To me, he looks…normal. Like, whatever, I guess.
“That’s all besides the point,” I continue, pocketing my phone. I heave a dramatic sigh
“Ihatethis guy.” My voice rises on the word hate.
“He’s an absolute nightmare, like, I literally spent my childhood fighting for mylifewith this guy, but for some reason, everyone around us thinks we’re perfect together. Even though we’renot.”
My hands slap the table at the last word. Diane and Kiara jump back, eyes widening.
“He’s always there, just this little pest on the wall that won’t ever leave.”
It’s only when the last word leaves my lips that I exhale a long breath out. Diane and Kiara stare at me, their jaws unhinged.
Now that’s what you call an icebreaker.
“That’s…” Kiara begins, glancing at Diane for help.
“Tough…” Diane finishes.
They both reach forward, patting my hand. I sniff, embracing this brief personal pity party.
“You know what you have to do?” Diane continues, smirking, “you have to hook up with someone else.”
I nearly choke on my own saliva at Diane’s bluntness. Kiara laughs cheekily in agreement.
“Yes, you need to get laid, Jas. That’s how you show your family you aren’t interested in this Marley boy -”
“Marlon,” I correct, though it doesn’t matter, “And what does…that have to do with helping?”
Diane wiggles her eyebrows.
“Trust me, it can help with everything. Especially your stress.”
Kiara and Diane chuckle together, but I still can’t help the heat that begins burning my cheeks. Sex wasn’t so much a taboo topic or anything in my household, but just based on how I was raised, it was very much…hushed. Which is why any mention of the topic had me blubbering like an idiot.
“I mean,maybe…” I say, just to entertain them.
We erupt into a fit of giggles and then begin creating a list of our peers we find cute, with Diane expressing a particular interest in a ginger boy with glasses and Kiara lingering an interest on an Indian girl with a nose piercing. There’s definitely alot of cute boys in my cohort, but sadly, none are enough tocatch my eye. There’s a black curly-haired boy I eyed last week, but that was it.
No one worthy enough for me to risk my family’s wrath for.
When the day finally ends, Kiara, Diane and I decide to grab early dinner at the mall right across from our building, yet it seems that every other university student has the same idea. Most of the cafe’s, restaurants, even the food court are full of hungry students and business workers. Giving up, we decide to explore the pathway just outside the mall and as we turn a corner, I spot a large sign that readsBooksandBricks. Wait - an actual bookstore? Right across my film school?
My pulse quickens instantly, and it’s like I’d taken a shot of alcohol, or espresso, or whichever liquid that makes your blood pump.
“A bookstore!” I exclaim, swivelling around to Kiara and Diane who’d fallen a few paces behind me, begin jumping up and down, pointing at the sign. They return my enthusiasm with amused expressions, and wave at me to go on forward, like I’m their child.
I zoom toward the double glass doors and push through. The inside is cosy, hugging me instantly. The aroma of books hits my nostrils, and I breathe it in deeply as if I’m some sort of addict. God, I love bookstores so much.
Three round tables occupy the entrance space, filled with books stacked high. Each table reads different signs, with one beingThe Hottest Romances Right Now, another reading#TrendingBooksand the last readingNew Releases.
“Maybe your much-needed hook up is somewhere here,” Diane jokes and Kiara laughs. I, on the other hand, try to hide the fact that I am very delusional over the thought of meeting someone here, not to hook up with, but asomeonethat could be the love of my life.
A meet-cute at the bookstore is definitely a dream.
“Oh, if only life were as easy as the films we study,” I profess whimsically, raising my arms and spinning around overdramatically. Kiara and Diane watch me in amusement, until I hit my hip against something hard, and the moment is gone. I groan, stumbling forward, realising I’d hit one of the three central tables - The Hottest Romance Titles Right Now table.
Losing my footing, I clutch onto the stack of books in an attempt to steady myself.
