before that cold and empty night…

It wasthe day as Selena Shouda put it.

In different cultures Valentine's Day emerged in various ways. One of the most popular versions is the story of St. Valentine, which did not really involve sentimental love. According to Legenda Aurea, St. Valentine was a priest who did not agree with the Roman law that states for young men to remain single. The emperor who decreed that law said that married men do not make good soldiers. Valentine then, in return, performed marriage ceremonies in secrecy. When the emperor found out about this, he was thrown to prison.

In other legends, it is said that St. Valentine wrote the very first love letter to a loved-one in a heart-shaped leaf the night before his execution. This apparently what started the note-giving during Valentine's Day?

As centuries passed by, it did not stop from love letters. From love notes, people started giving flowers and chocolates (usually heart-shaped) as a symbol of their love. If they can afford it, they even go out on special dates. No matter how simple or grand, they still celebrate it with the special people in their life. It is the thought that counts, as goes the famous saying.

This concept is no different from the people living in the vicinity of Crimson University. They celebrate Valentine's the same way other people do, except maybe with just some additional tricks here and there—with the help of their Alices, of course.

Mark is one of those who can attest to it. No matter how hard and nerve-wracking, he still stuck to his decision to ask Anna on a date.

Anna Umenomiya may be a sweet and gentle girl, but she was a tough shell when it comes to dating. Mark had to pick himself up thrice before he was able to finally tell Anna his intention clearly in complete sentences.

It was not flat-out rejection that Mark had a hard time handling. It was Anna's smile. Mark could not predict if she was going to say yes or no. she did not look apologetic, nor did she look excited. Mark could only wipe a big fat bead of sweat when she said, "Sure, I would love to."

Just when Mark thought the hard part was over, his situation did not change much at the course of their date. He bought her to one of the expensive restaurants in Central Town. It was hard to get a reservation there during peak season like Valentine's Day, but a good thing he was able to book a table week ago. Mark has been trying the whole time to impress his date, but she stayed neutral and smiley like she always was.

By dessert, he was ready to give up and score the date as a one-hit wonder until the sweet pink-haired Anna said half-seriously to him, "Why do you even try to impress me, Mark?"

Before he could even answer, she continued, "We are together every day. We hang-out with the same group. We are in the same class. We have known each other for more than five years. Don't you think by now, I already know you? Who you really are? If I don't know you, don't know how you have become in those five years, I wouldn't have said 'yes' to this date, and I certainly wouldn't be across from you now eating cheesecake."