It is not in the stars to hold our destiny but in ourselves.
-William Shakespeare
We continued like this. Life went on without her, though after that incident SS decided to train me in music. "You want to lose your girlfriend to that pimp?" he would say. Faizal had a few soccer kakis in Science, and found out that guy's name is Dane, Rin's classmate in Biological Science who was also trying to woo her. He did not find out if they were dating though, and Faizal would often urge me to salvage our relationship before it's too late.
"You're gonna lose her forever like this," SS sighed while we were at a nearby 24h hawker centre for supper one night. It's a few weeks to Final Examinations now, and the first semester in University would end real soon. I kept quiet, stirring my teh tarik. I know I'm gonna lose her if this goes on, but what could I do?
"Bro, nobody can teach you what to do in a relationship. But as your buddy, I don't wanna see you suffer like this. Call her if you miss her, knock on her door if you wish to see her. Be a man! Don't regret!" SS continued his lecture. I listened like I would to a lecturer in lecture theatre, like slurping my teh tarik noisily. Looking displeased with my nonchalant response, Faizal stood up and searched within his left breast pocket lazily.
"Zack, we can only help you this far. The rest is really up to you, Rin, and that bimbo. Don't get a red card now that you've come this far with Rin, ok?" He pushed something into my hands. SS sighed, also standing up and gave a heavy slap on my back. As they left me behind to settle the bill, I unfolded the slightly crushed slips of papers.
Two tickets to the school Halloween Festival.
I took the entire weekend to ponder about whether I should ask Rin to the Halloween Night. I mean, what if she rejected me? Would it mean the end of our relationship? I don't know. Deep inside me I just wanted to gather some courage and tap on her number on my phone. It's been weeks since we I last gave her a goodnight call.
Finally on Sunday night, I went back earlier to hostel and my feet led me to her hostel doorstep. This is it. Now or never. I cleared my throat and knocked two times on the door.
Indeed Rin opened the door. She wore an oversized T-shirt and was still wet from the bathroom, with beads of water still dripping from her long black hair. Emotional after seeing that it was me, she turned to one side, patting her hair with her pink bath towel.
Words choked at the back of my throat. I recalled how we met, the day when she came into my life. The night of fireworks, the night we kissed… All these were memories that I couldn't forget and couldn't erase. She's the one. As her knight, I must be brave.
"I… Sorry. I have a pair of tickets for Halloween. I.. Rin." I gently picked up her hands and took them in mine. "I really hope you will go with me, Rin... Will you?" I admit, I'm no good in this. But still I must do it. I don't want to regret. I looked into her worried, reddening eyes.
"I can't go," her reply was soft but firm.
"Look, there's nothing wrong between me and Kris. We're just friends. We're doing our project that night. You are my girlfriend. Not her. Rin, dear, please trust me." I couldn't think of any other reason that brought our relationship to this plight.
But I seemed to do something right. Upon hearing the word "dear", Rin inhaled deeply and gazed straight into my eyes. We've never had eye contact since eons ago.
She lost grip of her towel, which slipped naturally onto the floor, and wrapped her arms around my waist, squeezing me tight. I could feel my shirt getting wet, especially where her face is hiding. I just remained where I was, holding on to her tightly. I felt at a loss for any word of comfort too. It's a deep emotion.
