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“Okay, then! It started with two very incompatible Pokémon named Snorlax and Jigglypuff,” I said, reminiscing about our childhood days—the days she probably couldn’t even remember, and the day I decided to call her my Jigglypuff.
Aera chuckled softly, yawning before I could even begin my story.
“One day, Jigglypuff got mad at Snorlax for eating her snacks and sleeping on her bed when she wasn’t looking. For so long, Jigglypuff would sing to keep her Snorlax-related anger to herself, but then one day, she exploded and told Snorlax to go home. Snorlax felt bad for being a burden, so he left.” Looking down, I noticed Aera had already fallen asleep, but I continued, “While walking aimlessly, he ended up getting lost in a forest. He didn’t even know where he was headed, but she was always on his mind. He kept worrying about what he could do to cheer her up, until finally, he found himself on top of a mountain swamped with clouds and a waterfall standing across it. He called it Skyhigh Falls.”
That was me ten years ago. I used to go to her house and eat her mother’s roasted garbanzo beans. I’d come alone, and Aera would give me her signature look of displeasure and ask me the same questions everyday: “Where’s Cole? Why didn’t you bring Cole? What time is Cole coming? Did you wake Cole up before coming here?” Because I was a fool, I kept making excuses just to be where she was, even though all she wanted was to be next to Cole.
Could finding the cave and hiding from other werewolves instead of facing them head-on be another one of my silly excuses just to be with her a little longer?
So It Ended With Gunshots
“Omo.You’re so warm and fluffy,” I moaned, still half-asleep and half-debating whether I should get up or sleep more. It was a moment before I fluttered my eyes open to see pink ceilings. “Huh?” More alert now, I sat up to find myself back in my room, dressed in a pair of red pajamas with my legs laid out stiffly.
“How did I get home?” I asked aloud. Something didn’t seem right. Last thing I remembered, I was in a cave, covered in dirt. Though I still stunk, I didn’t look like a mud woman anymore. My brows knit together as I tried to recall the night before.
Worried I let my guard down, I rushed to the kitchen and found my mom making breakfast while wearing a scowl on her face.
“Eomma. Did I do something weird last night?” I asked. “Like … did I walk under the rain with some snot on my face again? Or … did I collapse somewhere due to dehydration? You don’t think me waking up in my bed tonight has something to do with another Yoo boy, right? Eomma?”
“Gray carried you home while you were asleep,” she said, voice stern.
“Dear me. I didn’t wake up?”
Mom slammed the fridge after taking out a pair of enormous eggs. “Of course, you didn’t. You were having too much fun flirting with a troublemaker. How many times do I have to remind you that Gray is a bad influence to you? The school even had to call me about you skipping classes. Are you out of your goddamn mind, Aera?”
I fiddled with my fingers, looking sulky. “Eomma, shouldn’t you scold Gray and not me?”
“You had a choice, young lady. I just can’t believe you picked the worst. Even after all my warnings.” She cracked an egg with one hand and cooked it in the frying pan, and mind you, she did it so aggressively.
“I’m sorry. It’s just that … I had a vision. I had to stop it no matter what.” The memory of yesterday and how I prevented that vision from coming to fruition made me smile to myself. “He’s okay now, though.”
Mom glared at me. “What did you say?” Her expression offered a mixture of anger and fear.
“Nothing.” I tossed my head from side to side, laughing it off with a grin. “I should go get ready for school,” I announced and grabbed a towel from a cabinet in the hallway before dashing toward the bathroom. With one last look over my shoulders, I left Mom’s curiosity unanswered.
She drove me to school shortly after, looking stony and silent during the ride, her grip on the steering wheel tightening with every passing second. Well, it wasn’t my fault she picked today to be a strict mom—or was it? Perhaps, she just lost the freaking lotto.
By the time I arrived at school, overthinking about Mom’s reaction to last night practically drained my energy, and all I had left to do was stare at a certain boy who used to be everyone’s ray of sunshine.
To keep my eyes from falling on him, I took notes every time the teachers opened their mouths. Normally, I’d be reading a book, or a graphic novel, depending on my mood. Gray Yoo interrupted my momentum, though. Besides his black bomber jacket making him look extra attractive, he wasn’t his normal energetic self. He looked tired, like he didn’t get enough sleep.
Seeing him made me remember last night, and the piggyback ride in the middle of the rain. I remembered pulling on his hair and pretending he was a horse—or rather, a pig. It was apiggyback ride after all.
I must have been so heavy that I broke his back. He hadn’t even greeted me since first period with Mr. Graves.
Later that day at the cafeteria, I found Gray hanging out with his friends at the corner table. A cute girl with dark brown skin and red pigtails, who was probably about five-foot-three, shamelessly approached him and handed him a ragged heart-shaped envelope. Wow, the creativity.
Gray stared at the letter before following the girl upstairs, annoyance written all over his face. He may be attractive, but the boy didn’t seem to know how to appreciate the little things girls did for him.
I was going to leave them alone, give them some privacy, but his expression tugged at my heart and made me worry … for the cute girl, of course.
The last time Gray followed a girl to the rooftop, he made her cry. Seeing how irked he was after receiving yet another love letter, I assumed he was going to reject this new girl too. Since when did he stop dating whoever asked him out?
I had this random idea that maybe I should make the announcement myself and save the next girl from getting her heart broken.
I trailed behind them down the hallway, hiding behind lockers until we reached the dark staircase leading to the rooftop. I managed not to make any noise despite the creepy fluorescent lights blinking at me like those in horror or thriller movies.
Unfortunately, the rooftop door shut behind them before I could catch it. I grumbled and gave myself a pep talk; I needed to be unflinching at a time like this (a time wherein I had to crush a girl’s fantasy before she realizes it’s a nightmare). After all, Gray was still a Yoo boy, and so was Cole, if his mother hadn’t changed his last name. Who knew what a Yoo boy could do? But wait, who knew what compelled me to care about a random girl? Or was this really about the girl?
