Someday, I'll Find My Way Home

Karl faces the consequences.

The next day, I was hesitant to go to class. I knew I was going to see him one way or another, and I didn't know how to act around him if that was to happen.

Marvin checked up on me, but I put on a smile and reassured him, "I'm fine. Don't worry."

"You know, these days, you'd explode," he replied to me before I went to my class. "Don't forget that we're here whatever happens."

He patted my head. I waved at him and went out of our apartment.

I met with Paula on the way to our laboratory class. She was a total wreck beneath her pretty maroon dress and makeup. She clung her arms on me and walked towards our room.

"How are you?" I asked.

"Worse," she answered. She held her head and shrugged. "I barely slept."

"Same."

We both sighed at the same time.

"Is he replying to you?" she asked.

I shrugged.

"Well, I guess I did the wrong thing." She slumped her shoulders. "I did a big mess, not only to us, but also to our org."

"Why? What happened?"

"Let's just say that word came out fast. I couldn't even look at them at the eye."

I couldn't think of the perfect words to say except, "Well, fuck."

"It really is a mess."

We sat on our usual seats in the far end of the second row beneath the aircon. When the front door opened, I saw Marc coming in. He was smiling from ear to ear to me.

I felt chills on my neck when I saw it. A few moments after, I received a text from him.

Hey, so I heard the news...
You're not friends with Axel anymore?

I almost threw my phone across the room. I held my phone tightly and tried to focus on the computer in front of me instead.

Paula looked at me with worry on her face. "Why? What's wrong?"

I scoffed. "It's Marc."

"What did he do this time?"

"Nothing," I told her. I held her shoulders and motioned her to calm down. "He's the only one happy with what happened."

"He sounds like a total dick," she commented.

"I don't know, I told him that I wasn't interested in him in any way at all. Never."

"You know, I'm just going to redirect all my hate to myself on him instead." She tapped the keyboard hard that I was afraid that the keys were going to fall off. "Go on. Keep on irritating the hell out of me so I could leave my self-loathing instead."

"Why are you so irritated at him?" I peered.

"I'm irritated for you, girl. Consider my empathy as a gift for you being dense about your feelings."

I glared at her. "What do you mean?"

She shrugged her shoulders and made a face. I squeezed her arms instead. We both laughed until our professor suddenly went inside, announcing for a surprise quiz. 

-

Paula and I finished our laboratory exercise five minutes before the time, and we were the first one to finish within our laboratory section (which boosted our morale, big time). By the time we went out of our room, students were scramming back to their classes after taking their lunches.