You Had Me at Goodbye

How to Ride A Bike 101

"D—Don't let go!"

Lisa, a few years ago, would scoff and laugh—hysterically, even, should she ever— if someone came up to her volunteering to teach her how to ride a bike. She had made that mistake once, agreeing to Khun who was too excited to teach her and was so sure that he would do it flawlessly that by the time Lisa scraped her knees and forearms off after involuntarily jumping into a gutter out of balance, he cried himself so loud that she ended up swallowing the secondhand embarrassment in a bloody stinky gutter. Imagine a 16-year old cried like a baby because the real baby was hurt and the very baby did not even shed a single tear.

It was humiliating.

So she swore to herself that she would never agree to such a thing ever again but there she is sweating cold bullets down her head as she tries to balance her arse on the saddle with hands trembling on the bars, silently praying that Jennie knows what shit she is doing because she clearly cannot see what the life of hers will be.

How even the casual walk in the park turns into a 'How to Ride A Bike 101' session by Miss Kim—so Jennie proudly claimed—Lisa will never figure out.

"I won't. Just keep pedalling!"

Lisa should have known something did not add up when instead of arriving at The Regent's Park, they came to arrive cycling around Hyde Park. When she asked Jennie about it, the woman just flashed her gummy smile as she happily stopped pedalling.

She only knew she was doomed the moment Jennie put her on the pedal and started pushing the bike making her involuntarily take control of the bars and pedalling the bike to her heart's content, at least that is what she tries to do or else she will drive herself kissing the damn path beneath her.

'Is it not fun doing something out of the agenda, Doc?'

Somehow Lisa can hear Jennie singing that verse in her head repeatedly. The rush of adrenaline being pumped in and out her heart out of something that is completely out of her control. Something that catches her completely off guard, without warning, without a manual; very much like Jennie, only this one may cause her any harm physically.

"You're doing great, Doc!"

Is she?

Because all she wants is just stop the whole thing the moment it started. She guesses she just does not want to make a fool out of herself. Lisa despises failing more than anything; she was born to be good at everything she touches and the moment she finds herself facing an obstacle from something she cannot fathom, she will automatically keep her distance from that very something.

Slowly, Jennie lets go of Lisa as the doctor panicly tries to keep her pedal in balance. She can definitely go smoothly if only she has enough courage for it. But the unavoidable panic rushes into her bones the moment she can no longer feel Jennie running along with her, guiding her through the chaos that seconds after Jennie's hands were completely off the bike, Lisa deliberately leads herself towards the bushes which have been silently watching her and waiting for her to finally land on them.

But before that happens, Lisa has somehow found it in her brain to jump off the bike and save herself, letting Jennie's poor bike fall into the embrace of the bushes.

"Are you okay?" Jennie runs her way to the panting surgeon, worried glazing over her face. Lisa nods as she evens her breath, assuring Jennie she is alright and she did not just pull a ninja stunt.

"Are you really that scared of falling, Doc?" Jennie finally breathes out in relief as she aids her poor bike, while a chuckle stringing on her words after watching Lisa's desperate call.